S. 1198 — Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act

This section states the purpose of this title as designating certain National Forest System lands, National Park System lands, and public lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management in Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming as wilderness areas and components of the National Wilderness Preservation System under the Wilderness Act of 1964.

This section designates approximately 2 million acres of Federal lands in Montana's Greater Glacier/Northern Continental Divide ecosystem as wilderness, as identified on the map entitled “Greater Glacier” dated April 10, 2023 (or, for Glacier National Park lands, the map entitled “Glacier National Park Wilderness” dated April 29, 2016), by incorporating lands into existing wilderness areas and establishing new components of the National Wilderness Preservation System. (1) Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex additions.—Incorporates (A) approximately 429,647 acres in the Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest, Lolo National Forest, and Lewistown Field Office of the Bureau of Land Management into the Bob Marshall Wilderness (adjacent lands) and Scapegoat Wilderness (adjacent lands); (B) approximately 352,025 acres in the Flathead National Forest into the Bob Marshall Wilderness (adjacent lands) and Great Bear Wilderness (adjacent lands); (C) approximately 24,295 acres in the Flathead National Forest into the Great Bear Wilderness; and (D) approximately 22,086 acres in the Flathead National Forest (Middle Fork Flathead Addition) into the Great Bear Wilderness. (2) Mission Mountains Wilderness additions.—Incorporates approximately 29,000 acres in the Lolo National Forest and Flathead National Forest into the Mission Mountains Wilderness. (3) New components of the National Wilderness Preservation System.—Designates the following areas as wilderness: (A) Glacier Wilderness, approximately 925,000 acres in Glacier National Park; (B) Sawtooth Ridge Wilderness, approximately 15,693 acres in the Lewis and Clark National Forest; (C) Tuchuck Wilderness, approximately 144,615 acres in the Flathead National Forest and Kootenai National Forest; (D) Le Beau Wilderness, approximately 6,523 acres in the Flathead National Forest and Kootenai National Forest; (E) Ten Lakes Wilderness, approximately 48,545 acres in the Kootenai National Forest; (F) Coal Ridge Wilderness, approximately 63,517 acres in the Flathead National Forest; (G) Standard Peak Wilderness, approximately 18,561 acres in the Flathead National Forest; (H) Demers Wilderness, approximately 6,955 acres in the Flathead National Forest; (I) Lincoln Gulch Wilderness, approximately 8,250 acres in the Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest; (J) Anaconda Hill Wilderness, approximately 18,546 acres in the Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest; (K) Devil Mountain Wilderness, approximately 10,890 acres administered by the Missoula Field Office of the Bureau of Land Management; (L) Specimen Creek Wilderness, approximately 12,327 acres in the Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest; (M) Nevada Mountain Wilderness, approximately 50,135 acres in the Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest; and (N) Crater Mountain Wilderness, approximately

This section designates federal lands in the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem—primarily in national forests, national parks, and BLM-administered lands, as identified on the map entitled “Greater Yellowstone” dated April 10, 2023 (or, for Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks, on maps entitled “Yellowstone National Park Wilderness” and “Grand Teton National Park Wilderness” dated April 29, 2016)—as additions to existing wilderness areas and new components of the National Wilderness Preservation System. Additions total approximately 1.5 million acres, including (1) 307,069 acres to the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness; (2) 173,000 acres to the North Absaroka Wilderness; (3) 339,000 acres to the Washakie Wilderness; (4) 11,943 acres to the Fitzpatrick Wilderness; (5) 24,000 acres to the Teton Wilderness; (6) 134,761 acres to the Gros Ventre Wilderness; (7) 230,000 acres to the Bridger Wilderness; (8) 60,000 acres to the Popo Agie Wilderness; (9) 56,618 acres to the Jedediah Smith Wilderness; and (10) 191,001 acres to the Lee Metcalf Wilderness. New wilderness areas total approximately 2.3 million acres, including (1) the Yellowstone Wilderness (2,030,000 acres); (2) the Grand Teton Wilderness (123,000 acres); (3) the Snowcrest Wilderness (104,174 acres); (4) the Freezeout Mountain Wilderness (68,853 acres); and (5) the Lone Butte Wilderness (13,913 acres). (Wilderness areas are managed under the Wilderness Act of 1964 in their natural condition without roads, motorized access, or permanent structures.)

This section designates approximately 3.3 million acres of federal land within Idaho and Montana national forests (Boise, Bitterroot, Idaho Panhandle, Lolo, Nez Perce-Clearwater, Payette, Salmon-Challis, and Sawtooth) and BLM field offices, as identified on the map entitled “Greater Salmon Selway” dated April 10, 2023, as wilderness to protect the Greater Salmon/Selway ecosystem. The designations incorporate approximately 2.2 million acres into seven existing wilderness areas—(1) 746,149 acres into the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness; (2) 55,170 acres into the Gospel-Hump Wilderness; (3) 559,195 acres into the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness; (4) 547,811 acres into the Sawtooth Wilderness; (5) 124,873 acres into the Cecil D. Andrus-White Clouds Wilderness; (6) 76,836 acres into the Hemingway-Boulders Wilderness; and (7) 94,252 acres into the Jim McClure-Jerry Peak Wilderness—and establish 11 new wilderness areas totaling approximately 1.1 million acres in the Great Burn Wildlands Complex: Great Burn (Hoodoo) Wilderness (256,084 acres), Meadow Creek/Upper North Fork Wilderness (62,200 acres), Sheep Mountain/State Line Wilderness (65,563 acres), Mallard-Larkins Wilderness (258,972 acres), Bighorn-Weitas Wilderness (250,535 acres), Eldorado Creek Wilderness (7,000 acres), Moose Mountain Wilderness (22,023 acres), Fish and Hungery Creeks Wilderness (116,898 acres), Pot Mountain Wilderness (51,111 acres), Siwash Wilderness (9,992 acres), and Weir-Post Office Wilderness (22,075 acres).

This section designates federal lands within the Kootenai, Lolo, Idaho Panhandle, and Colville National Forests—totaling approximately 444,460 acres—as wilderness areas or additions to existing wilderness areas to protect the greater Cabinet-Yaak-Selkirk ecosystem (i.e., fragmented grizzly bear habitat in northern Idaho and Montana). (Wilderness areas, managed under the Wilderness Act of 1964, generally prohibit roads, structures, and motorized equipment to preserve natural conditions.) Specifically, the section (1) incorporates approximately 104,720 acres, identified on Map 1, into the Cabinet Mountains Wilderness; (2) incorporates approximately 43,587 acres, identified on Map 1, into the Salmo-Priest Wilderness; and (3) designates 21 new components of the National Wilderness Preservation System, identified on Map 1 or Map 2, including the Skyline Mountain Wilderness (14,675 acres, Kootenai National Forest), Roderick Wilderness (29,677 acres, Kootenai National Forest), Allen Peak Wilderness (30,000 acres, Kootenai National Forest), Cataract Peak Wilderness (34,888 acres, Kootenai and Lolo National Forests), and Cube Iron-Silcox Wilderness (37,621 acres, Kootenai and Lolo National Forests). (Thus, these lands are withdrawn from mining, timber harvest, and most commercial uses.)

This section designates approximately 860,000 acres of federal land in the Payette, Nez Perce-Clearwater, Wallowa-Whitman, and Umatilla National Forests and certain Bureau of Land Management (BLM) lands as wilderness (i.e., components of the National Wilderness Preservation System managed without roads, motorized equipment, or structures to preserve natural conditions) to protect the Greater Hells Canyon ecosystem, as depicted on specified maps dated April 10, 2023. Specifically, the section (1) incorporates 364,895 acres into the Hells Canyon Wilderness, including 152,942 acres in the Payette National Forest and Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests ("Hells Canyon Additions") and 211,953 acres in the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest ("Hells Canyon"); (2) adds 112,143 acres in the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest to the Eagle Cap Wilderness; (3) adds 12,478 acres in the Umatilla National Forest ("Upper Tucannon") to the Wenaha-Tucannon Wilderness; and (4) establishes 18 new wilderness areas totaling approximately 370,000 acres, including the Walla Walla River Wilderness (69,102 acres, Umatilla National Forest), Big and Little Sheep Creek Wilderness (41,124 acres, Wallowa-Whitman National Forest), Joseph Canyon Wilderness (40,468 acres, Wallowa-Whitman National Forest), Lake Fork Wilderness (32,607 acres, Wallowa-Whitman National Forest), and others ranging from 5,075 acres (Lick Creek Wilderness) to 24,680 acres (Cottonwood-Broady Creek Wilderness).

This section designates certain federal lands identified on four maps dated April 10, 2023, as additions to existing wilderness areas and as new components of the National Wilderness Preservation System. **(1) Additions to existing wilderness areas.** Approximately 145,319 acres in the Malheur, Umatilla, and Wallowa-Whitman National Forests are added to the North Fork John Day Wilderness (Map 1); 190,790 acres in the Bighorn National Forest and Worland Field Office of the Bureau of Land Management are added to the Cloud Peak Wilderness (Map 3); 6,740 acres in the Malheur National Forest are added to the Monument Rock Wilderness (Map 1); and 28,702 acres in the Caribou-Targhee National Forest are added to the Mount Naomi Wilderness (Map 4). **(2) New wilderness areas in the Kettle Mountains.** Within the Colville National Forest (Map 2), this section designates the Thirteen Mile Wilderness (14,259 acres), Bald Snow Wilderness (27,716 acres), Profanity Wilderness (35,538 acres), Huckleberry South Wilderness (16,774 acres), Cougar Mountain Wilderness (7,629 acres), Owl Mountain Wilderness (14,686 acres), Deer Creek Wilderness (9,316 acres), Jackknife Mountain Wilderness (9,564 acres), Paradise Wilderness (6,131 acres), Profanity East Wilderness (7,000 acres), and Hoodoo-Twin Sisters Wilderness (7,000 acres). **(3) New wilderness areas in the Bighorn Mountains.** Primarily within the Bighorn National Forest (Map 3), this section designates the Little Bighorn Wilderness (80,129 acres), Wolf Creek Wilderness (49,550 acres), Lodge Grass Wilderness (38,312 acres), Hideout Creek Wilderness (9,282 acres), Bear Rocks Wilderness (24,988 acres), and Horse Creek Mesa Wilderness (41,677 acres).

This section designates as wilderness certain federal lands depicted on the map entitled “Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act (2023)” within biological connecting corridors identified in section 202, including (1) approximately 194,009 acres in the Bitterroot and Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forests identified as “North Big Hole, Storm Lake, North Carpp, Upper East Fork, and Sapphire,” which are incorporated into the Anaconda-Pintler Wilderness; and (2) approximately 6,377 acres in the Helena National Forest identified as “Biglog-Holter,” which are incorporated into the Gates of the Mountain Wilderness. The section further establishes the following new components of the National Wilderness Preservation System: (A) Stony Mountain Wilderness (approximately 100,845 acres in the Bitterroot, Lolo, and Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forests); (B) Quigg Peak Wilderness (approximately 80,473 acres in the Lolo and Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forests and Missoula Field Office of the Bureau of Land Management); (C) Silver King Wilderness (approximately 51,380 acres in the Lolo and Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forests); (D) Emerine Wilderness (approximately 16,627 acres in the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest); (E) Sleeping Child Wilderness (approximately 21,433 acres in the Bitterroot National Forest); (F) Mount Bushnell Wilderness (approximately 41,798 acres in the Lolo National Forest); (G) Cherry Peak Wilderness (approximately 37,662 acres in the Lolo National Forest); (H) Patrick's Knob/North Cutoff Wilderness (approximately 16,970 acres in the Lolo National Forest); (I) South Siegel/South Cutoff Wilderness (approximately 13,474 acres in the Lolo National Forest); (J) North Siegel Wilderness (approximately 9,208 acres in the Lolo National Forest); (K) Reservation Divide Wilderness (approximately 19,908 acres in the Lolo National Forest); (L) Burdette Wilderness (approximately 16,018 acres in the Lolo National Forest); (M) Petty Mountain/Deep Creek Wilderness (approximately 23,847 acres in the Lolo National Forest); (N) Fleecer Wilderness (approximately 36,118 acres in the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest); (O) Highlands Wilderness (approximately 21,215 acres in the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest); (P) Basin Creek Wilderness (approximately 9,681 acres in the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest); (Q) Granulated Mountains Wilderness (approximately 15,180 acres in the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest); (R) Black Sage Wilderness (approximately 5,917 acres administered by the Butte Field Office of the Bureau of Land Management); (S) Ruby Range Wilderness (approximately 26,254 acres administered by the Dillon Field Office of the Bureau of Land Management); (T) Humbug Spires Wilderness (approximately

This section directs the Secretary concerned to administer wilderness areas designated by this title in accordance with the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.), subject to valid existing rights, with modifications deeming references in that Act to its effective date as the date of this Act's enactment, references to the Secretary of Agriculture as the Secretary concerned, and requiring coordination between the Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture (to the maximum extent practicable) for areas spanning their jurisdictions. The section further requires the Secretary concerned, as soon as practicable after enactment, to submit maps and legal descriptions of such areas to the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources and the House Committee on Natural Resources—which shall have the force of law (subject to correction of clerical and typographical errors)—and to make them available for public inspection in the offices of the Forest Service Chief, Bureau of Land Management Director, or National Park Service Director, as appropriate.

This section reserves, for lands designated as wilderness by this title, rights to a quantity of water sufficient to fulfill wilderness purposes, with a priority date of the date of enactment. It directs the Secretaries of Agriculture and the Interior, and other relevant U.S. officers, to protect those rights to the maximum extent practicable, including by filing claims for quantification in any appropriate state court stream adjudication occurring on or after enactment in Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Oregon, or Washington where the United States is joined pursuant to the McCarran Amendment (43 U.S.C. 666).

This section requires the Secretary concerned to accept donations of valid existing grazing permits or leases—or portions thereof—for public lands or National Forest System lands located within wilderness areas designated under this title, biological connecting corridors under title II, or recovery areas under title IV. Upon donation, the Secretary must terminate the permit or lease (or donated portion) and ensure a permanent end to grazing on the covered land, except for common allotments shared with non-donated permits, in which case the Secretary must reduce—and not exceed—the authorized grazing level to reflect the donation. For partial donations of less than the full authorized grazing use, the Secretary must reduce the authorized level accordingly and modify the permit or lease.

This section states congressional findings on the need for biological connecting corridors between core ecosystem areas in the Northern Rockies Bioregion to sustain viable populations of native wildlife, biological diversity, and ecological processes, including the roles of intervening wildland areas such as the Bitterroot, Sapphire, Lost River, Lemhi, and Bridger mountain ranges.

This section designates approximately 2,900,000 acres of Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management land in the Northern Rockies Bioregion, as generally depicted on the map entitled “Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act (2023)” and dated April 10, 2023, as biological connecting corridors linking the Greater Yellowstone, Greater Glacier/Northern Continental Divide, Greater Hells Canyon, Greater Salmon/Selway, and Greater Cabinet-Yaak-Selkirk ecosystems. Such corridors shall be subject to the special corridor management requirements under section 203.

This section designates portions of the biological connecting corridors specified in section 202 as special corridor management areas to be managed under the Multiple-Use Sustained-Yield Act of 1960 and other applicable laws subject to the following requirements: (1) prohibits even-aged silvicultural management and timber harvesting; (2) prohibits, subject to valid existing rights, mining, oil, and gas exploration and development and new road construction or reconstruction; and (3) requires the responsible federal land management agency to immediately reduce road densities, to the maximum extent practicable, to approach zero miles of road per square mile of land area, not to exceed 0.25 miles per square mile using the “moving window” method.

This section limits the applicability of this title to National Forest System lands and lands under Bureau of Land Management jurisdiction. The section specifies that no private land is affected, no adjacent private landowner may be compelled to comply under any circumstances, and private landowners may voluntarily enter cooperative agreements with the federal government as willing participants or sellers to include their land in designated biological connecting corridors.

This section directs the Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture to (1) seek cooperative agreements with private, state, corporate, and sovereign Indian Tribe landowners adjacent to public lands in biological connecting corridors designated under this title, if such agreements benefit corridor ecological integrity and function; (2) undertake land trades or acquisitions to carry out this title's purposes, if deemed appropriate and in compliance with applicable law; and (3) describe progress on these activities in the report required by section 501.

This section exempts from this title specified roads and highways in Idaho and Montana, including U.S. Highways 2, 10, 12, 20, 89, 91, 93, 95, and 287; Interstate Highways 15 and 90; Idaho State Highways 3, 28, 29, and 87; Montana State Highways 2, 37, 38, 41, 43, 56, 58, 83, 87, 135, 200, 278, 287, 293, 294, 298, and 324; Montana Secondary Roads 92, 278, 279, 294, 298, 324, 411, and 508; and certain other named county and national forest roads (e.g., Thompson Pass Road, Lolo National Forest Route 102). It further authorizes the Secretary concerned to exempt any Federal, State, county, or private road mistakenly omitted from that list if the exemption is necessary to carry out the purposes of this title.

This section designates 23 river segments in Idaho—totaling approximately 760 miles where specified—as components of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, adding new paragraphs (233) through (255) to 16 U.S.C. 1274(a). The segments lie primarily within national forests (including the Boise, Sawtooth, Panhandle, Nez Perce-Clearwater, Caribou-Targhee, and Payette National Forests and the Sawtooth National Recreation Area) and are to be administered by the Secretary of Agriculture, except for the approximately 45-mile segment of the Salmon River on public lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management to be administered by the Secretary of the Interior. (As background, the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System preserves designated rivers in a free-flowing condition, protects water quality, and safeguards outstanding remarkable natural, cultural, and recreational values, generally prohibiting dam construction or other impairing development.)

This section defines key terms for purposes of this title, including (1) "recovery," meaning the restoration of the natural, untrammeled condition or undeveloped, roadless character of land damaged by a land management activity; (2) "recovery area," meaning any area designated as a wildland recovery area under section 402(a); and (3) "Secretary," meaning the Secretary of Agriculture.

This section designates nine specified areas totaling approximately 1,023,000 acres in various national forests, as depicted on the map entitled “Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act (2023)” dated April 10, 2023, as wildland recovery areas: (1) Skyland area (10,000 acres, Flathead National Forest); (2) Hungry Horse area, except the dam and reservoir (205,000 acres, Flathead National Forest); (3) Lolo Creek area (59,000 acres, Lolo or Clearwater National Forest); (4) Yellowstone West area (164,000 acres, Caribou-Targhee National Forest); (5) Mt. Leidy area (70,000 acres, Bridger-Teton National Forest); (6) Cabinet/Yaak area (100,000 acres, Kootenai National Forest); (7) Lightning Creek area (31,000 acres, Idaho Panhandle National Forests); (8) Coeur d'Alene River area (372,000 acres, Idaho Panhandle National Forests); and (9) Magruder Corridor area (12,000 acres, Nez Perce-Clearwater or Bitterroot National Forest). The section exempts from this title private roads; federally, state, or locally owned roads (including National Forest System roads) used to access existing authorized uses; and facilities (e.g., developed campgrounds or ranger stations) deemed essential by the Chief of the Forest Service. Notwithstanding those exemptions and in accordance with plans developed under section 403, the section requires the Secretary to recover and restore the portion of the Magruder Corridor between Magruder Crossing and Dry Saddle and authorizes recovery and restoration of any other National Forest System road or Forest Service facility in a recovery area.

This section establishes management requirements for land within a recovery area to restore native vegetative cover, reduce or eliminate invasive nonnative species, facilitate native species diversity (subject to climate change conditions), stabilize slopes and soils, recontour slopes to original contours, remove barriers to fish spawning runs, and restore a natural roadless and wild condition, with special consideration for water quality restoration. It directs the Secretary to develop a wildland recovery plan for each recovery area not later than three years after enactment of this Act, including descriptions of required projects, activities, and funding. The section further requires the Secretary to evaluate recovery actions using measurable criteria.

This section directs the Secretaries concerned to jointly submit to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate and the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives, not later than 3 years after the date of enactment of this Act, a report prepared by a panel of independent scientists appointed by the National Academy of Sciences (in consultation with the Society for Conservation Biology) that (1) describes the implementation of this Act during the preceding 3-year period; and (2) identifies any additional projects, activities, and funding required to achieve the purposes of this Act.

This section establishes an interagency team, with equal participants from public and private sectors appointed by the Secretaries concerned, to monitor, evaluate, and recommend actions ensuring achievement of the Act's long-term results for the Northern Rockies Bioregion. The team must (1) develop a satellite-based geographic information system (GIS) with periodically updated maps and databases tracking vegetation cover (including species occurrence and densities), human impacts, water and air quality, and activities affecting forest husbandry and restoration, including status reports on ecosystem protection, corridor consolidation, forest recovery, and threatened and endangered species as indicators of ecosystem health; and (2) assess facilitation of wildlife movements across or under major highways and rail lines in title II biological corridors, identifying major crossing points and practicable actions such as underpasses and overpasses to reduce wildlife risks.

This section defines roadless land as National Forest System land greater than 1,000 acres in the Wild Rockies Bioregion in Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, or Wyoming that is not designated wilderness. It directs the panel of independent scientists established under section 501 to identify and evaluate such roadless land—using existing satellite and geographic information system data from the Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service—study its role in Northern Rockies biological diversity and the National Forest System, and include management recommendations in the panel's report. Effective upon completion of the evaluation, it prohibits on roadless land (1) road construction or reconstruction, (2) timber harvesting except for firewood gathering, and (3) subject to valid existing rights, oil or gas leasing, mining, or other development impairing natural or roadless qualities.

This section establishes a new exemption from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. §552) for any information received by a federal agency relating to a sacred site or cultural activity that an Indian tribe has identified as confidential.

This section establishes a definition of "protected area" to include land designated under this Act as a wilderness area, recovery area, wild or scenic river, or biological corridor. It requires the Secretaries concerned to ensure nonexclusive access by Indians to such areas for traditional cultural or religious purposes—consistent with the American Indian Religious Freedom Act (42 U.S.C. 1996), which protects American Indians', Eskimos', Aleuts', and Native Hawaiians' rights to practice traditional religions including site access, and the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.) for wilderness areas. It further authorizes temporary closures of specific portions to the general public upon request from an Indian tribe to protect privacy during religious or cultural activities and directs the Secretaries to solicit recommendations from applicable tribal governments when preparing management plans on ensuring access to important sites, enhancing privacy, and protecting cultural and religious sites.

This section preserves all water rights reserved, appropriated, or otherwise secured by the United States in Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, or Wyoming on or before the date of enactment of this Act.