[Senate Report 118-156]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                                                       Calendar No. 308
                                                       
118th Congress }                                               {   Report
                                 SENATE
 2d Session    }                                                { 118-156

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                   MONTANA SPORTSMEN CONSERVATION ACT

                                _______
                                

                January 9, 2024.--Ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

         Mr. Manchin, from the Committee on Energy and Natural 
                   Resources, submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                         [To accompany S. 2216]

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 
referred the bill (S. 2216) to release from wilderness study 
area designation certain land in the State of Montana, to 
improve the management of that land, and for other purposes, 
having considered the same, reports favorably thereon with an 
amendment and recommends that the bill, as amended, do pass.

                               AMENDMENT

    Beginning on page 1, strike line 6 and all that follows 
through page 6, line 11, and insert the following:

SEC. 2. RELEASE AND IMPROVED MANAGEMENT OF LAND COMPRISING CERTAIN 
                    WILDERNESS STUDY AREAS.

                                PURPOSE

    The purpose of S. 2216 is to release the 81,000-acre Middle 
Fork Judith Wilderness Study Area, the 11,380-acre Hoodoo 
Mountain Wilderness Study Area, and the 11,580-acre Wales Creek 
Wilderness Study Area from designation as a wilderness study 
area, returning those lands to management under applicable land 
management plans.

                          BACKGROUND AND NEED

    In 1977, the Montana Wilderness Study Act (Public Law 95-
150) directed the Forest Service to evaluate the suitability of 
nine Wilderness Study Areas in Montana totaling 973,000 acres 
for potential inclusion in the National Wilderness Preservation 
System. The Act directed the Forest Service to administer the 
areas ``so as to maintain their presently existing wilderness 
character and potential for inclusion in the National 
Wilderness Preservation System'' until Congress determines 
otherwise.
    When the Forest Service completed the required evaluation 
in 1986, the 81,000-acre Middle Fork Judith Wilderness Study 
Area was not recommended for wilderness designation. Similarly, 
the Forest Service's 2021 land management plan for the Helena-
Lewis and Clark National Forest did not recommend wilderness 
designation for the Middle Fork Judith Wilderness Study Area. 
The 2021 land management plan noted that the area would be 
administered as an Inventoried Roadless Area if Congress 
released the area from Wilderness Study status.
    Section 603(c) of the Federal Land Policy and Management 
Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1782(c)) directs the Bureau of Land 
Management (BLM) to evaluate the suitability of lands 
identified of potential inclusion in the National Wilderness 
Preservation System. Section 603(c) provides that ``until 
Congress has determined otherwise, the Secretary [of the 
Interior] shall continue to manage such lands according to [his 
or her] authority under this Act and other applicable law in a 
manner so as not to impair the suitability of such areas for 
preservation as wilderness . . .''
    When the study of Montana wilderness study areas was 
completed in 1991, the BLM did not recommend wilderness 
designations for the 11,380-acre Hoodoo Mountain Wilderness 
Study Area or the 11,580-acre Wales Creek Wilderness Study 
Area.
    S. 2216 would release these three wilderness study areas 
from wilderness study status and instead require that the lands 
be managed in accordance with the applicable land and resource 
management plans.

                          LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

    S. 2216 was introduced by Senator Daines on July 10, 2023. 
The Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests, and Mining held a 
hearing on S. 2216 on July 12, 2023. In the 117th Congress, 
Senator Daines introduced similar legislation, S. 4470, on June 
23, 2022.

                          COMMITTEE AMENDMENT

    During its consideration of S. 2216, the Committee adopted 
an amendment that deletes the Congressional findings.

                        COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

    The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in 
open business session on September 21, 2023, by a majority 
voice vote of a quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass 
S. 2216, as amended as described herein.

                      SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Section 1. Short title

    Section 1 provides the short title, the ``Montana Sportsmen 
Conservation Act.''

Section 2. Release and improved management of land comprising certain 
        wilderness study areas

    Subsection (a) releases 81,000 acres of land comprising the 
Middle Fork Judith Wilderness Study Area from designation as a 
wilderness study area and provides that the area is to be 
managed in accordance with applicable land management plans.
    Subsection (b) release 11,380 acres of land comprising the 
Hoodoo Mountain Wilderness Study Area and the 11,580 acres of 
land comprising the Wales Creek Wilderness Study Area from 
designation as a wilderness study area and provides that the 
areas are to be managed in accordance with applicable land 
management plans.

                   COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

    The Committee has requested, but has not yet received, the 
Congressional Budget Office's estimate of the cost of S. 2216 
as ordered reported. When the Congressional Budget Office 
completes its cost estimate, it will be posted on the Internet 
at www.cbo.gov.

                      REGULATORY IMPACT EVALUATION

    In compliance with paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee makes the following 
evaluation of the regulatory impact which would be incurred in 
carrying out S. 2216. The bill is not a regulatory measure in 
the sense of imposing Government-established standards or 
significant economic responsibilities on private individuals 
and businesses. No personal information would be collected in 
administering the program. Therefore, there would be no impact 
on personal privacy. Little, if any, additional paperwork would 
result from the enactment of S. 2216, as ordered reported.

                   CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING

    S. 2216, as ordered reported, does not contain any 
congressionally directed spending items, limited tax benefits, 
or limited tariff benefits as defined in rule XLIV of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate.

                        EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS

    The testimony provided by the Bureau of Land Management and 
the Forest Service on S. 2216 at the Subcommittee on Public 
Lands, Forests, and Mining July 12, 2023, hearing follows:

     Statement of Thomas Heinlein, Assistant Director for National 
Conservation Lands & Community Partnerships, Bureau of Land Management, 
                    U.S. Department of the Interior


              s. 2216, montana sportsmen conservation act


    S. 2216 would release over 103,000 acres of public lands 
managed by the BLM and the USFS from designation as WSAs. Under 
the bill, 22,960 acres of BLM-managed WSAs would be released 
from management under Section 603 of the FLPMA, and 81,000 
acres of lands managed by the U.S. Forest Service would be 
released from management under section 3(a) of the Montana 
Wilderness Study Act of 1977. Each of these laws require the 
respective agencies to maintain the existing wilderness 
characteristics of the lands and their potential for inclusion 
in the National Wilderness Preservation System.
    Wilderness and WSAs are an essential component of 
conservation. The Biden Administration recognizes wilderness is 
a fundamentally important part of the American landscape for 
cultural, economic, and scientific values and for the beauty, 
majesty, and solitude it provides. Wilderness and WSAs generate 
significant economic benefits to local communities by providing 
recreational opportunities while simultaneously supporting 
community and ecosystem health and biodiversity.
Analysis
    FLPMA provides a clear statement on the retention and 
management of lands administered by the BLM. Section 603 of 
FLPMA provides direction under which the BLM became a full 
partner in the National Wilderness Preservation System 
established by the Wilderness Act of 1964. The first step of 
the Section 603 process--to identify areas with wilderness 
characteristics--was completed in 1980. The BLM identified over 
800 WSAs encompassing more than 26 million acres of BLM-managed 
lands. The second step of the process, begun in 1980 and 
concluded in 1991, was to study each of the WSAs and make a 
recommendation to the President on their suitability or non-
suitability for preservation as wilderness. The President was 
then directed to send wilderness recommendations to Congress 
within two years of receiving the Secretary of the Interior's 
recommendation.
    The President's 1992 and 1993 wilderness recommendations to 
Congress are now 30 years old, and the on-the-ground analysis 
of their wilderness suitability is as much as 40 years old. 
During that time, resource conditions have changed, and our 
understanding of natural resources has improved. Today, WSAs 
maintain the apparent naturalness, outstanding opportunities 
for solitude or primitive recreation, and supplemental 
features, the wilderness characteristics for which they were 
originally designated, and are managed so as not to impair 
their suitability for designation as wilderness. While the 
Hoodoo Mountain and Wales Creek WSAs were not recommended for 
wilderness designation in 1991, suitability recommendations 
made today may be different.
    The BLM manages the Wales Creek and the Hoodoo Mountain 
Wilderness Study Areas under the authority of Section 603 of 
FLPMA to ensure non-impairment of their wilderness character. 
The Hoodoo Mountain WSA is composed of forested areas 
interspersed with open grassland parks, rock outcrops, and wet 
meadows. The area provides habitat for a variety of wildlife, 
including elk, moose, deer, black bear, porcupine, grouse, pine 
martin, fisher, wolverine, and mountain lion. The Wales Creek 
WSA encompasses streams providing habitat for cutthroat trout 
and forest with stands of spruce, lodgepole pine, Douglas fir, 
and sub-alpine providing habitat for moose, elk, deer, beaver, 
black bear, and mountain lion. Both WSAs currently provide 
abundant recreational opportunities include hunting, hiking, 
and camping.
    The BLM cannot support release of these WSAs without 
further evaluation given their integral role in supporting fish 
and wildlife, providing ecosystem services, and enabling the 
public to experience their naturalness and enjoy opportunities 
for solitude and unconfined recreation. The BLM defers to the 
USFS regarding the bill's provisions affecting the management 
of lands under their jurisdiction.
                              ----------                              --
--------


 Testimony of Chris French, Deputy Chief, United States Department of 
                              Agriculture


            s. 2216, ``montana sportsmen conservation act''


    The Montana Sportsmen Conservation Act would release three 
Wilderness Study Areas (WSAs) located in Montana to general 
federal land management. Two WSAs are located on federal lands 
managed by the BLM. The Forest Service comments focus on the 
third WSA that is the subject of this bill, known as the Middle 
Fork of the Judith Wilderness Study Area, located on the 
Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest in the Northern Region 
of the Forest Service in central Montana. The Act proposes to 
release all 81,000 acres which were originally identified as a 
WSA per the Montana Wilderness Study Act of 1977.
    The Forest Service released a Final Environmental Impact 
Statement (FEIS) and study of the Big Snowies and Middle Fork 
Judith WSAs in 1982 in accordance with the Montana Wilderness 
Study Act, which required that these areas be monitored to 
ensure the WSAs' potential for inclusion in the National 
Wilderness Preservation System was retained. At that time, the 
Forest Service recommended the Middle Fork of the Judith WSA to 
be managed as non-wilderness primarily due to the presence of 
14 miles of primitive roads as well as 36 miles of low-standard 
road, with motorized and mechanized use having predated the 
1977 Montana Wilderness Study Act. Land Management plans for 
the then Lewis & Clark National Forest and later the Helena-
Lewis and Clark National Forests maintained the posture of the 
1982 FEIS, including in the most recent plan signed in 2021.
    USDA would like to better understand the purpose and need 
for the legislation from the bill's sponsor and the Committee. 
USDA further recommends caution anytime that Congress is 
considering releasing WSAs as they are a critical component of 
the nation's public lands conservation legacy. WSAs located on 
Forest Service land play a key role in carrying out the 
agency's multiple-use mandate and provide important 
opportunities for solitude, scientific discovery, quiet 
recreation, hunting and fishing, retention of biodiversity, and 
a host of other values the American people hold dear.

                        CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

    In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee notes that no 
changes in existing law are made by S. 2216 as ordered 
reported.