[Senate Report 118-156]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 308
118th Congress } { Report
SENATE
2d Session } { 118-156
======================================================================
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.