Summary#
This bill designates specific federal lands in Wyoming as wilderness, creates conservation and recreation areas, and sets rules for how those lands will be managed.
Key actions in the bill:
- Designates five wilderness areas with listed acreages: Encampment River Canyon (approx. 4,523.84 acres), Prospect Mountain (approx. 1,099.76 acres), Upper Sweetwater Canyon (approx. 2,877.35 acres), Lower Sweetwater Canyon (approx. 5,665.19 acres), and Bobcat Draw (approx. 6,246.84 acres). Some small parcels and narrow strips near roads are excluded from those wilderness boundaries.
- Releases the remainder of many named wilderness study areas from further wilderness study and directs that released lands be managed under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act and other applicable law.
- Establishes the Dubois Badlands National Conservation Area (approx. 4,446.46 acres) and the Dubois Motorized Recreation Area (approx. 367.72 acres).
- Establishes multiple Special Management Areas (including Bennett Mountains, Black Cat, Sweetwater Rocks, Fortification Creek, Fraker Mountain, North Fork, and Cedar Mountain) with stated acreages and management directions.
- Sets management rules and requirements, including fire management planning, travel management plans, limits on new permanent roads, rules on motorized vehicle use (generally limited to existing or designated routes except for certain administrative or emergency uses), grazing administered under existing authorities, and specific leasing or withdrawal rules for minerals and renewable energy in some areas.
- Requires some studies and reports (for motorized recreation potential in several counties) and creates a local implementation team for Fremont County to assist with implementation.
What it means for you#
- If you visit these areas: Some places will be managed as wilderness, where nature and nonmotorized recreation are prioritized. Other areas are set aside for motorized recreation or special management with specific rules.
- If you use motorized trails: The bill creates a named motorized recreation area and directs travel management plans that will identify which roads and trails are open for motorized or mechanized use and which are for nonmotorized use.
- If you graze livestock: Grazing that existed before enactment is to continue under the Wilderness Act and applicable grazing laws; grazing in special management areas is to be administered under existing Bureau rules.
- If you work in energy or mining: Many areas are withdrawn from new mining or leasing, but the bill allows limited oil and gas leasing in some released or special areas only if accessed by directional drilling from outside the area and if leases prohibit surface occupancy or disturbance. The bill prohibits new wind or solar leases in at least one released area.
- If you are a local official: The bill requires coordination (for example, a Fremont County Implementation Team) and calls for public input and collaboration on certain studies.
Expenses#
No publicly available information on the overall costs or budgetary effects of the bill. The bill directs agency actions (plans, studies, transfers) and notes that certain transfers would be subject to appropriation, but it does not include cost estimates or specific funding levels.
Proponents' View#
The bill states purposes on the record: to conserve, protect, and enhance ecological, wildlife, recreational, scenic, cultural, historical, and natural resources; to provide areas for motorized recreation where designated; and to establish management rules to protect those values. Supporters can point to the bill text describing those goals and the specific land designations and management measures.
Opponents' View#
No publicly available information on opponents' views in the bill text or related metadata.