H.R. 10529 — A River Runs Through It Act

This section designates six restoration areas on Federal land in the State, subject to valid existing rights: the Ogden Mountain Restoration Area (42,764 acres), the Lincoln Gulch Restoration Area (26,495 acres), the Marsh Creek Restoration Area (32,256 acres), the Coopers Lake Restoration Area (20,481 acres), the Seeley Lake Restoration Area (37,541 acres), and the Clearwater Restoration Area (24,096 acres).

This section establishes ten purposes for restoration areas on National Forest System land, including restoring fire-resilient forest structures, reducing uncharacteristic wildfire threats, protecting aquatic and wildlife habitat, and maintaining ecosystem services such as carbon sequestration. It directs the Secretary to prioritize restoration activities, use prescribed fire where practicable, limit permanent roads to areas already allowed, restrict temporary roads to vegetation projects and require their closure and decommissioning within three years, assess and decommission unneeded existing roads, and permit continuation of pre-existing livestock grazing.

This section designates the Hoodoo Mountain Backcountry Area, comprising approximately 17,083 acres of Bureau of Land Management land, and the Wales Creek Backcountry Area, comprising approximately 13,667 acres of Bureau of Land Management land, both subject to valid existing rights. It defines the Secretary of the Interior as the relevant Secretary for this and the following section.

This section establishes seven purposes for backcountry areas, including protecting wildlife habitat and migration corridors, restoring fire-resilient forest structures, and providing wildlife-dependent recreation. It directs the Secretary to manage the areas consistent with those purposes, the 2021 Missoula Field Office Resource Management Plan, and other applicable law, while making restoration activities a management priority. It withdraws federal land in the areas from all forms of mineral entry, appropriation, and leasing, subject to valid existing rights. It also releases the Hoodoo Mountain and Wales Creek Wilderness Study Areas from further wilderness study requirements under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act.

This section designates four recreation areas in the State totaling 45,647 acres: Bartlett Creek (6,619 acres), Sandbar Creek (4,012 acres), Lodgepole Creek (24,058 acres), and Rice Ridge (10,958 acres). It directs the Secretary to manage them to conserve scenic, wildlife, cultural, and natural resources while enhancing recreational opportunities, including new motor vehicle trails in Bartlett and Sandbar areas and mountain bike trails in Lodgepole and Rice Ridge areas; requires a comprehensive management plan within 3 years after consultation with State, Tribal, and local entities and the public; limits motorized and over-snow vehicle use to designated routes and seasonal restrictions; incorporates acquired land; and withdraws the areas from entry, mining, and mineral leasing.

This section designates the Copper Bowls Winter Recreation Area (5,182 acres) and the North/Elsina Bowls Winter Recreation Area (6,932 acres) on Federal land in the State. It directs the Secretary to manage the areas to conserve scenic, fish and wildlife, recreational, and cultural resources, allows over-snow vehicle use during adequate snow coverage consistent with the Lincoln Ranger District and Seeley Lake Ranger District maps, and requires enforcement to prevent resource degradation and intrusion into adjacent wilderness areas.

This section directs the Secretary to designate, within 2 years of enactment, an over-snow vehicle connector trail corridor up to 200 feet wide linking the North/Elsina winter recreation area to the eastern boundary of the Mission Mountains Wilderness Additions. It requires management to conserve scenic, wildlife, recreational, and cultural resources while maintaining wilderness character; prohibits commercial timber harvest and most motorized vehicles; allows over-snow vehicles narrower than 60 inches only during adequate snow cover; and withdraws the corridor from mining, mineral leasing, and disposal under public land laws.

This section authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Forest Service, to construct motorized recreational trails and nonmotorized recreational trails (including for mountain bicycling) as generally depicted on the Map, subject to appropriations and compliance with National Forest System laws. It permits trail modifications as needed, accepts volunteer services and nonfederal contributions to reduce costs, directs prompt consideration of collaboratively developed proposals for additional motorized and nonmotorized trails and infrastructure if submitted within 5 years of enactment, and requires completion of required analysis within 3 years of proposal receipt. It also provides that establishment of three new motorized connecting trails does not affect trail density calculations on the Lincoln Ranger District under the applicable Endangered Species Act biological opinion.

This section directs the Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of the Interior, to assess within 18 months of enactment whether the shooting ranges identified in section 123 of the EXPLORE Act (Public Law 118–234) include sites reasonably accessible from Lincoln, Montana.

This section designates approximately 130,415 acres of federal land administered by the Forest Service in Montana as wilderness areas and components of the National Wilderness Preservation System. It adds 48,930 acres to the Scapegoat Wilderness, 49,736 acres to the Bob Marshall Wilderness, and 2,878 acres to the Mission Mountains Wilderness, and establishes the new 28,871-acre Nevada Mountain Wilderness.

This section directs the Secretary to administer designated wilderness areas under the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.), substituting the date of enactment for the Act’s effective date. It permits continued livestock grazing and maintenance of pre-existing facilities, authorizes measures to control fire, insects, and diseases (including coordination with state or local agencies), and prohibits buffer zones or restrictions on non-wilderness activities outside the boundaries.

This section designates the Continental Divide Conservation Management Area (31,653 acres) and the Stonewall Conservation Management Area (13,089 acres) on Forest Service land in the State. It requires management to conserve recreational, scenic, historical, cultural, fish, wildlife, roadless, and ecological values; limits motorized vehicles to existing roads and trails; permits existing grazing and vegetation management under specified conditions; prohibits new roads; withdraws the areas from mineral entry and leasing; incorporates acquired land under the Weeks Law; and directs Tribal consultation on cultural interpretation and place names. It also expands the Rocky Mountain Front Conservation Management Area by 18,126 acres.

This section directs the Secretary to prepare maps and legal descriptions of the restoration areas, recreation areas, winter recreation areas, shooting ranges, conservation management areas, the addition to the Rocky Mountain Front Conservation Management Area, and wilderness areas designated by the Act. The maps have the force of law, subject only to typographical corrections by the Secretary, and must be available for public inspection in the appropriate Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management offices.

This section protects private property rights by ensuring that nothing in the Act affects ownership, management, or other rights relating to non-Federal land; requires any private property owner to allow public access to private property; or modifies Federal, State, or local laws on public access to or use of private land.