I 
119TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 6788 
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. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
DECEMBER 17, 2025 
Mr. DOWNING introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Natural Resources 
A BILL 
To release from wilderness study area designation certain 
land in the State of Montana, to improve the manage-
ment of that land, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Montana Sportsmen 
Conservation Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds that— 
(1) under the Montana Wilderness Study Act of 
1977 (Public Law 95–150; 91 Stat. 1243), 9 wilder-
ness study areas comprising a total of 973,000 acres 
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of land in the State of Montana were set aside for 
the Secretary of Agriculture to evaluate the suit-
ability of the wilderness study areas for designation 
as wilderness, in accordance with the Wilderness Act 
(16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.), with the evaluation to be 
completed not later than 5 years after the date of 
enactment of the Montana Wilderness Study Act of 
1977 (Public Law 95–150; 91 Stat. 1243); 
(2) between 1979 and 1986, the Chief of the 
Forest Service— 
(A) completed the studies of the 9 wilder-
ness study areas referred to in paragraph (1); 
and 
(B) based on those studies, determined 
that 608,700 acres of the original 973,000 
acres designated as wilderness study areas by 
the Montana Wilderness Study Act of 1977 
(Public Law 95–150; 91 Stat. 1243) were un-
suitable for inclusion in the National Wilder-
ness Preservation System, including the 81,000 
acres within the Middle Fork Judith Wilderness 
Study Area; 
(3) in 2021, following a 6-year collaborative 
process, the Forest Service again determined, in the 
revision of the Helena Lewis and Clark National 
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Forest plan, that the Middle Fork Judith Wilderness 
Study Area is unsuitable for inclusion in the Na-
tional Wilderness Preservation System; 
(4) under the Federal Land Policy and Man-
agement Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.), 38 
wilderness study areas comprising a total of 447,327 
acres of land in the State of Montana were set aside 
by the Bureau of Land Management to evaluate the 
suitability of the wilderness study areas for designa-
tion as wilderness, with the evaluation to be com-
pleted not later than 15 years after the date of en-
actment of that Act; 
(5) in 1991, the Director of the Bureau of 
Land Management submitted to the President a rec-
ommendation on the suitability for designation of 
the areas described in paragraph (4), which was sub-
sequently submitted to Congress, under which the 
Director of the Bureau of Land Management deter-
mined that 273,828 acres in the State of Montana 
designated as wilderness study areas by the Federal 
Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 
U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) were unsuitable for wilderness 
designation, including— 
(A) the 11,380 acres of land within the 
Hoodoo Mountain Wilderness Study Area; and 
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(B) the 11,580 acres of land within the 
Wales Creek Wilderness Study Area; 
(6) in 2020, following a 5-year collaborative 
process, the Bureau of Land Management, in the re-
vision of the Missoula Resource Management Plan— 
(A) reaffirmed that the Hoodoo Mountain 
Wilderness Study Area and the Wales Creek 
Wilderness Study Area were unsuitable for wil-
derness designation; and 
(B) recommended alternative management 
parameters for the Hoodoo Mountain Wilder-
ness Study Area and the Wales Creek Wilder-
ness Study Area; 
(7) despite the recommendations of the Forest 
Service and the Bureau of Land Management, after 
the completion of the studies for suitability of the 
land in the State of Montana designated as wilder-
ness study areas under the Montana Wilderness 
Study Act of 1977 (Public Law 95–150; 91 Stat. 
1243) and the Federal Land Policy and Manage-
ment Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.)— 
(A) over 1,100,000 acres of public land in 
the State of Montana remain as wilderness 
study areas until Congress acts; and 
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(B) over 700,000 acres of public land in 
the State of Montana currently designated as 
wilderness study areas have been determined 
unsuitable for wilderness management; 
(8) if the wilderness study area designation was 
removed from each of the Middle Fork Judith Wil-
derness Study Area, the Hoodoo Mountain Wilder-
ness Study Area, and the Wales Creek Wilderness 
Study Area, land managers would be able to better 
conserve and manage the areas in accordance with 
applicable land and resource management plans that 
retain certain protections for the areas, while pro-
viding for— 
(A) enhanced sportsmen opportunities in 
the backcountry of Montana; 
(B) improved public access; and 
(C) the conduct of wildlife habitat and 
wildfire mitigation projects; 
(9) the applicable land and resource manage-
ment plans referred to in paragraph (8) were devel-
oped through a multi-year, collaborative process sup-
ported by— 
(A) resource needs and conditions; and 
(B) the best available science; and 
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(10) following release, the respective land man-
agement agencies shall continue managing the areas 
described in paragraph (8)— 
(A) in accordance with applicable environ-
mental and administrative laws; and 
(B) based on local input, multiple-use and 
sustained yield principles, and land manage-
ment objectives. 
SEC. 3. RELEASE AND IMPROVED MANAGEMENT OF LAND 
COMPRISING CERTAIN WILDERNESS STUDY 
AREAS. 
(a) MIDDLE FORK JUDITH WILDERNESS STUDY 
AREA.—The approximately 81,000 acres of land com-
prising the Middle Fork Judith Wilderness Study Area— 
(1) shall no longer be subject to section 3(a) of 
the Montana Wilderness Study Act of 1977 (Public 
Law 95–150; 91 Stat. 1244); and 
(2) shall be managed in accordance with the ap-
plicable land and resource management plan most 
recently adopted under section 6 of the Forest and 
Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 
1974 (16 U.S.C. 1604). 
(b) HOODOO MOUNTAIN WILDERNESS STUDY AREA 
AND WALES CREEK WILDERNESS STUDY AREA.—The ap-
proximately 11,380 acres of land comprising the Hoodoo 
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Mountain Wilderness Study Area and the approximately 
11,580 acres of land comprising the Wales Creek Wilder-
ness Study Area— 
(1) shall no longer be subject to section 603(c) 
of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 
1976 (43 U.S.C. 1782(c)); and 
(2) shall be managed in accordance with the ap-
plicable land management plans adopted under sec-
tion 202 of that Act (43 U.S.C. 1712). 
Æ 
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