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Read. Follow. Verify.Montana Legislature petitions Congress to release federal wilderness study areas and roadless lands for multiple-use management
Last action · May 23, 2025: (S) Died in ProcessSponsor: Tony Tezak
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What This Bill Proposed
The Montana Legislature petitions the United States Congress to enact legislation releasing all s, Bureau of Land Management wilderness study areas, and s in Montana from consideration for the National Wilderness Preservation System. The resolution urges the implementation of scientific adaptive management and s, and asks federal departments to evaluate watershed impacts.
The resolution registers formal state opposition to federal land designations that remain in legal limbo, affecting millions of acres of public lands across Montana and directly influencing federal land access for timber harvesting, agriculture, and local communities.
- The Montana Wilderness Study Act of 1977 directed the federal government to review specific public land tracts in Montana for potential inclusion in the National Wilderness Preservation System. context
- Wilderness study areas are managed under restrictive federal guidelines to preserve their wilderness character until Congress acts to either designate them as official wilderness or release them for other land uses. context
Who It Would Have Affected
Groups the bill's text would have affected, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Montana citizens
Citizens' access to public lands for multiple uses and economic activities is directly impacted by the legal status of wilderness study and roadless areas.
Agriculture and timber sectors
Industries reliant on multiple-use public land access experience direct operational and economic changes depending on whether wilderness study restrictions are lifted.
Downstream water rights holders
Watershed management and water flow volumes tied to federal land decisions directly impact downstream water rights holders.
Key Facts
- Almost 663,000 acres in Montana are designated under the Montana Wilderness Study Act of 1977, including areas such as the West Pioneer, Blue Joint, Sapphire, Ten Lakes, Middle Fork Judith, Big Snowies, and Hyalite-Porcupine-Buffalo Horn Wilderness Study Areas.
- Thirty-seven Bureau of Land Management wilderness study areas are designated under a 2000 Secretary of the Interior order, encompassing sites such as Antelope Creek, Axolotl Lakes, Beaver Meadows, and Terry Badlands.
- The U.S. Forest Service has designated areas in Montana as inventoried roadless areas, such as Garfield Mountain and Italian Peaks, adding more than 60,000 acres of defacto wilderness.
- The 5-year review period mandated by the Montana Wilderness Study Act of 1977 expired in 1982 without formal wilderness recommendation or presidential designation.
Show all 7 facts
- The resolution petitions Congress to enact legislation releasing all wilderness study areas and inventoried roadless areas to secure the rights of Montana citizens to use public lands for multiple purposes.
- The resolution urges the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior to immediately evaluate the land management alternatives' impacts on watersheds and downstream water rights holders.
- The Secretary of State is directed to send copies of the resolution to the Governor, the Montana Congressional Delegation, the U.S. Secretary of the Interior, the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, the Chief of the Forest Service, and the Director of the Bureau of Land Management.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the main goal of Senate Joint Resolution 14?
How many acres of land are designated under the Montana Wilderness Study Act?
Who receives copies of this resolution once passed?
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
This resolution did not become law - Died in committee.
Procedural history
16 actions- May 23, 2025Senate(S) Died in Process
- Apr 7, 2025Senate(S) Missed Deadline for Revenue Bill Transmittal
- Apr 1, 2025SenateCommittee(S) Tabled in Committee
- Apr 1, 2025Senate(S) Hearing
- Mar 12, 2025Senate(S) Hearing
- Feb 21, 2025SenateCommittee(S) Referred to Committee
Show 10 earlier actions
- Feb 19, 2025Senate(S) 1st Reading
- Feb 18, 2025SenateIntroduced(S) Introduced
- Feb 17, 2025House(LC) Draft Delivered to Requester
- Jan 31, 2025House(LC) Draft Ready for Delivery
- Jan 31, 2025House(LC) Draft in Assembly
- Jan 30, 2025House(LC) Draft in Final Drafter Review
- Jan 29, 2025House(LC) Draft in Input/Proofing
- Jan 10, 2025House(LC) Draft in Edit
- Jan 9, 2025House(LC) Draft in Legal Review
- Dec 4, 2024House(LC) Drafter Assigned
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
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Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Connected Entities
Sources
bills.legmt.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 50)
- Controversy65Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz25Current news / social attention level
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