Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act

Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act

This bill designates specified National Forest System lands, National Park System lands, and public lands in Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming as wilderness and as components or additions to existing components of the National Wilderness Preservation System.

The Department of the Interior and the Department of Agriculture (USDA) must accept donations of leases or permits authorizing grazing on specified public or National Forest System lands.

The bill also designates (1) specified federal lands as biological connecting corridors and as special corridor management areas; (2) segments of specified rivers and creeks in Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming as components of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System; and (3) specified areas as wildland recovery areas. USDA shall develop a wildland recovery plan for each recovery area.

A panel of independent scientists shall study roadless lands greater than 1,000 acres that are within the National Forest System in the Wild Rockies bioregion in Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, or Wyoming and that are not designated as components of the National Wilderness Preservation System for their role in maintaining biological diversity in the Northern Rockies and as part of the overall forest reserve system. Any new road construction or reconstruction or timber harvest is prohibited in those lands after the evaluation without an act of Congress. Oil or gas leasing, mining, or other development which impairs the natural and roadless qualities of the land is also prohibited.