Steve Daines (R-MT)
Montana Sportsmen Conservation Act
A Republican bill with 1 Republican cosponsor · See the cosponsor
Last activity — Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 705.
Cleared committee, waiting for its first floor vote
A committee approved it and it is on the calendar of the chamber it started in.
This is further than most bills get, and still no promise of a vote: the calendar is a queue, and the majority leadership decides what is called. A bill can sit here until the Congress ends.
Its path through Congress
- Introduced
- On Calendar
What this bill would do
The Montana Sportsmen Conservation Act aims to remove the wilderness study area designation from specific lands in Montana. This includes the Middle Fork Judith Wilderness Study Area, the Hoodoo Mountain Wilderness Study Area, and the Wales Creek Wilderness Study Area. By releasing these lands, the bill seeks to improve land management and provide for different opportunities. The land will instead be managed according to existing land and resource management plans. This change follows determinations by the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management that these areas are unsuitable for wilderness designation.
Who it would affect, and how
Potential Positive Impacts for People
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Enhanced Sportsmen Opportunities: Removing the wilderness study area designation is intended to provide better opportunities for sportsmen in Montana's backcountry (Section 2, paragraph 8).
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Improved Public Access: The bill's removal of the wilderness study area status is intended to improve access for the public (Section 2, paragraph 8).
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Wildlife and Wildfire Management: The change is intended to allow for the conduct of wildlife habitat and wildfire mitigation projects (Section 2, paragraph 8).
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Improved Land Management: Releasing the land allows managers to better conserve and manage the areas according to applicable land and resource management plans (Section 2, paragraph 8).
Potential Negative Impacts for People
- Loss of Wilderness Study Area Designation: The bill removes the wilderness study area status for the Middle Fork Judith, Hoodoo Mountain, and Wales Creek areas (Section 3).
- 11/12/2026
- Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Reported by Senator Lee with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. Without written report.
- Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 705.
- 3/4/2026
- Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably.
- 2/12/2026
- Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests, and Mining. Hearings held. With printed Hearing: S.Hrg. 119-305.
- 12/17/2025
- Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
- 1 Cosponsor added.
- Introduced in Senate
One bill Congress.gov lists as related to this one — companions in the other chamber, earlier versions, and bills this one absorbed or was folded into.
Tim SheehyRepublican · Montana