# 119-hr-1472: Wyoming Public Lands Initiative Act of 2025

119-hr-1472, Wyoming Public Lands Initiative Act of 2025, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Hageman, Harriet M. [R-WY-At Large] (R-WY); status introduced (as of 2026-04-21).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1472
- As of: 2026-04-21
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-1472
- Congress: 119
- Title: Wyoming Public Lands Initiative Act of 2025
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2025-02-21
- Sponsor: Rep. Hageman, Harriet M. [R-WY-At Large] (R-WY)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources
- Touches household money: no
- Last recorded action: 2026-04-21

## Summary

**Protects and reshapes public lands in Wyoming through new wilderness, conservation, and special management designations.** The bill would designate five wilderness areas, create the Dubois Badlands National Conservation Area and a Dubois Motorized Recreation Area, and set new travel, grazing, and resource rules. - Creates the Dubois Badlands National Conservation Area of about 4,446.5 acres and a Dubois Motorized Recreation Area of about 367.7 acres. It would require travel-management plans within 2 years and studies of motorized recreation with reports due within 2 years. - Preserves grazing consistent with the Wilderness Act and applies existing grazing laws across the new wilderness, NCA, and Special Management Areas. SMAs bar new permanent roads and limit motorized use to designated routes except for management, emergency response, fire or habitat work. - Withdraws many SMA and NCA lands from public-land disposal and from mineral and geothermal leasing while allowing oil and gas only by directional drilling from outside with no surface occupancy or disturbance. Sweetwater Rocks adds bans on new overhead transmission towers and limits wind and solar rights-of-way, and some SMAs allow land exchanges to improve access without reducing the federal land base.

## Provisions PRIA read

- Study new motorized recreation areas: benefit, low. The bill would direct a study of new special motorized recreation areas on certain federal lands in Hot Springs and Washakie Counties. The Secretary would gather public input, work with state and county officials, and report findings within 2 years. The study would exclude land already restricted f…
- Dubois Badlands protected; motorized area set: mixed, low. The bill would create the Dubois Badlands National Conservation Area (about 4,446.46 acres) to conserve wildlife, scenery, and cultural resources. Motorized use in the NCA would be limited to roads and trails that existed on the date of enactment, and the land would be withdrawn from new mining and…
- New special management areas with limits: mixed, low. The bill would create Special Management Areas: Bennett Mountains (~6,165.05 acres), Black Cat (~1,178), Cedar Mountain (~20,745.73), Fortification Creek (~12,520.69), Fraker Mountain (~6,248.28), North Fork (~10,026.15), and Sweetwater Rocks (~34,347.79). These areas would be withdrawn from new la…
- New Wyoming wilderness and fire plan: mixed, low. The bill would add five wilderness areas: Encampment River Canyon (about 4,523.84 acres), Prospect Mountain (about 1,099.76), Upper Sweetwater Canyon (about 2,877.35), Lower Sweetwater Canyon (about 5,665.19), and Bobcat Draw (about 6,246.84). These would be managed under the Wilderness Act, with s…
- Released study lands get new rules: mixed, low. The bill would release certain wilderness study lands from special study rules so they would be managed under normal federal land laws. On Bobcat Draw released land, most public land sales, mining claims, and mineral leasing would be withdrawn, but oil and gas could be leased only by directional dr…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-3330: Energy Freedom Act
- 119-hr-471: Fix Our Forests Act
- 119-hr-4706: Protecting Our Farms and Homes from China Act
- 119-hr-4206: CONNECT for Health Act of 2025
- 119-hr-1897: ESA Amendments Act of 2025
- 119-hr-1163: Prove It Act

## Sources
- [119-hr-1472 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/1472)

## Related
- [119-hr-3330: Energy Freedom Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3330)
- [119-hr-471: Fix Our Forests Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-471)
- [119-hr-4706: Protecting Our Farms and Homes from China Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-4706)
- [119-hr-4206: CONNECT for Health Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-4206)
- [119-hr-1897: ESA Amendments Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1897)
- [119-hr-1163: Prove It Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1163)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1472 (as of 2026-04-21).