# 119-hr-2420: Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act of 2025 119-hr-2420, Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act of 2025, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Dean, Madeleine [D-PA-4] (D-PA); status introduced (as of 2026-05-23). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-2420 - As of: 2026-05-23 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Bill: 119-hr-2420 - Congress: 119 - Title: Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act of 2025 - Status: introduced - Introduced: 2025-03-27 - Sponsor: Rep. Dean, Madeleine [D-PA-4] (D-PA) - Cosponsors: 13 - Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources - Touches household money: no - Last recorded action: 2026-05-23 ## Summary **Creates large new wilderness areas and a 2.9 million‑acre network of biological corridors across the Northern Rockies to protect biodiversity, water quality, and wildlife movement.** It also designates many river segments as Wild and Scenic and sets restoration and scientific monitoring requirements. - Families and recreationists keep long‑term access to primitive recreation and cleaner waters through new wilderness and Wild and Scenic River protections. - Indian Tribes retain treaty and trust rights, gain nonexclusive access for traditional and religious uses, and can keep sacred site locations confidential while advising management. - Resource communities and landowners face new limits on road building, even‑aged logging, mining, and oil and gas leasing in Corridors and roadless lands. The Act covers about 2.9 million acres of Corridors and designates roughly 1.0 million acres as Wildland Recovery Areas. - Federal land managers and scientists must file maps and legal descriptions, develop recovery plans within 3 years, and create a satellite‑based regional GIS with oversight from a National Academy of Sciences appointed panel. ## Cosponsors (13) - Rep. Meng, Grace [D-NY-6] (D-NY), 2025-03-27T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Cohen, Steve [D-TN-9] (D-TN), 2025-03-27T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Krishnamoorthi, Raja [D-IL-8] (D-IL), 2025-03-27T00:00:00.000Z - Del. Norton, Eleanor Holmes [D-DC-At Large] (D-DC), 2025-03-27T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Carson, André [D-IN-7] (D-IN), 2025-03-27T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Moore, Gwen [D-WI-4] (D-WI), 2025-03-27T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. DeGette, Diana [D-CO-1] (D-CO), 2025-03-27T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Raskin, Jamie [D-MD-8] (D-MD), 2025-04-30T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Frost, Maxwell [D-FL-10] (D-FL), 2025-05-01T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Carbajal, Salud O. [D-CA-24] (D-CA), 2025-06-24T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Lieu, Ted [D-CA-36] (D-CA), 2025-06-24T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Schakowsky, Janice D. [D-IL-9] (D-IL), 2025-06-24T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Tonko, Paul [D-NY-20] (D-NY), 2026-05-21T00:00:00.000Z ## Provisions PRIA read - More rivers named Wild and Scenic: benefit, medium. If enacted, several river stretches in Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming would join the Wild and Scenic Rivers System. Examples include about 54 miles of the South Fork Payette and about 102 miles of the Yellowstone River. The Forest Service or Interior would manage each segment under the law, which limi… - Donating grazing permits ends grazing: cost, medium. If enacted, ranchers could donate all or part of a valid grazing permit on lands inside new wilderness, corridors, or recovery areas. The agency would have to accept the donation and end grazing on the donated land for good. If other permits still cover the same acres, the agency would lower the al… - New wilderness areas and water rights: mixed, high. If enacted, the bill would add many large areas in the Northern Rockies to the National Wilderness System. Agencies would manage them under the Wilderness Act and respect valid existing rights. The bill would also reserve enough water for these wilderness areas, with a priority date set on enactmen… - Wildlife corridors and road limits: mixed, high. If enacted, about 2.9 million acres would be set aside as wildlife corridors. New road building, large timber harvest, and most mining or oil and gas work would be barred there, unless valid existing rights allow it. Agencies would cut road density so it stays at or below 0.25 miles per square mile… - Monitoring and new roadless protections: mixed, medium. If enacted, agencies would form a public‑private team to track the region using a satellite map system. Within three years, an independent science panel would report on progress and funding needs. After that review, new road building and most timber harvest in defined roadless areas would be banned… - Plans to restore wildland areas: mixed, medium. If enacted, about 1,023,000 acres would be named as wildland recovery areas. The Forest Service would have three years to write a recovery plan for each area. Plans would target native plants, erosion control, fish passage, and better water quality. Some existing private and government roads needed… - Key terms define corridors and development: mixed, low. If enacted, the bill would define core terms. It would say what “public land,” “Secretary concerned,” “corridor,” and “development” mean for this Act. These meanings would guide how the rules apply. - Stronger Tribal access and privacy rules: mixed, low. If enacted, agencies would allow Indians nonexclusive access to protected areas for cultural and religious uses. At a Tribe’s request, agencies could close parts of an area to the public for a time to protect privacy, as allowed by law. Tribes could run some work through self‑determination contract… ## Related bills - 119-hr-9877: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026 - 119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act - 119-hr-7977: Energy Bills Relief Act - 119-hres-1058: Recognizing that it is the duty of the Federal Government to develop and implement a Transgender Bill of Rights to protect and codify the rights of transgender… - 119-hr-2045: Medicare Dental, Vision, and Hearing Benefit Act of 2025 - 119-hr-51: Washington, D.C. Admission Act ## Sources - [119-hr-2420 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/2420) ## Related - [119-hr-9877: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-9877) - [119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7973) - [119-hr-7977: Energy Bills Relief Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7977) - [119-hres-1058: Recognizing that it is the duty of the Federal Government to develop and implem…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hres-1058) - [119-hr-2045: Medicare Dental, Vision, and Hearing Benefit Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-2045) - [119-hr-51: Washington, D.C. Admission Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-51) - [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation) Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-2420 (as of 2026-05-23).