# 119-s-1198: Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act

119-s-1198, Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Whitehouse, Sheldon [D-RI] (D-RI); status introduced (as of 2026-09-10).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1198
- As of: 2026-09-10
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-s-1198
- Congress: 119
- Title: Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2025-03-27
- Sponsor: Sen. Whitehouse, Sheldon [D-RI] (D-RI)
- Cosponsors: 8
- Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources
- Touches household money: no
- Last recorded action: 2026-09-10

## Summary

**Protects and connects vast tracts of the Northern Rockies as wilderness and wildlife corridors.** This bill would create map-based wilderness additions, designate large biological corridors and recovery areas, and add many Wild and Scenic River segments to safeguard habitat, water quality, and outdoor recreation. - Families and local communities: Would secure river segments and public lands across Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming for recreation and drinking-water protection. - Wildlife and resource sectors: Would designate about 2.9 million acres of federal land as biological connecting corridors and bar timber harvesting, mining, oil and gas development, and new road construction in those corridors, with a road-density cap aimed at 0.25 miles per square mile. - Tribes, ranchers, and land managers: Would set aside about 1.0 million acres as wildland recovery areas with required restoration plans, allow voluntary grazing-permit donation or termination, reserve water rights with enactment-date priority, and require independent scientific review and GIS-based monitoring.

## Cosponsors (8)

- Sen. Blumenthal, Richard [D-CT] (D-CT), 2025-03-27T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Booker, Cory A. [D-NJ] (D-NJ), 2025-03-27T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Durbin, Richard J. [D-IL] (D-IL), 2025-03-27T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Hirono, Mazie K. [D-HI] (D-HI), 2025-03-27T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Markey, Edward J. [D-MA] (D-MA), 2025-03-27T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Sanders, Bernard [I-VT] (I-VT), 2025-03-27T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Shaheen, Jeanne [D-NH] (D-NH), 2025-03-27T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Warren, Elizabeth [D-MA] (D-MA), 2025-03-27T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Big new wilderness areas and maps: benefit, medium. If enacted, the bill would add many large federal lands to the National Wilderness Preservation System. The Secretary would file maps and legal descriptions with Congress and agency offices. These lands would be run as part of named wilderness units and face stricter limits on development.
- More Wild and Scenic rivers: benefit, low. If enacted, the bill would add multiple river segments in Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming to the Wild and Scenic Rivers System. Each segment would be managed by the listed Secretary under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act.
- Science, maps, and monitoring team: benefit, low. If enacted, the bill would create an interagency team and a satellite-based GIS for the Northern Rockies. The National Academy of Sciences would pick an independent panel to study roadless land. Agencies must report the panel's findings to Congress within three years.
- Tribal access, confidentiality, and closures: benefit, low. If enacted, the bill would protect information Tribes identify about sacred sites from FOIA disclosure. The Secretaries must allow nonexclusive tribal access for traditional activities and may temporarily close areas on a Tribe's request to protect religious privacy.
- Wildland recovery areas and restoration: benefit, low. If enacted, the bill would set aside about 1,023,000 acres as wildland recovery areas. Agencies must make recovery plans within three years and manage those lands to restore native plants, reduce invasives, and improve water quality. It would require restoring a section of the Magruder Corridor.
- Rules for donating grazing permits: cost, medium. If enacted, you could donate a grazing permit or part of it for land inside a wilderness, corridor, or recovery area. The Secretary must end grazing on donated land and may permanently cancel the permit or adjust remaining allotments. This can reduce authorized grazing levels.
- Federal water rights and wilderness claims: mixed, medium. If enacted, the bill would say it does not give up any federal water rights already held in five Western states. It would also reserve water rights for new wilderness lands with the enactment date as priority and direct agencies to file claims to quantify those rights in state adjudications.
- New wildlife corridors: protections and limits: mixed, medium. If enacted, about 2.9 million acres of federal land would be set aside as biological connecting corridors. The bill would ban even-aged logging, mining, oil and gas development, and new road building there. It also lists many roads exempt from corridor rules and allows voluntary land deals and coop…
- Stronger protections for roadless forests: mixed, medium. If enacted, the bill would prohibit building or rebuilding roads on qualifying roadless forest lands after the required evaluation. It would also ban most timber harvesting there, except for gathering firewood, and bar oil, gas, and mining activity subject to valid existing rights. The bill also de…

## Related bills

- 119-s-5066: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026
- 119-s-3990: PrEP Access and Coverage Act of 2026
- 119-s-2823: FAMILY Act
- 119-s-51: Washington, D.C. Admission Act
- 119-s-5108: Right to IVF Act of 2026
- 119-s-1503: Equality Act

## Sources
- [119-s-1198 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/1198)

## Related
- [119-s-5066: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5066)
- [119-s-3990: PrEP Access and Coverage Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-3990)
- [119-s-2823: FAMILY Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2823)
- [119-s-51: Washington, D.C. Admission Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-51)
- [119-s-5108: Right to IVF Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5108)
- [119-s-1503: Equality Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1503)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1198 (as of 2026-09-10).