Found a nice list of everything that's being closed by Tester. Lifted from NewWest Article. Jeeze, it's mind boggling. Don't you think 109.5 Million Acres of wilderness was already enough? Get a load of all the area that will be wilderness, but even more will be closed to off trail riding. NRA, national recreation area, don't allow snowmobiling off trail. WSA's probably won't either. A lot of the promises still have to meet National rules and endangered species requirement. Any logging can be shut down due to Grizzles, for example. Don't get the impression that there won't be any lawsuits, just because you got a promise.
Designates the following Wilderness Areas (609,000 acres total) on national forest land.All new Wilderness Areas are currently congressionally mandated Wilderness Study Areas (WSAs) or Inventoried Roadless Areas:
Anaconda-Pintlar Wilderness Additions. 56,680 acres of contiguous roadless land added to the existing Anaconda-Pintlar Wilderness
East Pioneers Wilderness. 75,775 acres just west of Dillon, significantly down from the 87,500-acre Wilderness called for in the draft legislation written two years ago by the Beaverhead-Deerlodge Partnership (BDP). The bill reduced the proposed Wilderness by about 10,000 acres on the north end of the East Pioneers because the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest (BDNF) official forest plan didn’t recommend this area for Wilderness, and the bill’s drafters gave preference to the FS plan over the BDP recommendations.
Dolus Lake Wilderness. 9,367 acres in the Flint Creek Range west of Deer Lodge, up from an 8,500-acre Wilderness proposed in the draft BDP legislation.
Electric Peak Wilderness. 4,653 acres southeast of Deer Lodge encompassed within the 22,037-acre Thunderbolt National Recreation Area (NRA), also created by the bill. The draft BDP legislation called for a 9,200-acre Wilderness.
Lee Metcalf Wilderness Additions. 18,950 acres of contiguous roadless land added to the existing Lee Metcalf Wilderness.
Highlands Wilderness. 20,392 acres south of Butte.
Italian Peaks Wilderness. 29,508 acres in the far southwest corner of Montana.
Lima Peaks Wilderness. 35,150 acres in the far southwest corner of Montana.
Lost Cabin Wilderness. 5,223 acres east of Dillon.
Mount Jefferson Wilderness. 4,465 acres just west of Yellowstone National Park (YNP).
Quigg Peak Wilderness. 8,388 acres east of Hamilton.
Sapphire Wilderness. 53,327 acres east of Hamilton. About half of the Sapphire WSA (51,000 acres), which is in the Bitterroot National Forest, is omitted from the bill, but will remain as a WSA and managed for wilderness suitability until Congress decides otherwise. The bill’s drafters increased the size of the Sapphire Wilderness over what was proposed in the draft BDP legislation, which called for a 43,500-acre Wilderness. Not all of the WSA on the Beaverhead-Deerlodge was proposed for wilderness in the bill, As a concession to the local snowmobile club, about 5,000 acres was withdrawn, but the bill’s drafters added 5,000 acres of non-WSA forestland to substitute for the withdrawal.
Snowcrest Wilderness. 89,798 acres near the northwest corner of YNP and east of Dillon, down from 92,000 acres proposed in the draft BDP legislation.
Stony Mountain Wilderness. 14,261 acres west of Hamilton, down from 15,500 proposed in draft BDP legislation.
West Big Hole Wilderness. 44,084 acre West Big Hole Wilderness, in two separate areas along the Idaho/Montana border south of Darby and encompassed with in a 94,237-acre West Big Hole National Recreation Area, a combination similar to the Rattlesnake Wilderness and NRA on the north edge of Missoula, although likely with more motorized use allowed. This is a dramatic reduction from the draft BDP legislation, which called for a 92,000-acre Wilderness.
West Pioneers Wilderness. 25,742 acres in two separate areas west of Dillon encompassed in a 129,252-acre NRA with bicycles and motorized recreation allowed on existing trails.. The BDP draft legislation called for a 34,400-acre Wilderness.
Bob Marshall and Scapegoat Wilderness Additions. 78,977 acres in two separate roadless lands adjacent to these existing Wilderness Areas, all west of Seeley Lake and north of Ovando. Also creates the 1,271-acre Otalsy NRA on the south end of the Bob Marshall Wilderness and contiguous to the proposed additions.
Mission Mountains Wilderness Additions. 4,501 acres of contiguous roadless lands to the Mission Mountains Wilderness northeast of Seeley Lake.
Roderick Wilderness. 29,869 acres in the Yaak area northwest of Libby, and the nearby 74,274-acre Three Rivers Special Management Area northwest of the Wilderness but not contiguous to it.
Release of West Pioneer and Sapphire WSAs Removes congressional protections and “releases” any of the West Pioneer and Sapphire WSAs not designated as Wilderness under the bill and specifically says the FS is no longer required to manage the two released areas to ensure their suitability for future wilderness designation. Keep in mind that the Bitterroot National Forest section of the Sapphires will remain congressionally protected as an WSA.
Designates five Wilderness Areas (59,000 acres total) on lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). All are currently classified as WSAs.
Blacktail Mountains Wilderness. 10,667 acres east of Dillon.
Centennial Mountains Wilderness. 23,256 acres just west of YNP.
Farlin Creek Wilderness. A tiny 661-acre area southwest of Dillon.
Ruby Mountains Wilderness. 15,504 acres east of Dillon.
Humbug Spires Wilderness. 8,892 acres south of Butte.
Release of BLM WSAs. Removes congressional protections and “releases” seven BLM WSAs.
Lost Creek Protection Area. Creates 15,134-acre Lost Creek Protection Area on BLM lands west of Anaconda.
Recreational trail enhancement. Agencies “may” develop a plan “to provide enhanced recreational trail opportunities.”
Motorized Recreation. Prohibited in all new Wildernesses, but allowed in NRAs, Protection Areas and Special Management Areas, although in some cases, only snowmobiles, not on-the-ground motorized vehicles, and only on existing or new roads and trails. Off-trail motorized use is prohibited.
