WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Jon Tester’s Blackfoot-Clearwater Stewardship Act (BCSA) received a 10-10 tie vote in the Senate Energy and Resource Committee July 21, setting up a future vote to move the bill out to the committee. Senator Steve Daines voted against the bill but said he’s willing to work with Tester to find a compromise.
The BCSA adds approximately 80,000 acres of wilderness to the Bob Marshall, Scapegoat and Mission Mountains Wilderness areas, opens 2,013 acres of currently closed land to snowmobiling and protects 3,835 acres for mountain biking and hiking. It would also require the Forest Service to prioritize its review of future recreational trail proposals from the collaborative group and to conduct a forest health assessment that will help identify new timber projects on the landscape.
“Montanans expect their elected officials to get stuff done. After today’s hearing, we’ve taken a critical step for our businesses, outdoor recreationists and conservationists,” said Tester. “The BCSA is the result of years of collaboration between a diverse set of stakeholders, and with overwhelming support from the majority of Montanans, it should serve as a model for balanced use of our public lands.”
A 2022 Voter’s Survey on Public Lands conducted by the University of Montana reported 83% of Montanans support the legislation. However after repeated attempts asking to have their names removed from the list of supporters, organizations including the Montana Snowmobile Association and Seeley Lake Driftriders are still being listed as supporters.
“We do not support the bill and have had a number of conversations with them about that,” wrote the Seeley Lake Driftriders in an email. “They also list an Ovando Snowmobile Club in support which does not exist.”
Tester is the only member of the Montana congressional delegation who supports the BCSA. Daines voted against the bill at the hearing. Had Daines voted yes, the bill would have advanced to the Senate floor.
Daines said he’s willing to compromise on the bill but wants “a balanced” solution by releasing longstanding Wilderness Study Areas (WSA) that were deemed not suitable for wilderness. He feels that has yet to happen. His spokesperson said he’s hopeful there’s a path forward but that the Senate Energy and Resource Committee “moved forward on a bill that wasn’t yet supported by both members of the delegation.”
“I’m committed to working with Senator Tester to find some middle ground,” Daines said during the hearing. “There should be a balance between preserving areas deemed suitable for wilderness, while also allowing Montanans to make appropriate use of land deemed not suitable for wilderness.”
Daines said since 1976, approximately 1.8 million acres have been designated as wilderness, while approximately 150,000 Wilderness Study Areas have been released and close to 800,000 acres of WSA have been recommended as not suitable for wilderness. The original recommendation for managing these areas was developed in the late 1980s and 1990,
“These areas are meant to be studied and resolved by Congress but Congress has failed to act,” Daines said.
Daine introduced legislation that addresses three of these WSA’s, which he believes could be paired with the Blackfoot-Clearwater Stewardship Act legislation. He said each WSA has gone through the collaborative process and will retain certain protections under the land use plan if released.
Collectively the United States Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) have held over 120 public meetings over several years on these WSA’s and according to Daines, conclude that the areas were not suitable for wilderness, for reasons including the mountain pine beetle infestation.
“I can tell you backcountry folks are tired of inaction,” Daines said. “Tired of losing out on outdoor opportunities while land managers’ hands are tied…I am committed to working with Senator Tester and the proponent of this bill to find a path forward. If we release 100,000 acres, as I’ve suggested we do, we’ll get the Blackfoot-Stewardship Act passed.”
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