Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 213.
This bill amends prior George Washington National Forest wilderness law to add roughly 1,000 acres to the Rough Mountain Wilderness and to designate roughly 4,600 acres as a potential addition to the Rich Hole Wilderness. The Rich Hole parcel will become official wilderness either after the Secretary of Agriculture publishes that specified water-quality and aquatic-passage restoration activities are completed, or automatically five years after enactment.
Liberals emphasize permanent conservation and habitat restoration benefits
Relative to its intended legislative type, this bill is a focused statutory amendment that clearly defines the lands to be added, the legal mechanism for addition, and a convertible 'potential wilderness' status with a time-limited window for allowed pre-designation restoration actions.
This bill amends prior George Washington National Forest wilderness law to add roughly 1,000 acres to the Rough Mountain Wilderness and to designate roughly 4,600 acres as a potential addition to the Rich Hole Wilderness.
The Rich Hole parcel will become official wilderness either after the Secretary of Agriculture publishes that specified water-quality and aquatic-passage restoration activities are completed, or automatically five years after enactment.
Until designation, the Secretary may use motorized equipment and mechanized transport to carry out the specified restoration work, using the minimum tools necessary to limit adverse wilderness impacts.
Targeted, low‑cost conservation bill with built‑in compromise features increases prospects, but standalone wilderness bills can stall without broad local or chamber buy‑in.
Relative to its intended legislative type, this bill is a focused statutory amendment that clearly defines the lands to be added, the legal mechanism for addition, and a convertible 'potential wilderness' status with a time-limited window for allowed pre-designation restoration actions. It integrates cleanly with existing statutory authorities and administrative documents.
Liberals emphasize permanent conservation and habitat restoration benefits
These are examples from the analysis, not a ranked list of the most-affected groups.
Liberals emphasize permanent conservation and habitat restoration benefits
Likely supportive overall because the bill protects public lands and advances ecosystem restoration.
The temporary motorized exception is a qualified tradeoff tolerated to secure long-term wilderness protections and improve aquatic habitat.
They will want assurances the restoration follows best practices and minimizes lasting harm to wilderness character.
Generally favorable but pragmatic: conservation plus a time-limited, specific exception for restoration appears balanced.
Supports the five-year automatic designation as a compromise to avoid indefinite limbo, but seeks clarity on costs, timelines, and stakeholder consultation.
Will watch implementation details and transparency.
Likely opposed or skeptical because the bill expands federal wilderness designations, restricting multiple-use management.
The timed exception for mechanized work is small consolation; main concerns focus on lost local control, recreational and economic limits, and precedent for further closures.
Reached or meaningfully advanced
Reached or meaningfully advanced
Still ahead
Still ahead
Still ahead
Targeted, low‑cost conservation bill with built‑in compromise features increases prospects, but standalone wilderness bills can stall without broad local or chamber buy‑in.
The bill has not accumulated any surfaced votes yet.
Liberals emphasize permanent conservation and habitat restoration benefits
Targeted, low‑cost conservation bill with built‑in compromise features increases prospects, but standalone wilderness bills can stall witho…
Relative to its intended legislative type, this bill is a focused statutory amendment that clearly defines the lands to be added, the legal mechanism for addition, and a convertible 'potential wilderness' status with a…
Go beyond the headline summary with full stakeholder mapping, legislative design analysis, passage barriers, and lens-by-lens tradeoff breakdowns.