The Yellowstone River flows north of Gardiner, Montana, in an area where bison migrated to during the hard winter of 2022-23. (Photo by Blair Miller)
Democrats on the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources on Tuesday advanced U.S. Sen. Jon Tester’s Montana Headwaters Legacy Act out of the committee on a party-line vote, meaning the legislation can be heard in front of the full Senate or be included in a broader public lands package.
The legislation would designate 326 total river miles from 19 rivers in Montana as part of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System. If passed and signed into law, portions of the Gallatin, Yellowstone, Smith, Boulder, and Stillwater rivers and their headwaters would receive special classifications and lead to distinct management plans for each section, with a goal of protecting the wild and free-flowing nature and water quality of rivers in the United States.
Most of the rivers contained in the bill have already been found eligible to be designated either as wild or scenic rivers by federal land management agencies. A coalition of groups in southwestern and southern Montana have been pushing support for the bill.
“The Montana Headwaters Legacy Act is a community-driven, broadly supported, and deeply vetted legislation crafted by Montanans through over a decade of public input,” Charles Drimal of the Greater Yellowstone Coalition said in a statement.
Tester, a Democrat who lost his re-election bid this month to Republican newcomer Tim Sheehy, first introduced the measure in 2020 and did so again in 2021, but neither bill made it out of an Energy and Natural Resources subcommittee. After the current version was heard by the committee this past June, Tester encouraged a full committee vote on the bill.
The National Wild and Scenic Rivers System was created by Congress in 1968 and generally creates a protective corridor of a quarter mile out from each riverbank that might inhibit development in or along the river in that designated section. For instance, it could bar the federal government from supporting dam construction in a designated area, but a designation does not interfere with water rights, recreation, or agricultural practices.
As of the end of last year, about 13,467 river miles of 228 rivers in 41 states had designations under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. In Montana, designations include portions of the Missouri River, Flathead River, and East Rosebud Creek, the last of which was designated in August 2018. The Missouri and Flathead designations were made in 1976. In total, 388 river miles in Montana out of about 177,000 miles are currently designated under the act.
The version of Tester’s legislation senators voted on Tuesday had stripped out some proposed designations in the Madison River system – about 58 river miles from the original proposal were taken out – to acquiesce to landowners and some county commissioners who voiced concerns, senators said during the meeting.
A spokesperson for Tester did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment on the legislation’s movement on Wednesday.
Montana’s other U.S. Sen. Steve Daines, a Republican who led the effort to oust Tester this election cycle as chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, voted against moving the legislation out of the committee, saying he had concerns about the measure’s “far-reaching approach” and had heard opposition from “landowners, county commissioners, irrigators and other stakeholders.”
“In the past, we’ve seen these designations hinder or delay road work, aquatic restoration projects, grazing and fuel management projects, which is why legislation like this should be very carefully considered,” Daines said.
He said the East Rosebud designation had received support from Montana’s entire congressional delegation and that he believed that designation had been “thoroughly vetted.”
Committee Chairperson Sen. Joe Manchin, D-West Virginia, countered by saying the committee had discussed and worked on the bill for “quite some time” and that he believed the amendments particularly regarding the Madison River designations had addressed the “greatest concerns people had.”
“The rivers that would be protected by the bill provide outstanding recreational opportunities and spectacular scenery,” Manchin said.
Daines said the addressing concerns on the Madison, partially coming from NorthWestern Energy, was “good news” but one of several issues raised by others.
“There’s eight counties that are affected by this. Half of those counties, their county commissioners specifically have weighed in in opposition to this,” Daines said. “They’re very important voices in this process, and we need to keep working with them to get broader support, and that’s why I’m opposed at this moment.”
But the coalition of economic development, outfitter, conservation and governmental organizations that support the measure, numbering in the hundreds, say the vast majority of Montanans support Tester’s legislation, pointing to the 2024 Public Lands Survey from the University of Montana, which found 83% of respondents supported the Montana Headwaters Legacy Act.
The poll results showed 59% said they strongly supported the measure, while only 16% said they either somewhat or strongly opposed it.
Kristin Gardner of the Gallatin River Taskforce said in a statement that polling showed the sentiment to protect Montana’s rivers was strong across the political spectrum. Scott Bosse, the northern Rockies regional director for American Rivers, said the rest of Montana’s federal delegation needed to work together to get the measure across the finish line. The group said in a statement the legislation could still be included in a public lands package before the end of the year and before the new Congress is seated in January.
“Given the importance of healthy rivers to our economy and way of life, it’s no surprise that Montanans from across the political spectrum overwhelmingly support efforts to protect Montana’s most cherished waterways,” Bosse said in a statement. “We remain hopeful that Montana’s congressional leaders can work together to ensure the MHLA is included in a public lands package by the end of the year.”