This bill amends the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to add five river segments in Montana’s Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem to the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System. The additions include defined mileages on the Madison and Gallatin Rivers and three tributary segments (Hyalite Creek, Cabin Creek, and the Middle Fork of Cabin Creek), assigned scenic or recreational classifications and placed under the Secretary of Agriculture’s administration.
The law explicitly protects existing federal, tribal, interstate, and state water rights; requires the consent of private landowners before the federal government may acquire land within the new boundaries; and preserves FERC’s licensing authority and current operations at the Hebgen and Madison hydro developments while prohibiting expansion of those facilities into the newly designated segments. The measure aims to lock in recreational and ecological values without upending hydropower generation or existing water compacts, but it leaves implementation details and funding open.
At a Glance
What It Does
The bill inserts five new entries into section 3(a) of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, specifying exact segments and mileages, classifying each as 'recreational' or 'scenic,' and assigning administration to the Secretary of Agriculture. It also bars federal acquisition of land within those boundaries without owner consent and carves out water-rights and hydropower protections.
Who It Affects
Affected parties include the U.S. Forest Service (as the administering agency), Tribal nations with cultural ties to the streams, recreation and tourism businesses that rely on those rivers, FERC-licensed hydro operators at Hebgen and Madison, and private landowners whose parcels fall inside the new boundaries.
Why It Matters
The bill creates a narrowly tailored Wild and Scenic designation that tries to preserve recreation and ecological values while explicitly maintaining hydropower operations and water-rights regimes—setting a template for balancing conservation with existing infrastructure in high‑use public-land landscapes.
More articles like this one.
A weekly email with all the latest developments on this topic.
What This Bill Actually Does
The core change is straightforward: Congress adds five named segments in Montana to the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System by amending section 3(a) of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. Each addition is geographically bounded and carries a classification—either 'recreational' or 'scenic'—which informs permissible uses and management emphasis.
The Secretary of Agriculture (i.e., the Forest Service) becomes the designated administering authority for these segments.
Rather than relying on eminent domain or forced acquisition, the bill requires the federal government to obtain the consent of landowners before acquiring any land or interests located inside the new boundaries. The statute also contains an explicit non‑interference clause for water: federal, Tribal, interstate, state, and U.S. water rights existing on enactment date remain intact, including full development under existing compacts.
This preserves the legal foundation for irrigation, municipal supply, and other consumptive uses tied to these headwaters.Hydropower and dam issues are addressed directly. The bill confirms that Hebgen and Madison dams and reservoirs sit outside the designated segments and states that their operations are compatible with the new designations.
It directs that FERC's review of licenses, relicenses, or expansions for those facilities proceed under section 4(e) of the Federal Power Act rather than section 7(a) of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, and it explicitly allows adding hydropower to Hebgen. At the same time, it bars expanding the Hebgen and Madison developments into the newly designated areas.Finally, the bill authorizes 'such sums as are necessary' to implement the changes, leaving annual funding levels and program specifics to future appropriations.
The measure therefore establishes the legal designations and constraints now, while deferring many on‑the‑ground management, mapping, and budgetary choices to implementing guidance and appropriations.
The Five Things You Need to Know
The bill adds five specific segments to 16 U.S.C. 1274(a): Madison River (~42 miles), Gallatin River (~39.5 miles), Hyalite Creek (~4.6 miles), Cabin Creek (~7.3 miles), and the Middle Fork of Cabin Creek (~5.1 miles.
Each designated segment is assigned a classification: the Gallatin and Madison are 'recreational' rivers, and Hyalite Creek, Cabin Creek, and the Middle Fork of Cabin Creek are 'scenic' rivers, to be administered by the Secretary of Agriculture.
The law prohibits the Secretary from acquiring land or interests within a covered segment without the consent of the landowner—no compulsory acquisition inside the designation lines.
The bill expressly preserves all valid existing water rights (Federal, Tribal, interstate, State of Montana, and U.S. rights) and permits full development under any compacts in existence on enactment date.
For Hebgen and Madison hydro developments the bill: confirms the dams are outside the covered segments, preserves FERC’s authority (governed by section 4(e) of the Federal Power Act rather than section 7(a) of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act), allows adding hydropower at Hebgen, and forbids expanding the developments into the designated segments.
Section-by-Section Breakdown
Every bill we cover gets an analysis of its key sections.
Short title
Gives the bill its public name, the 'Greater Yellowstone Recreation Enhancement And Tourism Act.' This is a labeling provision only but signals legislative intent to emphasize recreation and tourism in interpreting other provisions.
Findings and purpose
Declares the streams' recreational, ecological, and cultural values, references Tribal uses, and ties the designations to local economic benefits and agricultural water supply. The findings matter because they frame statutory interpretation—courts and agencies will read subsequent protective language against those stated goals.
Amendments to Wild and Scenic Rivers Act—new designations
Inserts five new subsections into 16 U.S.C. 1274(a), setting precise start and end points and mileages for each covered segment and assigning 'recreational' or 'scenic' status. It also specifies the Secretary of Agriculture as the administering authority, which practically means Forest Service management and the application of Forest Service planning and permitting regimes to on‑the‑ground activities.
Consent required for federal land acquisition
Prevents the Secretary from acquiring land or interests within new boundaries without owner consent. This avoids condemnation for designation purposes, but creates a patchwork where parts of a river corridor may fall under federal management only if landowners agree—affecting restoration projects and unified corridor planning.
Water‑rights and hydropower carveouts
Affirms that the statute does not alter existing Federal, Tribal, interstate, State of Montana, or U.S. water rights. It also declares Hebgen and Madison dams outside the covered segments, preserves their current permitting and operations, allows future hydropower additions at Hebgen, and requires that FERC consider licensing matters under section 4(e) of the Federal Power Act (explicitly displacing section 7(a) of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act for those developments). Practically, this gives FERC primacy over hydro relicensing questions while restricting physical expansion into designated reaches.
Funding authorization and definitions
Authorizes 'such sums as are necessary' to implement the law and defines 'covered segment' for clarity. The open‑ended appropriation language leaves funding levels and specific program activities to future budget decisions, which affects timing and scope of on‑the‑ground implementation.
This bill is one of many.
Codify tracks hundreds of bills on Environment across all five countries.
Explore Environment in Codify Search →Who Benefits and Who Bears the Cost
Every bill creates winners and losers. Here's who stands to gain and who bears the cost.
Who Benefits
- Local recreation and tourism businesses: The designations lock in protections that maintain the rivers’ scenic and recreational qualities, supporting fishing, rafting, and wildlife‑viewing economies that depend on those attributes.
- Tribal nations and subsistence users: The bill recognizes historic Tribal uses in its findings and preserves existing Tribal water rights and compacts, protecting continued cultural access and resource uses tied to those waters.
- Angling and conservation groups: Scenic and recreational classifications plus Forest Service administration create durable management tools for habitat and fishery protections that such groups typically seek.
- Existing hydro operators at Hebgen and Madison: The bill explicitly preserves their permitting, licensing, and operations and allows adding hydropower at Hebgen, reducing regulatory risk tied to Wild and Scenic designation.
- U.S. Forest Service: Gains jurisdictional authority over management and will control recreational and conservation planning across the designated segments.
Who Bears the Cost
- U.S. Forest Service (administration and management budgets): The agency will need staff, monitoring, and potentially restoration funds to manage the new segments—costs subject to future appropriations.
- Developers and applicants seeking new in‑stream projects inside designated reaches: The prohibition on expanding existing developments into covered segments and the protective status will limit new construction and redevelopment opportunities.
- Private landowners within boundaries: Although acquisition requires consent, landowners will face new attention, potential restrictions on federal funding opportunities, and possible operational constraints tied to scenic/recreational management objectives.
- State agencies managing water allocation: Preserving existing water rights keeps allocations intact but may complicate future reallocations or development of additional uses in headwaters that otherwise could rely on fewer federal constraints.
Key Issues
The Core Tension
The central dilemma is whether to prioritize enduring river protection that could require stricter limits on infrastructure and land use, or to preserve operating flexibility for dams, existing water uses, and private land rights; the bill chooses a hybrid approach that protects river values while explicitly safeguarding hydropower and existing water entitlements, but that compromise creates management fragmentation and unanswered implementation questions.
The bill attempts a compromise: it extends Wild and Scenic protection to high‑use, high‑value river segments while explicitly preserving hydropower operations and preexisting water rights. That compromise produces implementation complexity.
Requiring landowner consent prevents uncompensated takings but risks fragmenting management if key parcels remain private; a patchwork corridor undermines cohesive restoration, access planning, and invasive‑species control. The Forest Service will inherit a corridor that mixes federal and private governance, requiring new coordination protocols and potentially capital outlays that the bill does not specify.
The FERC carveout clarifies licensing jurisdiction for Hebgen and Madison but raises a substantive policy question: by funneling hydro licensing disputes into the Federal Power Act process, the bill narrows the protective reach of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act for hydropower matters. That reduces legal friction for operators but may limit the Forest Service’s ability to shape flow regimes or project conditions that affect downstream ecological values.
Finally, the appropriation language—'such sums as are necessary'—establishes authority without funding levels, leaving on‑the‑ground protection, signage, enforcement, and restoration contingent on future budgets and interagency cooperation.
Try it yourself.
Ask a question in plain English, or pick a topic below. Results in seconds.