Montana Sportsmen Conservation Act
HR 6788, the Montana Sportsmen Conservation Act, removes wilderness study area designations for three specific Montana lands: the 81,000-acre Middle Fork Judith area (managed by the Forest Service) and the 11,380-acre Hoodoo Mountain and 11,580-acre Wales Creek areas (managed by the Bureau of Land Management). These areas were previously evaluated and determined unsuitable for wilderness designation under federal law, with land agencies confirming this through collaborative reviews in 2021 and 2020. The bill directs land managers to instead follow existing land and resource management plans for these areas, which were developed through multi-year stakeholder processes. This change aims to improve management by enhancing sportsmen access, public recreation, and wildlife habitat projects while maintaining current protections under environmental laws.
Bill status
in committee
1 of 4 stages cleared
Introduction
Dec 2025
Committee Review
Floor Vote
President
Introduced Dec 17, 2025
Last action Aug 26, 2026
Floor votes
How they voted
No floor votes recorded yet.
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
4
Key actions
1
Committee
3
Sep 2, 2026
Lower · Passed
Subcommittee Hearings Held
lower
Aug 26, 2026
Committee
Referred to the Subcommittee on Federal Lands.
lower
Dec 17, 2025
Committee
Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.
lower
Dec 17, 2025
Introduced
Introduced in House
lower
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors
Sponsors
Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Troy Downing
RRepublican
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