This week’s Wild Line covers a sweeping Senate hearing on 26 public lands and wildfire bills, a significant vote affecting the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, new moves by the Forest Service on roadless protections and off-highway vehicle rules, fee increases in national parks, and a major milestone for the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

Senate Committee Considers Major Public Lands and Wildfire Bills

The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources heard testimony Tuesday from Chris French, Acting Associate Chief at the U.S. Forest Service, during a hearing on 26 public lands and wildfire bills.

Four of the bills would provide lasting protections for landscapes across the West:

• Sarvis Creek Wilderness Completion Act (S. 1341)
  Would add nearly 7,000 acres to the existing Sarvis Creek Wilderness in Colorado, completing a long-sought vision for protected public lands at the headwaters of Sarvis, Harrison, and Green Creeks.
• Oregon Recreation Enhancement Act (S. 888)
  Would expand the Wild Rogue Wilderness, designate the Rogue Canyon and Molalla Recreation Areas, and permanently safeguard more than 100,000 acres from irresponsible mining near the Kalmiopsis Wilderness.
• Wild Olympics Wilderness and Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (S. 1737)
  Would establish the first new wilderness designations on the Olympic Peninsula in more than 40 years—approximately 125,000 acres in the Olympic National Forest—and designate 19 rivers and tributaries (over 460 miles) as Wild and Scenic. 
• Colorado Outdoor Recreation & Economy (CORE) Act (S. 764)
  Would protect more than 420,000 acres across Colorado, including 71,000 acres of new wilderness and nearly 80,000 acres of new recreation and conservation management areas. It would also permanently protect the 225,000-acre Thompson Divide—critical to local ranchers, businesses, and outdoor recreation. 

In responding to Colorado Democrat Michael Bennet, Associate Chief French stated that the Forest Service does not support including certain areas in wilderness or Wild & Scenic designations—despite previously recommending them—because they conflict with the administration’s “timber production, energy and mineral dominance priorities.”

Later, French challenged Senator Maria Cantwell’s bill to codify the Roadless Rule. For more on the Roadless Rule, listen to our conversation with Chris Wood.

We talked to Greg Aplet at The Wilderness Society about how the Forest Service manufactured a narrative of the roadless rule standing in the way of forest fuels management and the wildland urban interface:

It just feels disingenuous at best and deceptive at worst, irrelevant, because what they’re claiming is that roadless areas are so close to communities that they need to build roads into them in order to protect the communities, when all the science shows that building roads is just going to lead to more ignitions and more fires that they have to fight.

Senate Floor: ANWR Vote

The Senate voted Thursday to overturn Biden-era limits on oil and gas drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, passing the same Congressional Review Act resolution that cleared the House last month. The measure will now head to the White House for signature.

Forest Service Plans to Repeal Off-Highway Vehicle Restrictions

The U.S. Forest Service announced plans to repeal two-decade-old regulations limiting off-highway vehicle use on national forest trails. The agency did not specify what decision-making framework will replace the existing rules, saying only that the rollback will “reduce duplicative planning requirements” and increase local discretion.

National Park Service to Raise Fees for Nonresidents

Beginning January 1, the National Park Service will raise entrance fees for international visitors under a new “America-first” fee policy.
We spoke with Olivia Juarez of GreenLatinos about the exclusionary nature of these fees:

My fear is that the staff at the entrance fees, they are going to be some kind of quasi immigration enforcer, in particular the smaller national park units, where it’s a very up close and personal experience to get in there…this is a professional who did not sign up to scrutinize people’s identification to make a judgment about their residential status or their citizenship status.

Fast-Tracked Montana Mine

Local resistance is cropping up in Ravalli County, Montana, against the proposed Sheep Creek Mine in the headwaters of the Bitterroot. The Trump administration has been trying to fast track mines for critical minerals. The Ravalli County Commission voted unanimously to oppose fast tracking the mine after over 500 community members showed up at their midday meeting.

Chesapeake Bay Leaders Approve Revised Watershed Agreement

On Tuesday, the Chesapeake Bay Program’s Executive Council approved the revised Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement, marking a major commitment to strengthen the environmental and economic future of the region. Among other things, the Agreement aims to reduce nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment pollution, restore and protect habitat, fisheries, and wildlife, strengthen wetlands and freshwater mussel restoration, protect waterbirds and critical landscapes, and expand public access and environmental workforce development.

Next Week

That’s our report for December 5, 2025. We’ll be back next Friday with another Wild Line.

Coming Tuesday on The Wild Idea: Anders and Bill talk with Chris Eyer about Packing in the Wilderness.

Until then—act up and run wild.

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