113/s/37

. Upon introduction it was read twice and then referred to the.

Summary
The bill establishes the Montana Forest Jobs and Restoration Pilot Initiative under which the Secretary of Agriculture (USDA), through the Chief of the Forest Service, shall implement authorized forest and watershed restoration projects and other land management projects on certain eligible lands within the Beaverhead-Deerlodge and Kootenai National Forests in Montana to achieve the specified purposes of the Initiative and specified performance requirements.

Permits the inclusion of the Seeley Ranger District of the Lolo National Forest within the Initiative.

Requires the identification of one or more collaborative groups or resource advisory committees for each national forest within the Initiative.

Requires the Secretary to: (1) annually implement one or more authorized forest and watershed restoration projects on the eligible lands; (2) implement, in one or more certain watershed areas, those projects that provide landscape-scale work in order to minimize watershed entries; and (3) enter into stewardship contracts or agreements to carry out authorized forest and watershed restoration projects.

Designates specified lands administered by the Forest Service or the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in Montana as wilderness areas and as components of the National Wilderness Preservation System (NWPS).

Releases: (1) certain BLM wilderness study areas from further study for designation as wilderness, and (2) the Sapphire and West Pioneer Wilderness Study Areas from further study for inclusion as components of the NWPS.

Designates specified federal lands in Montana as special management or recreation management areas.

Requires a specified all-terrain vehicle study and report.

Sponsor and Cosponsors
There 1 cosponsor of the bill.