Senators’ Bill Designates Montana Creek as “Wild and Scenic”
(U.S. Senate) – Senators Jon Tester and Steve Daines’ bill to designate portions of the East Rosebud Creek as Wild and Scenic has cleared the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources and now heads to the Senate floor.
The Senators’ bill will preserve 20 miles of creek originating in the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness and flowing out to the prairie where it joins the Yellowstone River just west of Columbus, Montana.
“East Rosebud Creek will take your breath away, it’s just one of those indescribable places,” said Tester. “From the Cutthroat Trout to the waterfalls and Grizzly Bears, this Creek should be preserved for future generations.”
“Growing up in Montana, I spent countless days backpacking in the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness and know how special the East Rosebud is to Montanans,” said Daines, a member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Committee. “I’m glad to see this pass out of my committee and will continue working until this legislation becomes law.”
In 1968, Congress passed the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to preserve rivers with cultural and recreational value in their free-flowing condition for present and future generations. Less than one-half of one percent of Montana’s approximately 170,000 miles of river is designated as Wild and Scenic. When this bill passes it will be the first Wild and Scenic designation in Montana in 40 years.
“We greatly appreciate Senators Tester and Daines working together and moving this legislation forward to protect the East Rosebud Creek,” said Leslie Ziegler, President and Frank Annighofer, Vice President of Friends of East Rosebud. “Many Montanans have chosen to live and raise our families near the East Rosebud—in fact, some folks have been here for generations. This incredible place attracts thousands of folks from all over to southcentral Montana, which brings significant economic value to this region of the state. This bill will protect the East Rosebud for generations to come and we are pleased to see it move forward.”
“As the leading conservation organization working to protect our nation’s rivers, American Rivers is extremely grateful to Senator Daines for shepherding the East Rosebud Wild and Scenic Rivers Act through committee,” Scott Bosse Northern Rockies Director of American Rivers stated. “It’s a major milestone in Montana’s quest to get its first new Wild & Scenic River designated in forty years.”
A map of the East Rosebud Creek can be found HERE.
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