Bipartisan legislation will preserve the free-flowing condition of the East Rosebud Creek
(U.S. Senate)—Montana Senators Jon Tester and Steve Daines’ bill to designate the East Rosebud Creek as Wild and Scenic received a hearing today in the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on National Parks.
Tester and Daines’ bill was built through on-the-ground collaboration and will preserve the free-flowing condition of East Rosebud Creek under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. When S. 1577 becomes law, it will be the first Wild and Scenic designation in Montana in 40 years.
“This legislation proves that on-the-ground collaboration works,” Tester said. “Preserving this pristine landscape has bipartisan support and today’s hearing puts us another step closer to protecting the East Rosebud for generations to come.”
“Growing up in Montana, I spent countless hours backpacking in the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness,” Daines stated. “I know how special the East Rosebud is to our state and I’m committed to protecting this treasure for future generations. I will continue working for balanced policies to conserve our state’s outdoors heritage and improve access and management of our public lands.”
Local landowners are also praising the Montana Senators’ bill.
“I am very happy to see the East Rosebud moving towards permanent protection” said Clint Branger who runs a family ranch on the East Rosebud. “Our family came here four generations ago and we always cherished this spectacular place.”
The bill designates two sections, totaling 20 miles, of the creek that run entirely though Forest Service land. East Rosebud Creek originates in the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness and flows out to the prairie where it joins the Yellowstone River just west of Columbus. No private land will be impacted by this legislation.
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.
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