Summary
This bill would create the Dolores River National Conservation Area covering approximately 52,872 acres of federal land managed by the Bureau of Land Management, and the Dolores River Special Management Area covering approximately 15,452 acres within the San Juan National Forest. Both areas would be managed to protect their natural, recreational, scenic, cultural, and historical values. The bill has passed committee review and is eligible for a floor vote in the Senate.
If enacted, the bill would require development of management plans for both areas and direct the Department of the Interior to allow Native American tribes to continue using the areas for traditional ceremonies and gathering traditional plants and materials. The bill would also establish an advisory council to help guide management decisions. In the Ponderosa Gorge section, the bill would prohibit road construction, motor vehicles, motorized equipment, and commercial timber harvesting to maintain the area's wilderness character.
For citizens, this would mean certain Colorado lands would receive permanent protection from commercial development, potentially preserving recreational opportunities like hunting and fishing while protecting cultural sites important to Native American tribes. The bill would also release certain segments of the Dolores River from further consideration for addition to the federal Wild and Scenic Rivers System.
AI-generated summary
Lifecycle of the Bill
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Ordered to be reported without amendment favorably.
Dec 17, 2025
HearingSenateMeeting
Dec 17, 2025 · 14:30
Business meeting to consider S.291, to establish an interest-bearing account for the non-Federal contributions to the Lower Colorado River Multi-Species Conservation Program, S.858, to authorize the National Medal of Honor Museum Foundation to establish a commemorative work on the National Mall to honor the extraordinary acts of valor, selfless service, and sacrifice displayed by Medal of Honor recipients, S.1341, to amend the Colorado Wilderness Act of 1993 to add certain land to the Sarvis Creek Wilderness, S.1363, to provide for greater cooperation and coordination between the Federal Government and the governing bodies and community users of land grant-mercedes in New Mexico relating to historical or traditional uses of certain land grant-mercedes on Federal public land, S.1377, to ensure the maintenance of a herd of horses in Theodore Roosevelt National Park, S.1470, to require the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior to prioritize the completion of the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail, S.1787, to establish the Dolores River National Conservation Area and the Dolores River Special Management Area in the State of Colorado, to protect private water rights in the State, S.1860, to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to convey to Brian Head Town, Utah, certain National Forest System land, S.2015, to direct the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture to encourage and expand the use of prescribed fire on land managed by the Department of the Interior or the Forest Service, with an emphasis on units of the National Forest System in the western and southeastern United States, to acknowledge and support the long-standing use of cultural burning by Indian Tribes and Indigenous practitioners, S.2016, to exchange non-Federal land held by the Chugach Alaska Corporation for certain Federal Land in the Chugach Region, S.2033, to direct the Comptroller General of the United States to conduct a study on existing programs, rules, and authorities that enable or inhibit wildfire mitigation across land ownership boundaries on Federal and non-Federal land, S.2262, to amend the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 to clarify the nature of public investment for purposes of certain rulemaking, S.2273, to amend the Act of July 10, 1890, to modify certain provisions relating to the disposal of public land in the State of Wyoming for educational purposes, S.2546, to provide for an extension of the legislative authority of the National Emergency Medical Services Memorial Foundation to establish a commemorative work in the District of Columbia and its environs, S.2881, to provide for the transfer of administrative jurisdiction over certain Federal land in the State of California.
Summary
On December 17, 2025, the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources held a business meeting to consider 15 bills covering a range of public lands and conservation issues. The bills addressed topics including establishing an interest-bearing account for the Lower Colorado River Multi-Species Conservation Program, authorizing a National Medal of Honor Museum on the National Mall, amending the Colorado Wilderness Act to add land to Sarvis Creek Wilderness, and promoting cooperation on New Mexico land grant-mercedes. Additional bills addressed wild horse maintenance in Theodore Roosevelt National Park, completion of the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail, establishment of the Dolores River National Conservation Area in Colorado, land conveyance to Brian Head Town in Utah, and expansion of prescribed fire use on federal lands with acknowledgment of Indigenous cultural burning practices. The committee also considered bills on wildfire mitigation studies, federal land policy clarification, public land disposal in Wyoming, extension of authority for the National Emergency Medical Services Memorial Foundation, and transfer of federal land administrative jurisdiction in California. As a business meeting rather than a hearing, no witness testimony was taken. Business meetings are where committees vote on whether to advance bills to the full Senate. The consideration of these bills does not guarantee they will advance; the committee must vote to report them before they can proceed to the Senate floor for further consideration.
Video
Watch videoCommittee on Energy and Natural Resources. Ordered to be reported without amendment favorably.
Dec 17, 2025
HearingSenateMeeting
Dec 17, 2025 · 14:30
Business meeting to consider S.291, to establish an interest-bearing account for the non-Federal contributions to the Lower Colorado River Multi-Species Conservation Program, S.858, to authorize the National Medal of Honor Museum Foundation to establish a commemorative work on the National Mall to honor the extraordinary acts of valor, selfless service, and sacrifice displayed by Medal of Honor recipients, S.1341, to amend the Colorado Wilderness Act of 1993 to add certain land to the Sarvis Creek Wilderness, S.1363, to provide for greater cooperation and coordination between the Federal Government and the governing bodies and community users of land grant-mercedes in New Mexico relating to historical or traditional uses of certain land grant-mercedes on Federal public land, S.1377, to ensure the maintenance of a herd of horses in Theodore Roosevelt National Park, S.1470, to require the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior to prioritize the completion of the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail, S.1787, to establish the Dolores River National Conservation Area and the Dolores River Special Management Area in the State of Colorado, to protect private water rights in the State, S.1860, to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to convey to Brian Head Town, Utah, certain National Forest System land, S.2015, to direct the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture to encourage and expand the use of prescribed fire on land managed by the Department of the Interior or the Forest Service, with an emphasis on units of the National Forest System in the western and southeastern United States, to acknowledge and support the long-standing use of cultural burning by Indian Tribes and Indigenous practitioners, S.2016, to exchange non-Federal land held by the Chugach Alaska Corporation for certain Federal Land in the Chugach Region, S.2033, to direct the Comptroller General of the United States to conduct a study on existing programs, rules, and authorities that enable or inhibit wildfire mitigation across land ownership boundaries on Federal and non-Federal land, S.2262, to amend the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 to clarify the nature of public investment for purposes of certain rulemaking, S.2273, to amend the Act of July 10, 1890, to modify certain provisions relating to the disposal of public land in the State of Wyoming for educational purposes, S.2546, to provide for an extension of the legislative authority of the National Emergency Medical Services Memorial Foundation to establish a commemorative work in the District of Columbia and its environs, S.2881, to provide for the transfer of administrative jurisdiction over certain Federal land in the State of California.
Summary
On December 17, 2025, the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources held a business meeting to consider 15 bills covering a range of public lands and conservation issues. The bills addressed topics including establishing an interest-bearing account for the Lower Colorado River Multi-Species Conservation Program, authorizing a National Medal of Honor Museum on the National Mall, amending the Colorado Wilderness Act to add land to Sarvis Creek Wilderness, and promoting cooperation on New Mexico land grant-mercedes. Additional bills addressed wild horse maintenance in Theodore Roosevelt National Park, completion of the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail, establishment of the Dolores River National Conservation Area in Colorado, land conveyance to Brian Head Town in Utah, and expansion of prescribed fire use on federal lands with acknowledgment of Indigenous cultural burning practices. The committee also considered bills on wildfire mitigation studies, federal land policy clarification, public land disposal in Wyoming, extension of authority for the National Emergency Medical Services Memorial Foundation, and transfer of federal land administrative jurisdiction in California. As a business meeting rather than a hearing, no witness testimony was taken. Business meetings are where committees vote on whether to advance bills to the full Senate. The consideration of these bills does not guarantee they will advance; the committee must vote to report them before they can proceed to the Senate floor for further consideration.
Video
Watch videoCongress
119th Congress
Introduced
May 15, 2025
