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WASHINGTON, DC- Democrats in Congress are taking another run at protecting millions of acres of roadless land in the Northern Rockies and Northwest as wilderness. But at this point we're still waiting for details to see how many acres of Montana land could be included in the proposal.

Last week, Representative Carolyn Malony of New York introduced the latest version of the controversial Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act, a bill that would extend wilderness protection to 23 million acres of "roadless" areas. Those are lands managed by agencies like the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management that have been studied and managed for decades as "proposed wilderness" but never given full protection.

""These lands remain in much the same condition as when Lewis & Clark explored them more than 200 years ago," said Rep. Maloney. "And they still contain a wealth of native species and wildlife. We must do everything possible to preserve natural habitats in the Northern Rockies so these wilderness areas can be enjoyed by future generations of Americans."

The bill has the full support of Montana-based Alliance for the Wild Rockies.

Mike Garrity, Executive Director of the Alliance for the Wild Rockies says "NREPA protects entire ecosystems, critical wildlife migration corridors and provides connectivity to segmented lands inhabited by threatened and endangered species." He says the proposal is "science, not politics."

"Threats to our treasured public lands and the habitat they provide for native fish and wildlife increase every day," said Arlene Montgomery, Program Director of Friends of the Wild Swan. "NREPA will protect our precious wildlands and wildlife heritage."

Twenty nine Democrats have signed on to the support the bill, which has been introduced to the House Natural Resources Committee. None of the co-sponsors are from the Northern Rockies or Northwest states. Republican Representative Doc Hastings from Eastern Washington chairs the committee. That's where some of the proposed wilderness has been located in past bills.

At this point, the text of the legislation hasn't been released yet. But past versions of NREPA have included land in Montana, Idaho, Wyoming and Eastern Washington and Oregon. The most recent version, which failed to get out of committee two years ago, would have protected 24-million acres, with 7.5 million acres of that in Montana.

Click here to read the proposed Act.

Contact Dennis Bragg