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S. 3709: Black Hills Forest Protection and Jobs Preservation Act of 2022

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S. 3709: Black Hills Forest Protection and Jobs Preservation Act of 2022

117th Congress · introduced 2022-02-28 · Public Lands and Natural Resources · Latest: Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests, and Mining. Hearings held.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

  1. Where it came from: introduced 2022-02-28 · official record
  2. Who proposed it: Sen. Thune, John [R-SD] · what a sponsor is
  3. What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
  4. Where it stands now: Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests, and Mining. Hearings held. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
  5. If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

Black Hills Forest Protection and Jobs Preservation Act of 2022

Plain summary

Black Hills Forest Protection and Jobs Preservation Act of 2022 This bill provides for vegetation management projects and timber production projects on certain National Forest System lands in Montana, South Dakota, and Wyoming. The bill directs the Forest Service to issue one or more decisions using expedited authorities for compliance with environmental review requirements to carry out vegetation management projects on land in the Black Hills National Forest. Furthermore, the Forest Service shall categorize the Black Hills National Forest and the Bighorn National Forest as being very high priority for ecological restoration that involves vegetation removal. The Forest Service must also use specified amounts made available for forest thinning and timber harvesting for timber production in the Bighorn National Forest, the Custer Gallatin National Forest, and the Black Hills National Forest. In carrying out such timber production, the Forest Service shall use, to the extent practicable, the categorical exclusion for certain forest management activities and specified emergency action authority. A vegetation management or timber production project carried out under this bill shall not be subject to judicial review. Such a project may not be carried out on (1) a component of the National Wilderness Preservation System, or (2) an inventoried roadless area.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

A “Yea” vote

If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.

PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).

What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

Black Hills Forest Protection and Jobs Preservation Act of 2022

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)

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The strongest published arguments

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Alternatives

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Sen. Thune, John [R-SD] · 3 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

John Barrasso (R-WY), Mike Rounds (R-SD), Cynthia M. Lummis (R-WY)

Sponsor's campaign money: Sen. Thune, John [R-SD] reported raising $4.7 million (2025–2026). Details. Shown for context only; it does not mean any donor supported this bill.

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (1)
Bill
A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Record fed-us-cong117-s3709 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong117 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong117