Tester Secures Hearing for Yellowstone Gateway Protection Act

Senator’s Bill to Protect Outdoor Economy Will Get a Senate Hearing

(U.S. Senate) – U.S. Senator Jon Tester has secured a Senate hearing for his Yellowstone Gateway Protection Act, which would protect Montana’s outdoor economy and clean water near our nation’s first National Park.

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests, and Mining will hold a hearing on Tester’s popular bill on Wednesday, July 26 at 8:00 am MT.

“As visitors flock to Yellowstone National Park and spend their money at local businesses, they are greeted by breathtaking views, clean water, and world class wildlife,” said Tester. “We need to keep the economy of this region strong for generations to come and this bill will ensure our kids and grandkids can experience the wonders of Montana’s outdoors at the doorstep of Yellowstone.”

Tester introduced the Yellowstone Gateway Protection Act after local residents and businesses asked him to protect the region from large-scale mining operations.

Tester’s bill permanently withdraws federal mineral rights on 30,000 acres of public land in the Custer Gallatin National Forest adjacent to the Absaroka Beartooth Wilderness and Yellowstone National Park, and it eliminates the ability for proposed mines to expand onto unclaimed public land.