M.H. Dutch Salmon Greater Gila Wild and Scenic River Act

Key Points

• The bill would add roughly 400 miles of the Gila River system in New Mexico, including creeks like Mineral Creek, Turkey Creek, and the Gila River's forks, to the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System.
• About 440 acres would move from Forest Service control to the National Park Service, expanding the Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument and shrinking the Gila National Forest by that amount.
• New mining claims and mineral or geothermal leases would be banned on federal land inside the protected river corridors, though people with existing grazing, water, or mining rights keep them.
• The government cannot seize private land for this project without the owner's consent, and tribal treaty rights to hunt, fish, gather, and practice cultural traditions near the river stay untouched.
• Officials could still build fish barriers or habitat projects to help threatened species like the Gila Trout, as long as the work doesn't damage the river's natural, free-flowing character.