Wilderness area in Montana, 81,000 acres, managed by the U.S. Forest Service, designated in 1977.
The defenders
No group in our directory carries Middle Fork Judith Wilderness Study Area in its work yet. That is not the same as nobody fighting: if you know the group that belongs here, tell us and our editors will look at it.
On the ground in Montana
More ways in
The situation
Eighty-one thousand acres of wild backcountry in the Little Belt Mountains, where westslope cutthroat trout hold in cold water and elk roam unroaded ridges. The Middle Fork Judith has been a wilderness study area since 1977, protected by a promise that Congress would decide its fate. Now Senator Daines’ Montana Sportsmen Conservation Act would strip that protection with federal agency backing, even though 75 percent of Montana voters want WSAs to stay protected. The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee ordered it reported on March 4, 2026.
Source: Montana Free Press · February 12, 2026
No public comment window is open on Middle Fork Judith Wilderness Study Area right now. A call script is ready on the Public Lands Action Network, and the groups above are how the fight gets funded and argued in the meantime.
Your move
A ready call script on Middle Fork Judith Wilderness Study Area, plus any comment window as it opens.
Public Lands Action NetworkFollowWatch the mapEvery threatened place in the country, tracked, with who stands for each.
Threatened Lands MapBuild my lineup around Middle Fork Judith Wilderness Study Area: the leading group here opens it, and the other seats fill from this record.
The work is theirs. The backing is yours.