This legislation, titled the Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act, aims to safeguard significant federal lands in Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming. Its primary purposes include designating areas as components of the National Wilderness Preservation System, establishing biological connecting corridors, adding rivers to the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, and prioritizing areas for wildland recovery to restore biological diversity and native species.

The bill designates millions of acres as wilderness, both by expanding existing wilderness areas and creating new ones within critical ecosystems such as the Greater Glacier/Northern Continental Divide, Greater Yellowstone, Greater Salmon/Selway, Greater Cabinet-Yaak-Selkirk, Greater Hells Canyon, and other isolated mountain ranges. These designations are intended to promote, perpetuate, and preserve the wilderness character of the land, protect water quality, and conserve wildlife habitats, including those of threatened and endangered species.

A key provision is the establishment of biological connecting corridors across approximately 2.9 million acres of federal land. These corridors are crucial for facilitating wildlife movement and genetic interchange between core ecosystems in the Northern Rockies Bioregion. Within these special corridor management areas, certain activities are prohibited, including even-aged silvicultural management, timber harvesting, mining, oil and gas exploration, and new road construction, with a strict road density limit of 0.25 miles per square mile.

The bill also expands the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System by designating numerous river segments in Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming, recognizing their outstanding natural values. Furthermore, it establishes wildland recovery areas totaling over one million acres, where management efforts will focus on restoring native vegetation, reducing invasive species, stabilizing soils, and generally returning the land to a natural, roadless condition.

To ensure effective implementation, the legislation mandates an implementation report from independent scientists and the establishment of an interagency team. This team will monitor and evaluate the Act's long-term results, develop a geographic information system for the Northern Rockies Bioregion, and assess strategies for facilitating wildlife movement across major highways and rail lines. The bill also requires an evaluation of all remaining roadless land over 1,000 acres, prohibiting new road construction, timber harvesting (except firewood), and certain development activities on these lands.

Finally, the Act includes provisions to protect the rights of Indian Tribes, ensuring nonexclusive access to protected areas for traditional cultural and religious purposes and affirming the Federal trust responsibility. It also explicitly states that nothing in the Act relinquishes or reduces any water rights reserved or secured by the United States prior to its enactment.