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HELENA, Mont. (AP) Montana is not among the nine states where wilderness would be designated under a bill that has final congressional approval, but the measure would affect the Big Sky State.

The bill that passed the House 285-140 on Wednesday, with Montana Republican Denny Rehberg voting no, initiates a five-year federal program to reduce the possibility of livestock depredation by wolves and to compensate ranchers for losses.

The measure also designates the Ice Age Floods National Geologic Trail, which would begin near Missoula. The bill gives a congressional stamp of approval to the National Landscape Conservation System, which includes the Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument in Montana, and mandates transferring nearly 10 acres from federal control to Jefferson County, for management as the Elkhorn Cemetery.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) APNP 03-25-09 1753CDT | save this article / add to your favorites list