[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1500 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1500

  To accelerate the Wilderness designation process by establishing a 
  timetable for the completion of wilderness studies on Federal Lands.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 21, 1999

Mr. Hansen (for himself, Mr. Young of Alaska, Mr. Hill of Montana, Mrs. 
   Chenoweth, Mr. Radanovich, Mr. Salmon, Mr. Stump, Mr. Hefley, Mr. 
Gibbons, Mr. Shadegg, Mr. Simpson, Mr. Pombo, Mr. Hunter, Mr. Hayworth, 
    Mr. Calvert, Mr. Peterson of Pennsylvania, Mr. McInnis, and Mr. 
 Rohrabacher) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                         Committee on Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To accelerate the Wilderness designation process by establishing a 
  timetable for the completion of wilderness studies on Federal Lands.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as ``America's Wilderness Protection Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

    The Congress finds that--
            (1) The designation of certain Federal lands as Wilderness 
        is beneficial to the American people.
            (2) The Wilderness Act of 1964 and of the Federal Land 
        Management and Policy Act of 1976 provided for the study of 
        certain lands for wilderness suitability. Areas undergoing such 
        a study have been generally known as ``Wilderness Study 
        Areas''.--
            (3) Wilderness Study Areas were intended as interim 
        management designations pending completion of wilderness 
        suitability studies. Wilderness Study Area status was not 
        intended as a substitute for wilderness designation by 
        Congress.
            (4) It was not the intent of Congress that areas continue 
        under Wilderness Study Area status indefinitely. Perpetuation 
        of Wilderness Study Area status is undesirable and hinders the 
        Wilderness designation process. Lands that merit Wilderness 
        designation should be granted the full protection that such a 
        status would afford, and those lands which do not merit such a 
        designation should be released so that they can be managed for 
        the public good as accorded by law.
            (5) The establishment of a timetable for the completion of 
        wilderness studies would facilitate the wilderness designation 
        process by supplying a timeframe within which Congress must 
        Act.

SEC. 3. TIMETABLE FOR WILDERNESS STUDY COMPLETION.

    (a) Existing Wilderness Study Areas.--All areas designated as 
wilderness study areas as of the date of the enactment of this Act 
shall be released from wilderness study area status on the earlier of 
the following:
            (1) The date 10 years after the date of enactment of this 
        Act.
            (2) The date on which the area is designated by Act of 
        Congress as wilderness.
    (b) Subsequent Wilderness Study Areas.--Any wilderness study area 
designated after the date of enactment of this Act shall remain in 
wilderness study area status until the earlier of the following:
            (1) The date 10 years after the date of designation.
            (2) The date on which the area is designated by Act of 
        Congress as wilderness.
After such 10-year period, any such area not designated as wilderness 
by Act of Congress shall be released from wilderness study area status.
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