[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1153 Introduced in House (IH)]






108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1153

  To accelerate the wilderness designation process by establishing a 
 timetable for the completion of wilderness studies on Federal lands, 
                        and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 6, 2003

Mr. Otter (for himself, Mr. Cannon, Mr. Simpson, Mr. Akin, Mrs. Cubin, 
Mr. Culberson, Mr. Doolittle, Mr. Gibbons, Mr. Herger, Mr. Hunter, Mr. 
 McInnis, Mr. Paul, Mr. Peterson of Pennsylvania, Mr. Radanovich, Mr. 
Rehberg, Mr. Shuster, Mr. Tancredo, and Mr. Young of Alaska) 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, 
                        and for other purposes.

    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.

     Congress finds the following:
            (1) The designation of certain Federal lands as wilderness 
        is beneficial to the American people.
            (2) The Wilderness Act and the Federal Land Policy and 
        Management 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 to have interim 
        management status 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 that 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 with Wilderness 
Study Area status on 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 that the Secretary of the Interior or the 
        Secretary of Agriculture, as appropriate, determines that the 
        area is not suitable for wilderness designation.
            (2) 10 years after the date of the enactment of this Act.
            (3) The date that the area is designated as wilderness by 
        an Act of Congress.
    (b) Subsequent Wilderness Study Areas.--Any area that is given 
Wilderness Study Area status after the date of enactment of this Act 
shall be released from Wilderness Study Area status on the earlier of 
the following:
            (1) The date that the Secretary of the Interior or the 
        Secretary of Agriculture, as appropriate, determines that the 
        area is not suitable for wilderness designation.
            (2) 10 years after the date that the area was given 
        Wilderness Study Area status.
            (3) The date that the area is designated as wilderness by 
        an Act of Congress.
    (c) Release From Wilderness Study Area Status.--Any area that is 
released from Wilderness Study Area status pursuant to paragraph 
(a)(1), (a)(2), (b)(1), or (b)(2) shall revert to the land use status 
such area had immediately before the area was given Wilderness Study 
Area status and shall not be studied again regarding wilderness 
designation.
    (d) Wilderness Study Area.--For the purposes of this section, the 
term ``Wilderness Study Area'' means any Federal land officially 
referred to as a ``wilderness study area'', a ``recommended 
wilderness'', a ``proposed wilderness'', or a ``potential wilderness'', 
or any other Federal land that is under study by, or on behalf of, the 
Federal Government for possible designation as wilderness.
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