[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2463 Introduced in Senate (IS)]








109th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2463

 To designate as wilderness certain National Forest System land in the 
                        State of New Hampshire.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 28, 2006

 Mr. Sununu (for himself and Mr. Gregg) introduced the following bill; 
  which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, 
                        Nutrition, and Forestry

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To designate as wilderness certain National Forest System land in the 
                        State of New Hampshire.

    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 the ``New Hampshire Wilderness Act of 
2006''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Agriculture, acting through the Chief of the Forest Service.
            (2) State.--The term ``State'' means the State of New 
        Hampshire.

SEC. 3. DESIGNATION OF WILDERNESS AREAS.

    In accordance with the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.), the 
following Federal land in the State is designated as wilderness and as 
components of the National Wilderness Preservation System:
            (1) Certain Federal land managed by the Forest Service, 
        comprising approximately 23,700 acres, as generally depicted on 
        the map entitled ``Proposed Wild River Wilderness--White 
        Mountain National Forest'', dated February 6, 2006, which shall 
        be known as the ``Wild River Wilderness''.
            (2) Certain Federal land managed by the Forest Service, 
        comprising approximately 10,800 acres, as generally depicted on 
        the map entitled ``Proposed Sandwich Range Wilderness 
        Additions--White Mountain National Forest'', dated February 6, 
        2006, and which are incorporated in the Sandwich Range 
        Wilderness, as designated by the New Hampshire Wilderness Act 
        of 1984 (Public Law 98-323; 98 Stat. 259).

SEC. 4. MAP AND DESCRIPTION.

    (a) In General.--As soon as practicable after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Secretary shall file a map and a legal description of 
each wilderness area designated by section 3 with the committees of 
appropriate jurisdiction in the Senate and the House of 
Representatives.
    (b) Force and Effect.--A map and legal description filed under 
subsection (a) shall have the same force and effect as if included in 
this Act, except that the Secretary may correct clerical and 
typographical errors in the map and legal description.
    (c) Public Availability.--Each map and legal description filed 
under subsection (a) shall be filed and made available for public 
inspection in the Office of the Chief of the Forest Service.

SEC. 5. ADMINISTRATION.

    (a) Administration.--Subject to valid existing rights, each 
wilderness area designated under this section shall be administered by 
the Secretary in accordance with--
            (1) the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 
        U.S.C. 1701 et seq.); and
            (2) the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.).
    (b) Effective Date of Wilderness Act.--With respect to any 
wilderness area designated by this Act, any reference in the Wilderness 
Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.) to the effective date of the Wilderness 
Act shall be deemed to be a reference to the date of enactment of this 
Act.
    (c) Fish and Wildlife.--As provided in section 4(d)(7) of the 
Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1133(d)(7)), nothing in this Act affects any 
jurisdiction or responsibility of the State with respect to wildlife 
and fish in the State.
    (d) Withdrawal.--Subject to valid existing rights, all Federal land 
in the wilderness areas designated by section 3 are withdrawn from--
            (1) all forms of entry, appropriation, or disposal under 
        the public land laws;
            (2) location, entry, and patent under the mining laws; and
            (3) disposition under the mineral leasing laws (including 
        geothermal leasing laws).
                                 <all>