110 HR 6917 IH: To amend the Wilderness Act to allow recreation U.S. House of Representatives 2008-09-16 text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.

I 110th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 6917 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES September 16, 2008 Mr. Lamborn (for himself and Mr. Smith of Texas) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources A BILL To amend the Wilderness Act to allow recreation organizations to cross wilderness areas on established trails, and for other purposes.

That section 4(d) of the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1133(d)) is amended by adding at the end the following: (8)

Use by recreation organizations

A recreation organization is an organization of hikers or horseback riders whose purposes include one or more of the following: (i) to promote the development and preservation of trails throughout Federal lands; (ii) to promote and encourage education of the public about the fragile nature of mountain and forest ecology and the necessity for its protection and preservation; or (iii) to gather and disseminate information regarding the use and enjoyment of wilderness areas and other Federal land—and whose leadership has by reputation and practice over a period of at least ten (10) years demonstrated compliance and consistency with one or more of said purposes. Members of a recreation organization acting as an organized unit and regardless of their number shall have the right to cross wilderness areas on established trails without restriction as part of a journey along a connecting system of trails across public, private or wilderness area lands, provided such right shall be exercised within one day and shall continue during the process thereof without unreasonable delay. The exercise of such right shall neither be deemed inconsistent with the purposes of a wilderness area nor to affect any wilderness area’s opportunities for solitude or a primitive and unconfined type of recreation. The agency administering any wilderness area may limit the exercise of such right within any specific wilderness area to not more than ten (10) wilderness crossings annually and may establish fair procedures to implement this provision, provided the right of a recreation organization hereby granted shall not be impaired during such process. .