LegiStorm

Summary:

The Wilderness Act of 1964 established the National Wilderness Preservation System and, in it, Congress reserved for itself the authority to designate federal lands as part of the system. The act initially designated 54 wilderness areas containing 9.1 million acres of national forest lands. Since then, more than 120 laws designating wilderness areas have been enacted. As of July 15, 2019, the system consisted of over 111 million acres in 803 units, managed by four land management agencies: the Forest Service (FS), in the Department of Agriculture; the National Park Service (NPS); Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS); and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) within the Department of the Interior (DOI). The act also directed the Secretaries of Agriculture and the Interior to review certain lands for their wilderness potential. Bills to designate wilderness areas are typically introduced and considered in each Congress; such bills are not amendments to the Wilderness Act but typically refer to the act for management guidance and sometimes include special provisions. The 115th Congress considered many bills to add to the wilderness system, and two were enacted into law, designating 20,196 additional acres as one new wilderness area and additions to seven existing wilderness areas. To date, several bills have been introduced in the 116th Congress to designate additional wilderness areas and one law has been enacted, designating approximately 1.3 million acres as 37 new wilderness areas and additions to seven existing wilderness areas. Wilderness designations can be controversial. The designation generally prohibits commercial activities, motorized access, and human infrastructure from wilderness areas; however, there are several exceptions to this general rule. Advocates propose wilderness designations to preserve the generally undeveloped conditions of the areas. Opponents express concern that such designations prevent certain uses and potential economic development in rural areas where such opportunities are relatively limited. The potential benefits or costs of wilderness designations are difficult to value or quantify. Thus, wilderness deliberations commonly focus on trying to maximize the benefits of preserving pristine areas while minimizing potential opportunity costs. Wilderness debates also focus on the extent of the National Wilderness Preservation System and whether it is of sufficient size or whether lands should be added or subtracted. Most bills direct management of designated wilderness in accordance with the Wilderness Act. However, proposed legislation also often seeks a compromise among interests by allowing other activities in the area. Preexisting uses or conditions may be allowed to continue, sometimes temporarily, with or without halting or rectifying any associated nonconforming uses or conditions. Wilderness bills also often contain additional provisions, such as providing special access for particular purposes, for example, border security. Water rights associated with wilderness designations have also proved controversial; many statutes have addressed water rights in specific wilderness areas. In some cases, Congress has statutorily removed lands from several wilderness areas, commonly to adjust boundaries to delete private lands or roads included inadvertently in the original designation. Controversies regarding management of existing wilderness areas also have been the subject of legislation. In previous Congresses, bills have been introduced to expand access to wilderness areas for border security; to guarantee access for hunting, fishing, and shooting; to release wilderness study areas (WSAs) from wilderness-like protection; and to limit agency review of the wilderness potential of their lands. The latter two issues have been contentious for BLM lands because BLM is required by law to protect the wilderness characteristics of its WSAs until Congress determines otherwise.