97TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 6542 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES AUGUST 16, 1982 Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources AN ACT To withdraw certain lands from mineral leasing, and for other purposes. II 1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa 2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 3 4 SHORT TITLE SECTION 1. This Act may be cited as the "Wilderness 5 Protection Act of 1982". 6 7 WITHDRAWALS SEC. 2. Except as specifically provided in this Act, not 8 withstanding any other provision of law 9 10 11 12 (a) lands designated by Congress as components of the National Wilderness Preservation System are hereby withdrawn from disposition under all laws per taining to oil, gas, oil shale, coal, phosphate, potas 2 sium, sulphur, gilsonite, and geothermal leasing, and all amendments thereto; (b) lands within the national forest system which have been recommended for designation as wilderness in Executive Communication 1504, Ninety-sixth Congress (House Document Numbered 96–119) are hereby withdrawn from disposition under all laws pertaining to oil, gas, oil shale, coal, phosphate, potassium, sulphur, gilsonite, and geothermal leasing, and all amendments thereto, until Congress determines otherwise or until a revision of the initial plans required by the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 as amended by the National Forest Management Act of 1976 is implemented recommending the land concerned for other than wilderness designation, whichever comes first; (c) wilderness study areas designated by act of Congress are hereby withdrawn from disposition under all laws pertaining to oil, gas, oil shale, coal, phos phate, potassium, sulphur, gilsonite, and geothermal leasing, and all amendments thereto for the period of interim wilderness protection and management of such wilderness study areas contained in the act of Congress designating such wilderness study areas; HR 6542 RFS 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 3 (d) lands within the national forest system identified for further planning in Executive Communication 1504, Ninety-sixth Congress (House Document Numbered 96-119) are hereby withdrawn from disposition under all laws pertaining to oil, gas, oil shale, coal, phosphate, potassium, sulphur, gilsonite, and geothermal leasing, and all amendments thereto, until one year after the date of final approval and implementation of an initial forest plan covering the further planning area concerned pursuant to the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 as amended by the National Forest Management Act of 1976: Provided, however, That if any further planning area is recommended for wilderness in such initial plan it shall remain withdrawn for the period specified for recommended wilderness areas in subsection (b) of this 19 EXCEPTED LANDS SEC. 3. The withdrawal and other provisions of this Act (a) any national forest system land released to management for any uses the Secretary concerned deems appropriate through the land management plan ning process by any statewide or other Act of Con gress designating components of the National Wilder 16-780 0-83-2 4 1 2 19 17 18 ness Preservation System now in effect or hereinafter enacted; (b) lands designated as congressional wilderness study areas in Colorado by sections 105 and 106 of the Act of December 22, 1980 (Public Law 96-560), lands designated as congressional wilderness study areas in New Mexico by section 103 of the Act of December 19, 1980 (Public Law 96-550), or to lands within the River of No Return Wilderness, Idaho, which are subject to section 4(d)(1) of the Central Idaho Wilderness Act of 1980 (Public Law 96-312); (c) Bureau of Land Management wilderness study areas, which have been identified pursuant to section 603 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (Public Law 94-579); or (d) lands in the State of Alaska. PROSPECTING AND INVENTORIES SEC. 4. (a) Nothing in this Act shall prevent the Secre19 tary of Agriculture or Interior from issuing under their exist20 ing authority in any area of national forest or public lands 21 withdrawn pursuant to section 2 of this Act such permits as 22 may be necessary to conduct prospecting, seismic surveys, 23 and core sampling conducted by helicopter or other means 24 not requiring construction of roads or improvement of exist25 ing roads or ways, for the purpose of gathering information HR 6542 RFS 5 1 about and inventorying energy, mineral, and other resource 2 values of such area, if such activity is carried out in a manner 3 compatible with the preservation of the wilderness environ4 ment: Provided, however, That seismic activities involving 5 the use of explosives shall not be permitted in designated 6 wilderness areas. 7 (b) The Secretary of the Interior shall augment recur8 ring surveys of the mineral values of wilderness areas pursu9 ant to section 4(d)(2) of the Wilderness Act and acquire 10 information on other national forest and public land areas 11 withdrawn pursuant to this Act, by conducting, in conjunc12 tion with the Secretary of Energy, the national laboratories, 13 or other Federal agencies, as appropriate, such mineral in14 ventories of areas withdrawn pursuant to section 2 of this 15 Act as he deems appropriate. These inventories shall be con16 ducted in a manner compatible with the preservation of the 17 wilderness environment through the use of methods including 18 core sampling conducted by helicopter; geophysical tech19 niques such as induced polarization, synthetic aperture radar, 20 magnetic and gravity surveys; geochemical techniques includ21 ing stream sediment reconnaissance and X-ray defraction 22 analysis; land satellites; or any other methods he deems ap23 propriate. The Secretary of the Interior is hereby authorized 24 to conduct inventories or segments of inventories, such as 25 data analysis activities, by contract with private entities HR 6542 RFS |