II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 973 

To designate as wilderness certain public land in the Cherokee National 

Forest in the State of Tennessee, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 27, 2017 

Mr. ALEXANDER (for himself and Mr. CORKER) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To designate as wilderness certain public land in the Cherokee National Forest in the State of Tennessee, and 

for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Tennessee Wilderness 

5 Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 

8 (1) MAP.—The term ‘‘Map’’ means the map en9 titled ‘‘Proposed Wilderness Areas and AdditionsVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:23 Apr 29, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S973.IS S973

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1 Cherokee National Forest’’ and dated January 20, 

2 2010. 

3 (2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

4 the Secretary of Agriculture. 

5 (3) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means the State 

6 of Tennessee. 

7 SEC. 3. ADDITIONS TO CHEROKEE NATIONAL FOREST. 

8 (a) DESIGNATION OF WILDERNESS.—In accordance 

9 with the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.), the fol10 lowing parcels of Federal land in the Cherokee National 

11 Forest in the State of Tennessee are designated as wilder12 ness and as additions to the National Wilderness Preser13 vation System: 

14 (1) Certain land comprising approximately 

15 9,038 acres, as generally depicted as the ‘‘Upper 

16 Bald River Wilderness’’ on the Map and which shall 

17 be known as the ‘‘Upper Bald River Wilderness’’. 

18 (2) Certain land comprising approximately 348 

19 acres, as generally depicted as the ‘‘Big Frog Addi20 tion’’ on the Map and which shall be incorporated 

21 in, and shall be considered to be a part of, the Big 

22 Frog Wilderness. 

23 (3) Certain land comprising approximately 630 

24 acres, as generally depicted as the ‘‘Little Frog 

25 Mountain Addition NW’’ on the Map and which 


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1 shall be incorporated in, and shall be considered to 

2 be a part of, the Little Frog Mountain Wilderness. 

3 (4) Certain land comprising approximately 336 

4 acres, as generally depicted as the ‘‘Little Frog 

5 Mountain Addition NE’’ on the Map and which shall 

6 be incorporated in, and shall be considered to be a 

7 part of, the Little Frog Mountain Wilderness. 

8 (5) Certain land comprising approximately 

9 2,922 acres, as generally depicted as the ‘‘Sampson 

10 Mountain Addition’’ on the Map and which shall be 

11 incorporated in, and shall be considered to be a part 

12 of, the Sampson Mountain Wilderness. 

13 (6) Certain land comprising approximately 

14 4,446 acres, as generally depicted as the ‘‘Big Lau15 rel Branch Addition’’ on the Map and which shall be 

16 incorporated in, and shall be considered to be a part 

17 of, the Big Laurel Branch Wilderness. 

18 (7) Certain land comprising approximately 

19 1,836 acres, as generally depicted as the ‘‘Joyce Kil20 mer-Slickrock Addition’’ on the Map and which shall 

21 be incorporated in, and shall be considered to be a 

22 part of, the Joyce Kilmer-Slickrock Wilderness. 

23 (b) MAPS AND LEGAL DESCRIPTIONS.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—As soon as practicable after 

25 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 


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1 shall file maps and legal descriptions of the wilder2 ness areas designated by subsection (a) with the ap3 propriate committees of Congress. 

4 (2) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The maps and 

5 legal descriptions filed under paragraph (1) shall be 

6 on file and available for public inspection in the of7 fice of the Chief of the Forest Service and the office 

8 of the Supervisor of the Cherokee National Forest. 

9 (3) FORCE OF LAW.—The maps and legal de10 scriptions filed under paragraph (1) shall have the 

11 same force and effect as if included in this Act, ex12 cept that the Secretary may correct typographical 

13 errors in the maps and descriptions. 

14 (c) ADMINISTRATION.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to valid existing 

16 rights, the Federal land designated as wilderness by 

17 subsection (a) shall be administered by the Secretary 

18 in accordance with the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 

19 1131 et seq.), except that any reference in that Act 

20 to the effective date of that Act shall be deemed to 

21 be a reference to the date of the enactment of this 

22 Act. 

23 (2) FISH AND WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT.—In ac24 cordance with section 4(d)(7) of the Wilderness Act 

25 (16 U.S.C. 1133(d)(7)), nothing in this Act affects 


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1 the jurisdiction of the State with respect to fish and 

2 wildlife management (including the regulation of 

3 hunting, fishing, and trapping) in the wilderness 

4 areas designated by subsection (a). 

Æ 


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