II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4561 

To amend the Wilderness Act to allow local Federal officials to determine 

the manner in which nonmotorized uses may be permitted in wilderness 

areas, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 17, 2024 

Mr. LEE introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to 

the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To amend the Wilderness Act to allow local Federal officials 

to determine the manner in which nonmotorized uses 

may be permitted in wilderness areas, 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 ‘‘Human-Powered Trav5 el in Wilderness Areas Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. RETURNING HUMAN-POWERED TRAVEL TO WILDER2 NESS AREAS. 

3 Section 4(c) of the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 

4 1133(c)) is amended— 

5 (1) by striking the subsection designation and 

6 heading and all that follows through ‘‘Except as’’ 

7 and inserting the following: 

8 ‘‘(c) PROHIBITION OF CERTAIN USES.— 

9 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

10 ‘‘(A) LOCAL OFFICIAL.—The term ‘local 

11 official’ means the officer or employee who is 

12 the head of a unit or jurisdiction of, as applica13 ble— 

14 ‘‘(i) the Bureau of Land Management; 

15 ‘‘(ii) the National Park Service; 

16 ‘‘(iii) the Forest Service; or 

17 ‘‘(iv) the United States Fish and 

18 Wildlife Service. 

19 ‘‘(B) NONMOTORIZED TRAVEL.—The term 

20 ‘nonmotorized travel’ means a method of 

21 human travel that does not use a propulsive in22 ternal or external motor with a nonliving power 

23 source. 

24 ‘‘(C) PERMITTED ROUTE.—The term ‘per25 mitted route’ means any new or existing path, 

26 trail, paved or unpaved road, or way over snow 


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1 or ice, located within a wilderness area des2 ignated by this Act on which one or more forms 

3 of nonmotorized recreational use is permitted 

4 under applicable law (including regulations) on 

5 the date on which a local official makes a deter6 mination under paragraph (3) or the date that 

7 is 2 years after the date of enactment of the 

8 Human-Powered Travel in Wilderness Areas 

9 Act, as applicable in accordance with paragraph 

10 (3). 

11 ‘‘(2) PROHIBITIONS.— 

12 ‘‘(A) COMMERCIAL ENTERPRISES; PERMA13 NENT ROADS.—Except as’’; 

14 (2) in paragraph (2) (as so designated)— 

15 (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘this 

16 Act and, except as’’ and inserting the following: 

17 ‘‘this Act. 

18 ‘‘(B) TEMPORARY ROADS; MOTOR VEHI19 CLES, MOTORIZED EQUIPMENT, AND OTHER

20 FORMS OF TRAVEL.—Except as’’; and 

21 (B) in subparagraph (B) (as so des22 ignated), by inserting ‘‘(but not including any 

23 form of nonmotorized travel, regardless of 

24 whether the nonmotorized travel is mechanically 

25 assisted, in which the sole propulsive power 


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1 source is one or more persons)’’ after ‘‘mechan2 ical transport’’; and 

3 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(3) PERMISSIBLE FORMS OF RECREATIONAL

5 USE ON PERMITTED ROUTES.— 

6 ‘‘(A) DETERMINATIONS BY LOCAL OFFI7 CIALS.— 

8 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding 

9 any other provision of law, the Secretary of 

10 Agriculture and the Secretary of the Inte11 rior shall authorize relevant local officials 

12 to determine, by not later than 2 years 

13 after the date of enactment of the Human14 Powered Travel in Wilderness Areas Act, 

15 all permissible forms of nonmotorized trav16 el over any permitted route within the ju17 risdiction of the local official. 

18 ‘‘(ii) FAILURE TO DETERMINE.— 

19 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—If a local of20 ficial fails to make the determination 

21 described in clause (i) with respect to 

22 a permitted route within the jurisdic23 tion of the local official by the date 

24 that is 2 years after the date of enact25 ment of the Human-Powered Travel 


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1 in Wilderness Areas Act, any form of 

2 nonmotorized travel shall be allowable 

3 on the permitted route. 

4 ‘‘(II) EFFECT OF CLAUSE.— 

5 Nothing in this clause limits the au6 thority of a local official to make a de7 termination described in clause (i) re8 lating to a permitted route described 

9 in subclause (I) after the date that is 

10 2 years after the date of enactment of 

11 the Human-Powered Travel in Wilder12 ness Areas Act, in accordance with 

13 this subparagraph. 

14 ‘‘(iii) REQUIREMENT.—In making a 

15 determination pursuant to this subpara16 graph, a local official shall seek to accom17 modate all forms of nonmotorized travel, to 

18 the maximum extent practicable. 

19 ‘‘(B) AUTHORITY.—In making a deter20 mination pursuant to subparagraph (A), a local 

21 official may carry out such activities and pro22 mulgate such regulations as the local official de23 termines to be appropriate to reduce, eliminate, 

24 or prevent environmental impacts or undue conVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:59 Aug 05, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4561.IS S4561

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1 flicts among members of nonmotorized travel 

2 user groups, including— 

3 ‘‘(i) restricting, by permit or other 

4 means, the number of individuals allowed 

5 on a permitted route or in a wilderness 

6 area; 

7 ‘‘(ii) instructing users to stay on per8 mitted routes; 

9 ‘‘(iii) limiting party size; 

10 ‘‘(iv) educating users regarding best 

11 practices; 

12 ‘‘(v) using volunteer or paid patrol13 lers; 

14 ‘‘(vi) establishing speed limits; 

15 ‘‘(vii) adding natural features to dis16 courage improper uses of permitted routes; 

17 ‘‘(viii) designating the direction of 

18 travel on a permitted route; and 

19 ‘‘(ix) separating uses of permitted 

20 routes— 

21 ‘‘(I) by day or time of day; or 

22 ‘‘(II) seasonally. 

23 ‘‘(4) EFFECT OF SUBSECTION.— 

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara25 graph (B), nothing in this subsection requires 


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1 the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of 

2 the Interior, or any local official— 

3 ‘‘(i) to alter any wilderness area; 

4 ‘‘(ii) to allow in a wilderness area any 

5 use that is likely to change the wilderness 

6 character of the area; 

7 ‘‘(iii)(I) to open a permitted route or 

8 wilderness area to a public recreational 

9 use; or 

10 ‘‘(II) to maintain a permitted route or 

11 wilderness area for such a use; or 

12 ‘‘(iv) to allow any nonmotorized travel 

13 on any portion of the Appalachian Na14 tional Scenic Trail that is administered en15 tirely as a footpath pursuant to section 

16 5(a)(1) of the National Trails System Act 

17 (16 U.S.C. 1244(a)(1)). 

18 ‘‘(B) PRESUMPTION.—A form of non19 motorized travel, regardless of whether the non20 motorized travel is mechanically assisted, in 

21 which the sole propulsive power source is one or 

22 more persons shall be rebuttably presumed to 

23 be in accordance with the preservation and 


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1 maintenance of the wilderness character of a 

2 wilderness area.’’. 

Æ 


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