II

103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 2942

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

AUGUST 9 (legislative day, AUGUST 8), 1994

Received

AN ACT

To designate certain lands in the Commonwealth of Virginia

as the George Washington National Forest Mount Pleasant Scenic Area.

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 ‘‘George Washington

5 National Forest Mount Pleasant Scenic Area Act’’.
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1 SEC. 2. PURPOSES.

2 The purposes of this Act with respect to the George

3 Washington National Forest Mount Pleasant Scenic Area

4 are to—

5 (1) ensure appropriate protection and preserva6 tion of the scenic quality, water quality, natural

7 characteristics, and water resources;

8 (2) protect and manage vegetation to provide

9 wildlife and fish habitat, consistent with paragraph

10 (1);

11 (3) provide areas that may develop characteris12 tics of old-growth forests; and

13 (4) provide a variety of recreation opportunities

14 that are not inconsistent with the preceding pur15 poses.

16 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF MOUNT PLEASANT NATIONAL

17 SCENIC AREA.

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—

19 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is hereby estab20 lished in the George Washington National Forest,

21 Virginia, the George Washington National Forest

22 Mount Pleasant Scenic Area (in this section referred

23 to as the ‘‘scenic area’’).

24 (2) LANDS INCLUDED IN SCENIC AREA.—The

25 scenic area shall consist of certain lands in the

26 George Washington National Forest, Virginia, which
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1 comprise approximately seven thousand five hundred

2 and eighty acres, as generally depicted on a map en3 titled ‘‘Mount Pleasant National Scenic Area—Pro4 posed’’, dated June 21, 1993.

5 (3) MAPS AND DESCRIPTIONS.—As soon as

6 practicable after the date of the enactment of this

7 Act, the Secretary shall file a map and boundary de8 scription of the scenic area with the Committee on

9 Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate

10 and the Committee on Agriculture of the House of

11 Representatives. The map and description shall have

12 the same force and effect as if included in this Act,

13 except that the Secretary is authorized to correct

14 clerical and typographical errors in such boundary

15 description and map. Such map and boundary de16 scription shall be on file and available for public in17 spection in the Office of the Chief of the Forest

18 Service, Department of Agriculture. In the case of

19 any discrepancy between the acreage and the map

20 described in paragraph (2), the map shall control.

21 (b) ADMINISTRATION.—

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Agriculture

23 (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall

24 administer the scenic area in accordance with this

25 Act and the laws and regulations generally applica-
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1 ble to the National Forest System. In the event of

2 conflict between this Act and other laws and regula3 tions, this Act shall take precedence.

4 (2) MANAGEMENT PLAN.—Within three years

5 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec6 retary shall develop a management plan for the sce7 nic area as an amendment to the Land and Re8 source Management Plan for the George Washington

9 National Forest. Such an amendment shall conform

10 to the provisions of this Act. Nothing in this Act

11 shall require the Secretary to revise the Land and

12 Resource Management Plan for the George Wash13 ington National Forest pursuant to section 6 of the

14 Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Plan15 ning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1604).

16 (c) ROADS.—After the date of the enactment of this

17 Act, no new permanent roads shall be constructed within

18 the scenic area, except that this prohibition shall not be

19 construed to deny access to private lands or interests

20 therein in the scenic area.

21 (d) VEGETATION MANAGEMENT.—No timber harvest

22 shall be allowed within the scenic area, except as may be

23 necessary in the control of fire, insects, and diseases and

24 to provide for public safety and trail access. Notwithstand25 ing the foregoing, the Secretary may engage in vegetation
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1 manipulation practices for maintenance of existing wildlife

2 clearings and visual quality. Firewood may be harvested

3 for personal use along perimeter roads under such condi4 tions as the Secretary may impose.

5 (e) MOTORIZED TRAVEL.—

6 (1) AUTHORIZED ROUTES.—Motorized travel in

7 the scenic area shall be allowed on State Route 635.

8 Subject to such conditions as the Secretary may im9 pose, motorized travel in the scenic area shall also

10 be allowed on Forest Development Road 51.

11 (2) OTHER AREAS.—Other than as provided in

12 paragraph (1), motorized travel shall not be per13 mitted within the scenic area, except that the Sec14 retary may authorize motorized travel within the

15 scenic area as necessary for administrative use in

16 furtherance of the purposes of this Act and on tem17 porary routes in support of wildlife management

18 projects.

19 (f) FIRE.—Wildfires shall be suppressed in a manner

20 consistent with the purposes of this Act, using such means

21 as the Secretary considers appropriate.

22 (g) INSECTS AND DISEASE.—Insect and disease out23 breaks may be controlled in the scenic area to maintain

24 scenic quality, prevent tree mortality, reduce hazards to

25 visitors, or protect private lands.
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1 (h) WATER.—The scenic area shall be administered

2 so as to maintain or enhance existing water quality.

3 (i) MINING WITHDRAWAL.—Subject to valid existing

4 rights, all federally owned lands in the scenic area are

5 hereby withdrawn from location, entry, and patent under

6 the mining laws of the United States and from leasing

7 claims under the mineral and geothermal leasing laws of

8 the United States, including amendments to such laws.

Passed the House of Representatives August 8,

1994.

Attest: DONNALD K. ANDERSON,

Clerk.