II

103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2142

To designate certain lands in the Commonwealth of Virginia as a National

Scenic Area for protection of the watershed and scenic values, recreation

use, protection of wildlife and their habitat, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

MAY 23 (legislative day, MAY 16), 1994

Mr. WARNER (for himself and Mr. ROBB) introduced the following bill; which

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition,

and Forestry

A BILL

To designate certain lands in the Commonwealth of Virginia

as a National Scenic Area for protection of the watershed

and scenic values, recreation use, protection of wildlife

and their habitat, 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 ‘‘Mount Pleasant Na5 tional Scenic Area Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. PURPOSES.

7 The purposes of this Act with respect to the Mount

8 Pleasant National Scenic Area are to—
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1 (1) ensure appropriate protection and preserva2 tion of the scenic quality, water quality, natural

3 characteristics, and water resources;

4 (2) protect and manage vegetation to provide

5 wildlife and fish habitat, consistent with paragraph

6 (1) above;

7 (3) provide areas that may develop characteris8 tics of old-growth forests; and

9 (4) provide a variety of recreation opportunities

10 that are not inconsistent with the purposes set forth

11 above.

12 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE NATIONAL SCENIC AREA.

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—(1) There is hereby established in

14 the George Washington National Forest, Virginia, the

15 Mount Pleasant National Scenic Area (hereinafter re16 ferred to in this Act as the ‘‘scenic area’’).

17 (2) The scenic area shall consist of certain lands in

18 the George Washington National Forest, Virginia, which

19 comprise seven thousand five hundred and eighty acres,

20 more or less, as generally depicted on a map entitled

21 ‘‘Mount Pleasant National Scenic Area—Proposed’’,

22 dated June 21, 1993.

23 (b) ADMINISTRATION.—The Secretary of Agriculture,

24 (hereinafter referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Secretary’’)

25 shall administer the scenic area in accordance with this
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1 Act and the laws and regulations generally applicable to

2 the National Forest System. In the event of conflict be3 tween this Act and other laws and regulations, this Act

4 shall take precedence.

5 (c) ROADS.—After the date of enactment of this Act,

6 no new permanent roads shall be constructed within the

7 scenic area: Provided, That this provision shall not be con8 strued to deny access to private lands or interests therein

9 in the scenic area.

10 (d) VEGETATION MANAGEMENT.—No timber harvest

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

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

13 to provide for public safety and trail access. Notwithstand14 ing the foregoing, the Secretary may engage in vegetation

15 manipulation practices for maintenance of existing wildlife

16 clearings and visual quality. Firewood may be harvested

17 for personal use along perimeter roads under such condi18 tions as the Secretary may impose.

19 (e) MOTORIZED TRAVEL.—Motorized travel shall be

20 allowed on State Route 635 and on Forest Development

21 Road 51, such Road 51 shall be subject to those motorized

22 travel conditions the Secretary may impose. Other than

23 as provided above, motorized travel shall not be permitted

24 within the scenic area, except that such travel may be per25 mitted within the area as necessary for administrative use
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1 in furtherance of the purposes of this Act and on tem2 porary routes in support of wildlife management projects.

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

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

5 as the Secretary deems appropriate.

6 (g) INSECTS AND DISEASE.—Insect and disease out7 breaks may be controlled in the scenic area to maintain

8 scenic quality, prevent tree mortality, reduce hazards to

9 visitors or to protect private lands.

10 (h) WATER.—The scenic area shall be administered

11 so as to maintain or enhance existing water quality.

12 (i) MAPS AND DESCRIPTIONS.—As soon as prac13 ticable after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec14 retary shall file a map and boundary description of the

15 scenic area with the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition,

16 and Forestry of the United States Senate and the Com17 mittee on Agriculture of the United States House of Rep18 resentatives. The map and description shall have the same

19 force and effect as if included in this Act, except that the

20 Secretary is authorized to correct clerical and typo21 graphical errors in such boundary description and map.

22 Such map and boundary description shall be on file and

23 available for public inspection in the Office of the Chief

24 of the Forest Service, Department of Agriculture. In the
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1 case of any discrepancy between the acreage and the map

2 description in subsection (a)(2), the map shall control.

3 (j) MANAGEMENT PLAN.—Within three years of en4 actment of this Act, the Secretary shall develop a manage5 ment plan for the scenic area as an amendment to the

6 Land and Resource Management Plan for the George

7 Washington National Forest. Such an amendment shall

8 conform to the provisions of this Act. Nothing in this Act

9 shall require the Secretary to revise the Land and Re10 source Management Plan for the George Washington Na11 tional Forest pursuant to section 6 of the Forest and

12 Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974.

13 (k) WITHDRAWAL.—Subject to valid existing rights,

14 all federally owned lands within the scenic area are hereby

15 withdrawn from disposition under the mining, mineral,

16 and geothermal leasing laws, including all amendments

17 thereto.

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