II 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5151 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 23, 2008 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural 

Resources 

AN ACT 

To designate as wilderness additional National Forest System 

lands in the Monongahela National Forest in the State 

of West Virginia, 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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Wild Monongahela Act: 

3 A National Legacy for West Virginia’s Special Places’’. 

4 SEC. 2. DESIGNATION OF WILDERNESS, MONONGAHELA NA5 TIONAL FOREST, WEST VIRGINIA. 

6 (a) DESIGNATION.—In furtherance of the purposes of 

7 the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.), the following 

8 Federal lands within the Monongahela National Forest in 

9 the State of West Virginia are designated as wilderness 

10 and as either a new component of the National Wilderness 

11 Preservation System or as an addition to an existing com12 ponent of the National Wilderness Preservation System: 

13 (1) Certain Federal land comprising approxi14 mately 5,144 acres, as generally depicted on the 

15 map entitled ‘‘Big Draft Proposed Wilderness’’ and 

16 dated March 11, 2008, which shall be known as the 

17 ‘‘Big Draft Wilderness’’. 

18 (2) Certain Federal land comprising approxi19 mately 11,951 acres, as generally depicted on the 

20 map entitled ‘‘Cranberry Expansion Proposed Wil21 derness’’ and dated March 11, 2008, which shall be 

22 added to and administered as part of the Cranberry 

23 Wilderness designated by section 1(1) of Public Law 

24 97–466 (96 Stat. 2538). 

25 (3) Certain Federal land comprising approxi26 mately 7,156 acres, as generally depicted on the 


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1 map entitled ‘‘Dolly Sods Expansion Proposed Wil2 derness’’ and dated March 11, 2008, which shall be 

3 added to and administered as part of the Dolly Sods 

4 Wilderness designated by section 3(a)(13) of Public 

5 Law 93–622 (88 Stat. 2098). 

6 (4) Certain Federal land comprising approxi7 mately 698 acres, as generally depicted on the map 

8 entitled ‘‘Otter Creek Expansion Proposed Wilder9 ness’’ and dated March 11, 2008, which shall be 

10 added to and administered as part of the Otter 

11 Creek Wilderness designated by section 3(a)(14) of 

12 Public Law 93–622 (88 Stat. 2098). 

13 (5) Certain Federal land comprising approxi14 mately 6,792 acres, as generally depicted on the 

15 map entitled ‘‘Roaring Plains Proposed Wilderness’’ 

16 and dated March 11, 2008, which shall be known as 

17 the ‘‘Roaring Plains West Wilderness’’. 

18 (6) Certain Federal land comprising approxi19 mately 6,030 acres, as generally depicted on the 

20 map entitled ‘‘Spice Run Proposed Wilderness’’ and 

21 dated March 11, 2008, which shall be known as the 

22 ‘‘Spice Run Wilderness’’. 

23 (b) MAPS AND LEGAL DESCRIPTION.— 

24 (1) FILING AND AVAILABILITY.—As soon as 

25 practicable after the date of the enactment of this 


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1 Act, the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the 

2 Chief of the Forest Service, shall file with the Com3 mittee on Natural Resources of the House of Rep4 resentatives and the Committee on Energy and Nat5 ural Resources of the Senate a map and legal de6 scription of each wilderness area designated or ex7 panded by subsection (a). The maps and legal de8 scriptions shall be on file and available for public in9 spection in the office of the Chief of the Forest Serv10 ice and the office of the Supervisor of the 

11 Monongahela National Forest. 

12 (2) FORCE AND EFFECT.—The maps and legal 

13 descriptions referred to in this subsection shall have 

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

15 except that the Secretary may correct errors in the 

16 maps and descriptions. 

17 (c) ADMINISTRATION.—Subject to valid existing 

18 rights, the Federal lands designated as wilderness by sub19 section (a) shall be administered by the Secretary in ac20 cordance with the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et 

21 seq.). The Secretary may continue to authorize the com22 petitive running event permitted from 2003 through 2007 

23 in the vicinity of the boundaries of the Dolly Sods Wilder24 ness addition designated by paragraph (3) of subsection 

25 (a) and the Roaring Plains West Wilderness Area desVerDate Aug 31 2005 03:30 Apr 24, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5151.RFS H5151

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1 ignated by paragraph (5) of such subsection, in a manner 

2 compatible with the preservation of such areas as wilder3 ness. 

4 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE OF WILDERNESS ACT.—With 

5 respect to the Federal lands designated as wilderness by 

6 subsection (a), any reference in the Wilderness Act (16 

7 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.) to the effective date of the Wilderness 

8 Act shall be deemed to be a reference to the date of the 

9 enactment of this Act. 

10 (e) FISH AND WILDLIFE.—As provided in section 

11 4(d)(7) of the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1133(d)(7)), 

12 nothing in this section affects the jurisdiction or responsi13 bility of the State of West Virginia with respect to wildlife 

14 and fish. 

15 SEC. 3. BOUNDARY ADJUSTMENT, LAUREL FORK SOUTH 

16 WILDERNESS, MONONGAHELA NATIONAL 

17 FOREST. 

18 (a) BOUNDARY ADJUSTMENT.—The boundary of the 

19 Laurel Fork South Wilderness designated by section 1(3) 

20 of Public Law 97–466 (96 Stat. 2538) is modified to ex21 clude two parcels of land, as generally depicted on the map 

22 entitled ‘‘Monongahela National Forest Laurel Fork 

23 South Wilderness Boundary Modification’’ and dated 

24 March 11, 2008, and more particularly described accord25 ing to the site-specific maps and legal descriptions on file 


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1 in the office of the Forest Supervisor, Monongahela Na2 tional Forest. The general map shall be on file and avail3 able for public inspection in the Office of the Chief of the 

4 Forest Service. 

5 (b) MANAGEMENT.—Federally owned land delineated 

6 on the maps referred to in subsection (a) as the Laurel 

7 Fork South Wilderness, as modified by such subsection, 

8 shall continue to be administered by the Secretary of Agri9 culture in accordance with Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 

10 1131 et seq.). Any reference in the Wilderness Act to the 

11 effective date of that Act shall be deemed to be a reference 

12 to the effective date of Public Law 97–466 and this Act. 

13 SEC. 4. MONONGAHELA NATIONAL FOREST BOUNDARY 

14 CONFIRMATION. 

15 The boundary of the Monongahela National Forest 

16 is confirmed to include the tracts of land as generally de17 picted on the map entitled ‘‘Monongahela National Forest 

18 Boundary Confirmation’’ and dated March 13, 2008, and 

19 all Federal lands under the jurisdiction of the Secretary 

20 of Agriculture, acting through the Chief of the Forest 

21 Service, encompassed within such boundary shall be man22 aged under the laws and regulations pertaining to the Na23 tional Forest System. 

24 SEC. 5. ENHANCED TRAIL OPPORTUNITIES. 

25 (a) PLAN.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Agri2 culture, in consultation with interested parties, shall 

3 develop a plan to provide for enhanced nonmotorized 

4 recreation trail opportunities on lands not des5 ignated as wilderness within the Monongahela Na6 tional Forest. 

7 (2) NONMOTORIZED RECREATION TRAIL DE8 FINED.—For the purposes of this subsection, the 

9 term ‘‘nonmotorized recreation trail’’ means a trail 

10 designed for hiking, bicycling, and equestrian use. 

11 (b) REPORT.—Not later than two years after the date 

12 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture 

13 shall submit to Congress a report on the implementation 

14 of the plan required under subsection (a), including the 

15 identification of priority trails for development. 

16 (c) CONSIDERATION OF CONVERSION OF FOREST

17 ROADS TO RECREATIONAL USES.—In considering possible 

18 closure and decommissioning of a Forest Service road 

19 within the Monongahela National Forest after the date of 

20 the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture, 

21 in accordance with applicable law, may consider converting 


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1 the road to nonmotorized uses to enhance recreational op2 portunities within the Monongahela National Forest. 

Passed the House of Representatives April 22, 2008. 

Attest: LORRAINE C. MILLER, 

Clerk. 


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