IIB 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1011 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

OCTOBER 24, 2007 

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

Resources 

AN ACT 

To designate additional National Forest System lands in 

the State of Virginia as wilderness or a wilderness study 

area, to designate the Kimberling Creek Potential Wilderness Area for eventual incorporation in the 

Kimberling Creek Wilderness, to establish the Seng 

Mountain and Bear Creek Scenic Areas, to provide for 

the development of trail plans for the wilderness areas 

and scenic areas, and for other purposes. 


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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 AND TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Virginia Ridge and Valley Act of 2007’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title and table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Designation of additional National Forest System lands in Jefferson 

National Forest, Virginia, as wilderness or a wilderness study 

area. 

Sec. 3. Designation of Kimberling Creek Potential Wilderness Area, Jefferson 

National Forest, Virginia. 

Sec. 4. Designation of Seng Mountain and Bear Creek Scenic Areas, Jefferson 

National Forest, Virginia. 

Sec. 5. Trail plan and development. 

8 SEC. 2. DESIGNATION OF ADDITIONAL NATIONAL FOREST 

9 SYSTEM LANDS IN JEFFERSON NATIONAL 

10 FOREST, VIRGINIA, AS WILDERNESS OR A 

11 WILDERNESS STUDY AREA. 

12 (a) DESIGNATION OF WILDERNESS.—Section 1 of 

13 Public Law 100–326 (102 Stat. 584; 16 U.S.C. 1132 

14 note), as amended by Public Law 106–471 (114 Stat. 

15 2057), is further amended— 

16 (1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by 

17 striking ‘‘System—’’ and inserting ‘‘System:’’; 

18 (2) by striking ‘‘certain’’ at the beginning of 

19 paragraphs (1) through (8) and inserting ‘‘Certain’’; 

20 (3) by striking the semicolon at the end of 

21 paragraphs (1) through (6) and inserting a period; 


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1 (4) by striking ‘‘; and’’ at the end of paragraph 

2 (7) and inserting a period; and 

3 (5) by adding at the end the following new 

4 paragraphs: 

5 ‘‘(9) Certain lands in the Jefferson National 

6 Forest, which comprise approximately 3,743 acres, 

7 as generally depicted on the map entitled ‘Brush 

8 Mountain and Brush Mountain East’ and dated Oc9 tober 2007, and which shall be known as the Brush 

10 Mountain East Wilderness. 

11 ‘‘(10) Certain lands in the Jefferson National 

12 Forest, which comprise approximately 4,794 acres, 

13 as generally depicted on the map entitled ‘Brush 

14 Mountain and Brush Mountain East’ and dated 

15 February 2007, and which shall be known as the 

16 Brush Mountain Wilderness. 

17 ‘‘(11) Certain lands in the Jefferson National 

18 Forest, which comprise approximately 4,223 acres, 

19 as generally depicted on the map entitled ‘Seng 

20 Mountain and Raccoon Branch’ and dated February 

21 2007, and which shall be known as the Raccoon 

22 Branch Wilderness. 

23 ‘‘(12) Certain lands in the Jefferson National 

24 Forest, which comprise approximately 3,270 acres, 

25 as generally depicted on the map entitled ‘Stone 


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1 Mountain’ and dated February 2007, and which 

2 shall be known as the Stone Mountain Wilderness. 

3 ‘‘(13) Certain lands in the Jefferson National 

4 Forest, which comprise approximately 8,470 acres, 

5 as generally depicted on the map entitled ‘Hunting 

6 Camp Creek and Garden Mountain’ and dated Feb7 ruary 2007, and which shall be known as the Hunt8 ing Camp Creek Wilderness. 

9 ‘‘(14) Certain lands in the Jefferson National 

10 Forest, which comprise approximately 3,291 acres, 

11 as generally depicted on the map entitled ‘Hunting 

12 Camp Creek and Garden Mountain’ and dated Feb13 ruary 2007, and which shall be known as the Gar14 den Mountain Wilderness. 

15 ‘‘(15) Certain lands in the Jefferson National 

16 Forest, which comprise approximately 5,476 acres, 

17 as generally depicted on the map entitled ‘Mountain 

18 Lake Additions’ and dated February 2007, and 

19 which are hereby incorporated in the Mountain Lake 

20 Wilderness designated by section 2(6) of the Vir21 ginia Wilderness Act of 1984 (Public Law 98–586; 

22 98 Stat. 3105). 

23 ‘‘(16) Certain lands in the Jefferson National 

24 Forest, which comprise approximately 308 acres, as 

25 generally depicted on the map entitled ‘Lewis Fork 


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1 Addition and Little Wilson Creek Additions’ and 

2 dated February 2007, and which are hereby incor3 porated in the Lewis Fork Wilderness designated by 

4 section 2(3) of the Virginia Wilderness Act of 1984 

5 (Public Law 98–586; 98 Stat. 3105). 

6 ‘‘(17) Certain lands in the Jefferson National 

7 Forest, which comprise approximately 1,845 acres, 

8 as generally depicted on the map entitled ‘Lewis 

9 Fork Addition and Little Wilson Creek Additions’ 

10 and dated February 2007, and which are hereby in11 corporated in the Little Wilson Creek Wilderness 

12 designated by section 2(5) of the Virginia Wilder13 ness Act of 1984 (Public Law 98–586; 98 Stat. 

14 3105). 

15 ‘‘(18) Certain lands in the Jefferson National 

16 Forest, which comprise approximately 2,249 acres, 

17 as generally depicted on the map entitled ‘Shawvers 

18 Run Additions’ and dated February 2007, and 

19 which are hereby incorporated in the Shawvers Run 

20 Wilderness designated by paragraph (4). 

21 ‘‘(19) Certain lands in the Jefferson National 

22 Forest, which comprise approximately 1,203 acres, 

23 as generally depicted on the map entitled ‘Peters 

24 Mountain Addition’ and dated February 2007, and 

25 which are hereby incorporated in the Peters MounVerDate Aug 31 2005 02:35 Oct 25, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1011.RFS H1011

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1 tain Wilderness designated by section 2(7) of the 

2 Virginia Wilderness Act of 1984 (Public Law 98– 

3 586; 98 Stat. 3105). 

4 ‘‘(20) Certain lands in the Jefferson National 

5 Forest, which comprise approximately 263 acres, as 

6 generally depicted on the map entitled ‘Kimberling 

7 Creek Additions and Potential Wilderness Area’ and 

8 dated February 2007, and which are hereby incor9 porated in the Kimberling Creek Wilderness des10 ignated by section 2(2) of the Virginia Wilderness 

11 Act of 1984 (Public Law 98–586; 98 Stat. 3105).’’. 

12 (b) DESIGNATION OF WILDERNESS STUDY AREA.— 

13 Section 6(a) of the Virginia Wilderness Act of 1984 (Pub14 lic Law 98–586; 98 Stat. 3108) is amended— 

15 (1) by striking ‘‘certain’’ at the beginning of 

16 paragraphs (1) through (4) and inserting ‘‘Certain’’; 

17 (2) by striking the semicolon at the end of 

18 paragraphs (1) and (2) and inserting a period; 

19 (3) by striking ‘‘; and’’ at the end of paragraph 

20 (3) and inserting a period; and 

21 (4) by adding at the end the following new 

22 paragraph: 

23 ‘‘(5) Certain lands in the Jefferson National 

24 Forest, which comprise approximately 3,226 acres, 

25 as generally depicted on a map entitled ‘Lynn Camp 


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1 Creek Wilderness Study Area’ and dated February 

2 2007, and which shall be known as the Lynn Camp 

3 Creek Wilderness Study Area.’’. 

4 (c) MAPS AND LEGAL DESCRIPTIONS.— 

5 (1) FILING.—As soon as practicable after the 

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

7 Agriculture shall file with the Committee on Agri8 culture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate and 

9 the Committee on Natural Resources and the Com10 mittee on Agriculture of the House of Representa11 tives a map and legal description of each wilderness 

12 area designated or expanded by the amendments 

13 made by subsection (a) and of the Lynn Camp 

14 Creek Wilderness Study Area designated by the 

15 amendment made by subsection (b). 

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

17 descriptions referred to in paragraph (1) shall have 

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

19 except that the Secretary of Agriculture may correct 

20 clerical and typographical errors in the maps and de21 scriptions. In the case of any discrepancy between 

22 the acreage specified in the amendments made by 

23 subsection (a) or (b) and the corresponding map 

24 filed under paragraph (1), the map shall control. 


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1 (3) AVAILABILITY.—The maps and legal de2 scriptions referred to in paragraph (1) shall be on 

3 file and available for public inspection in the Office 

4 of the Chief of the Forest Service. 

5 (d) ADMINISTRATION.— 

6 (1) NEW WILDERNESS AREAS.—Subject to valid 

7 existing rights, the Secretary of Agriculture shall ad8 minister the lands in the Jefferson National Forest 

9 designated as a new wilderness area by the amend10 ments made by subsection (a) in accordance with 

11 this section and the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 

12 et seq.), except that, with respect to such lands, any 

13 reference in the Wilderness Act to the effective date 

14 of that Act shall be deemed to be a reference to the 

15 date of the enactment of this Act. 

16 (2) EXPANDED WILDERNESS AREAS.—Subject 

17 to valid existing rights, the Secretary of Agriculture 

18 shall administer the lands in the Jefferson National 

19 Forest designated as wilderness and incorporated 

20 into an existing wilderness area by the amendments 

21 made by subsection (a) in accordance with this sec22 tion, the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.), 

23 and other laws applicable to that wilderness area, 

24 except that, with respect to such lands, any ref25 erence in the Wilderness Act to the effective date of 


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1 that Act shall be deemed to be a reference to the 

2 date of the enactment of this Act. 

3 SEC. 3. DESIGNATION OF KIMBERLING CREEK POTENTIAL 

4 WILDERNESS AREA, JEFFERSON NATIONAL 

5 FOREST, VIRGINIA. 

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

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

8 in the Jefferson National Forest, which comprise approxi9 mately 349 acres, as generally depicted on the map enti10 tled ‘‘Kimberling Creek Additions and Potential Wilder11 ness Area’’ and dated February 2007, are designated as 

12 a potential wilderness area for eventual incorporation in 

13 the Kimberling Creek Wilderness designated by section 

14 2(2) of the Virginia Wilderness Act of 1984 (Public Law 

15 98–586; 98 Stat. 3105). 

16 (b) MAP AND LEGAL DESCRIPTIONS.— 

17 (1) FILING.—As soon as practicable after the 

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

19 Agriculture shall file with the Committee on Agri20 culture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate and 

21 the Committee on Natural Resources and the Com22 mittee on Agriculture of the House of Representa23 tives a map and legal description of potential wilder24 ness area. 


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1 (2) FORCE AND EFFECT.—The map and legal 

2 description referred to in paragraph (1) shall have 

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

4 except that the Secretary of Agriculture may correct 

5 clerical and typographical errors in the map and de6 scription. In the case of any discrepancy between the 

7 acreage specified in subsection (a) and the map filed 

8 under paragraph (1), the map shall control. 

9 (3) AVAILABILITY.—The map and legal descrip10 tion referred to in paragraph (1) shall be on file and 

11 available for public inspection in the Office of the 

12 Chief of the Forest Service. 

13 (c) MANAGEMENT.—Except as provided in subsection 

14 (d) and subject to valid existing rights, the Secretary of 

15 Agriculture shall manage the potential wilderness area as 

16 wilderness pending its incorporation in the Kimberling 

17 Creek Wilderness. 

18 (d) ECOLOGICAL RESTORATION.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of ecological 

20 restoration (including the elimination of non-native 

21 species, removal of illegal, unused, or decommis22 sioned roads, and any other activities necessary to 

23 restore the natural ecosystems in the potential wil24 derness area), the Secretary of Agriculture may use 

25 motorized equipment and mechanized transport in 


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1 the potential wilderness area until its incorporation 

2 in the Kimberling Creek Wilderness. 

3 (2) LIMITATION.—To the maximum extent 

4 practicable, the Secretary shall use the minimum 

5 tool or administrative practice necessary to accom6 plish ecological restoration with the least amount of 

7 adverse impact on wilderness character and re8 sources. 

9 (e) WILDERNESS DESIGNATION.—The potential wil10 derness area shall be designated as wilderness and incor11 porated in the Kimberling Creek Wilderness on the earlier 

12 of— 

13 (1) the date on which the Secretary of Agri14 culture publishes in the Federal Register notice that 

15 the conditions in the potential wilderness area that 

16 are incompatible with the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 

17 1131 et seq.) have been removed; or 

18 (2) the date that is five years after the date of 

19 the enactment of this Act. 

20 (f) ADMINISTRATION.—Subject to valid existing 

21 rights, upon incorporation of the lands designated as wil22 derness under subsection (e) in the Kimberling Creek Wil23 derness, the Secretary of Agriculture shall administer the 

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

25 1131 et seq.) and other laws applicable to that wilderness 


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1 area, except that, with respect to such lands, any reference 

2 in the Wilderness Act to the effective date of that Act shall 

3 be deemed to be a reference to the date on which the lands 

4 are designated as wilderness under subsection (e). 

5 SEC. 4. DESIGNATION OF SENG MOUNTAIN AND BEAR 

6 CREEK SCENIC AREAS, JEFFERSON NA7 TIONAL FOREST, VIRGINIA. 

8 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The following National For9 est System lands in the State of Virginia are hereby des10 ignated as National Scenic Areas (in this section referred 

11 to as the ‘‘scenic areas’’): 

12 (1) Certain lands in the Jefferson National 

13 Forest, which comprise approximately 5,192 acres, 

14 as generally depicted on the map entitled ‘‘Seng 

15 Mountain and Raccoon Branch’’ and dated October 

16 2007, and which shall be known as the Seng Moun17 tain National Scenic Area. 

18 (2) Certain lands in the Jefferson National 

19 Forest, which comprise approximately 5,128 acres, 

20 as generally depicted on the map entitled ‘‘Bear 

21 Creek’’ and dated February 2007, and which shall 

22 be known as the Bear Creek National Scenic Area. 

23 (b) MAPS AND LEGAL DESCRIPTIONS.— 

24 (1) FILING.—As soon as practicable after the 

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


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1 Agriculture shall file with the Committee on Agri2 culture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate and 

3 the Committee on Natural Resources and the Com4 mittee on Agriculture of the House of Representa5 tives a map and legal description of each of the sce6 nic areas. 

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

8 descriptions referred to in paragraph (1) shall have 

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

10 except that the Secretary of Agriculture may correct 

11 clerical and typographical errors in the maps and de12 scriptions. In the case of any discrepancy between 

13 the acreage specified in subsection (a) and the cor14 responding map filed under paragraph (1), the map 

15 shall control. 

16 (3) AVAILABILITY.—The maps and legal de17 scriptions referred to in paragraph (1) shall be on 

18 file and available for public inspection in the Office 

19 of the Chief of the Forest Service. 

20 (c) PURPOSES OF SCENIC AREAS.—The scenic areas 

21 are established for the purposes of— 

22 (1) ensuring the protection and preservation of 

23 scenic quality, water quality, natural characteristics, 

24 and water resources; 


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1 (2) protecting wildlife and fish habitat, con2 sistent with paragraph (1); 

3 (3) protecting areas that may develop charac4 teristics of old-growth forests; and 

5 (4) providing a variety of recreation opportuni6 ties, consistent with the preceding paragraphs. 

7 (d) ADMINISTRATION.— 

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

9 shall administer the scenic areas in accordance with 

10 this section and the laws and regulations generally 

11 applicable to the National Forest System. In the 

12 event of conflict between this section and other laws 

13 and regulations, this section shall take precedence. 

14 (2) CONSISTENT USE.—The Secretary shall 

15 only allow such uses of the scenic areas as the Sec16 retary finds will further the purposes for which the 

17 scenic areas are established. 

18 (e) MANAGEMENT PLAN.—Within two years after the 

19 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Agri20 culture shall develop a management plan for the scenic 

21 areas consistent with this section. The management plan 

22 shall be developed as an amendment to the land and re23 source management plan for the Jefferson National For24 est, except that nothing in this section requires the Sec25 retary to revise the land and resource management plan 


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1 for the Jefferson National Forest pursuant to section 6 

2 of the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Plan3 ning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1604). 

4 (f) ROADS.—After the date of the enactment of this 

5 Act, no roads shall be established or constructed within 

6 the scenic areas, except that this prohibition shall not be 

7 construed to deny access to private lands or interests 

8 therein in the scenic areas. 

9 (g) VEGETATION MANAGEMENT.—No timber harvest 

10 shall be allowed within the scenic areas, except as the Sec11 retary of Agriculture finds necessary in the control of fire, 

12 insects, and diseases and to provide for public safety and 

13 trail access. Notwithstanding the preceding sentence, the 

14 Secretary may engage in vegetation manipulation prac15 tices for maintenance of existing wildlife clearings and vis16 ual quality. Firewood may be harvested for personal use 

17 along perimeter roads under such conditions as the Sec18 retary may impose. 

19 (h) MOTORIZED TRAVEL.—Motorized travel shall not 

20 be permitted within the scenic areas, except that the Sec21 retary of Agriculture may authorize motorized travel with22 in the scenic areas— 

23 (1) as necessary for administrative use in fur24 therance of the purposes of this section; 


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1 (2) in support of wildlife management projects 

2 in existence as of the date of the enactment of this 

3 Act; and 

4 (3) on Forest Development Roads 9410 and 

5 84b during deer and bear hunting seasons and on 

6 that portion of Forest Development Road 6261 des7 ignated on the map referred to in subsection (a)(2) 

8 as ‘‘open seasonally’’ during deer and bear hunting 

9 seasons. 

10 (i) FIRE.—Wildfires in the scenic area shall be sup11 pressed in a manner consistent with the purposes of this 

12 section, using such means as the Secretary of Agriculture 

13 considers appropriate. 

14 (j) INSECTS AND DISEASE.—Insect and disease out15 breaks may be controlled in the scenic areas to maintain 

16 scenic quality, prevent tree mortality, reduce hazards to 

17 visitors, or protect private lands. 

18 (k) WATER.—The Secretary of Agriculture shall ad19 minister the scenic areas so as to maintain and enhance 

20 water quality. 

21 (l) MINING WITHDRAWAL.—Subject to valid existing 

22 rights, all federally owned lands in the scenic areas are 

23 withdrawn from location, entry, and patent under the min24 ing laws of the United States and from leasing claims 


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1 under the mineral and geothermal leasing laws of the 

2 United States, including amendments to such laws. 

3 SEC. 5. TRAIL PLAN AND DEVELOPMENT. 

4 (a) TRAIL PLAN.—The Secretary of Agriculture shall 

5 establish a trail plan for National Forest System lands 

6 described in this subsection in order to develop the fol7 lowing: 

8 (1) Hiking and equestrian trails on the lands in 

9 the Jefferson National Forest designated as wilder10 ness by the amendments made by section 2(a), in a 

11 manner consistent with the Wilderness Act (16 

12 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.). 

13 (2) Nonmotorized recreation trails within the 

14 Seng Mountain and Bear Creek Scenic Areas des15 ignated by section 4. 

16 (b) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary of Agriculture 

17 shall establish the trail plan in consultation with interested 

18 parties. 

19 (c) IMPLEMENTATION REPORT.—Not later than two 

20 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec21 retary of Agriculture shall submit to Congress a report 

22 on the implementation of the trail plan, including the iden23 tification of priority trails for development. 

24 (d) TRAIL REQUIRED.—The Secretary of Agriculture 

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1 linear alignment, to provide for non-motorized travel along 

2 the southern boundary of the Raccoon Branch Wilderness 

3 established by section 1(11) of Public Law 100–326, as 

4 added by (2)(a) of this Act, connecting to Forest Develop5 ment Road 49352 in Smyth County, Virginia. 

6 (e) MOTORIZED ACCESS IN EMERGENCIES.—The 

7 designation of lands as wilderness or a wilderness study 

8 area by an amendment made by this section does not pro9 hibit the use of motor vehicles, motorized equipment, or 

10 motorboats or the landing of aircraft or other forms of 

11 mechanical transport, on the designated lands when re12 quired in connection with an emergency involving the 

13 health and safety of persons, including search and rescue 

14 efforts or the response to an Amber Alert. 

Passed the House of Representatives October 23, 

2007. 

Attest: LORRAINE C. MILLER, 

Clerk. 


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