I 
115TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6484 
To provide for the designation of the Devil’s Staircase Wilderness Area 
in the State of Oregon, to designate segments of Wasson and Franklin 
Creeks in the State of Oregon as wild or recreation rivers, and for 
other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 24, 2018 
Mr. DEFAZIO (for himself, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. SCHRADER, and Ms. 
BONAMICI) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Natural Resources 
A BILL 
To provide for the designation of the Devil’s Staircase Wil-
derness Area in the State of Oregon, to designate seg-
ments of Wasson and Franklin Creeks in the State of 
Oregon as wild or recreation rivers, and for other pur-
poses. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Devil’s Staircase Wil-
derness Act of 2018’’. 
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SEC. 2. DESIGNATION OF WILDERNESS AREA, DEVIL’S 
STAIRCASE WILDERNESS, OREGON. 
(a) DESIGNATION.—In furtherance of the purposes of 
the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.), the Federal 
land in the State of Oregon administered by the Forest 
Service and the Bureau of Land Management, comprising 
approximately 30,520 acres, as generally depicted on the 
map titled ‘‘Devil’s Staircase Wilderness Proposal’’, dated 
June 8, 2018, are designated as a wilderness area for in-
clusion in the National Wilderness Preservation System 
and to be known as the ‘‘Devil’s Staircase Wilderness’’. 
(b) MAP AND LEGAL DESCRIPTION.—As soon as 
practicable after the date of the enactment of this Act, 
the Secretary shall file with the Committee on Natural Re-
sources of the House of Representatives and the Com-
mittee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate 
a map and legal description of wilderness area designated 
by subsection (a). The map and legal description shall 
have the same force and effect as if included in this Act, 
except that the Secretary may correct clerical and typo-
graphical errors in the map and description. In the case 
of any discrepancy between the acreage specified in sub-
section (a) and the map, the map shall control. The map 
and legal description shall be on file and available for pub-
lic inspection in the Office of the Chief of the Forest Serv-
ice. 
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SEC. 3. ADMINISTRATION. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to valid existing rights, 
the Devil’s Staircase Wilderness Area shall be adminis-
tered by the Secretaries of Agriculture and the Interior, 
in accordance with the Wilderness Act and the Oregon 
Wilderness Act of 1984, except that, with respect to the 
wilderness area, any reference in the Wilderness Act to 
the effective date of that Act shall be deemed to be a ref-
erence to the date of the enactment of this Act. 
(b) FOREST SERVICE ROADS.—As provided in section 
4(d)(1) of the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1133(d)(1)), the 
Secretary of Agriculture shall— 
(1) decommission any National Forest System 
road within the wilderness boundaries; and 
(2) convert Forest Service Road 4100 within 
the wilderness boundary to a trail for primitive rec-
reational use. 
SEC. 4. INCORPORATION OF ACQUIRED LAND AND INTER-
ESTS. 
Any land within the boundary of the wilderness area 
designated by this Act that is acquired by the United 
States shall— 
(1) become part of the Devil’s Staircase Wilder-
ness Area; and 
(2) be managed in accordance with this Act and 
any other applicable law. 
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SEC. 5. FISH AND WILDLIFE. 
Nothing in this Act shall be construed as affecting 
the jurisdiction or responsibilities of the State of Oregon 
with respect to wildlife and fish in the national forests. 
SEC. 6. BUFFER ZONES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—As provided in the Oregon Wilder-
ness Act of 1984 (16 U.S.C. 1132 note; Public Law 98– 
328), Congress does not intend for designation of the wil-
derness area under this Act to lead to the creation of pro-
tective perimeters or buffer zones around the wilderness 
area. 
(b) ACTIVITIES OR USES UP TO BOUNDARIES.—The 
fact that nonwilderness activities or uses can be seen or 
heard from within a wilderness area shall not, of itself, 
preclude the activities or uses up to the boundary of the 
wilderness area. 
SEC. 7. WITHDRAWAL. 
Subject to valid rights in existence on the date of en-
actment of this Act, the Federal land designated as wilder-
ness area by this Act is withdrawn from all forms of— 
(1) entry, appropriation, or disposal under the 
public land laws; 
(2) location, entry, and patent under the mining 
laws; and 
(3) disposition under all laws pertaining to min-
eral and geothermal leasing or mineral materials. 
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SEC. 8. PROTECTION OF TRIBAL RIGHTS. 
Nothing in this Act shall be construed to diminish— 
(1) the existing rights of any Indian tribe; or 
(2) tribal rights regarding access to Federal 
lands for tribal activities, including spiritual, cul-
tural, and traditional food gathering activities. 
SEC. 9. WILD AND SCENIC RIVER DESIGNATIONS, WASSON 
CREEK AND FRANKLIN CREEK, OREGON. 
Section 3(a) of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (16 
U.S.C. 1274(a)) is amended by inserting the following 
paragraphs: 
‘‘(ll) FRANKLIN CREEK, OREGON.—The 4.5- 
mile segment from the headwaters to the private 
land boundary in section 8 to be administered by the 
Secretary of Agriculture as a wild river. 
‘‘(ll) WASSON CREEK, OREGON.— 
‘‘(A) The 4.2-mile segment from the east-
ern edge of section 17 downstream to the 
boundary of sections 11 and 12 to be adminis-
tered by the Secretary of Interior as a wild 
river. 
‘‘(B) The 5.9-mile segment downstream 
from the boundary of sections 11 and 12 to the 
private land boundary in section 22 to be ad-
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ministered by the Secretary of Agriculture as a 
wild river.’’. 
Æ 
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