Pennsylvania Wilderness Act of 1984
PL 98-585 (H.R.5076), enacted 10/30/1984

98 STAT. 3100 
PUBLIC LAW 98-585—OCT. 30, 1984 
Public Law 98 
98th Congress 
-585 
An Act 
Oct. 30, 1984 
[H.R. 5076] 
Pennsylvania 
Wilderness Act 
of 1984. 
National 
Wilderness 
Preservation 
System. 
National Forest 
System. 
National parks, 
monuments, etc. 
16 u s e 460qq 
note. 
16 u s e 460qq 
note. 
16 u s e 1132 
note. 
16 u s e 1132 
note. 
To designate certain areas in the Allegheny National Forest as wilderness and 
recreation areas. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled, That this Act may 
be cited as the "Pennsylvania Wilderness Act of 1984". 
FINDINGS 
SEC. 2. The Congress finds and declares that— 
(1) there is an urgent need to identify and protect natural 
areas to meet the recreational needs of Americans; 
(2) certain lands within the Allegheny National Forest in 
Pennsylvania are worthy of inclusion in the National Wilder-
ness Preservation System; and 
(3) certain other lands within the Allegheny National Forest 
are suitable for designation as a national recreational area. 
PURPOSE 
SEC. 3. It is the purpose of this Act to— 
(1) establish the Allegheny Islands Wilderness and the 
Hickory Creek Wilderness; 
(2) establish the Allegheny National Recreation Area so as to 
ensure the preservation and protection of the area's natural, 
scenic, scientific, historic, archaeological, ecological, educa-
tional, watershed, and wildlife values and to provide for the 
enhancement of recreational opportunities, particularly unde-
veloped recreational opportunities; and 
(3) ensure that any mineral exploration and development that 
takes place within the recreation area is done in an environ-
mentally sound manner. 
WILDERNESS DESIGNATIONS 
SEC. 4. In furtherance of the purposes of the Wilderness Act (16 
U.S.C. 1131-1136), the following lands in the State of Pennsylvania 
are hereby designated as wilderness and, therefore, as components 
of the National Wilderness Preservation System: 
(1) certain lands in the Allegheny National Forest, Pennsylva-
nia, which comprise approximately three hundred and sixty-
eight acres, as generally depicted on a map entitled "Allegheny 
Islands Wilderness—Proposed", dated March 1984, composed of 
Crulls Island, Thompsons Island, R. Thompsons Island, Courson 
Island, King Island, Baker Island, and No Name Island, and 
which shall be known as the Allegheny Islands Wilderness; and 
(2) certain lands in the Allegheny National Forest, Pennsylva-
nia, which comprise approximately nine thousand three hun-
dred and thirty-seven acres as generally depicted on a map 
entitled "Hickory Creek Wilderness—Proposed", dated March 
PUBLIC LAW 98-585—OCT. 30, 1984 
98 STAT. 3101 
1984, and which shall be known as the Hickory Creek 
Wilderness. 
ADMINISTRATION OF WILDERNESS 
SEC. 5. (a) Subject to valid existing rights, each wilderness area 
designated by this Act shall be administered by the Secretary of 
Agriculture in accordance with the provisions of the Wilderness Act 
16 USC 1131 
governing areas designated by that Act as wilderness, except that 
"o^e. 
any reference in such provisions to the effective date of the Wilder-
ness Act shall be deemed to be a reference to the date of enactment 
of this Act. 
(b) As provided in section 4(d)(8) of the Wilderness Act, nothing in 
this Act shall be construed as affecting the jurisdiction or responsi-
bilities of the State of Pennsylvania with respect to wildlife and fish 
in the Allegheny National Forest in the State of Pennsylvania. 
(c)(1) The Secretary is authorized to acquire by purchase, dona-
tion, or exchange, with donated or appropriated funds, such lands or 
interests in lands (including oil, gas, and other mineral interests and 
scenic easements) within the wilderness areas designated by this Act 
as the Secretary deems necessary to carry out the purposes of this 
Act. Such lands and interests in lands may be acquired only with 
the consent of the owner thereof. 
(2) Not more than $2,000,000 is authorized to be appropriated for 
Appropriation 
the purpose of acquiring, in accordance with this subsection, lands 
authorization. 
and interests in lands in the wilderness areas designated by this Act. 
ALLEGHENY NATIONAL RECREATION AREA 
SEC. 6. (a) In furtherance of the findings and purposes of this Act, 
16 USC 460qq. 
certain lands in the Allegheny National Forest, Pennsylvania, 
which comprise approximately twenty-three thousand one hundred 
acres, as generally depicted on a map entitled "Allegheny National 
Recreation Area—Proposed", dated March 1984, are hereby desig-
nated as the Allegheny National Recreation Area (hereinafter in 
this Act referred to as the "national recreation area"). The Secre-
tary of Agriculture may revise the boundaries of the national 
recreation area to correct errors or to include additional lands 
acquired adjacent to the area. 
(b) The national recreation area shall be managed for the pur-
poses of— 
(1) outdoor recreation including, but not limited to, hunting, 
fishing, hiking, backpacking, camping, nature study, and the 
use of motorized and nonmotorized boats on the Allegheny 
Reservoir; 
(2) the conservation offish and wildlife populations and habitat; 
(3) the protection of watersheds and the maintenance of free 
flowing streams and the quality of ground and surface waters in 
accordance with applicable law; 
(4) the conservation of scenic, cultural, and other natural 
values of the area; 
(5) allowing the development of privately owned oil, gas, and 
mineral resources subject to reasonable conditions prescribed by 
the Secretary under subsection (c) for the protection of the area; 
and 
98 STAT. 3102 
PUBLIC LAW 98-585—OCT. 30, 1984 
16 u s e 1600 
note. 
42 u s e 4321 
note. 
Mines and 
mining. 
16 u s e 460qq 
note. 
Public 
availability. 
(6) minimizing, to the extent practicable, environmental dis-
turbances caused by resource development, consistent with the 
exercise of private property rights. 
(c) The Secretary shall administer the national recreation area in 
accordance with the purposes described in subsection (b) and the 
laws, rules, and regulations applicable to the National Forest 
System. Subject to valid existing rights, any activity associated with 
the exploration, development, or transportation of oil, gas, or other 
minerals shall be subject to such reasonable conditions as the 
Secretary may prescribe, and in accordance with the management 
plan described in subsection (d), to achieve the purposes, described 
in subsection (b), of the national recreation area. For any such 
activity, the Secretary shall require a plan of operations which shall 
include provisions for adequate reclamation, including, to the extent 
practicable, revegetation and rehabilitation after each phase of 
operations is completed. 
(d) The Secretary shall prepare, and may from time to time 
amend, a management plan for the national recreation area. The 
plan may be prepared in conjunction with, or incorporated with, 
ongoing planning for the Allegheny National Forest in accordance 
with the National Forest Management Act of 1976. The initial 
management plan and significant amendments or revisions shall be 
accompanied by an environmental impact statement prepared in 
accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969. 
(e) The Secretary shall permit hunting, fishing, and trapping 
within the boundaries of the national recreation area in accordance 
with applicable Federal and State laws except that the Secretary 
may designate zones where, and establish periods when, no hunting, 
fishing, or trapping shall be permitted for reasons of public safety, 
administration, or public use and enjoyment. Except in emergencies, 
any prohibitions or restrictions made pursuant to this subsection 
shall be put into effect only after consultation with the appropriate 
State fish and game department. 
(f) Subject to valid existing rights, the minerals in all federally 
owned lands within the national recreation area designated by this 
Act are withdrawn from all forms of appropriation under the 
mining laws and from disposition under all laws pertaining to 
mineral leasing, including all laws pertaining to geothermal leasing, 
and all amendments thereto. 
(g) Nothing in this section shall be construed to apply to or have 
any effect on any other management area of the National Forest 
System, including any wilderness area or any other national recrea-
tion area. 
MAPS AND DESCRIPTIONS 
SEC. 7. As soon as practicable after enactment of this Act, the 
Secretary of Agriculture shall file a map and a legal description of 
the national recreation area and of each wilderness area designated 
by this Act with the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs and 
the Committee on Agriculture of the United States House of Repre-
sentatives and with the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and 
Forestry of the United States Senate. Each such map and descrip-
tion shall have the same force and effect as if included in this Act, 
except that correction of clerical and typographical errors in such 
maps and descriptions may be made by the Secretary. Each such 
map and description shall be on file and available for public inspec-
PUBLIC LAW 98-585—OCT. 30, 1984 
98 STAT. 3103 
tion in the Office of the Chief of the Forest Service, Department of 
Agriculture. 
EFFECT OF RARE II 
SEC. 8. (a) The Congress finds that— 
(1) the Department of Agriculture has completed the second 
Conservation, 
roadless area review and evaluation program (RARE II); and 
(2) the Congress has made its own review and examination of 
National Forest System roadless areas in the State of Pennsyl-
vania, and of the environmental impacts associated with alter-
native allocations of such areas. 
(b) On the basis of such review, the Congress hereby determines 
and directs that— 
(1) without passing on the question of the legal and factual 
sufficiency of the RARE II final environmental statement 
(dated January 1979) with respect to National Forest System 
lands in States other than Pennsylvania, such statement shall 
not be subject to judicial review with respect to National Forest 
System lands in the State of Pennsylvania; 
(2) with respect to the National Forest System lands in the 
State of Pennsylvania which were reviewed by the Department 
of Agriculture in the second roadless area review and evalua-
tion (RARE II) and those lands referred to in subsection (d), that 
review and evaluation or reference shall be deemed for the 
purposes of the initial land management plans required for such 
lands by the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Plan-
ning Act of 1974, as amended by the National Forest Manage-
ment Act of 1976, to be an adequate consideration of the 
16 USC1600 
suitability of such lands for inclusion in the National Wilder- note. 
ness Preservation System and the Department of Agriculture 
shall not be required to review the wilderness option prior to 
the revisions of the plans, but shall review the wilderness option 
when the plans are revised, which revisions will ordinarily 
occur on a ten-year cycle, or at least every fifteen years, unless, 
prior to such time, the Secretary of Agriculture finds that 
conditions in a unit have significantly changed; 
(3) areas in the State of Pennsylvania reviewed in such final 
environmental statement or referenced in subsection (d) and not 
designated as wilderness or for special management under sec-
tion 6 of this Act upon enactment of this Act shall be managed 
for multiple use in accordance with land management plans 
pursuant to section 6 of the Forest and Rangeland Renewable 
Resources Planning Act of 1974, as amended by the National 
Forest Management Act of 1976: Provided, That such areas need 
16 USC 1604. 
not be managed for the purpose of protecting their suitability 
for wilderness designation prior to or during revision of the 
initial land management plans; and 
(4) in the event that revised land management plans in the 
State of Pennsylvania are implemented pursuant to section 6 of 
the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act 
of 1974, as amended by the National Forest Management Act of 
1976, and other applicable law, areas not recommended for 
wilderness designation need not be managed for the purpose of 
protecting their suitability for wilderness designation prior to or 
during revision of such plans, and areas recommended for 
wilderness designation shall be managed for the purpose of 
protecting their suitability for wilderness designation as may be 
98 STAT. 3104 
PUBLIC LAW 98-585—OCT. 30, 1984 
required by the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources 
Planning Act of 1974, as amended by the National Forest 
16 use 1600 
Management Act of 1976, and other applicable law. 
note. 
(c) As used in this section, and as provided in section 6 of the 
Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974, 
16 use 1604. 
as amended by the National Forest Management Act of 1976, the 
term "revision" shall not include an "amendment" to a plan. 
(d) The provisions of this section shall also apply to National 
Forest System roadless lands in the State of Pennsylvania which are 
less than five thousand acres in size. 
BUFFER ZONES 
SEC. 9. The Congress does not intend that the designation of a 
wilderness area under this Act lead to the creation of protective 
perimeters or buffer zones around such wilderness area. The fact 
that nonwilderness activities or uses can be seen or heard from 
areas within a wilderness shall not preclude such activities or uses 
up to the boundary of the wilderness area. 
Approved October 30, 1984. 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY—H.R. 5076: 
HOUSE REPORT No. 98-713, Pt. 1 (Comm. on Interior and Insular Affairs). 
SENATE REPORT No. 98-616 (Comm. on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry). 
eONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 130 (1984): 
May 1, considered and passed House. 
Oct. 2, considered and passed Senate, amended. 
Oct. 4, House agreed to Senate amendment.