Tennessee Wilderness Act of 1986
PL 99-490 (H.R.5166), enacted 10/16/1986

PUBLIC LAW 99-490—OCT. 16, 1986 
100 STAT. 1235 
Public Law 99 
99th Congress 
-490 
An Act 
To designate certain lands in the Cherokee National Forest in the State of Tennessee 
as wilderness areas, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the "Tennessee Wilderness Act of 1986". 
SEC. 2. DESIGNATION OF WILDERNESS AREAS. 
In furtherance of the purposes of the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 
1131 et seq.), the following lands in the Cherokee National Forest in 
the State of Tennessee are hereby designated as wilderness and, 
therefore, as components of the National Wilderness Preservation 
System: 
(1) certain lands which comprise approximately 6,665 acres, as 
generally depicted on a map entitled "Pond Mountain Wilder-
ness—Proposed and Pond Mountain Addition Wilderness— 
Proposed", dated July 15, 1986, and which shall be known as 
the Pond Mountain Wilderness; 
(2) certain lands which comprise approximately 6,251 acres, as 
generally depicted on a map entitled "Big Laurel Branch 
Wilderness—Proposed", dated July 15,1986, and which shall be 
known as the Big Laurel Branch Wilderness; 
(3) certain lands which comprise approximately 4,700 acres, as 
generally depicted on a map entitled "Unaka 
Mountain 
Wilderness—Proposed", dated July 15, 1986, and which shall be 
known as the Unaka Mountain Wilderness; 
(4) certain lands which comprise approximately 8,319 acres, as 
generally depicted on a map entitled "Sampson Mountain 
Wilderness—Proposed", dated July 15, 1986, and which shall be 
known as the Sampson Mountain Wilderness; 
(5) certain lands which comprise approximately 4,800 acres, as 
generally depicted on a map entitled "Little Frog Mountain 
Wilderness—Proposed", dated July 15, 1986, and which shall be 
known as the Little Frog Mountain Wilderness; and 
(6) certain lands which comprise approximately 3,000 acres, as 
generally depicted on a map entitled "Big Frog Extension 
Wilderness—Proposed", dated July 15, 1986, and which shall be 
combined with the now existing Big Frog Wilderness and known 
as the Big Frog Wilderness. 
SEC. 3. MAPS AND DESCRIPTIONS. 
As soon as practicable after the date of enactment of this Act, the 
Secretary of Agriculture shall file a map and legal description 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 Representatives and with the Committee 
on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the United States Senate. 
Oct. 16, 1986 
[H.R. 5166] 
Tennessee 
Wilderness Act 
of 1986. 
National 
Wilderness 
Preservation 
System. 
National Forest 
System. 
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note. 
16 u s e 1132 
note. 
16 u s e 1132 
note. 
16 u s e 1132 
note. 
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note. 
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100 STAT. 1236 
PUBLIC LAW 99-490—OCT. 16, 1986 
Public 
information. 
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note. 
Conservation. 
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note. 
Each such map and description shall have the same force and effect 
as if included in this Act, except that correction of clerical and 
typographical errors in each such map and description may be made 
by the Secretary. Each such map and description shall be on file and 
available for public inspection in the Office of the Chief of the Forest 
Service, Department of Agriculture. 
SEC. 4. ADMINISTRATION OF WILDERNESS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—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 governing areas designated by that Act as wilderness, except 
that any reference in such provisions to the effective date of the 
Wilderness Act shall be deemed to be a reference to the date of 
enactment of this Act. 
SEC. 5. EFFECT OF RARE II. 
(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that— 
(1) the Department of Agriculture has completed the second 
roadless area review and evaluation program (RARE II); and 
(2) the Congress has made its own review and examination of 
National Forest System roadless area in Johnson, Carter, Sulli-
van, Unicoi, Washington, Greene, Cocke, and McMinn Counties, 
Tennessee, and of the environmental impacts associated with 
alternative allocations of such areas. 
(b) REVIEW AND RELEASE.—On the basis of such review, the Con-
gress 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 the National Forest 
System lands other than in Johnson, Carter, Sullivan, Unicoi, 
Washington, Greene, Cocke, and McMinn Counties, Tennessee, 
such statement shall not be subject to judicial review with 
respect to National Forest lands in Johnson, Carter, Sullivan, 
Unicoi, Washington, Greene, Monroe, Polk, McMinn, and Cocke 
Counties, Tennessee; 
(2) with respect to the National Forest System lands in John-
son, Carter, Sullivan, Unicoi, Washington, Greene, Cocke, and 
McMinn Counties, Tennessee, which were reviewed by the 
Department of Agriculture in the second roadless area review 
and evaluation (RARE II) and those lands referred to in subsec-
tion (d), except those lands designated for wilderness study upon 
enactment of this Act, that review and evaluation or reference 
shall be deemed for the purposes of the initial land manage-
ment plans required for such lands by the Forest and Range-
land Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974, as amended by 
the National Forest Management Act of 1976, to be an adequate 
consideration of the suitability of such lands for inclusion in the 
National Wilderness 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 Johnson, Carter, Sullivan, Unicoi, Washington, 
Greene, Monroe, Polk, McMinn, and Cocke Counties, Tennessee, 
PUBLIC LAW 99-490—OCT. 16, 1986 
100 STAT. 1237 
reviewed in such final environmental statement or referenced 
in subsection (d) and not designated as wilderness or for wilder-
ness study upon enactment of this Act shall be managed for 
multiple use in accordance with land management plans pursu-
ant to section 6 of the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Re-
sources Planning Act of 1974, as amended by the National 
Forest Management Act of 1976: Provided, That such areas need 
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not be managed for the purpose of protecting their suitability 
for wilderness designation prior to or during the revision of the 
initial land management plans; and 
(4) in the event that revised land management plans in 
Johnson, 
Carter, 
Sullivan, 
Unicoi, Washington, 
Greene, 
Monroe, Polk, McMinn, and Cocke Counties, Tennessee, are 
implemented pursuant to section 6 of the Forest and Range-
lands 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 designa-
tion 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 designa-
tion shall be managed for the purpose of protecting their suit-
ability for wilderness designation as may be required by the 
Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 
1974, as amended by the National Forest Management Act of 
1976, and other applicable law. 
(c) REVISION.—As used in this section, and as provided in section 6 
of the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 
1974, as amended by the National Forest Management Act of 1976, 
the term "revision" shall not include an "amendment" to a plan. 
(d) CERTAIN AREAS LESS THAN 5,000 ACRES IN SIZE.—The provi-
sions of this section shall also apply to National Forest System 
roadless lands in Johnson, Carter, Sullivan, Unicoi, Washington, 
Greene, Monroe, Polk, McMinn, and Cocke Counties, Tennessee, 
which are less than 5,000 acres in size. 
100 STAT. 1238 
PUBLIC LAW 99-490—OCT. 16, 1986 
SEC. 6. TERMINATION OF WILDERNESS STUDY. 
The designations of the Little Frog Wilderness Study Area and 
the Big Frog Study Area pursuant to section 6 of the Act of Octo-
ber 30, 1984 (98 Stat. 3090), are terminated, and the Secretary of 
Agriculture shall have no further obligation to study such areas for 
wilderness. 
Approved October 16, 1986. 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY—H.R. 5166: 
HOUSE REPORTS: No. 99-853, Pt. 1 (Comm. on Interior and Insular Affairs). 
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 132 (1986): 
Sept. 22, considered and passed House. 
Oct. 3, considered and passed Senate.