An Act to designate certain endangered public lands for preservation as wilderness, and for other purposes.
PL 95-237 (H.R.3454), enacted 02/24/1978

92 STAT. 40 
PUBLIC LAW 95-237—FEB. 24, 1978 
Public Law 95-237 
95th Congress 
Feb. 24, 1978 
[H.R. 3454] 
Endangered 
American 
Wilderness Act of 
1978. 
16 use 1132 
note. 
16 use 1132 
note. 
16 use 1131. 
16 use 1132 
note. 
16 use 1131 
note. 
Pusch Ridge 
Wilderness, Ariz. 
An Act 
To designate certain endangered public lands for preservation as wilderness, 
, 
. . . , , ; 
and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted hy the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assemhled, That this Act may be 
cited as the "Endangered American Wilderness Act of 1978". 
STATEMENT OF FINDINGS AND POLICY 
SECTION 1. (a) The Congress finds that— 
(1) many areas of undeveloped national forest land possess and 
exhibit outstanding natural characteristics giving them high value 
as wilderness and will, if properly preserved, contribute as an 
enduring resource of wilderness for the benefit of the American 
people; 
(2) certain of these undeveloped national forest lands meet all 
statutory criteria for suitability as wilderness as established by 
subsection 2(c) of the Wilderness Act (78 Stat. 890), but are not 
adequately protected and lack statutory designation pursuant to 
the Wilderness Act as units of the National Wilderness Preserva-
tion System; 
(3) these and other undeveloped national forest lands exhibit-
ing wilderness values are immediately threatened by pressures of 
a growing and more mobile population, large-scale industrial and 
economic growth, and development and uses inconsistent with 
the protection, maintenance, restoration, and enhancement of their 
wilderness character; and 
(4) among such immediately threatened areas are lands not 
being adequately protected or fully studied for wilderness suit-
ability by the agency responsible for their administration. 
(b) Therefore, the Congress finds and declares that it is in the 
national interest that certain of these endangered areas be promptly 
designated as wilderness within the National Wilderness Preservation 
System, in order to preserve such areas as an enduring resource of 
wilderness which shall be managed to promote and perpetuate the 
wilderness character of the land and its specific multiple values for 
watershed preservation, wildlife habitat protection, scenic and historic 
preservation, scientific research and educational use, primitive recrea-
tion, solitude, physical and mental challenge, and inspiration for the 
benefit of all of the American people of present and future generations. 
DESIGNATION OF WILDERNESS AREAS 
SEC. 2. In furtherance of the purposes of the Wilderness Act, the 
following lands (hereinafter referred to as "wilderness areas"), as 
generally depicted on maps appropriately referenced, dated January 
1978, are hereby designated as wilderness and, therefore, as compo-
nents of the National Wilderness Preservation System— 
(a) certain lands in the Coronado National Forest, Arizona, 
which comprise about fifty-six thousand four hundred and thirty 
PUBLIC LAW 95-237—FEB. 24, 1978 
92 STAT. 41 
acres, are generally depicted on a map entitled "Pusch Kidge 
Wilderness Area—Proposed", and shall be known as the Pusch 
Ridge Wilderness; 
(b) certain lands in the Inyo and Sequoia National Forests, 
California, which comprise about three hundred and six thousand 
acres, are generally depicted on a map entitled "Golden Trout 
Wilderness Area—Proposed", and shall be known as the Golden 
Trout Wilderness; 
(c) certain lands in and adjacent to the Los Padres National 
Forest, California, which comprise about twenty-one thousand 
two hundred and fifty acres, are generally depicted on a map 
entitled "Santa Lucia Wilderness Area—Proposed", and shall be 
known as the Santa Lucia Wilderness: Provided^ That the tract 
identified on said map as "Wilderness Reserve" is designated as 
wilderness, subject only to the removal of the existing and tempo-
rary nonconforming improvement, at which time the Secretary 
of Agriculture (hereinafter referred to as the "Secretary") is 
directed to publish notice thereof in the Federal Register. Pend-
ing such notice, and subject only to the maintenance of the existing 
nonconforming improvement, said tract shall be managed as 
wilderness in accordance with section 5 of this Act. In order to 
guarantee the continued viability of the Santa Lucia watershed 
and to insure the continued health and safety of the communities 
serviced by such watershed, the management plan for the Santa 
Lucia area to be prepared following designation as wilderness 
shall authorize the Forest Service to take whatever appropriate 
actions are necessary for fire prevention and watershed protection 
including, but not limited to, acceptable fire presuppression and 
fire suppression measures and techniques. Any special provisions 
contained in the management plan for the Santa Lucia AVilder-
ness area shall be incorporated in the planning for the Los Padres 
National Forest: Provided^ That the Forest Service is authorized 
to continue fire presuppression, fire suppression measures and tech-
niques, and watershed maintenance pending completion of the 
management plan for the Santa Lucia area; 
(d) certain lands in the Los Padres National Forest, California, 
which comprise about sixty-one thousand acres, are generally 
depicted on a map entitled "Ventana Wilderness Additions—Pro"-
posed", and which are hereby incorporated in, and shall be deemed 
to be a part of, the Ventana Wilderness as designated by Public 
Law 91-58. In order to guarantee the continued viability of the 
Ventana watershed and to insure the continued health and safety 
of the communities serviced by such watershed, the management 
plan for the Ventana area to be prepared following designation as 
wilderness shall authorize the Forest Service to take whatever 
appropriate actions are necessary for fire prevention and water-
shed protection including, but not limited to, acceptable fire 
presuppression and fire suppression measures and techniques. Any 
special provisions contained in the management plan for the 
Ventana Wilderness area shall be incorporated in the planning for 
the Los Padres National Forest; 
(e) certain lands in the White River National Forest, Colorado, 
which comprise approximately seventy-four thousand four hun-
dred and fifty acres, are generally depicted as area "A" on a map 
entitled "Hunter-Fryingpan Wilderness Area—Proposed", and 
shall be known as the Hunter-Fryingpan Wilderness. The area 
commonly known as the "Spruce Creek Addition", depicted as 
area "B" on said map and comprising approximately eight thou-
Golden Trout 
Wilderness, 
Calif. 
Santa Lucia 
Wilderness, 
Calif. 
Notice. 
Publication in 
Federal Register. 
16 u s e 1134. 
Ventana 
Wilderness, 
Calif. 
16 use 1132 
note. 
Hunter-
Fryingpan 
Wilderness, Colo. 
Spruce Creek 
Addition. 
92 STAT. 42 
PUBLIC LAW 95-237—FEB. 24, 1978 
16 u s e 1132. 
Review. 
Report to 
President. 
Recommendation, 
submittal to 
Congress. 
43 u s e 616. 
43 u s e 600f. 
Manzano 
Mountain 
Wilderness, 
N. Mex. 
Sandia Mountain 
Wilderness, 
N. Mex. 
ehama River 
eanyon 
Wilderness, 
N. Mex. 
Lone Peak 
Wilderness, 
Utah. 
Savage Run 
Wilderness, Wyo. 
sand acres, shall, in accordance with the provisions of subsection 
3(d) of the Wilderness Act, be reviewed by the Secretary as to its 
suitability or nonsuitability for preservation as wilderness. The 
Secretary shall complete his review and report his findings to the 
President and the President shall submit to the United States 
Senate and the House of Representatives his recommendation with 
respect to the designation of the Spruce Creek area as wilderness 
not later than two years from the date of enactment of this Act. 
Subject to valid existing rights, the wilderness study area desig-
nated by this subsection shall, until Congress determines 
otherwise, be administered by the Secretary so as to maintain 
presently existing wilderness character and potential for inclusion 
m the National Wilderness Preservation System. No right, or 
claim of right, to the diversion and use of the waters of Hunter 
Creek, the Fryingpan or Roaring Fork Rivers, or any tributaries 
of said creeks or rivers, by the Fryingpan-Arkansas Project, Pub-
lic Law 87-690, Eighty-seventh Congress, and the reauthorization 
thereof by Public Law 93-493, Ninety-third Congress, under the 
laws of the State of Colorado, shall be prejudiced, expanded, 
diminished, altered, or affected by this Act. Nothing in this Act 
shall be construed to expand, abate, impair, impede, or interfere 
with the construction, maintenance, or repair of said Fryingpan-
Arkansas Project facilities, nor the operation thereof, pursuant to 
the Operating Principles, House Document Numbered 130, 
Eighty-seventh Congress, and pursuant to the water laws of the 
State of Colorado; 
(f) certain lands in the Cibola National Forest, New Mexico, 
which comprise about thirty-seven thousand acreSj are generally 
depicted on a map entitled "Manzano Mountain Wilderness 
Area—Proposed", and shall be known as the Manzano Mountain 
Wilderness; 
(g) certain lands in Cibola National Forest, New Mexico, 
which comprise about thirty thousand nine hundred and thirty 
acres, are generally depicted on a map entitled "Sandia Moun-
tain Wilderness Area (North and South Units)—Proposed", and 
shall be known as the Sandia Mountain Wilderness; 
(h) certain lands in the Santa Fe and Carson National Forests, 
New Mexico, which comprise approximately fifty thousand three 
hundred acres, are generally depicted on a map entitled "Chama 
iRiver Canyon Wilderness Area—Proposed", and shall be known 
as the Chama River Canyon Wilderness; 
(i) certain lands in Wasatch and Unita National Forests, Utah, 
which comprise about twenty-nine thousand five hundred and 
sixty-seven acres, are generally depicted on a map entitled "Lone 
Peak Wilderness Area—Proposed", and shall be known as the 
Lone Peak Wilderness: Provided^ That the Forest Service is 
directed to utilize whatever sanitary facilities are necessary 
(including but not limited to vault toilets, which may require 
service by helicopter) to insure the continued health and safety 
of the communities serviced by the Lone Peak watershed; further-
more, nothing in this Act shall be construed to limit motorized 
access and road maintenance by local municipalities for those 
minimum maintenance activities necessary to guarantee the con-
tinued viability of whatsoever watershed facilities currently exist, 
or which may be necessary in the future to prevent the degrada-
tion of the water supply in the Lone Peak area; 
(j) certain lands in the Medicine Bow National Forest, Wyo-
ming, which comprise about fourteen thousand nine hundred and 
PUBLIC LAW 95-237—FEB. 24, 1978 
92 STAT. 43 
forty acres, are generally depicted on a map entitled "Savage 
Eun Wilderness Area—Proposed", and shall be known as the 
Savage Run Wilderness; and 
(k) certain lands in Lolo National Forest, Montana, which 
comprise approximately twenty-eight thousand four hundred and 
forty acres are generally depicted on a map entitled "Welcome 
Creek Wilderness Area—Proposed", and shall be known as the 
Welcome Creek "VMlderness. 
Welcome Creek 
Wilderness, 
Mont. 
OREGON OMNIBUS WILDERNESS ACT OF 1978 
SEC. 3. In furtherance of the purposes of the Wilderness Act, the 
following lands (hereinafter referred to as "wilderness areas") as 
generally depicted on maps appropriately referenced, dated January 
1978, are hereby designated as wilderness and, therefore, as components 
of the National Wilderness Preservation System— 
(a) certain lands in the Siskiyou National Forest, Oregon, 
which comprise about ninety-two thousand acres, are generally 
depicted on a map entitled "Kalmiopsis Wilderness Additions— 
Proposed", and which are hereby incorporated in and shall be 
deemed to be a part of the Kalmiopsis Wilderness as designated 
by Public Law 88-577; 
(b) certain lands in the Siskiyou National Forest, Oregon, 
which comprise about thirty-six thousand seven hundred acres, 
are generally depicted on a map entitled "Wild Rogue Wilder-
ness—Proposed", and shall be known as the Wild Rogue 
Wilderness: Provided, That the portion of the segment of the 
Rogue River designated as a component of the National Wild and 
Scenic Rivers System by section 3(a) (5) of the Wild and Scenic 
River Act (82 Stat. 906, as amended) which lies within the Wild 
^ogue Wilderness shall be managed as a wild river notwith-
standing section 10(b) of that Act or any provisions of the 
Wilderness Act to the contrary; 
(c) certain lands in the Umatilla National Forest, Oregon and 
Washington, which comprise about one hundred and eighty thou-
sand acres, are generally depicted on a map entitled "Wenaha-
Tucannon Wilderness—Proposed", and shall be known as the 
Wenaha-Tucannon Wilderness; 
(d) certain lands in the Mount Hood National Forest, Oregon, 
which comprise about thirty-three thousand acres, are generally 
depicted on a map entitled "Mount Hood (Zig Zag) Proposed 
Wilderness Additions", and which are hereby incorporated in, 
and shall be deemed to be a part of the Mount Hood Wilderness 
as designated by Public Law 88-577; and 
(e) certain lands in the Willamette National Forest, Oregon, 
which comprise about forty-five thousand four hundred acres, are 
generally depicted on a map entitled "French Pete Creek and 
Other Proposed Additions, Three Sisters Wilderness", and which 
are hereby incorporated in, and shall be deemed to be a part of, 
the Three Sisters Wilderness as designated by Public Law 88-577. 
GOSPEL-HUMP AREA 
SEC. 4. (a) (1) In furtherance of the purposes of the Wilderness Act, 
certain lands in the Nezperce National Forest, Idaho, which comprise 
about two hundred and six thousand acres, as generally depicted under 
the category "Wilderness" on a map entitled "Gospel-Hump Planning 
Unit" and dated January 1978, are hereby designated as wilderness 
16 use 1132 
note. 
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note. 
Kalmiopsis 
Wilderness, 
Oreg. 
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note. 
Wild Rogue 
Wilderness, 
Oreg. 
16 u s e 1274. 
16 u s e 1281. 
Wenaha-
Tucannon 
Wilderness, 
Oreg. 
Mount Hood 
Wilderness, 
Oreg. 
Three Sisters 
Wilderness, 
Oreg. 
16 
use 1131 
note. 
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use 1132 
note. 
39-194 
O—80—pt. 
1 
7 
: 
QL3 
92 STAT. 44 
PUBLIC LAW 95-237—FEB. 24, 1978 
Advisory 
Committee. 
Establishment. 
Members. 
IK' ' J 
Travel expenses. 
Termination. 
Fish and game 
research 
program. 
Grants. 
and therefore, as components of the National Wilderness Preservation 
System. 
(2) Certain other contiguous roadless lands which comprise about 
ninety-two thousand acres, as generally depicted on said map as "Man-
agement Areas" shall be managed in accordance with the multipurpose 
resource development plan required by this section. 
(3) Certain other contiguous roadless lands which comprise about 
forty-five thousand acres, as generally depicted on said map as "Devel-
opment Areas" shall be immediately available for resource utiliza-
tion under the existing applicable Forest Service land management 
plans. 
(b) (1) Within ninety days after enactment of this Act, the Secre-
tary shall appoint a seven-member Advisory Committee (hereinafter 
referred to as the "Committee") on the management of the Gospel-
Hump Area who shall advise the Secretary as to the progress of the 
fish and game research program, and the multipurpose resource devel-
opment plan required by this section, and who shall evaluate the results 
of the research program and development plan on an ongoing basis. 
(2) The Committee shall be comprised of two members of the timber 
industry who purchase timber from the Nezperce National Forest, two 
members from organizations who are actively engaged in seeking the 
preservation of wilderness lands, and three members from the general 
public who otherwise have a significant interest in the resources and 
management of the Gospel-Hump Area. 
(3) Committee members shall serve without pay except that while 
away from their homes or regular places of business in performance 
of services for the Committee, members of the Committee shall be 
allowed travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, in 
the same manner as persons employed intermittently in the Govern-
ment service are allowed under section 5703(b) of title 5 of the United 
States Code. 
(4) The Secretary shall provide that the Committee shall meet as 
soon as practicable after all the members are appointed, but in no case 
later than one hundred and fifty days after the enactment of this Act. 
Subsequently, the Committee shall meet every one hundred and eighty 
days, or as often as the Secretary deems necessary. 
(5) The Committee shall terminate one hundred and fifty days 
after transmittal of the completed multipurpose resource development 
plan required under this section. 
(c) (1) The Secretary shall cooperate with agencies and institutions 
of the State of Idaho, and with the Secretary of the Interior, in con-
ducting a comprehensive fish and game research program within the 
Gospel-Hump Area and surrounding Federal lands in north-central 
Idaho. The Secretary shall assure that this research program includes 
detailed investigations concerning resident and anadromous fisheries 
resources (including water quality relationships) and the status, dis-
tribution, movements, and management of game populations, in order 
to provide findings and recommendations concerning integration of 
land management and development with the protection and enhance-
ment of these fish and game resources. 
(2) To carry out the comprehensive fish and game research program, 
the Secretary is authorized to make grants of funds to agencies and 
institutions of the State of Idaho and to provide the assistance of per-
sonnel from agencies under his jurisdiction. 
(3) The Secretary shall assure that the comprehensive fish and ^ame 
research program is scheduled and progressing on a timely basis so 
that findings and recommendations are fully integrated in preparation 
of the multipurpose resource development plan required by this section. 
PUBLIC LAW 95-237—FEB. 24, 1978 
92 STAT. 45 
(d) (1) Within four years after enactment of this Act, the Secretary 
shall implement a multipurpose resource development plan for devel-
opment of the Federal lands identified on the map referenced in this 
section as "Management Areas". 
(2) The multipurpose resource development plan shall comply with 
the provisions of the Multiple-Use Sustained-Yield Act of 1960 (74 
Stat. 215; 16 U.S.C. 528) and the Forest and Rangeland Eenewable 
Resources Planning Act of 1974 (88 Stat. 476; 16 U.S.C. 1601) as 
amended, and shall conform in all respects to the provisions of the 
National Forest Management Act of 1976 (90 Stat. 2949; 16 U.S.C. 
1600), including the regulations, guidelines, and standards promul-
gated pursuant to those Acts. In preparing the multipurpose resource 
development plan, the Secretary shall take particular care to gather 
and integrate detailed field data on soil types and soil hazards, and to 
consider timber volumes, timber site classes, and productivity. The cur-
rent findings and recommendations of the comprehensive fish and game 
research program and other available information shall be integrated 
into the preparation of the multipurpose resource development plan. 
The multipurpose resource development plan may be periodically 
revised to accommodate new information as it becomes available. 
(3) In preparing the multipurpose resource development plan, the 
Secretary shall assure adequate public involvement, and he shall make 
full use of the recommendations of the Committee established by this 
section. 
(4) One year after the date of enactment of this Act and every year 
thereafter, the Secretary shall review the multipurpose resource devel-
opment plan being prepared in accordance with this section to deter-
mine which lands, if any, might be scheduled for development prior 
to the completion of the final multipurpose resource development plan. 
(5) The Secretary shall publish a notice of the completion of the 
multipurpose resource development plan or a portion thereof in the 
Federal Register and shall transmit it to the President and to the 
Senate and House of Representatives. The completed multipurpose 
resource development plan or relevant portions thereof shall be imple-
mented by the Secretary no earlier than ninety days and no later 
than one hundred and fifty calendar days from the date of such 
transmittal. 
(e) The Secretary shall prepare a wilderness management plan for 
the Gospel-Hump Wilderness designated pursuant to this section, tak-
ing into account the findings of the comprehensive fish and game 
research program. 
(f) Within thirty days suiter the date of enactment of this Act, the 
Secretary shall include the timber resources on the lands identified 
on the map referenced in this section as "Development Areas" and 
"Management Areas" within the annual allowable timber harvest level 
for the Nezperce National Forest. 
(g) Nothing in this Act shall prevent within the Gospel-Hump 
Wilderness Area any activity, including prospecting, for the purpose 
of gathering information about mineral or other resources, if such 
activity is carried on in a manner compatible with the preservation of 
the Avilderness environment. Furthermore, in accordance with such 
program as the Secretary of the Interior shall develop and conduct 
in consultation with the Secretary, the Gospel-Hump Wilderness Area 
shall be surveyed on a planned recurring basis consistent with the con-
cept of wilderness preservation by the Geological Survey and the 
Bureau of Mines to determine the mineral values, if any, that may be 
present, and the results of such surveys shall be made available to the 
public and submitted to the President and the Congress. 
Multipurpose 
resource 
development 
plan. 
Completion 
notice. 
Publication in 
Federal Register. 
Transmittal to 
President and 
Congress. 
Wilderness 
management 
plan. 
Mineral value 
survey, 
availability to 
public. 
Submittal to 
President and 
Congress. 
92 STAT. 46 
PUBLIC LAW 95-237—FEB. 24, 1978 
Appropriation 
authorization. 
31 use 1301 
note. 
16 use 1131 
note. 
Effective date. 
16 use 1133. 
(h) There are hereby authorized to be appropriated after October 1, 
1978, such funds as may be necessary to carry out the comprehensive 
fish and game research program and the multipurpose resource devel-
opment plan authorized under this section. Appropriations requests 
by the President to implement the multipurpose resource develop-
ment plan shall express in qualitative and quantitative terms the most 
rapid and judicious manner and methods to achieve the purposes of 
this Act. Amounts appropriated to carry out this Act shall be expended 
in accordance with the Budget Eef 
orm and Impoundment Control Act 
of 1974 (88 Stat. 297). 
ADMINISTRATION OF WILDERNESS AREAS 
SEO. 5. Subject to valid existing rights, each wilderness area desig-
nated by this Act shall be administered by the Secretary in accordance 
with the provisions of the Wilderness Act: Provided, That any refer-
ence in such provisions to the effective date of the Wilderness Act 
shall be deemed to be a reference to the effective date of this Act: 
Provided further, That with respect to the Gospel-Hump Wilderness 
Area designated by section 4(a)(1) of this Act, all references under 
section 4(d) (3) of the Wilderness Act of 1964 to December 31, 1983, 
shall be deemed to be December 31, 1988, and any reference to Janu-
ary 1,1984, shall be deemed to be January 1,1989: Provided, however, 
That all activities resulting from the exercise of valid existing mineral 
rights on patented or unpatented mining claims within the Gospel-
Hump Wilderness Area shall be subject to regulations prescribed by 
the Secretary as he deems necessary or desirable for the preservation 
and management of this area. 
FILING OF MAPS AND DESCRIPTIONS 
SEC. 6. As soon as practicable after enactment of this Act, a map 
and a legal description of each wilderness area shall be filed with the 
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the United States 
Senate and the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs of the House 
of Representatives, and each such map and description shall have the 
same force and effect as if included in this Act: Provided, That correc-
tion of clerical and typographical errors in each such legal descrip-
tion and map may be made. Each such map and legal description shall 
be on file and available for public inspection in the Office of the Chief 
of the Forest Service, Department of Agriculture. 
; - • 
Approved February 24, 1978. 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: 
HOUSE REPORTS: No. 95-540 (eomm. on Interior and Insular Affairs) and No. 
95-861 (Coram, of eonference). 
SENATE REPORTS: No. 95-490 (Coram, on Energy and Natural Resources), and No. 
95-626 (Coram, of Conference). 
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD: 
Vol. 123 (1977): Sept. 12, considered and passed House. 
Oct. 20, considered and passed Senate, amended. 
Vol. 124 (1978): Feb. 8, Senate agreed to conference report. 
Feb. 9, House agreed to conference report. 
WEEKLY COMPILATION OF PRESIDENTIAL DOCUMENTS: 
Vol. 14, No. 8 (1978): Feb. 24, Presidential statement.