Maine Wilderness Act of 1990
PL 101-401 (S.2205), enacted 09/28/1990

PUBLIC LAW 101-401—SEPT. 28, 1990 
104 STAT. 863 
Public Law 101-401 
101st Congress 
An Act 
To designate certain lands in the State of Maine as wilderness. 
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 "Maine Wilderness Act of 1990". 
SEC. 2. DESIGNATION OF WILDERNESS AREAS. 
In furtherance of the purposes of the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 
1131-1136), certain lands in the White Mountain National Forest, in 
the State of Maine— 
(1) which comprise approximately twelve thousand acres, as 
generally depicted on a map entitled 
"Caribou-Speckled 
Mountain Wilderness—Proposed", dated January 1987; and 
(2) which shall be known as the Caribou-Speckled Mountain 
Wilderness, 
are hereby designated wilderness, and, therefore, as components of 
the National Wilderness Preservation System. 
SEC. 3. MAPS AND DESCRIPTIONS. 
As soon as practicable after enactment of this Act, the Secretary 
of Agriculture shall file a map and a legal description of the 
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. 
The map and description shall have the same force and effect as if 
included in this Act, except that correction of clerical and typo-
graphical errors in such map and description may be made by the 
Secretary. The 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. 
Subject to valid existing rights, the 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 ref-
erence 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. WILDERNESS REVIEW CONCERNS. 
(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 areas in the Maine section of 
Sept. 28, 1990 
[S. 2205] 
Maine 
Wilderness Act 
of 1990. 
Environmental 
protection. 
National 
Wilderness 
Preservation 
System. 
National Forest 
System. 
16 u s e 1132 
note. 
49-139 O - 90 (401) 
39-194 O - 91 - 29 : QL 3 Part 
104 STAT. 864 
PUBLIC LAW 101-401—SEPT. 28, 1990 
the White Mountain National Forest and of the environmental 
impacts associated with alternative allocations of such areas, 
(b) DETERMINATION.—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 the State of Maine; such statement shall not be subject 
to judicial review with respect to National Forest System lands 
in the State of Maine; 
(2) with respect to the National Forest System lands in the 
State of Maine which were reviewed by the Department of 
Agriculture in the second roadless area review and evaluation 
(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 suit-
ability 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 the State of Maine reviewed in such final environ-
mental statement or referenced in subsection (d) and not des-
ignated wilderness 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 Renew-
able Resources Planning Act of 1974, as amended by the Na-
tional Forest Management Act of 1976: Provided, That such 
areas need not be managed for the purpose of protecting their 
suitability for wilderness designation prior to or during revision 
of the initial land management plans; 
(4) in the event that revised land management plans in the 
State of Maine 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 
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; and 
(5) unless expressly authorized by Congress, the Department 
of Agriculture shall not conduct any further statewide roadless 
area review and evaluation of National Forest System lands in 
the State of Maine for the purpose of determining their suit-
ability for inclusion in the National Wilderness Preservation 
System. 
PUBLIC LAW 101-401—SEPT. 28, 1990 
104 STAT. 865 
(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) APPUCATION OF SECTION.—The provisions of this section shall 
also apply to National Forest System roadless lands in the State of 
Maine which are less than 5,000 acres in size. 
SEC. 6. PROHIBITION ON BUFFER ZONES. 
Congress does not intend that the designation of a wilderness area 
in the State of Maine lead to the creation of protective perimeters or 
buffer 
zones 
around 
the 
wilderness 
area. 
The 
fact 
that 
nonwilderness activities or uses can be seen or heard from within 
the wilderness area shall not, of itself, preclude such activities or 
uses up to the boundary of the wilderness area. 
SEC. 7. CONTROL OF FIRE, INSECTS, AND DISEASES. 
As provided in section 4(dXl) of the Wilderness Act, such meas-
ures may be taken within wilderness areas designated by this Act as 
may be necessary in the control of fire, insects, and diseases, subject 
to applicable laws and such additional reasonable conditions as the 
Secretary deems desirable. 
SEC. 8. STATE FISH AND WILDLIFE AUTHORITY. 
As provided in section 4(dX7) of the Wilderness Act, nothing in 
this Act shall be construed as affecting the jurisdiction or respon-
sibilities of the State of Maine with respect to wildlife and fish in the 
national forests in Maine. 
Approved September 28, 1990. 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY—S. 2205 (H.R. 4145): 
HOUSE REPORTS: No. 101-497, Pt. 1 (Comm. on Interior and Insular Affairs) 
accompan3dng H.R. 4145 and No. 101-714, Pt. 1 (Comm. on 
Agriculture). 
SENATE REPORTS: No. 101-299 (Comm. on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry). 
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 136 (1990): 
June 6, considered and passed Senate. 
Sept. 17, considered and passed House.