A bill to designate the Alpine Lakes Wilderness, Mount Baker-Snoqualmie and Wenatchee National Forests, in the State of Washington.
PL 94-357 (H.R.7792), enacted 07/12/1976

PUBLIC LAW 94-357—JULY 12, 1976 
90 STAT. 905 
Public Law 94-357 
94th Congress 
An Act 
To designate the Alpine Lakes Wilderness, Mount Baker-Snoqualmie and 
Wenatchee National Forests, in the State of Washington. 
Be it enacted hy the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled.^ That this Act may 
be cited as the "Alpine Lakes Area Management Act of 1976". 
FINDINGS AND PURPOSES 
SEC. 2. (a) The Congress finds that: 
(1) The Cascade Mountains of the State of Washington between 
Stevens Pass and Snoqualmie Pass, commonly known as the Alpine 
Lakes region, comprise an environment of timbered valleys rising to 
rugged, snowcovered mountains, dotted with over seven hundred lakes, 
displaying unusual diversity of natural vegetation, and providing 
habitat for a variety of wildlife. 
(2) This region is abundant in its multiple resources, including an 
abundant source of pure water, commercial forests, an outdoor labora-
tory for scientific research and educational activities, and opportunities 
for great diversity of recreational use and enjoyment during all sea-
sons of the year, in particular for quality hunting, fishing, motorized 
recreation, skiing, picnicking, camping, rock collecting, nature study, 
backpacking, horseback riding, swimming, boating, mountain climb-
ing, and many others, together with the opportunity for millions of 
persons traveling through the periphery of the area to enjoy its unique 
values. 
(b) Purposes of this Act: In order to provide for public outdoor 
recreation and use and for economic utilization of commercial forest 
lands, geological features, lakes, streams and other resources in the 
Central Cascade Mountains of Washington State by present and future 
generations, there is hereby established, subject to valid existing rights 
an Alpine Lakes Area, including an Alpine Lakes Wilderness, an 
"Intended Wilderness" and a management unit, comprising approxi-
mately nine hundred and twenty thousand acres. 
SEC. 3. (a) The Alpine Lakes Wilderness (hereinafter referred to 
as "the wilderness"), the "Intended Wilderness", and the peripheral 
area (hereinafter referred to as the "management unit"), shall com-
prise the areas so depicted on the map entitled "Alpine Lakes Area" 
and dated June 1976, which shall be on file and available for public 
inspection in the Office of the Chief, Forest Service, Department of 
Agriculture, The Secretary of Agriculture (hereinafter referred to as 
the "Secretary") shall, as soon as practicable after the enactment of 
this Act, publish in the Federal Register a detailed description and 
map showing the boundaries of the wilderness, "Intended Wilderness", 
and the management unit. 
(b) The Secretary shall administer the Federal lands in the man-
agement unit in accordance with the laws, rules, and regulations appli-
cable to the national forests in such a manner as to provide for the 
management of all of the resources of the management unit. 
July 12, 1976 
[H.R. 7792] 
Alpine Lakes 
Area 
Management Act 
of 1976. 
16 u s e 1132 
note. 
16 u s e 1132 
note. 
16 u s e 1132 
note. 
Description and: 
map; publication 
in Federal 
Register. 
Administration. 
90 STAT. 906 
PUBLIC LAW 94-357—JULY 12, 1976 
16 use 1132 
note. 
(c) The Federal lands designated as the Alpine Lakes Wilderness 
shall be administered in accordance with the provisions of this Act 
16 use 1131 
and with the provisions of the Wilderness Act (78 Stat. 890), whioh-
note. 
ever is the more restrictive. 
Publication in 
(d) Federal lands depicted on the map and legal description as 
Federal Register. "Intended Wilderness" shall become part of the Alpine Lakes Wilder-
ness at such time as the adjacent non-Federal lands, interests or other 
property become wilderness according to the provisions of section 3(e) 
of this Act, at which times the Secretary shall file a map and legal 
description of such additions in the Federal Register. 
(e) Non-Federal lands depicted on the map and legal description 
as "Wilderness" and "Intended Wilderness" shall become part of the 
Alpine Lakes Wilderness when acquired by the Federal Government 
in conformance with the acquisition program required by section 4 
of this Act. 
LAND ACQUISITION AND EXCHANGE 
SEC. 4. (a) Within the boundaries of the wilderness and "Intended 
Wilderness", the Secretary is authorized and directed to acquire with 
donated or appropriated funds, by gift, exchange, or otherwise, such 
non-Federal lands, interests, or any other property, in conformance 
with the provisions of section 4 of this Act: Provided^ That any such 
lands, interests, or other property owned by or under the control of the 
State of Washington or any political subdivision thereof may be 
acquired only by donation or exchange. Nothing in this Act shall be 
construed to limit or diminish the existing authority of the Secretary 
to acquire lands and interests therein within the Alpine Lakes Area 
in accordance with established law. Notwithstanding any other pro-
vision of law, any Federal property located within the management 
unit may, with the concurrence of the agency having custody thereof, 
be transferred without consideration to the administrative jurisdic-
tion of the Secretary for use by him in carrying out the purposes of 
this Act. The Secretary shall exercise caution in exchanging land so 
as not to impair substantially the programmed allowable timber har-
vest of the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie and Wenatchee National Forest. 
Amounts appropriated from the Land and Water Conservation Fund 
shall be available for the acquisition of lands and interest for the 
purposes of this Act. 
(b) In exercising his authority to acquire property by exchange, 
c; 
the Secretary may accept title to any non-Federal property located 
within the wilderness and "Intended Wilderness", and convey to the 
owner of such property any national forest land within the State of 
Washington under the jurisdiction of the Secretary: Provided^ That 
the Secretary may accept cash for or pay cash to the grantor in such 
an exchange in order to equalize minor differences in the values of 
the properties exchanged. 
Publication in 
(c) (1) As non-Federal lands and interests in the wilderness and 
Federal Register. "Intended Wilderness" are acquired, and as they become protectable 
and administerable as wilderness, the lands shalL become part of the 
Alpine Lakes Wilderness, and the Secretary shall publish from time 
:i 
to time a notice of such classification in the Federal Register. It is the 
intention of Congress that acquisition of the "Intended Wilderness" 
shall be completed no later than three years after the date of enactment 
of this Act. At any time after three years from the date of enactment 
PUBLIC LAW 94-357—JULY 12, 1976 
90 STAT. 907 
Report to 
congressional 
committees. 
of this Act, an action may be instituted by an owner, all of whose 
lands within the boundaries of the "Intended Wilderness" have been 
managed in such a way so as not to become unsuitable or unmanage-
able as wilderness (except for disturbance affecting a minor land area 
and found by the Secretary to have resulted from strictly accidental 
and unintentional circumstances), against the United States in the 
district court for the district in which such lands are located, to require 
the Secretary to acquire immediately all of said owner's interest in 
such lands, interests and property and to pay in accordance with this 
section 4 just compensation for such lands, interest, and property the 
plaintiff may have which are not yet acquired pursuant to this section 
4. By February 1 of each year, the Secretary shall report in writing 
to the Committees on Interior and Insular Affairs of the United States 
House of Representatives and the Senate, on the status of negotiations 
with private owners to effect exchanges and acquisition of non-Federal 
property. 
(2) The United States will pay just compensation to the owner of Payments 
any lands and interests acquired by and pursuant to this Act. Such 
compensation shall be paid either: (A) by the Secretary of the 
Treasury from money appropriated pursuant to this Act from the 
Land and Water Conservation Fund, or from any other funds avail-
able for such use, upon certification to him by the Secretary, of the 
agreed negotiated value of such property, or the valuation of the 
property awarded by judgment, including interest at the rate of 8 
per centum per annum from the date of the acquisition of the property 
or the date of filing an action according to the provisions of section 
4(c) (1) of this Act, whichever is earlier, to the date of payment 
therefor; or (B) by the Secretary, if the owner of the land concurs, 
with any federally owned property available to him for purposes of 
exchange pursuant to subsection 4(b); or (C) by the Secretary using 
any combination of such money or federally owned property. 
(3) Just compensation shall be the fair market value of the lands 
and interests acquired by and pursuant to this Act, and shall be deter-
mined as of the date of acquisition : Provided^ hotoever^ That the fair 
market value of those lands acquired from owners who, from the time 
of enactment of this Act to the time of acquisition of any such lands, 
have managed all lands within the "Intended Wilderness" under their 
ownership so as not to make such lands unsuitable or unmanageable as 
wilderness (except for disturbance affecting a minor land area and 
found by the Secretary to have resulted from strictly accidental and 
unintentional circumstances), shall be the sum of (A) the value of 
such lands and interests at the date of acquisition, plus (B) any loss 
of value of timber from casualty, deterioration, disease, or other 
natural causes from January 1,1976, to the date of acquisition, with all 
existing and lost or damaged timber valued at the highest of (i) its 
market value on the date of acquisition, (ii) its market value on 
January 1, 1976, or (iii) the mean average market value between those 
dates: And provided further^ That nothing in this Act shall be deemed 
or construed to deny to owners of non-Federal lands, or to change their 
rights to access to such lands or to manage the same for any otherwise 
lawful purpose prior to acquisition thereof by the Secretary. For the 
purposes of this section, the owner of property is defined as the holder 
of fee title unless said property is subject to an agreement of sale 
entered into prior to April 1,1976. 
90 STAT. 908 
PUBLIC LAW 94-357—JULY 12, 1976 
Enchantment 
Area, study. 
16 u s e 1132 
note. 
16 u s e 1132 
note. 
16 u s e 528 note. 
Publication in 
Federal Register. 
Transmittal to 
President and 
Congress. 
WILDERNESS MANAGEMENT PLAN 
SEC, 5. In conjunction with the preparation of a wilderness manage-
ment plan for the wilderness designated by this Act, the Secretary 
shall prepare a special study of the Enchantment Area of the Alpine 
Lakes Wilderness, taking into consideration its especially fragile 
nature, its ease of accessibility, its unusual attractiveness, and its 
resultant heavy recreational usage. The study shall explore the feasi-
bility and benefits of establishing special provisions for managing the 
Enchantment Area to protect its fragile beauty, while still maintain-
ing the availability of the entire area for projected recreational 
demand. 
MULTIPLE USE PLAN 
SEC. 6. (a) Within two years of the enactment of this Act, the 
Secretary shall, in accordance with the provisions of this Act and other 
applicable acts governing the administration of the National Forest 
system and with full public involvement required by this and other 
pertinent law, prepare, complete and begin to implement in accord-
ance with the provision of subsection (b) a single multiple-use plan 
for the Federal lands in the management unit. 
(b) The management of the renewable resources will be in accord-
ance with the Multiple-Use Sustained-Yield Act of 1960 (74 Stat. 215; 
16 U.S.C. 528-531), with other applicable laws and regulations of the 
United States, and will be such to obtain multiple use and sustained 
yield of the several products and services obtained therefrom. 
(c) The Secretary shall publish a notice of such plan in the Federal 
Register and shall transmit it to the President and to the United 
States House of Representatives and to the Senate. The completed 
plan will take effect and will be implemented no earlier than ninety 
calendar days and no later than one hundred and fifty calendar days 
from the date of such transmittal. 
(d) The resources of the management unit shall be managed in 
accordance with the provisions of the multiple-use plan until such time 
as the plan may be revised according to the provisions of this section. 
(e) The Secretary shall review the multiple-use plan from time to 
time and, with full public involvement, shall make any changes he 
deems necessary to carry out the purposes of this Act. 
(f) The Secretary shall permit and encourage the use of renewable 
resources within the management unit, and nothing in this Act shall 
be construed to prohibit the conduct of normal national forest pro-
grams during the formulation of, nor to prohibit inclusion of such 
programs in the multiple-use plan required by this section. 
Hunting and 
fishing. 
16 use 1132 
note. 
AUTHORITIES OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON 
SEC. 7. (a) The Secretary shall permit hunting and fishing on lands 
and waters under his jurisdiction in accordance with applicable Fed-
eral and State laws. Except in emergencies, any regulations pursuant 
to this subsection shall be issued only after consultation with the fish 
and game departments of the State of Washington. Nothing in this 
Act shall be construed as affecting the jurisdiction or responsibilities 
of these agencies. 
PUBLIC LAW 94^357—JULY 12, 1976 
90 STAT. 909 
(b) Nothing in this Act shall deprive the State of Washington 
or any political subdivisions thereof of its right to exercise civil and 
criminal jurisdiction within the area or of its right to tax persons, 
corporations, franchises, or other non-Federal property, in or on lands 
and waters within the area. 
AirrHORIZATION- OF APPROPRIATIONS 
SEC. 8. There is hereby authorized to be appropriated for the acquisi- 16 USC 1132 
tion of lands and interests to carry out the purposes of this Act, not note, 
more than $20,000,000 in fiscal year 1977, $17,000,000 in fiscal year 
1978, and $20,000,000 in fiscal year 1979, such sums to remain available 
until appropriated without fiscal year limitation. To prepare the 
multiple-use plan required by section 6 of this Act, there is authorized 
to be appropriated not more than $500,000. Appropriation requests by 
the President to implement the multiple-use plan shall express in 
qualitative and quantitative terms the most rapid and judicious manner 
and methods to achieve the purposes of this Act. Amounts appro-
priated to carry out this Act shall be expended in accordance with 
the Budget Eeform and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 
(88 Stat. 297). 
31 USC 1301 
note. 
Approved July 12, 1976. 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: 
HOUSE REPORT No. 94-1154 (Comm. on Interior and Insular Affairs). 
SENATE REPORT No. 94-1002 (Comm. on Interior and Insular Affairs). 
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 122 (1976): 
June 8, considered and passed House. 
June 29, considered and passed Senate.