Illinois Wilderness Act of 1990
PL 101-633 (H.R.5428), enacted 11/28/1990

PUBLIC LAW 101-633—NOV. 28, 1990 
104 STAT. 4577 
Public Law 101 
101st Congress 
-633 
An Act 
To designate certain public lands in the State of Illinois as wilderness, 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 "Illinois Wilderness Act of 1990". 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
In designating wilderness areas in the Shawnee National Forest 
pursuant to this Act, the Congress finds, £is provided in the Wilder-
ness Act, that such areas— 
(1) generally appear to have been affected primarily by the 
forces of nature, with the imprint of man's work substantially 
unnoticeable; 
(2) have outstanding opportunities for solitude or a primitive 
and unconfined t3T)e of recreation; and 
(3) contain ecological, geological, and other features of sci-
entific, educational, and scenic value. 
SEC. 3. 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 Shawnee National Forest in 
the State of Illinois are hereby designated as wilderness and there-
fore as components of the National Wilderness Preservation 
System— 
(1) certain lands comprising approximately 5,918 acres, as 
generally depicted on a map entitled "Bald Knob Wilderness— 
Proposed", dated July 1990, and which shall be known as the 
Bald Knob V/ilderness; 
(2) certain lands comprising approximately 2,866 acres, as 
generally depicted on a map entitled "Bay Creek Wilderness— 
Proposed", dated July 1990, and which shall be known as the 
Bay Creek Wilderness; 
(3) certain lands comprising approximately 3,723 acres, as 
generally depicted on a map entitled "Burden Falls Wilder-
ness—Proposed", dated July 1990, and which shall be known as 
Burden Falls Wilderness; 
(4) certain lands comprising approximately 4,730 acres, as 
generally depicted on a map entitled "Clear Springs Wilder-
ness—Proposed", dated July 1990, and which shall be known as 
the Clear Springs Wilderness; 
(5) certain lands comprising approximately 3,293 acres, as 
generally depicted on a map entitled "Garden of the Gods 
Wilderness—Proposed", dated July 1990, and which shall be 
known as the Garden of the Gods Wilderness; 
(6) certain lands comprising approximately 4,796 acres, as 
generally depicted on a map entitled "Lusk Creek Wilderness— 
Nov. 28, 1990 
[H.R. 5428] 
Illinois 
Wilderness Act 
of 1990. 
Natural 
resources. 
16 use 1132 
note. 
104 STAT. 4578 
PUBLIC LAW 101-633—NOV. 28, 1990 
Proposed", dated July 1990, and which shall be known as the 
Lusk Creek Wilderness; and 
(7) certain lands comprising approximately 940 acres, as gen-
erally depicted on a map entitled "Panther Den Wilderness— 
Proposed", dated July 1990, and which shall be known as 
Panther Den Wilderness. 
SEC. 4. DESCRIPTION AND MAPS. 
As soon as practicable after the enactment of this Act, the Sec-
retary of Agriculture (hereafter in this Act referred to as the 
"Secretary") shall file maps and legal descriptions of each wilder-
ness area designated by this Act with the Committee on Agriculture, 
Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate, and the Committees on 
Agriculture and Interior and Insular Affairs of the House of Rep-
resentatives. Each such map and legal description shall have the 
same force and effect as if included in this Act, except that correc-
tion of clerical and tjrpographical errors in such legal descriptions 
and maps may be made. Each such map £ind legal description shall 
be on file and available for public inspection in the office of the 
Chief of the Forest Service, Department of Agriculture. 
SEC. 5. ADMINISTRATION OF WILDERNESS AREAS. 
Subject to valid existing rights, each wilderness area designated 
by this Act shall be administered by the Secretary in accordance 
with the provisions of the Wilderness Act, except that any reference 
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. 
SEC. 6. ADJACENT AREAS. 
Congress does not intend that designation of wilderness areas in 
the State of Illinois lead to the creation of protective perimeters or 
buffer 
zones around 
each wilderness 
area. 
The fact 
that 
nonwilderness activities or uses can be seen or heard from areas 
within the wilderness shall not, of itself, preclude such activities or 
uses up to the boundary of the wilderness areas. 
SEC. 7. HUNTING, FISHING, AND TRAPPING. 
As provided in section 4(dX7) of the Wilderness Act, nothing in 
this Act shall be construed £is affecting the jurisdiction or respon-
sibilities of the State of Illinois with respect to wildlife and fish in 
the national forests in Illinois. 
SEC. 8. FIRE, INSECTS, AND DISEASE CONTROL. 
As provided in section 4(d)(1) of the Wilderness Act, the Secretary 
may take such measures as may be necessary to control fire, insects, 
and diseases within any area designated by this Act. 
SEC. 9. CEMETERY ACCESS. 
The Secretary shall permit relatives and descendants of those 
interred in cemeteries located within the wilderness areas des-
ignated by this Act, and those accompan3dng such relatives and 
descendants, to access and maintain such cemeteries. The Secretary 
shall regulate such appropriate access and maintenance to minimize 
any detrimental effects on the wilderness resource or any uses 
incompatible with the provisions of the Wilderness Act. 
PUBLIC LAW 101-633—NOV. 28, 1990 
104 STAT. 4579 
SEC. 10. DESIGNATION OF SPECIAL MANAGEMENT AREAS. 
Mines. 
(a) AREA DESIGNATIONS,—(1) Mining and prospecting for fluorspar 
and associated minerals shall be permitted in the lands in the 
Shawnee National Forest described in paragraph (2) in accordance 
with this section and other applicable law. These lands shall also be 
managed, to the extent practicable, to preserve their potential for 
future inclusion in the National Wilderness Preservation System. 
(2) The lands described in this paragraph are— 
(A) certain lands comprising approximately 2,042 acres as 
generally depicted on a map entitled "East Fork Area—Pro-
posed", dated July 1990, and which shall be known as the East 
Fork Area; and 
(B) certain lands comprising approximately 722 acres as gen-
erally depicted on a map entitled "Eagle Creek Area—Pro-
posed", dated July 1990, and which shall be known as the Eagle 
Creek Area. 
G)) TIME LIMITATION.—Prospecting for fluorspar and associated 
minerals in the lands described in subsection (aX2) may be allowed 
for a period of not more than 8 years beginning on the date of 
enactment of this Act. If significant deposits of fluorspar and sissoci-
ated minerals are found to exist in parts or all of such lands, then 
mining for those minerals may be allowed for a 20-year period 
beginning on the date of enactment of this Act. 
(c) MINERAL RIGHTS.—Nothing in this section shall be construed to 
change in any way the process by which mining and prospecting 
permits and rights are granted on National Forest System lands. 
(d) CESSATION OF CERTAIN USES.—Twenty years following the date 
of enactment of this Act (or 8 years following enactment if no 
prospecting for fluorspar and associated minerals has been done, as 
determined by the Secretary), such lands described in subsection 
(aX2) shsill be designated as wilderness and components of the 
National Wilderness Preservation System, in furtherance of the 
purposes of the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.). 
Approved November 28, 1990. 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY—H.R. 5428: 
HOUSE REPORTS: No. 101-784, Pt. 1 (Comm. on Interior and Insular Affaire). 
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 136 (1990): 
Oct. 10, considered and passed House. 
Oct. 27, considered and passed Senate.