Volume 91 · 1243
Public Law 95–150
To provide for the study of certain lands to determine their suitability for designation as wilderness in accordance with the Wilderness Act of 1964, and for other purposes.
Approved November 1, 1977
Statutory text
An Act
To provide for the study of certain lands to determine their suitability for designation as wilderness in accordance with the Wilderness Act of 1964, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
That this Act may
Montana Wilderness Study Act of 1977.
Land designations, review.
Report to President.
be cited as the “Montana Wilderness Study Act of 1977”.
Sec. 2.
In furtherance of the purposes of the Wilderness Act (78 Stat. 890; 16 U.S.C. 1132), the Secretary of Agriculture (hereinafter known as the “Secretary”) shall, within five years after the date of enactment of this Act, review certain lands designated by this section, as to their suitability for preservation as wilderness, and report his findings to the President, as follows:
certain lands in the Beaverhead National Forest, Montana, which are generally depicted on a map entitled “West Pioneer Wilderness Study Area” and dated April 1976, comprising approximately one hundred and fifty-one thousand acres, which shall be known as the West Pioneer Wilderness Study Area;
certain lands in the Beaverhead and Gallatin National Forests, Montana, which are generally depicted on a map entitled “Taylor-Hilgard Wilderness Study Area” dated April 1976, comprising approximately two hundred and eighty-nine thousand acres, which shall be known as the Taylor-Hilgard Wilderness Study Area;
certain lands in the Bitterroot National Forest, Montana, which are generally depicted on a map entitled “Bluejoint Wilderness Study Area” and dated April 1976, comprising approximately sixty-one thousand acres, which shall be known as the Bluejoint Wilderness Study Area;
certain lands in the Bitterroot and Deerlodge National Forests, Montana, which are generally depicted on a map entitled “Sapphire Wilderness Study Area” and dated April 1976, comprising approximately ninety-four thousand acres, which shall be known as the Sapphire Wilderness Study Area;
certain lands in the Kootenai National Forest, Montana, which are generally depicted on a map entitled “Ten Lakes Wilderness Study Area” and dated April 1976, comprising approximately thirty-four thousand acres, which shall be known as the Ten Lakes Wilderness Study Area;
certain lands in the Lewis and Clark National Forest, Montana, which are generally depicted on a map entitled “Middle Fork Judith Wilderness study Area” dated April 1976, comprising approximately eighty-one thousand acres, which shall be known as the Middle Fork Judith Wilderness Study Area;
certain lands in the Lewis and Clark National Forest, Montana, which are generally depicted on a map entitled “Big Snowies Wilderness Study Area” and dated April 1976, comprising approximately ninety-one thousand acres, which shall be known as the Big Snowies Wilderness Study Area;
certain lands in the Gallatin National Forest, Montana, which are generally depicted on a map entitled “Hyalite-Porcupine-Buffalo Horn Wilderness Study Area” and dated April 1976, comprising approximately one hundred and fifty-one thousand acres, which shall be known as the Hyalite-Porcupine-Buffalo Horn Wilderness Study Area; and
certain lands in the Kootenai National Forest, Montana, which are generally depicted on a map entitled “Mount Henry Wilderness Study Area” and dated April 1976, comprising approximately twenty-one thousand acres, which shall be known as the Mount Henry Wilderness Study Area.
The Secretary shall conduct his review, and the President shall advise the United States Senate and House of Representatives of his recommendations, in accordance with the provisions of subsections 3(b) and 3(d) of the Wilderness Act, except that any reference in such subsections to areas in the national forests classified as “primitive” shall be deemed to be a reference to the wilderness study areas designated by this Act and except that the President shall advise the Congress if his recommendations with respect to such areas within seven
Hearings, public notice.
years after the date of enactment of this Act: Provided, however, That the Secretary shall give at least sixty days’ advance public notice of any hearing or other public meeting concerning such areas.
The maps referred to in this section shall be on file and available for public inspection in the office of the Chief of the Forest Service, Department of Agriculture.
Sec. 3.
Except as otherwise provided by this section, and subject to existing private rights, the wilderness study areas designated by this Act shall, until Congress determines otherwise, be administered by the Secretary of Agriculture so as to maintain their presently existing wilderness character and potential for inclusion in the National Wilderness Preservation System.
Nothing in this Act shall be construed as affecting the jurisdiction or responsibilities of the several States with respect to wildlife and fish in the national forests.
Nothing herein contained shall (1) limit the President in proposing, as part of his recommendation to Congress, the alteration of existing boundaries of any wilderness study area or recommending the addition to any such area of any contiguous area predominantly of wilderness value, or (2) limit the authority of the Secretary of Agriculture to establish, protect, study, or make recommendations to the President and Congress with respect to additional wilderness study areas within national forests in the State of Montana.
Sec. 4.
There are hereby authorized to be appropriated after October 1, 1977, such sums as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act.
Approved November 1, 1977.