Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 98 Part 1.djvu/301

 PUBLIC LAW 98-322—JUNE 19, 1984

98 STAT. 253

Public Law 98-322 98th Congress An Act To designate certain National Forest System lands in the State of Vermont for inclusion in the National Wilderness Preservation System and to designate a national recreation area.

June 19, 1984 [H.R. 4198]

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled. That this Act may Vermont Wilderness Act be cited as the "Vermont Wilderness Act of 1984". of 1984. TITLE I—NEW WILDERNESS AREAS FINDINGS AND POLICY

National Wilderness Preservation System. National Forest System.

SEC. 101. (a) Congress finds that— (1) in the vicinity of major population centers and in the more populous eastern half of the United States there is an urgent need to identify, designate, and preserve areas of wilderness by including suitable lands within the National Wilderness Preservation System; (2) in recognition of this urgent need, certain suitable lands in the National Forest System in Vermont were designated by Congress as wilderness in 1975; (3) there exist in the National Forest System in the vicinity of major population centers and in Vermont additional areas of undeveloped land which meet the definition of wilderness in 16 USC 1131. section 2(c) of the Wilderness Act; (4) lands in Vermont which are suitable for designation as wilderness are increasingly threatened by the pressures of a growing and concentrated population, expanding settlement, spreading mechanization, and development and uses inconsistent with the protection, maintenance, and enhancement of their wilderness character; and (5) the Wilderness Act establishes that an area is qualified 16 USC 1131 and suitable for designation as wilderness which (i) though note. man's works may have been present in the past, has been or may be so restored by natural influences as to generally appear to have been affected primarily by the forces of nature, with the imprint of man's work substantially unnoticeable, and (ii) may, upon designation as wilderness, contain certain preexisting, nonconforming uses, improvements, structures, or installations; and Congress has reaffirmed these established policies in the designation of additional areas since enactment of the Wilderness Act, exercising its sole authority to determine the suitability of such areas for designation as wilderness. (b) The purpose of this title is to designate certain National Forest System lands in the State of Vermont as components of the National Wilderness Preservation System, in order to preserve such areas as an enduring resource of wilderness which shall be managed to perpetuate and protect watersheds and wildlife habitat, preserve scenic and historic resources, and promote scientific research, primi-

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