[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5636 Introduced in House (IH)]
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115th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 5636
To designate additions to the Flatside Wilderness on the Ouachita
National Forest, and for other purposes.
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IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 26, 2018
Mr. Hill (for himself and Mr. Beyer) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources
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A BILL
To designate additions to the Flatside Wilderness on the Ouachita
National Forest, 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 ``Flatside Wilderness Enhancement
Act''.
SEC. 2. INVENTORY AND EVALUATION OF CERTAIN LANDS ADJACENT TO FLATSIDE
WILDERNESS.
(a) In General.--The Secretary of Agriculture shall conduct an
inventory and evaluation of certain lands, as generally depicted on the
map titled ``Flatside Wilderness Adjacent Inventory Areas'' and dated
November 30, 2017, to determine the suitability of such lands for
inclusion in the National Wilderness Preservation System.
(b) Completion Date.--The inventory and evaluation required under
subsection (a) shall be completed not later than 1 year after the date
of the enactment of this section.
(c) Determination of Suitability.--
(1) Wilderness designation.--If the Secretary of
Agriculture determines that the lands inventoried and evaluated
under subsection (a) are suitable for designation as
wilderness--
(A) the Secretary shall publish notice of such a
determination in the Federal Register not later than 1
year after the date of the enactment of this section;
and
(B) such lands shall be designated as wilderness
and incorporated in the Flatside Wilderness under
section 3(d) of the Arkansas Wilderness Act of 1984
(Public Law 98-508; 98 Stat. 2349) on the date that the
Secretary publishes the notice described in
subparagraph (A).
(2) Lack of suitability.--
(A) In general.--If the Secretary of Agriculture
determines that the lands inventoried and evaluated
under subsection (a) are not suitable for designation
as wilderness, the Secretary shall manage the lands in
accordance with the applicable land management plan.
(B) Ecological restoration.--For purposes of
ecological restoration (including the elimination of
non-native species, removal of illegal, unused, or
decommissioned roads, repair of skid tracks, and any
other activities necessary to restore the natural
ecosystems), the Secretary may use motorized equipment
and mechanized transport in the lands described in
subparagraph (A) until the date that is the earlier of
the following:
(i) The date that is 5 years after the date
of the enactment of this section.
(ii) The date on which the Secretary
determines such lands are suitable for
designation as wilderness.
(C) Limitation.--In carrying out paragraph (1), the
Secretary, to the maximum extent practicable, shall use
the minimum tool or administrative practice necessary
to accomplish ecological restoration with the least
amount of adverse impact on wilderness character and
resources.
SEC. 3. ADDITIONS TO FLATSIDE WILDERNESS.
Section 3(d) of Arkansas Wilderness Act of 1984 (Public Law 98-508;
98 Stat. 2349) is amended by inserting ``and certain land in the
Ouachita National Forest, which comprise approximately 640 acres, as
generally depicted as `Recommended Wilderness Additions' on the map
titled `Revised Land and Resources Management Plan--Ouachita National
Forest--Oklahoma and Arkansas', dated September 23, 2005'' after
``1984''.
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