The Wilderness Act of 1964

THE WILDERNESS ACT
Public Law 88-577 (16 U.S. C. 1131-1136)
88th Congress, Second Session
September 3, 1964

AN ACT
To establish a National Wilderness Preservation System for the permanent good of the whole people, and
for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress
assembled.

SHORT TITLE
SECTION 1. This Act may be cited as the "Wilderness Act."

WILDERNESS SYSTEM ESTABLISHED - STATEMENT OF POLICY
SECTION 2. (a) In order to assure that an increasing population, accompanied by expanding settlement
and growing mechanization, does not occupy and modify all areas within the United States and its
possessions, leaving no lands designated for preservation and protection in their natural condition, it is
hereby declared to be the policy of the Congress to secure for the American people of present and future
generations the benefits of an enduring resource of wilderness. For this purpose there is hereby established
a National Wilderness Preservation System to be composed of federally owned areas designated by the
Congress as "wilderness areas," and these shall be administered for the use and enjoyment of the American
people in such manner as will leave them unimpaired for future use and enjoyment as wilderness, and so as
to provide for the protection of these areas, the preservation of their wilderness character, and for the
gathering and dissemination of information regarding their use and enjoyment as wilderness; and no
Federal lands shall be designated as "wilderness areas" except as provided for in this Act or by a
subsequent Act.
(b) The inclusion of an area in the National Wilderness Preservation System notwithstanding, the area shall
continue to be managed by the Department and agency having jurisdiction thereover immediately before its
inclusion in the National Wilderness Preservation System unless otherwise provided by Act of Congress.
No appropriation shall be available for payment of expenses or salaries for the administration of the
National Wilderness Preservation System as a separate unit nor shall any appropriations be available for
additional personnel stated as being required solely for the purpose of managing or administering areas
solely because they are included within the National Wilderness Preservation System.
DEFINITION OF WILDERNESS
(c) A wilderness, in contrast with those areas where man and his works dominate the landscape, is hereby
recognized as an area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man
himself is a visitor who does not remain. An area of wilderness is further defined to mean in this Act an
area of undeveloped Federal land retaining its primeval character and influence, without permanent
improvements or human habitation, which is protected and managed so as to preserve its natural conditions
and which (1) generally appears to have been affected primarily by the forces of nature, with the imprint of
man's work substantially unnoticeable; (2) has outstanding opportunities for solitude or a primitive and
unconfined type of recreation; (3) has at least five thousand acres of land or is of sufficient size as to make
practicable its preservation and use in an unimpaired condition; and (4) may also contain ecological,
geological, or other features of scientific, educational,
scenic, or historical value.

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NATIONAL WILDERNESS PRESERVATION SYSTEM EXTENT OF SYSTEM
SECTION 3. (a) All areas within the national forests classified at least 30 days before the effective date of
this Act by the Secretary of Agriculture or the Chief of the Forest Service as "wilderness," "wild," or
"canoe" are hereby designated as wilderness areas. The Secretary of
Agriculture shall:
(1) Within one year after the effective date of this Act, file a map and legal description of each wilderness
area with the Interior and Insular Affairs Committees of the United States Senate and the House of
Representatives, and such descriptions shall have the same force and effect as if included in this Act:
Provided, however, That correction of clerical and typographical errors in such legal descriptions and maps
may
be made.
(2) Maintain, available to the public, records pertaining to said wilderness areas, including maps and legal
descriptions, copies of regulations governing them, copies of public notices of, and reports submitted to
Congress regarding pending additions, eliminations, or modifications. Maps, legal descriptions, and
regulations pertaining to wilderness areas within their respective jurisdictions also shall be available to the
public in the offices of regional foresters, national forest supervisors, and forest rangers.
Classification. (b) The Secretary of Agriculture shall, within ten years after the enactment of this Act,
review, as to its suitability or nonsuitability for preservation as wilderness, each area in the national forests
classified on the effective date of this Act by the Secretary of Agriculture or the Chief of the Forest Service
as "primitive" and report his findings to the
President.
Presidential recommendation to Congress. The President shall advise the United States Senate and House
of Representatives of his recommendations with respect to the designation as "wilderness" or other
reclassification of each area on which review has been completed, together with maps and a definition of
boundaries. Such advice shall be given with respect to
not less than one-third of all the areas now classified as "primitive" within three years after the enactment
of this Act, and the remaining areas within ten years after the enactment of this Act.
Congressional approval. Each recommendation of the President for designation as "wilderness" shall
become effective only if so provided by an Act of Congress. Areas classified as "primitive" on the
effective date of this Act shall continue to be administered under the rules and regulations affecting such
areas on the effective date of this Act until
Congress has determined otherwise. Any such area may be increased in size by the President at the time he
submits his recommendations to the Congress by not more than five thousand acres with no more than one
thousand two hundred acres in any one compact unit; if it is proposed to increase the size of any such area
by more than five thousand acres or by more
than one thousand two hundred and eighty acres in any one compact unit the increase in size shall not
become effective until acted upon by Congress. Nothing herein contained shall limit the President in
proposing, as part of his recommendations to Congress, the alteration of existing boundaries of primitive
areas or recommending the addition of any contiguous area of national forest lands predominantly of
wilderness value. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture may
complete his review and delete such areas as may be necessary, but not to exceed seven thousand acres,
from the southern tip of the Gore Range-Eagles Nest Primitive Area, Colorado, if the Secretary determines
that such action is in the public interest.
Report to President. (c) Within ten years after the effective date of this Act the Secretary of the Interior
shall review every roadless area of five thousand contiguous acres or more in the national parks,
monuments, and other units of the national park system and every such area of, and every roadless island
within, the national wildlife refuges and game ranges, under his jurisdiction on the effective date of this Act

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and shall report to the President his recommendation as to the suitability or nonsuitability of each such area
or island for preservation as wilderness.
Presidential recommendation to Congress. The President shall advise the President of the Senate and the
Speaker of the House of Representatives of his recommendation with respect to the designation as
wilderness of each such area or island on which review has been completed, together with a map thereof
and a definition of its boundaries. Such advice shall be given with respect to not less than one-third of the
areas and islands to be reviewed under this subsection within three years after enactment of this Act, not
less than two-thirds within seven years of enactment of this Act, and the remainder within ten years of
enactment of this Act.
Congressional approval. A recommendation of the President for designation as wilderness shall become
effective only if so provided by an Act of Congress. Nothing contained herein shall, by implication or
otherwise, be construed to lessen the present statutory authority of the Secretary of the Interior with respect
to the maintenance of roadless areas within units of the national park system.
Suitability. (d)(1) The Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior shall, prior to submitting
any recommendations to the President with respect to the suitability of any area for preservation as
wilderness
Publication in Federal Register. (A) give such public notice of the proposed action as they deem
appropriate, including publication in the Federal Register and in a newspaper having general circulation in
the area or areas in the vicinity of the affected land;
Hearings. (B) hold a public hearing or hearings at a location or locations convenient to the area affected.
The hearings shall be announced through such means as the respective Secretaries involved deem
appropriate, including notices in the Federal Register and in newspapers of general circulation in the area:
Provided. That if the lands involved are located in more than one State, at least one hearing shall be held in
each State in which a portion of the land lies;
(C) at least thirty days before the date of a hearing advise the Governor of each State and the governing
board of each county, or in Alaska the borough, in which the lands are located, and Federal departments
and agencies concerned, and invite such officials and Federal agencies to submit their views on the
proposed action at the hearing or by not later than thirty days following the date of the hearing.
(2) Any views submitted to the appropriate Secretary under the provisions of (1) of this subsection with
respect to any area shall be included with any recommendation to the President and to Congress with
respect to such area.
Proposed modification. (e) Any modification or adjustment of boundaries of any wilderness area shall be
recommended by the appropriate Secretary after public notice of such proposal and public hearing or
hearings as provided in subsection (d) of this section. The proposed modification or adjustment shall then
be recommended with map and description thereof to the President. The President shall advise the United
States Senate and the House of Representatives of his recommendations with respect to such modification
or adjustment and such recommendations shall become effective only in the same manner as provided for
in subsections (b) and (c) of the OF WILDERNESS AREAS
SECTION 4. (a) The purposes of this Act are hereby declared to be within and supplemental to the
purposes for which national forests and units of the national park and wildlife refuge systems are
established and administered and:
(1) Nothing in this Act shall be deemed to be in interference with the purpose for which national forests are
established as set forth in the Act of June 4, 1897 (30 Stat. 11), and the Multiple-Use Sustained-Yield Act
of June 12, 1960 (74 Stat. 215).

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(2) Nothing in this Act shall modify the restrictions and provisions of the Shipstead-Nolan Act (Public Law
539, Seventy-first Congress, July 10, 1930; 46 Stat. 1020), the Thye-Blatnik Act (Public Law 733,
Eightieth Congress, June 2, 1948; 62 Stat. 568), and the Humphrey-Thye-Blatnik-Andresen Act (Public
Law 607, Eighty-fourth Congress, June 22, 1956; 70 Stat. 326), as applying to the Superior National Forest
or the regulations of the Secretary of Agriculture.
(3) Nothing in this Act shall modify the statutory authority under which units of the national park system
are created. Further, the designation of any area of any park, monument, or other unit of the national park
system as a wilderness area pursuant to this Act shall in no manner lower the standards evolved for the use
and preservation of such park, monument, or other unit of the national park system in accordance with the
Act of August 25, 1916, the statutory authority under which the area was created, or any other Act of
Congress which might pertain to or affect such area, including, but not limited to, the Act of June 8, 1906
(34 Stat. 225; 16 U.S.C. 432 et seq.); section 3(2) of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 796 (2); and the Act
of August 21, 1935 (49 Stat. 666; 16 U.S.C. 461 et seq.).
(b) Except as otherwise provided in this Act, each agency administering any area designated as wilderness
shall be responsible for preserving the wilderness character of the area and shall so administer such area for
such other purposes for which it may have been established as also to preserve its wilderness character.
Except as otherwise provided in this Act, wilderness areas shall be devoted to the public purposes of
recreational, scenic, scientific, educational, conservation, and historical use.

PROHIBITION OF CERTAIN USES
(c) Except as specifically provided for in this Act, and subject to existing private rights, there shall be no
commercial enterprise and no permanent road within any wilderness area designated by this Act and except
as necessary to meet minimum requirements for the administration of the area for the purpose of this Act
(including measures required in emergencies involving the health and safety of persons within the area),
there shall be no temporary road, no use of motor vehicles, motorized equipment or motorboats, no landing
of aircraft, no other form of mechanical transport, and no structure or installation within any such area.
SPECIAL PROVISIONS
(d) The following special provisions are hereby made:
(1) Within wilderness areas designated by this Act the use of aircraft or motorboats, where these uses have
already become established, may be permitted to continue subject to such restrictions as the Secretary of
Agriculture deems desirable. In addition, such measure may be taken as may be necessary in the control of
fire, insects, and diseases, subject to such conditions as the Secretary deems desirable.
(2) Nothing in this Act shall prevent within national forest wilderness areas any activity, including
prospecting, for the purpose of gathering information about mineral or other resources, if such activity is
carried on in a manner compatible with the preservation of the wilderness environment. Furthermore, in
accordance with such program as the Secretary of the Interior shall develop and conduct in consultation
with the Secretary of Agriculture, such areas shall be surveyed on a planned, recurring basis consistent with
the concept of wilderness preservation by the Geological Survey and the Bureau of Mines to determine the
mineral values, if any, that may be present; and the results of such surveys shall be made available to the
public and submitted to the President and Congress.
Mineral leases, claims, etc. (3) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Act, until midnight December
31, 1983, the United States mining laws and all laws pertaining to mineral leasing shall, to the same extent
as applicable prior to the effective date of this Act, extend to those national forest lands designated by this
Act as "wilderness areas"; subject, however, to such reasonable regulations governing ingress and egress as
may be prescribed by the Secretary of Agriculture consistent with the use of the land for mineral location
and development and exploration, drilling, and production, and use of land for transmission lines,
waterlines, telephone lines, or facilities necessary in exploring, drilling, production, mining, and processing
operations, including where essential the use of mechanized equipment and restoration as near as

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practicable of the surface of the land disturbed in performing prospecting, location, and, in oil and gas
leasing, discovery work, exploration, drilling, and production, as soon as they have served their purpose.
Mining locations lying within the boundaries of said wilderness areas shall be held and used solely for
mining or processing operations and uses reasonably incident thereto; existing rights, all patents issued
under the mining laws of the United States affecting national forest lands designated by this Act as
wilderness areas shall convey title to the mineral deposits within the claim, together with the right to cut
and use so much of the mature timber therefrom as may be needed in the extraction, removal, and
beneficiation of the mineral deposits, if the timber is not otherwise reasonably available, and if the timber is
cut under sound principles of forest management as defined by the national forest rules and regulations, but
each such patent shall reserve to the United States all title in or to the surface of the lands and products
thereof, and no use of the surface of the claim or the resources therefrom not reasonably required for
carrying on mining or prospecting shall be allowed except as otherwise expressly provided in this Act:
Provided, That, unless hereafter specifically authorized, no patent within wilderness areas designated by
this Act shall issue after December 31, 1983, except for the valid claims existing on or before December
31, 1983. Mining claims located after the effective date of this Act within the boundaries of wilderness
areas designated by this Act shall create no rights in excess of those rights which may be patented under the
provisions of this subsection. Mineral leases, permits, and licenses covering lands within national forest
wilderness areas designated by this Act shall contain such reasonable stipulations as may be prescribed by
the Secretary of Agriculture for the protection of the water of the land consistent with the use of the land
for the purposes for which they are leased, permitted, or licensed. Subject to valid rights then existing,
effective January 1, 1984, the minerals in lands designated by this Act as wilderness areas are withdrawn
from all forms of appropriation under the mining laws and from disposition under all laws pertaining to
mineral leasing and all amendments thereto.
Water resources. (4) Within wilderness areas designated by this Act, (1) the President may, within a
specific area and in accordance with such regulations as he may deem desirable, authorize prospecting for
water resources, the establishment and maintenance of reservoirs, water-conservation works, power
projects, transmission lines, and other facilities needed in the public interest, including the road
construction and maintenance essential to development and use thereof, upon his determination that such
use or uses in the specific area will better serve the interests of the United States and the people thereof
than will its denial; and (2) the grazing of livestock, where established prior to the effective date of this Act,
shall be permitted to continue subject to such reasonable regulations as are deemed necessary by the
Secretary of Agriculture.
(5) Other provisions of this Act to the contrary notwithstanding, the management of the Boundary Waters
Canoe Area, formerly designated as the Superior, Little Indian Sioux, and Caribou Roadless Areas, in the
Superior National Forest, Minnesota, shall be in accordance with regulations established by the Secretary
of Agriculture in accordance with the general purpose of maintaining, without unnecessary restrictions on
other uses, including that of timber, the primitive character of the area, particularly in the vicinity of lakes,
streams, and portages: Provided, That nothing in this Act shall preclude the continuance within the area of
any already established use of motorboats.
(6) Commercial services may be performed within the wilderness areas designated by this Act to the extent
necessary for activities which are proper for realizing the recreational or other wilderness purposes of the
areas.
(7) Nothing in this Act shall constitute an express or implied claim or denial on the part of the Federal
Government as to exemption from State water laws.
(8) 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.

STATE AND PRIVATE LANDS WITHIN WILDERNESS AREAS
SECTION 5. (a) In any case where State-owned or privately owned land is completely surrounded by
national forest lands within areas designated by this Act as wilderness, such State or private owner shall be

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given such rights as may be necessary to assure adequate access to such State-owned or privately owned
land by such State or private owner and their successors in interest, or the State-owned land or privately
owned land shall be exchanged for federally owned land in the same State of approximately equal value
under authorities available to the Secretary of Agriculture:
Transfers, restriction. Provided, however, That the United States shall not transfer to a State or private
owner any mineral interests unless the State or private owner relinquishes or causes to be relinquished to
the United States the mineral interest in the surrounded land.
(b) In any case where valid mining claims or other valid occupancies are wholly within a designated
national forest wilderness area, the Secretary of Agriculture shall, by reasonable regulations consistent with
the preservation of the area as wilderness, permit ingress and egress to such surrounded areas by means
which have been or are being customarily enjoyed
with respect to other such areas similarly situated.
Acquisition. (c) Subject to the appropriation of funds by Congress, the Secretary of Agriculture is
authorized to acquire privately owned land within the perimeter of any area designated by this Act as
wilderness if (1) the owner concurs in such acquisition or (2) the acquisition is specifically authorized by
Congress.

GIFTS, BEQUESTS, AND CONTRIBUTIONS
SECTION 6. (a) The Secretary of Agriculture may accept gifts or bequests of land within wilderness areas
designated by this Act for preservation as wilderness. The Secretary of Agriculture may also accept gifts or
bequests of land adjacent to wilderness areas designated by this Act for preservation as wilderness if he has
given sixty days advance notice thereof to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of
Representatives. Land accepted by the Secretary of Agriculture under this section shall become part of the
wilderness area involved. Regulations with regard to any such land may be in accordance with such
agreements, consistent with the policy of this Act, as are made at the time of such gift, or such conditions,
consistent with such policy, as may be inch bequest.
(b) The Secretary of Agriculture or the Secretary of the Interior is authorized to accept private contributions
and gifts to be used to further the purposes of L REPORTS
SECTION 7. At the opening of each session of Congress, the Secretaries of Agriculture and Interior shall
jointly report to the President for transmission to Congress on the status of the wilderness system including
a list and descriptions of the areas in the system, regulations in
effect, and other pertinent information, together with any recommendations they may care to make.
Approved September 3, 1964.
Legislative History:
House Reports: No. 1538 accompanying H.R. 9070 (Committee on Interior & Insular Affairs)
and No. 1829 (Committee of Conference).
Senate Report: No. 109 (Committee on Interior & Insular Affairs).
Congressional Record:
Vol. 109 (1963): April 4, 8, considered in Senate.
April 9, considered and passed Senate.
Vol. 110 (1964): July 28, considered in House.
July 30, considered and passed House, amended,
in lieu of H.R. 9070.
August 20, 1964, House and Senate agreed to conference report.

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