Local Wilderness Management Act

Local Wilderness Management Act

This bill amends the Wilderness Act to require certain National Forest System lands, including those which have been designated, officially or defacto, by the Forest Service as wilderness study areas, to be managed by the Department of Agriculture (USDA) for multiple use purposes, including mining, grazing, conservation, recreation, and other uses until Congress enacts a law that designates such an area as wilderness or specifies an alternative management approach for it.

The bill amends the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 to require certain public lands, including those which have been designated, officially or defacto, as wilderness study areas by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), to be managed by the Department of the Interior to promote multiple use purposes, including the continuation of existing mining and grazing uses and mineral leasing, until Congress enacts a law that designates such an area as wilderness or specifies an alternative management approach for it.

USDA (with respect to National Forest System land) and Interior (for public lands managed by the BLM) may not designate, officially or defacto, land as a wilderness study area without first obtaining the written consent of the governing body of the county in which such land is located.