Wyoming Wilderness Act of 1983
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Wyoming Wilderness Act of 1983 - Title I: Short Title, Findings and Purposes - Sets forth the short title, findings, and purposes of this Act. Title II: Additions to National Wilderness Preservation System - Designates the following lands in Wyoming as components of the National Wilderness Preservation System: (1) the Cloud Peak Wilderness in the Bighorn National Forest; (2) the Popo Agie Wilderness in Shoshone National Forest; (3) the Gros Ventre Wilderness in the Bridger-Teton National Forest; (4) the Jedediah Smith Wilderness in the Targhee National Forest; (5) the DuNoir Addition to the Washakie Wilderness in the Shoshone National Forest; (6) the Corridor Addition to the Teton Wilderness in the Bridger-Teton National Forest; and (7) the Glacier Addition to the Fitzpatrick Wilderness in the Shoshone National Forest. Prohibits the use of roads constructed within the special management unit of the Washakie Wilderness for general public travel. Repeals the prohibition on the use of existing roads in such unit for harvesting timber and on the construction and expansion of roads in such unit. Provides that motorized access for the trapping, transportation, and management of the big horn sheep population in the Glacier Addition of the Fitzpatrick Wilderness shall be allowed. Abolishes the previous classification of the Cloud Peak Primitive Area, the Popo Agie Primitive Area, and the Whiskey Mountain Primitive Area. Title III: Release of Lands for Multiple Use Management - States that the RARE II (second roadless area review and evaluation) final environmental impact statement (dated January 1979) shall not be subject to judicial review with respect to national forest system lands in Wyoming. Requires that national forest system lands in Wyoming not designated as additions to the National Wilderness Preservation System by this Act or by previous legislation be managed for multiple uses other than wilderness. Prohibits the Secretary of Agriculture from conducting any further statewide roadless area review and evaluation of national forest system lands in Wyoming to determine their suitability as wilderness without express congressional authorization. Directs the Secretary to cease any review and evaluation commenced before the enactment of this Act with respect to the wilderness suitability of lands in Wyoming. Title IV: Withdrawal of Designated Wilderness Areas from Operation of the Mining and Mineral Leasing Laws - Withdraws designated wilderness areas in Wyoming from appropriation under the mining laws and from disposition under the mineral and geothermal leasing laws. Title V: Assessment of Minerals, Prohibition on Drilling - Directs the Secretary of the Interior to continue to assess the minerals potential of wilderness lands in Wyoming. Prohibits exploratory drilling to assess oil and gas potential within any congressionally designated wilderness area in Wyoming. Title VI: Miscellaneous Provisions - Requires the Secretary of Agriculture to review Department of Agriculture policies and practices regarding livestock grazing in Wyoming's wilderness areas to ensure their compliance with the Wilderness Act and this Act. States that: (1) nothing in this Act shall constitute a claim or denial by the Federal Government as to exemption from Wyoming water laws; and (2) nothing in this Act shall be construed as affecting Wyoming's jurisdiction over wildlife and fish in the national forests in the State. Provides that it is not Congress' intention that the designation of wilderness areas in Wyoming lead to the creation of buffer zones around each such area.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on February 22, 1983. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on July 21, 1983: Subcommittee Hearings Held.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 98th Congress (1983-84), 623 of the 10,560 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 5.9 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
RICHARD CHENEY (R-WY) introduced it on February 22, 1983. No cosponsors are recorded.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on February 22, 1983, 15907 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 15758 days ago, on July 21, 1983.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 98th Congress has not finished by January 3, 1985 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers