A bill to designate certain lands as wilderness.
Public Law 93-632 · H.R. 12884 · 93rd Congress · began in the House
Signed by Gerald Ford (R) on Jan 3, 1975 · Public Lands and Natural Resources
Sponsor: Rep. John Melcher (D-MT-2)
Cosponsors (24): Rep. James Haley, Rep. Craig Hosmer,
Passage votes
- HouseMethod not stated
- SenateMethod not stated
Data notes
The final version of the law, as each chamber passed it. A chamber that passed it by voice vote or unanimous consent has no count. “Method not stated” means the record does not say how the chamber voted. Where the record has a member-by-member vote, the “Who voted for it” section shows who voted yea.
Summary
The Congressional Research Service’s plain-language summary of what the law does.
Designates specified lands within the National Forest System and the National Wildlife Refuge System as wilderness areas.
Provides that the wilderness areas designated by this Act shall be governed by the appropriate provisions of the Wilderness Act.
Committees
The committees the bill was sent to, and what each did with it.
Data notes
A committee links to its page only where it exists in the current Congress; older and renamed committees are named without a link.
Timeline
From introduction to signing, newest first: the committees, the floor and the president. 12 actions.
- Jan 3, 1975Became lawBecame law · Signed by President.
- PresidentPresident · Public law 93-632.
- Dec 24, 1974PresidentPresident · Measure presented to President.
- Dec 19, 1974Resolving differencesResolving differences · Senate agreed to House amendment to Senate amendment.
- Dec 17, 1974Resolving differencesResolving differences · House agreed to the Senate amendment with an amendment.
- Aug 1, 1974FloorFloor · Measure passed Senate, amended.
- Jul 30, 1974CommitteeCommittee · Reported by Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee
- May 7, 1974CommitteeCommittee · Referred to Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee
- May 6, 1974FloorFloor · Measure passed House.
- Apr 11, 1974CommitteeCommittee · Reported by House Natural Resources Committee
- Feb 19, 1974CommitteeCommittee · Referred to House Natural Resources Committee
- IntroducedIntroduced · Introduced in the House
Data notes
Shows the introduction, each committee and subcommittee step the source dates (referral, hearings, markup, report, discharge), and the floor, conference, presidential and became-law steps. Calendar placements, messages between the chambers, amendments and committee report numbers are not shown for laws before the 108th Congress. Two entries the source lists twice are shown once.
Official record
The bill’s full text and every action, including introduction and committee steps, are on Congress.gov. Data through Oct 7, 2026.