An Act to designate certain lands within units of the national park system as wilderness; to revise the boundaries of certain of those units, and for other purposes.
Public Law 94-567 · H.R. 13160 · 94th Congress · began in the House
Signed by Gerald Ford (R) on Oct 20, 1976 · Public Lands and Natural Resources
Sponsor: Rep. Roy Taylor (D-NC-11)
Cosponsors (19): Rep. Harold Johnson, Rep. Robert Kastenmeier,
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 areas within the following national parks and national monuments as wilderness: (1) Bandelier National Monument, New Mexico; (2) Gunnison National Monument, Colorado; (3) Chiricahua National Monument, Arizona; (4) Great Sand Dunes National Monument, Colorado; (5) Haleakala National Park, Hawaii; (6) Isle Royale National Park, Michigan; (7) Joshua Tree National Monument, California; (8) Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado; (9) Pinnacles National Monument, California; (10) Saguaro National Monument, Arizona; (11) Point Reyes National Seashore, California; (12) Badlands National Monument, South Dakota; and (13) Shenandoah National Park, Virginia.
Revises the boundaries of Isle Royale National Park, Michigan, and Pinnacles National Monument, California.
Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to review the suitability of specified lands in Coronado National Forest, Arizona, for designation as wilderness.
Directs the Secretary of the Interior to designate the principal environmental education center within the Point Reyes National Seashore as the Clem Miller Environmental Education Center.
Requires that the Shoshone National Forest, Wyoming, known as the Whiskey Mountain Area, be classified as a primitive area until the Secretary of Agriculture determines otherwise.
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. 14 actions.
- Oct 20, 1976Became lawBecame law · Signed by President.
- PresidentPresident · Public law 94-567.
- Oct 8, 1976PresidentPresident · Measure presented to President.
- Oct 7, 1976PresidentPresident · Measure enrolled in Senate.
- PresidentPresident · Measure enrolled in House.
- Oct 1, 1976Resolving differencesResolving differences · House agreed to Senate amendments.
- FloorFloor · Measure passed Senate, amended.
- Sep 29, 1976CommitteeCommittee · Reported by Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee
- Sep 27, 1976CommitteeCommittee · Referred to Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee
- Sep 22, 1976FloorFloor · Measure passed House, amended.
- FloorFloor · Measure called up by unanimous consent in House.
- Aug 13, 1976CommitteeCommittee · Reported by House Natural Resources Committee
- Apr 9, 1976CommitteeCommittee · 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.