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Pennsylvania Wilderness Act of 1984

Public Law 98-585 · H.R. 5076 · 98th Congress · began in the House

Signed by Ronald Reagan (R) on Oct 30, 1984 · Public Lands and Natural Resources

Sponsor: Rep. William Clinger (R-PA-23)

Cosponsors (22): Rep. Peter Kostmayer,

Passage votes

  • HouseUnanimous consent
  • SenateVoice vote
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.

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Summary

The Congressional Research Service’s plain-language summary of what the law does.

Pennsylvania Wilderness Act of 1984 - Designates certain lands in Pennsylvania as components of the National Wilderness Preservation System, including Allegheny Islands Wilderness-Proposed and Hickory Creek Wilderness-Proposed.

Directs the Secretary of Agriculture (the Secretary) to administer such lands in accordance with the Wilderness Act.

Authorizes the Secretary to acquire lands or interests in lands within the Hickory Creek Wilderness, including oil, gas, mineral interests and scenic easements. Requires the owner's consent for such acquisition. Limits the appropriation for such acquisitions to $2,000,000.

Designates certain lands in the Allegheny National Forest, Pennsylvania, as the Allegheny National Recreation Area.

Directs the Secretary to administer the national recreation area in accordance with the following objectives: (1) protection of fish and wildlife habitat; (2) protection of watershed and free flowing streams; (3) conservation of certain values; and (4) development of privately owned oil, gas, and mineral resources subject to conditions for the protection of the area. Directs the Secretary to require a plan of operations for oil, gas, or mineral development activities. Requires such plan to provide for adequate reclamation.

Directs the Secretary to prepare a management plan for the national recreation area. Presents guidelines for the plan.

Permits hunting and fishing in accordance with Federal and State laws within the boundaries of the national recreation area. Requires the Secretary to consult with the appropriate State fish and game department before implementing any regulations.

Withdraws the minerals in all Federally owned lands within the national recreation area from all forms of appropriation and disposition under either mining laws or mineral leasing laws.

Directs the Secretary to file maps and legal descriptions of the wilderness and national recreation areas with specified congressional committees.

States that the RARE II final environmental statement shall not be subject to judicial review concerning the national forest system lands in Pennsylvania.

States that the wilderness designation under this Act is not a congressional intent to create buffer zones around such wilderness area.

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.

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Timeline

From introduction to signing, newest first: the committees, the floor and the president. 20 actions.

  1. Oct 30, 1984Became lawBecame law · Became Public Law No: 98-585.
  2. Became lawBecame law · Signed by President.
  3. Oct 18, 1984PresidentPresident · Presented to President.
  4. Oct 4, 1984Resolving differencesResolving differences · House Agreed to Senate Amendments by Unanimous Consent.
  5. Oct 3, 1984Resolving differencesResolving differences · Unanimous Consent Request to Agree to the Senate Amendment Rejected in House.
  6. Oct 2, 1984FloorFloor · Passed Senate with amendments by Voice Vote.
  7. Sep 18, 1984CommitteeCommittee · Reported by Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee
  8. Sep 13, 1984CommitteeCommittee · Markup by Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee
  9. May 24, 1984CommitteeCommittee · Hearings by Production and Price Competitiveness Subcommittee of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee
  10. May 2, 1984CommitteeCommittee · Referred to Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee
  11. May 1, 1984FloorFloor · Passed House (Amended) by Yea-Nay Vote: 387 - 28 (Record Vote No: 118).House roll call 118
  12. Apr 26, 1984CommitteeCommittee · Reported by House Natural Resources Committee
  13. Apr 25, 1984CommitteeCommittee · Markup by House Natural Resources Committee
  14. Apr 10, 1984CommitteeCommittee · Reported by National Parks and Public Lands Subcommittee of the House Natural Resources Committee
  15. CommitteeCommittee · Markup by National Parks and Public Lands Subcommittee of the House Natural Resources Committee
  16. Apr 2, 1984CommitteeCommittee · Hearings by House Natural Resources Committee
  17. CommitteeCommittee · Referred to National Parks and Public Lands Subcommittee of the House Natural Resources Committee
  18. Mar 8, 1984CommitteeCommittee · Referred to House Agriculture Committee
  19. CommitteeCommittee · Referred to House Natural Resources Committee
  20. 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.

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Official record

The bill’s full text and every action, including introduction and committee steps, are on Congress.gov. Data through Oct 7, 2026.