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Tennessee Wilderness Act of 1986

Public Law 99-490 · H.R. 5166 · 99th Congress · began in the House

Signed by Ronald Reagan (R) on Oct 16, 1986 · Public Lands and Natural Resources

Sponsor: Rep. James Quillen (R-TN-1)

Cosponsors (1): Rep. John Duncan

Passage votes

  • HouseVoice vote
  • 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.

Tennessee Wilderness Act of 1986 - Designates the following lands in the Cherokee National Forest, Tennessee, as components of the National Wilderness Preservation System: (1) Pond Mountain Wilderness; (2) Big Laurel Branch Wilderness; (3) Unaka Mountain Wilderness; (4) Sampson Mountain Wilderness; (5) Little Frog Mountain Wilderness; and (6) Big Frog Extension Wilderness. Requires such lands to be administered in accordance with the Wilderness Act.

Provides that the RARE II (second roadless area review and evaluation) final environmental statement (dated January 1979) with respect to national forest system lands in specified counties in Tennessee shall not be subject to judicial review. Releases national forest system lands in specified counties in Tennessee which were reviewed in the RARE II program from further review by the Department of Agriculture, pending the revision of initial national forest management plans. Releases lands in specified counties in Tennessee reviewed in the RARE II program and not designated as wilderness from management as wilderness areas.

States that the provisions above shall also apply to national forest system roadless lands in specified counties in Tennessee which are less than 5,000 acres in size.

Terminates specified wilderness studies made unnecessary by this Act's designations.

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. 14 actions.

  1. Oct 16, 1986Became lawBecame law · Became Public Law No: 99-490.
  2. Became lawBecame law · Signed by President.
  3. Oct 8, 1986PresidentPresident · Presented to President.
  4. Oct 3, 1986FloorFloor · Passed Senate without amendment by Voice Vote.
  5. Sep 22, 1986FloorFloor · Passed House (Amended) by Voice Vote.
  6. Sep 19, 1986CommitteeCommittee · Reported by House Natural Resources Committee
  7. Sep 17, 1986CommitteeCommittee · Markup by House Natural Resources Committee
  8. Aug 14, 1986CommitteeCommittee · Reported by National Parks and Public Lands Subcommittee of the House Natural Resources Committee
  9. CommitteeCommittee · Markup by National Parks and Public Lands Subcommittee of the House Natural Resources Committee
  10. Jul 31, 1986CommitteeCommittee · Hearings by National Parks and Public Lands Subcommittee of the House Natural Resources Committee
  11. CommitteeCommittee · Referred to National Parks and Public Lands Subcommittee of the House Natural Resources Committee
  12. Jul 15, 1986CommitteeCommittee · Referred to House Agriculture Committee
  13. CommitteeCommittee · Referred to House Natural Resources Committee
  14. 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.