Nebraska Wilderness Act of 1985
Public Law 99-504 · S. 816 · 99th Congress · began in the Senate
Signed by Ronald Reagan (R) on Oct 20, 1986 · Public Lands and Natural Resources
Sponsor: Sen. James Exon (D-NE)
Cosponsors (1): Sen. Edward Zorinsky
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.
Summary
The Congressional Research Service’s plain-language summary of what the law does.
Nebraska Wilderness Act of 1985 - Title I: Wilderness - Designates the Soldier Creek Wilderness in the Nebraska National Forest as a component of the National Wilderness Preservation System.
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 Nebraska shall not be subject to judicial review. Releases national forest system lands in Nebraska 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 Nebraska reviewed in the RARE II program and not designated as wilderness from management as wilderness areas. Prohibits the Department of Agriculture from conducting any further statewide roadless area review and evaluation of national forest system lands in Nebraska without express congressional authorization.
Title II: Pine Ridge National Recreation Area - Designates the Pine Ridge National Recreation Area in the Nebraska National Forest to be managed so as to preserve primitive and semiprimitive recreational use in a natural setting as well as other resource conservation values. Requires the Secretary to report a management plan to specified congressional committees within 18 months of enactment.
Committees
The committees the bill was sent to, and what each did with it.
Agriculture Committee · House · referred toSubcommittee: Forests, Family Farms, and Energy Subcommittee- Natural Resources Committee · House · markup by, referred to, reported bySubcommittee: National Parks and Public Lands Subcommittee
Energy and Natural Resources Committee · Senate · markup by, referred to, reported bySubcommittee: Public Lands, Reserved Water and Resource Conservation Subcommittee
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. 21 actions.
- Oct 20, 1986Became lawBecame law · Became Public Law No: 99-504.
- Became lawBecame law · Signed by President.
- Oct 10, 1986PresidentPresident · Presented to President.
- Oct 3, 1986Resolving differencesResolving differences · Senate agreed to the House amendments by Voice Vote.
- Sep 23, 1986FloorFloor · Passed House (Amended) by Voice Vote.
- Sep 19, 1986CommitteeCommittee · Reported by House Natural Resources Committee
- Sep 17, 1986CommitteeCommittee · Markup by House Natural Resources Committee
- Sep 11, 1986CommitteeCommittee · Reported by National Parks and Public Lands Subcommittee of the House Natural Resources Committee
- CommitteeCommittee · Markup by National Parks and Public Lands Subcommittee of the House Natural Resources Committee
- Aug 14, 1986CommitteeCommittee · Hearings by National Parks and Public Lands Subcommittee of the House Natural Resources Committee
- Oct 30, 1985CommitteeCommittee · Referred to National Parks and Public Lands Subcommittee of the House Natural Resources Committee
- Sep 16, 1985CommitteeCommittee · Referred to Forests, Family Farms, and Energy Subcommittee of the House Agriculture Committee
- Sep 5, 1985CommitteeCommittee · Referred to House Agriculture Committee
- CommitteeCommittee · Referred to House Natural Resources Committee
- Aug 1, 1985FloorFloor · Passed Senate with an amendment by Voice Vote.
- Jul 31, 1985CommitteeCommittee · Reported by Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee
- Jul 30, 1985CommitteeCommittee · Markup by Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee
- Jun 20, 1985CommitteeCommittee · Hearings by Public Lands, Reserved Water and Resource Conservation Subcommittee of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee
- Mar 28, 1985CommitteeCommittee · Referred to Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee
- CommitteeCommittee · Referred to Public Lands, Reserved Water and Resource Conservation Subcommittee of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee
- IntroducedIntroduced · Introduced in the Senate
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.