Page 1517 TITLE 16—CONSERVATION § 1131 (Pub. L. 88–363, § 10, July 7, 1964, 78 Stat. 301.) Sec. 1132. Extent of System. § 1110. Liability 1133. Use of wilderness areas. 1134. State and private lands within wilderness (a) United States areas. The United States Government shall not be 1135. Gifts, bequests, and contributions. liable for any act or omission of the Commission 1136. Annual reports to Congress. or of any person employed by, or assigned or de- § 1131. National Wilderness Preservation System tailed to, the Commission. (a) Establishment; Congressional declaration of (b) Payment; exemption of property from attach- policy; wilderness areas; administration for ment, execution, etc. public use and enjoyment, protection, preser- Any liability of the Commission shall be met vation, and gathering and dissemination of from funds of the Commission to the extent that information; provisions for designation as it is not covered by insurance, or otherwise. wilderness areas Property belonging to the Commission shall be In order to assure that an increasing popu- exempt from attachment, execution, or other lation, accompanied by expanding settlement process for satisfaction of claims, debts, or judg- and growing mechanization, does not occupy ments. and modify all areas within the United States (c) Individual members of Commission and its possessions, leaving no lands designated No liability of the Commission shall be im- for preservation and protection in their natural puted to any member of the Commission solely condition, it is hereby declared to be the policy on the basis that he occupies the position of of the Congress to secure for the American peo- member of the Commission. ple of present and future generations the bene- fits of an enduring resource of wilderness. For (Pub. L. 88–363, § 11, July 7, 1964, 78 Stat. 301.) this purpose there is hereby established a Na- tional Wilderness Preservation System to be § 1111. Exemption from taxation composed of federally owned areas designated by The Commission shall not be subject to Fed- Congress as ‘‘wilderness areas’’, and these shall eral, State, or municipal taxation in the United be administered for the use and enjoyment of States on any real or personal property held by the American people in such manner as will it or on any gift, bequest, or devise to it of any leave them unimpaired for future use and enjoy- personal or real property, or on its income, ment as wilderness, and so as to provide for the whether from governmental appropriations, ad- protection of these areas, the preservation of mission fees, concessions, or donations. their wilderness character, and for the gathering and dissemination of information regarding (Pub. L. 88–363, § 12, July 7, 1964, 78 Stat. 301.) their use and enjoyment as wilderness; and no § 1112. Tax treatment of any gift, devise or be- Federal lands shall be designated as ‘‘wilderness quest to the Commission areas’’ except as provided for in this chapter or by a subsequent Act. For the purpose of Federal income, estate, and (b) Management of area included in System; ap- gift taxes, any gift, devise, or bequest to or for propriations the use of the Commission, and accepted by the Commission under authority of this chapter, The inclusion of an area in the National Wil- shall be deemed to be a gift, devise, or bequest derness Preservation System notwithstanding, to or for the use of the United States, as the the area shall continue to be managed by the case may be, if it is not deducted as a gift, de- Department and agency having jurisdiction vise, or bequest to or for the use of the Govern- thereover immediately before its inclusion in ment of Canada under the income, estate, or gift the National Wilderness Preservation System tax laws of the Government of Canada. unless otherwise provided by Act of Congress. No appropriation shall be available for the pay- (Pub. L. 88–363, § 13, July 7, 1964, 78 Stat. 301.) ment of expenses or salaries for the administra- § 1113. Authorization of appropriations tion of the National Wilderness Preservation System as a separate unit nor shall any appro- There are hereby authorized to be appro- priations be available for additional personnel priated to the Department of the Interior with- stated as being required solely for the purpose of out fiscal year limitation such sums as may be managing or administering areas solely because necessary for the purposes of this chapter and they are included within the National Wilder- the agreement with the Government of Canada ness Preservation System. signed January 22, 1964, article 11 of which pro- (c) ‘‘Wilderness’’ defined vides that the Governments of the United States and Canada shall share equally the costs of de- A wilderness, in contrast with those areas veloping and the annual cost of operating and where man and his own works dominate the maintaining the Roosevelt Campobello Inter- landscape, is hereby recognized as an area where national Park. the earth and its community of life are un- trammeled by man, where man himself is a visi- (Pub. L. 88–363, § 14, July 7, 1964, 78 Stat. 301.) tor who does not remain. An area of wilderness is further defined to mean in this chapter an CHAPTER 23—NATIONAL WILDERNESS area of undeveloped Federal land retaining its PRESERVATION SYSTEM primeval character and influence, without per- Sec. manent improvements or human habitation, 1131. National Wilderness Preservation System. which is protected and managed so as to pre- § 1132 TITLE 16—CONSERVATION Page 1518 serve its natural conditions and which (1) gener- pleted, together with maps and a definition of ally appears to have been affected primarily by boundaries. Such advice shall be given with re- the forces of nature, with the imprint of man’s spect to not less than one-third of all the areas work substantially unnoticeable; (2) has out- now classified as ‘‘primitive’’ within three years standing opportunities for solitude or a primi- after September 3, 1964, not less than two-thirds tive and unconfined type of recreation; (3) has at within seven years after September 3, 1964, and least five thousand acres of land or is of suffi- the remaining areas within ten years after Sep- cient size as to make practicable its preserva- tember 3, 1964. Each recommendation of the tion and use in an unimpaired condition; and (4) President for designation as ‘‘wilderness’’ shall may also contain ecological, geological, or other become effective only if so provided by an Act of features of scientific, educational, scenic, or his- Congress. Areas classified as ‘‘primitive’’ on torical value. September 3, 1964 shall continue to be adminis- (Pub. L. 88–577, § 2, Sept. 3, 1964, 78 Stat. 890.) tered under the rules and regulations affecting such areas on September 3, 1964 until Congress SHORT TITLE has determined otherwise. Any such area may be Section 1 of Pub. L. 88–577 provided that: ‘‘This Act increased in size by the President at the time he [enacting this chapter] may be cited as the ‘Wilderness submits his recommendations to the Congress Act’.’’ by not more than five thousand acres with no more than one thousand two hundred and eighty § 1132. Extent of System acres of such increase in any one compact unit; (a) Designation of wilderness areas; filing of if it is proposed to increase the size of any such maps and descriptions with Congressional area by more than five thousand acres or by committees; correction of errors; public more than one thousand two hundred and eighty records; availability of records in regional of- acres in any one compact unit the increase in fices size shall not become effective until acted upon All areas within the national forests classified by Congress. Nothing herein contained shall at least 30 days before September 3, 1964 by the limit the President in proposing, as part of his Secretary of Agriculture or the Chief of the For- recommendations to Congress, the alteration of est Service as ‘‘wilderness’’, ‘‘wild’’, or ‘‘canoe’’ existing boundaries of primitive areas or rec- are hereby designated as wilderness areas. The ommending the addition of any contiguous area Secretary of Agriculture shall— of national forest lands predominantly of wilder- (1) Within one year after September 3, 1964, ness value. Notwithstanding any other provi- file a map and legal description of each wilder- sions of this chapter, the Secretary of Agri- ness area with the Interior and Insular Affairs culture may complete his review and delete such Committees of the United States Senate and area as may be necessary, but not to exceed the House of Representatives, and such de- seven thousand acres, from the southern tip of scriptions shall have the same force and effect the Gore Range-Eagles Nest Primitive Area, as if included in this chapter: Provided, how- Colorado, if the Secretary determines that such ever, That correction of clerical and typo- action is in the public interest. graphical errors in such legal descriptions and (c) Review by Secretary of the Interior of road- maps may be made. less areas of national park system and na- (2) Maintain, available to the public, records tional wildlife refuges and game ranges and pertaining to said wilderness areas, including suitability of areas for preservation as wil- maps and legal descriptions, copies of regula- derness; authority of Secretary of the Inte- tions governing them, copies of public notices rior to maintain roadless areas in national of, and reports submitted to Congress regard- park system unaffected ing pending additions, eliminations, or modi- Within ten years after September 3, 1964 the fications. Maps, legal descriptions, and regula- Secretary of the Interior shall review every tions pertaining to wilderness areas within roadless area of five thousand contiguous acres their respective jurisdictions also shall be or more in the national parks, monuments and available to the public in the offices of re- other units of the national park system and gional foresters, national forest supervisors, every such area of, and every roadless island and forest rangers.