[Title 36 CFR 293]
[Code of Federal Regulations (annual edition) - July 1, 2002 Edition]
[Title 36 - PARKS, FORESTS, AND PUBLIC PROPERTY]
[Chapter II - FOREST SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE]
[Part 293 - WILDERNESS--PRIMITIVE AREAS]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office]
36PARKS, FORESTS, AND PUBLIC PROPERTY22002-07-012002-07-01falseWILDERNESS--PRIMITIVE AREAS293PART 293PARKS, FORESTS, AND PUBLIC PROPERTYFOREST SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
PART 293--WILDERNESS--PRIMITIVE AREAS--Table of Contents
Sec.
293.1 Definition.
293.2 Objectives.
293.3 Control of uses.
293.4 Maintenance of records.
293.5 Establishment, modification, or elimination.
293.6 Commercial enterprises, roads, motor vehicles, motorized
equipment, motorboats, aircraft, aircraft landing facilities,
airdrops, structures, and cutting of trees.
293.7 Grazing of livestock.
293.8 Permanent structures and commercial services.
293.9 [Reserved]
293.10 Jurisdiction over wildlife and fish.
293.11 Water rights.
293.12 Access to surrounded State and private lands.
293.13 Access to valid occupancies.
293.14 Mineral leases and mineral permits.
293.15 Gathering information about resources other than minerals.
293.16 Special provisions governing the Boundary Waters Canoe Area
Wilderness, Superior National Forest, Minnesota.
293.17 National Forest Primitive Areas.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 551, 1131-1136 and 92 Stat. 1649.
Source: 38 FR 5855, Mar. 5, 1973, unless otherwise noted.
Sec. 293.1 Definition.
National Forest Wilderness shall consist of those units of the
National Wilderness Preservation System which at least 30 days before
the Wilderness Act of September 3, 1964, were designated as Wilderness
and Wild under Secretary of Agriculture's Regulations U-1 and U-2
(Secs. 251.20, 251.21), the Boundary Waters Canoe Area as designated
under Regulation U-3 (Sec. 294.1), and such other areas of the National
Forests as may later be added to the System by act of Congress. Sections
293.1 to 293.15 apply to all National Forest units now or hereafter in
the National Wilderness Preservation System, including the Boundary
Waters Canoe Area, Superior National Forest, except as that area is
subject to Sec. 293.16.
Sec. 293.2 Objectives.
Except as otherwise provided in the regulations in this part,
National Forest Wilderness shall be so administered as to meet the
public purposes of recreational, scenic, scientific, educational,
conservation, and historical uses; and it shall also be administered for
such other purposes for which it may have been established in such a
manner as to preserve and protect its wilderness character. In carrying
out such purposes, National Forest Wilderness resources shall be managed
to promote, perpetuate, and, where necessary, restore the wilderness
character of the land and its specific values of solitude, physical and
mental challenge, scientific study, inspiration, and primitive
recreation. To that end:
(a) Natural ecological succession will be allowed to operate freely
to the extent feasible.
(b) Wilderness will be made available for human use to the optimum
extent consistent with the maintenance of primitive conditions.
(c) In resolving conflicts in resource use, wilderness values will
be dominant to the extent not limited by the Wilderness Act, subsequent
establishing legislatiion, or the regulations in this part.
Sec. 293.3 Control of uses.
(a) To the extent not limited by the Wilderness Act, subsequent
legislation establishing a particular unit, or the regulations in this
part, the Chief, Forest Service, may prescribe measures necessary to
control fire, insects, and disease and measures which may be used in
emergencies involving the health and safety of persons or damage to
property and may require permits for, or otherwise limit or regulate,
any use of National Forest land, including, but not limited to, camping,
campfires, and grazing of recreation livestock.
[[Page 380]]
(b) For all prohibitions in National Forest Wildernesses, see part
261 of this chapter.
[38 FR 5855, Mar. 5, 1973, as amended at 42 FR 35959, July 13, 1977]
Sec. 293.4 Maintenance of records.
The Chief, Forest Service, in accordance with section 3(a)(2) of the
Wilderness Act, shall establish uniform procedures and standards for the
maintenance and availability to the public of records pertaining to
National Forest Wilderness, including maps and legal descriptions;
copies of regulations governing Wilderness; and copies of public notices
and reports submitted to Congress regarding pending additions,
eliminations, or modifications. Copies of such information pertaining to
National Forest Wilderness within their respective jurisdictions shall
be available to the public in the appropriate offices of the Regional
Foresters, Forest Supervisors, and Forest Rangers.
Sec. 293.5 Establishment, modification, or elimination.
National Forest Wilderness will be established, modified, or
eliminated in accordance with the provisions of sections 3(b), (d), and
(e) of the Wilderness Act. The Chief, Forest Service, shall arrange for
issuing public notices, appointing hearing officers, holding public
hearings, and notifying the Governors of the States concerned and the
governing board of each county in which the lands involved are located.
(a) At least 30 days' public notice shall be given of the proposed
action and intent to hold a public hearing. Public notice shall include
publication in the Federal Register and in a newspaper of general
circulation in the vicinity of the land involved.
(b) Public hearings shall be held at locations convenient to the
area affected. If the land involved is in more than one State, at least
one hearing shall be held in each State in which a portion of the land
lies.
(c) A record of the public hearing and the views submitted
subsequent to public notice and prior to the close of the public hearing
shall be included with any recommendations to the President and to the
Congress with respect to any such action.
(d) At least 30 days before the date of the public hearing, suitable
advice shall be furnished to the Governor of each State and the
governing board of each county or, in Alaska, the borough in which the
lands are located, and Federal departments and agencies concerned; and
such officers or Federal agencies shall be invited to submit their views
on the proposed action at the hearing or in writing by not later than 30
days following the date of the hearing. Any views submitted in response
to such advice with respect to any proposed Wilderness action shall be
included with any recommendations to the President and to the Congress
with respect to any such action.
Sec. 293.6 Commercial enterprises, roads, motor vehicles, motorized equipment, motorboats, aircraft, aircraft landing facilities, airdrops, structures, and
cutting of trees.
Except as provided in the Wilderness Act, subsequent legislation
establishing a particular Wilderness unit, or Secs. 294.2(b), 294.2(c),
and 294.2(e), paragraphs (c) and (d) of this section, and Secs. 293.7,
293.8, and 293.12 through 293.16, inclusive, and subject to existing
rights, there shall be in National Forest Wilderness no commercial
enterprises; no temporary or permanent roads; no aircraft landing
strips; no heliports or helispots, no use of motor vehicles, motorized
equipment, motorboats, or other forms of mechanical transport; no
landing of aircraft; no dropping of materials, supplies, or persons from
aircraft; no structures or installations; and no cutting of trees for
nonwilderness purposes.
(a) Mechanical transport, as herein used, shall include any
contrivance which travels over ground, snow, or water on wheels, tracks,
skids, or by floatation and is propelled by a nonliving power source
contained or carried on or within the device.
(b) Motorized equipment, as herein used, shall include any machine
activated by a nonliving power source, except that small battery-
powered, hand-carried devices such as flashlights, shavers, and Geiger
counters are not classed as motorized equipment.
[[Page 381]]
(c) The Chief, Forest Service, may authorize occupancy and use of
National Forest land by officers, employees, agencies, or agents of the
Federal, State, and county governments to carry out the purposes of the
Wilderness Act and will prescribe conditions under which motorized
equipment, mechanical transport, aircraft, aircraft landing strips,
heliports, helispots, installations, or structures may be used,
transported, or installed by the Forest Service and its agents and by
other Federal, State, or county agencies or their agents, to meet the
minimum requirements for authorized activities to protect and administer
the Wilderness and its resources. The Chief may also prescribe the
conditions under which such equipment, transport, aircraft,
installations, or structures may be used in emergencies involving the
health and safety of persons, damage to property, or other purposes.
(d) The Chief, Forest Service, may permit, subject to such
restrictions as he deems desirable, the landing of aircraft and the use
of motorboats at places within any Wilderness where these uses were
established prior to the date the Wilderness was designated by Congress
as a unit of the National Wilderness Preservation System. The Chief may
also permit the maintenance of aircraft landing strips, heliports, or
helispots which existed when the Wilderness was designated by Congress
as a unit of the National Wilderness Preservation System.
Sec. 293.7 Grazing of livestock.
(a) The grazing of livestock, where such use was established before
the date of legislation which includes an area in the National
Wilderness Preservation System, shall be permitted to continue under the
general regulations covering grazing of livestock on the National
Forests and in accordance with special provisions covering grazing use
in units of National Forest Wilderness which the Chief of the Forest
Service may prescribe for general application in such units or may
arrange to have prescribed for individual units.
(b) The Chief, Forest Service, may permit, subject to such
conditions as he deems necessary, the maintenance, reconstruction, or
relocation of those livestock management improvements and structures
which existed within a Wilderness when it was incorporated into the
National Wilderness Preservation System. Additional improvements or
structures may be built when necessary to protect wilderness value.
Sec. 293.8 Permanent structures and commercial services.
Motels, summer homes, stores, resorts, organization camps, hunting
and fishing lodges, electronic installations, and similar structures and
uses are prohibited in National Forest Wilderness. The Chief, Forest
Service, may permit temporary structures and commercial services within
National Forest Wilderness to the extent necessary for realizing the
recreational or other wilderness purposes, which may include, but are
not limited to, the public services generally offered by packers,
outfitters, and guides.
Sec. 293.9 [Reserved]
Sec. 293.10 Jurisdiction over wildlife and fish.
Nothing in the regulations in this part shall be construed as
affecting the jurisdiction or responsibility of the several States with
respect to wildlife and fish in the National Forests.
Sec. 293.11 Water rights.
Nothing in the regulations in this part constitutes an expressed or
implied claim or denial on the part of the Department of Agriculture as
to exemption from State water laws.
Sec. 293.12 Access to surrounded State and private lands.
States or persons, and their successors in interest, who own land
completely surrounded by National Forest Wilderness shall be given
access as provided in subpart D of part 251 of this chapter.
[56 FR 27419, June 14, 1991]
Sec. 293.13 Access to valid occupancies.
Persons with valid occupancies wholly within National Forest
Wilderness shall be permitted access to such surrounded occupancies by
means consistent with the preservation of National Forest Wilderness
which have
[[Page 382]]
been or are being customarily used with respect to other such
occupancies surrounded by National Forest Wilderness. The Forest Service
will, when appropriate, issue permits which shall prescribe the routes
of travel to and from the surrounded occupancies, the mode of travel,
and other conditions reasonably necessary to preserve the National
Forest Wilderness.
[39 FR 31321, Aug. 28, 1974]
Sec. 293.14 Mineral leases and mineral permits.
(a) All laws pertaining to mineral leasing shall extend to each
National Forest Wilderness for the period specified in the Wilderness
Act or subsequent establishing legislation to the same extent they were
applicable prior to the date the Wilderness was designated by Congress
as a part of the National Wilderness Preservation System. No person
shall have any right or interest in or to any mineral deposits which may
be discovered through prospecting or other information-gathering
activity after the legal date on which the laws pertaining to mineral
leasing cease to apply to the specific Wilderness, nor shall any person
after such date have any preference in applying for a mineral lease,
license, or permit.
(b) Mineral leases, permits, and licenses covering lands within
National Forest Wilderness will contain reasonable stipulations for the
protection of the wilderness character of the land consistent with the
use of the land for purposes for which they are leased, permitted, or
licensed. The Chief, Forest Service, shall specify the conditions to be
included in such stipulations.
(c) Permits shall not be issued for the removal of mineral materials
commonly known as common varieties under the Minerals Act of July 31,
1947, as amended and supplemented (30 U.S.C. 601-604).
[39 FR 31321, Aug. 28, 1974]
Sec. 293.15 Gathering information about resources other than minerals.
(a) The Chief, Forest Service, shall allow any activity, for the
purposes of gathering information about resources, other than minerals,
in National Forest Wilderness, except that any such activity for
gathering information shall be carried on in a manner compatible with
the preservation of the wilderness environment. Prospecting for minerals
or any activity for the purpose of gathering information about minerals
in National Forest Wilderness is subject to the regulations in part 252
of this chapter.
(b) [Reserved]
(c) Any person desiring to use motorized equipment, to land
aircraft, or to make substantial excavations for the purpose of
gathering information about resources, other than minerals, shall apply
in writing to the Office of the Forest Supervisor or District Ranger
having jurisdiction over the land involved. Excavations shall be
considered substantial which singularly or collectively exceed 200 cubic
feet within any area which can be bounded by a rectangle containing 20
surface acres. Such use or excavation may be authorized by a permit
issued by the Forest Service. Such permits may provide for the
protection of National Forest resources, including wilderness values,
protection of the public, and restoration of disturbed areas, including
the posting of performance bonds.
(d) Prospecting for water resources and the establishment of new
reservoirs, water-conservation works, power projects, transmission
lines, and other facilities needed in the public interest and the
subsequent maintenance of such facilities, all pursuant to section
(4)(d)(4)(1) of the Wilderness Act, will be permitted when and as
authorized by the President.
[39 FR 31321, Aug. 28, 1974, as amended at 42 FR 35960, July 13, 1977]
Sec. 293.16 Special provisions governing the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, Superior National Forest, Minnesota.
(a) Motorboat use. (1) For purposes of this section, motorboats
permitted to operate in the BWCA Wilderness are defined as watercraft
propelled by a gasoline or electric powered motor with the propeller
below the waterline.
(2) Motorboats may operate without restrictions on motor size or
number of motors on Sand Point Lake, Little Vermilion Lake, Loon Lake,
Loon
[[Page 383]]
River, and that portion of Lac La Croix which lies south of Snow Bay and
east of Wilkins Bay, all in Saint Louis County.
(3) Motorboats with a motor or combination of motors totaling no
more than 25 horsepower may operate on Trout Lake in Saint Louis County,
Fall Lake, Moose Lake, Newfound Lake, Newton Lake, Sucker Lake, Snowbank
Lake, South Farm Lake, and Basswood Lake, except that portion of
Basswood Lake generally north of the narrows at the north end of
Jackfish Bay and north of a point on the International Boundary between
Ottawa Island and Washington Island, all in Lake County, and East
Bearskin Lake and Saganaga Lake, except that portion west of American
Point in Cook County.
(4) Motorboats with a motor or combination of motors totaling no
more than 10 horsepower may operate on Clearwater Lake, North Fowl Lake,
South Fowl Lake, Alder Lake, Canoe Lake, Sea Gull Lake, and Island River
east of Lake Isabella, all in Lake County, except that motorboats may
not operate--
(i) After January 1, 1999 on that portion of Sea Gull Lake west of
Threemile Island, and
(ii) After January 1, 1994, on Brule Lake in Cook County or until
the termination of the operation of the resort adjacent to Brule Lake in
operation as of 1977, whichever occurs first.
(5) Motorboats with a combination of motors that exceed 25
horsepower may travel on that portion of Saganaga Lake in Cook County
described as the Saganaga Corridor extending from the Saganaga Narrows
north to the International Boundary east of Campers, Clark and Horseshoe
Islands and west of Oskenonton Island; provided that the motor or motors
in operation at one time do not exceed 25 horsepower.
(b) Mechanical and mechanized portages. (1) BWCA visitors may use
portage wheels and other non-motorized devices to transport watercraft
over the following routes:
(i) The portages along the International Boundary.
(ii) Four Mile Portage from Fall Lake to Hoist Bay of Basswood Lake.
(iii) The portage from Back Bay to Pipestone Bay of Basswood Lake.
(iv) The portages from Fall Lake to Newton Lake to Pipestone Bay of
Basswood Lake.
(v) The portage from Vermilion Lake to Trout Lake.
(2) The Forest Service may authorize, by special use permit, the use
of motor vehicles to transport watercraft over the following portages:
(i) Four Mile Portage From Fall Lake to Hoist Bay of Basswood Lake.
(ii) Vermilion Lake to Trout Lake.
(iii) Prairie Portage from Sucker Lake to Basswood Lake
(iv) Loon River to Loon Lake and from Loon Lake to Lac La Croix.
(c) Snowmobile use. (1) A snowmobile is defined as a self-propelled,
motorized vehicle not exceeding forty inches in width designed to
operate on ice and snow, having a ski or skiis in contact with the snow
and driven by a track or tracks.
(2) The Forest Service permits use of snowmobiles only on the
following routes:
(i) The overland portages in Saint Louis County from Crane Lake to
Little Vermilion Lake in Canada.
(ii) The route in Cook County from Sea Gull River along the eastern
portion of Saganage Lake to Canada.
(3) The Forest Service may issue special-use authorizations to use
snowmobiles for the grooming of specified cross-country ski trails near
existing resorts.
[50 FR 16231, Apr. 25, 1985]
Sec. 293.17 National Forest Primitive Areas.
(a) Within those areas of National Forests classified as Primitive
on the effective date of the Wilderness Act, September 3, 1964, there
shall be no roads or other provision for motorized transportation, no
commercial timber cutting, and no occupancy under special-use permit for
hotels, stores, resorts, summer homes, organization camps, hunting and
fishing lodges, or similar uses: Provided, That existing roads over
National Forest lands reserved from the public domain and roads
necessary for the exercise of a statutory right of ingress and egress
may be allowed
[[Page 384]]
under appropriate conditions determined by the Chief, Forest Service.
(b) Grazing of domestic livestock, development of water storage
projects which do not involve road construction, and improvements
necessary for the protection of the National Forests may be permitted,
subject to such restrictions as the Chief, Forest Service, deems
desirable. Within Primitive Areas, when the use is for other than
administrative needs of the Forest Service, use by other Federal
agencies when authorized by the Chief, and in emergencies, the landing
of aircraft and the use of motorboats are prohibited on National Forest
land or water unless such use by aircraft or motorboats has already
become well established, the use of motor vehicles is prohibited, and
the use of other motorized equipment is prohibited except as authorized
by the Chief. These restrictions are not intended as limitations on
statutory rights of ingress and egress or of prospecting, locating, and
developing mineral resources.
(c) All prohibitions for those areas of National Forest classified
as Primitive on the effective date of the Wilderness Act, September 3,
1964, are in part 261.
(78 Stat. 890, 16 U.S.C. 1131-1136; 74 Stat. 215, 16 U.S.C. 528-531)
[38 FR 5855, Mar. 5, 1973, as amended at 42 FR 35960, July 13, 1977]