Shenandoah Mountain Act

Last action on Oct 27, 2025Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Order...

Summary

The Shenandoah Mountain Act would create a National Scenic Area covering approximately 92,562 acres of federal forest land in Virginia. The designated area would protect scenic quality, water resources, wildlife habitat, and old-growth forests while allowing continued recreational access through existing trails and roads. The bill would also designate four new Wilderness Areas totaling around 28,000 acres, which receive the highest level of federal protection and restrict logging, gas drilling, and pipeline construction.

The legislation would not require acquiring private land, as the area is already federally owned. Existing roads and public access would be maintained, including Virginia's access road to Shenandoah Mountain's crest. The bill aims to balance conservation with recreation and tourism, which currently generates over $720 million annually in the region. The designation represents the culmination of 20 years of collaborative work among diverse stakeholders including conservationists, recreation groups, timber industry representatives, hunters, and anglers.

Lifecycle of the Bill

Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry. Ordered to be reported without amendment favorably.

Oct 21, 2025

HearingSenateMeeting

Oct 21, 2025 · 13:15

Business meeting to consider H.R.4550, to reauthorize the United States Grain Standards Act, S.1462, to improve forest management activities on National Forest System land, public land under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Land Management, and Tribal land to return resilience to overgrown, fire-prone forested land, S.277, to release a Federal reversionary interest and convey mineral interests in Chester County, Tennessee, S.1680, to designate additions to the Rough Mountain Wilderness and the Rich Hole Wilderness of the George Washington National Forest, S.2440, to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to convey certain National Forest System land located in Franklin County, Mississippi, H.R.197, to provide for a land exchange in the Chippewa National Forest, Minnesota, S.1262, to require the Secretary of Agriculture to release a reversionary interest in certain land in the Black River State Forest in Millston, Wisconsin, S.2548, to designate the Camp Hutchins Wilderness and establish Special Management Areas in the Shawnee National Forest in the State of Illinois, S.1681, to establish the Shenandoah Mountain National Scenic Area in the State of Virginia, H.R.1612, to designate the Flatside-Bethune Wilderness in the Ouachita National Forest, S.1350, to modify the boundaries of the Talladega National Forest, S.1376, to amend the National Trails System Act to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to conduct a study on the feasibility of designating the Benton MacKaye Trail as a national scenic trail, S.1876, to authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to relocate a memorial honoring the 9 Air Force crew members who lost their lives in an airplane crash in the Cherokee and Nantahala National Forests during a training mission on August 31, 1982, S.638, to amend the Act of June 22, 1948, and an original bill to require the Secretary of Agriculture to convey a parcel of property of the Forest Service to Perry County, Arkansas.

Committee

Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry

View full hearing

Summary

The Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry held a business meeting on October 21, 2025, to consider a package of bills related to public lands management and forest policy. The bills under consideration included H.R. 4550 to reauthorize the United States Grain Standards Act, S. 1462 (Fix Our Forests Act) to improve forest management on National Forest System lands and Bureau of Land Management property, and multiple bills proposing wilderness designations and land conveyances across national forests in states including Virginia, Illinois, Arkansas, Mississippi, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. The hearing was structured as a business meeting rather than a traditional hearing with witness testimony, meaning no formal witnesses presented testimony on the bills. This type of meeting typically allows committee members to discuss and potentially vote on advancing legislation without public testimony. The bills addressed several distinct policy areas within the committee's jurisdiction. Some focused on forest management and resilience, particularly S. 1462, which aims to address overgrown, fire-prone forested lands. Others proposed new wilderness designations, such as S. 1680 for additions to wilderness areas in Virginia's George Washington National Forest and S. 2548 for the Shawnee National Forest in Illinois. Additional bills dealt with specific land conveyances and boundary modifications for national forests and state forests across multiple states. As a business meeting to consider these bills, the session represented an early step in the legislative process. Committee consideration does not guarantee that any of these bills will advance further or be enacted into law. The committee would need to vote to approve the bills before they could move to the full Senate for consideration.

Video

Watch video

Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry. Reported by Senator Boozman without amendment. Without written report.

Oct 27, 2025

Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry. Reported by Senator Boozman without amendment. Without written report.

Oct 27, 2025

Shenandoah Mountain Act

Summary

Lifecycle of the Bill

Committee

Summary

Video

Committee

Summary

Video

Cosponsors (1)

Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry

CBO Cost Estimate

Search

Search

Shenandoah Mountain Act

Summary

Lifecycle of the Bill

Committee

Summary

Video

Lifecycle of the Bill

Committee

Summary

Video

Bill Information

Sponsors & Co-sponsors (2)

Cosponsors (1)

Policy Area

Legislative Subjects (9)

Committees (1)

Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry

CBO Cost Estimate

CBO Cost Estimate