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S. 1681119th Congress
S. 1681
The plain-language version leads. The official text is always the reference.
S 1681 would protect 92,562 acres of Virginia national forest and add 33,800 acres of new wilderness.
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S 1681 creates the Shenandoah Mountain National Scenic Area, covering about 92,562 acres in Virginia's George Washington and Jefferson National Forests, to protect scenery, water quality, wildlife habitat, and forests, while allowing hiking and non-motorized recreation. It also designates five new or expanded wilderness areas totaling roughly 33,800 acres with the strongest federal protections, banning roads, logging, and motorized vehicles. The bill bans new roads, most timber harvesting, mining, oil and gas leasing, and new wind or solar projects, and requires the Forest Service to create trail and management plans within two years.
The bill affects hikers, campers, hunters, nearby residents, and private landowners in the area, as well as loggers and energy companies who would lose access to timber, mining, and renewable energy development. The U.S. Forest Service would take on new planning duties, and Virginia's two U.S. senators introduced the bill, which is under committee review.
The designation would permanently restrict logging, mining, energy development, and road-building on the land, limiting future commercial and industrial use while formalizing protections for wildlife, water, and forest habitat.
AI-drafted summary. Verify it against the official text before you act on it. Read the official bill on Congress.gov
Right now: it's on the Senate floor calendar. If the House changes it, it goes back to the Senate before reaching the President.
Latest action: — Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 214.