§544d Scenic Area Management Plan

Summary

Within one year of being created, the Commission must finish three studies to help write a management plan. It must make a resource inventory that lists current land uses, natural and cultural features, and recreation and economic resources, and must include the Secretary’s inventory for special management areas unchanged. It must do an economic opportunity study to find ways to help local economies without harming the area. It must also do a recreation assessment that picks a site for an interpretive center in Oregon and a conference center in Washington, finds places for parks, campsites, boat launches and river access, and, while respecting tribal treaty rights, shows where river access can be increased. Within two years the Commission must set land use categories for non-Federal lands (for example: farms, forests, open space, commercial and residential areas) and include existing urban area designations. Within three years the Commission must adopt a management plan by majority vote, including at least three members from each State. The plan must follow standards that protect farms, forests, open space, recreation and cultural resources; limit major development in special management areas; ban industrial development outside urban areas; and require that commercial, residential, and mineral activities outside urban areas do not harm scenic, cultural, recreation, or natural resources. The Secretary and the Commission must consult federal, state, local governments and tribes, hold public hearings, and seek public comment. After adoption the Secretary has 90 days to agree; failure to act is treated as agreement. If the Secretary objects, he must explain why and suggest changes. The Commission then has 120 days to revise the plan or, by a two-thirds vote with a majority from each State, reject the suggested changes. The Commission must review the plan no sooner than five years after adoption and at least every ten years, and may amend the plan sooner if conditions change, submitting revisions to the Secretary for review.