S. 2548 — Shawnee National Forest Conservation Act of 2025

This section provides definitions for terms used in the Act, including (1) designated natural area, meaning an area of exceptional ecological, botanical, geologic, scenic, or archeological value as determined by the Secretary of Agriculture (acting through the Chief of the Forest Service) and either the State of Illinois or the Secretary of the Interior (acting through the Director of the National Park Service); (2) designated research natural area, meaning an area selected by the Secretary and managed by the Forest Service for scientific research value; (3) Map, meaning the map entitled “Camp Hutchins Wilderness Area and Special Management Area” prepared by the Environmental Law and Policy Center and dated November 23, 2023; (4) Secretary, meaning the Secretary of Agriculture acting through the Chief of the Forest Service; and (5) Special Management Area, meaning an area established by section 4(a).

This section designates approximately 750 acres of land in the Shawnee National Forest in Illinois, as generally depicted on the map entitled “Camp Hutchins Wilderness Area—Proposed,” as the Camp Hutchins Wilderness, a component of the National Wilderness Preservation System. The section directs the Forest Service to administer the area in accordance with the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.), subject to valid existing rights; closes Forest Road 211 to public vehicular traffic and requires its maintenance as a hiking trail, including the eastern extension formerly known as the “Hutchins Creek Spur” up to the “Hutchins Creek Corridor”; withdraws the land from entry, appropriation, or disposal under public land laws, location or patent under mining laws, and operation of mineral leasing, mineral materials, and geothermal leasing laws; and requires the Secretary to file a map and legal description with the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry and the House Committee on Agriculture, correct any clerical or typographical errors, and make it available for public inspection in the appropriate Forest Service office and on its website.

This section establishes three Special Management Areas within the Shawnee National Forest in Illinois, subject to valid existing rights: (1) Camp Hutchins Special Management Area, comprising approximately 2,953 acres; (2) Ripple Hollow Special Management Area, comprising approximately 3,445 acres; and (3) Burke Branch Special Management Area, comprising approximately 6,310 acres. The purposes of the areas are to conserve, protect, and enhance their ecological, scenic, wildlife, recreational, cultural, historic, educational, and scientific resources; to promote biodiversity and control invasive species; and to allow for the continuation of restoration efforts and scientific study of designated natural areas and research natural areas within them.

This section directs the Secretary of Agriculture to administer the Special Management Areas in the Shawnee National Forest (i.e., designated natural areas and research natural areas) to conserve, protect, and enhance their purposes, including development of a comprehensive management plan within three years of enactment. It specifies allowable uses and prohibitions as follows: (1) prescribed fire, herbicides, insecticides, mechanized equipment (e.g., chainsaws, drones, aircraft, trucks, all-terrain vehicles), and best available science for ecological management, fire, insects, disease, and invasives; (2) motorized vehicles prohibited except for administrative purposes, emergencies, trailhead access, or essential ecosystem management; (3) decommissioning of roads except those needed for management or trailheads; (4) commercial timber harvesting prohibited except for fire, insect, disease control, or safety, with thinning permitted for restoration; (5) preservation of inholding access and priority acquisition of inholdings; (6) hunting allowed per Illinois state and Forest Service regulations, with trapping prohibited and no motorized hunter access; and (7) volunteer restoration and scientific research access. The section further (1) grants the Shawnee National Forest Supervisor authority for ongoing management decisions under the forest plan; (2) withdraws lands from public land laws, mining laws, and mineral/geothermal leasing (subject to valid existing rights); (3) requires filing of maps and legal descriptions with congressional committees, with public availability; and (4) mandates annual public progress reports on management objectives via the forest website.