Timothy Kaine (D-VA)
Virginia Wilderness Additions Act of 2025
A Democratic bill with 1 Democratic cosponsor · See the cosponsor
Last activity — Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 213.
Cleared committee, waiting for its first floor vote
A committee approved it and it is on the calendar of the chamber it started in.
This is further than most bills get, and still no promise of a vote: the calendar is a queue, and the majority leadership decides what is called. A bill can sit here until the Congress ends.
Its path through Congress
- Introduced
- On Calendar
What this bill would do
This bill is known as the Virginia Wilderness Additions Act of 2025. It adds about 1,000 acres of land to the Rough Mountain Wilderness Area in the George Washington National Forest. It also designates about 4,600 acres of land as a potential wilderness area for the Rich Hole Wilderness Area. The Secretary of Agriculture will manage this potential wilderness area and can allow certain water quality improvement activities using motorized equipment until it officially becomes wilderness. The potential wilderness area becomes fully incorporated into the Rich Hole Wilderness Area either when water quality activities are completed or five years after the Act is enacted, whichever comes first.
Yes
- Scored +7
Does this better protect air, water and wildlife?
The bill expands wilderness areas and authorizes activities to improve water quality and aquatic passage.
- Scored +4
Would people in rural areas be better off under this?
The expansion of wilderness areas in the George Washington National Forest provides enhanced natural resources for rural communities.
The opposite
No question was scored the opposite.
Who it would affect, and how
Potential Positive Impacts for People
-
Section 2(a) adds approximately 1,000 acres of land to the Rough Mountain Wilderness Area, which expands protected wilderness land within the George Washington National Forest.
-
Section 2(b)(4) permits activities to improve water quality and aquatic passage within the Rich Hole potential wilderness area, which can enhance natural ecosystems using specific restoration projects set forth in a 2015 Forest Service document.
Potential Negative Impacts for People
- Section 2(b)(4)(A) allows the Secretary to use motorized equipment and mechanized transport in the potential wilderness area until it is fully incorporated into the Rich Hole Wilderness Area, which introduces motorized use into an area designated for wilderness protection.
Groups and Interests Ranking
Every group the model scored this bill for, from -10 to +10. Tap or hover a score for the reason it gave.
- Environment Energy And Infrastructure
- Does this better protect air, water and wildlife? — The bill expands wilderness areas and authorizes activities to improve water quality and aquatic passage.
- Demographic And Interest Groups
- Would people in rural areas be better off under this? — The expansion of wilderness areas in the George Washington National Forest provides enhanced natural resources for rural communities.
- 10/27/2025
- Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry. Reported by Senator Boozman without amendment. Without written report.
- Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 213.
- 10/21/2025
- Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry. Ordered to be reported without amendment favorably.
- 5/8/2025
- Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
- 1 Cosponsor added.
- Introduced in Senate
Mark WarnerDemocrat · Virginia