The New England Wilderness Act of 2006 (Pub. L. 109–382 (text) (PDF)) was signed into law by President George W. Bush on December 1, 2006. The Act designated three (3) new wilderness areas in the U.S. states of New Hampshire and Vermont, while expanding five (5) existing wilderness areas across these two states. A total of 76,152 acres (30,818 ha) of new wilderness were created, in the White Mountain National Forest (in New Hampshire) and the Green Mountain National Forest (in Vermont).[1] The Act also created a new recreation area in Vermont.
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| Other short titles | New England Wilderness Act |
|---|---|
| Long title | A bill to designate certain land in New England as wilderness for inclusion in the National Preservation system and certain land as a National Recreation Area, and for other purposes. |
| Enacted by | the 109th United States Congress |
| Effective | December 1, 2006 |
| Citations | |
| Public law | 109-382 |
| Legislative history | |
| |
| Total area | State | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| acres | ha | ||
| Wild River Wilderness | 23,700 | 9,600 | NH |
| Glastenbury Wilderness | 22,425 | 9,075 | VT |
| Joseph Battell Wilderness | 12,333 | 4,991 | VT |
In addition to the new wilderness areas listed above, the Act expanded the existing wilderness areas list below:
| Additional area | State | Created by | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| acres | ha | |||
| Sandwich Range Wilderness | 10,800 | 4,400 | NH | New Hampshire Wilderness Act of 1984 |
| Breadloaf Wilderness | 3,757 | 1,520 | VT | Vermont Wilderness Act of 1984 |
| Lye Brook Wilderness | 2,338 | 946 | VT | Eastern Wilderness Areas Act of 1975 |
| Peru Peak Wilderness | 752 | 304 | VT | Vermont Wilderness Act of 1984 |
| Big Branch Wilderness | 47 | 19 | VT | Vermont Wilderness Act of 1984 |
In addition to the wilderness areas listed above, the Act created the Moosalamoo National Recreation Area in the Green Mountain National Forest. This new recreation area consisted of 15,857 acres (6,417 ha).