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passage of the Virgmia SceniC River Act in April 1970. The acl's purpose was to provide lor the identification, preservation, and protection of cer- lain rivers or sections of rivers which possess high quality nalural beaUly. The act is fairly unrestric- tive legislation whose only prohibi- tion is against dams or olher im- pediments 10 the natural flow of riv- ers in the system; this is subject to review by lhe General Assembly. The acl places no restrictions on land use or other uses of the water. In brier, lhe act does only the fol- lowing: (1) It requires all planning for use and development 01 water and land related resources to consider the effects of such projects on the Stream's character; alternative plans are conSidered (2) StiPulates Ihat an agency be appointed 10 administer the river and develop a management plan. (3) Requires appomtmen\ of a local advisory commlllee to advise Ihe Commission on river protection and management. (4) Prohibits impoundments with- out the approval of lhe General Assembly. Thus, the actual methods used to provide river prOlection are deler- mined on a case. by-case basis as rivers are studied for inclusion in the System The proteCllon mea- sures considered for a river include fee purchase of land, easements, and local zoning To date, local 16 zoning has been the preferred method 01 protection by the people in lhe localities aflected by desig- nation, particularly when public lands were not involved In faCI, the two rivers designated al lhis lime rely on local zoning for fiver cor- ridor protection. The other methods, however, may well play an impor- tant part in luture scenic river designations. Since 1970 the Commission of Outdoor Recreation has made seven scenic river studies. Qlthese, six were reported to lhe General Assembly wllh designation legisla- tion mtroduced on three. Of lhose three. two were fully deSignated and one was deferred unlilthe 1978 ses- sion 10 allow lime for a hydroelectric power study. Throughout lhese seven studies, one smgle factor has become most obvious; scenic river designation depends on the support 01 the lo- cality. Wllhout local support and particularly that oflhe riparian land- owners, legislators are reluClant to make a deSignation. Wisconsin Hislory of wild river preservation in Wisconsin goes back to 1905 when the State leglslalure pro. hlbl:ed the building 01 dams on lhe Brule River and established the Brule River Forest to prolect lhe river. Similar legiSlation in 1908 proteCled a portion Of the Flambeau River DUring years of wa:er power growth and development. power companies soughl to inundate sev- 000539 Wisconsin's PI~e River IS one a/three streams designarea Wi/a Rovers by me Slate Legis/atvre, eral wild rivers In Wisconsin by damming to prOVide electric power. For lhe first lime, in 1937 the Uli1ily regulating agency in the Slate reo lused to grant a dam permit on the basis of the dam's ellects on scen- ery and sport fishing, Formal legislation in 1965 named me Pine, Popple, and Pike Rivers as "wild rivers" and gave the WIS- consin Department 01 Natural Re- sources (DNR) the responsibility 10 Implement the law through leader- ship and coordmation. A land and Water Conservation Fund matching grant of 5750,000 is assisting the State in acquiring 7,000 acres of land along the tt1ree rivers in order 10 protect their scenic values. Although the WisconSin legisla- ture has not designated additional wild rivers, the Board 01 the DNR has deSignated portions of the St. Croix, ','loll, Brule, and Flambeau Rivers as "wild fivers" in policy de- ciSIons and IS laking steps 10 pro- lecl !helr scenic and recreational vatues. In most of the county forests in Wisconsin, 01 which there are over 26 million acres, scenic zones have been established on the banks of fivers to limil limber cullmg. Also the US. Forest Service's forest managemenl plan for Nicolet Na- lional Foresl, through which por. tions of lhe Pine and Popple Rivers flow. recognizes lhe stream banks as "water influence" zones, de- servmg speCial conSideration be- cause 01 their scenic values.