The Virginia Wilderness Act of 1984 (P.L. 98-586) designated four study areas including the Rich Hole Wilderness, and directed a two-year study by EPA and the State of Virginia on the effects of a proposed development on air quality of the four areas.
The Forest Service in 2009 was working on a revision to its Forest Plan for the George Washington National Forest that proposed adding wilderness acreage to the Rich Hole Wilderness western boundary [REF].