The President Oe the United States Transmitting
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93d Congress, 2d Session ........... House Document No. 93-403 PROPOSED ADDITIONS TO THE NATIONAL WILDERNESS PRESERVATION SYSTEM COMMUNICATION FROM THE PRESIDENT OE THE UNITED STATES TRANSMITTING PROPOSALS FOR THIRTY-SEVEN ADDITIONS TO THE NATIONAL WILDERNESS PRESERVATION SYSTEM AND DEFERRAL OF ACTION ON FIVE AREAS SUITABLE FOR INCLUSION IN THE SYSTEM, AND RECOMMENDATIONS AGAINST THE INCLUSION OF FOUR OTHER AREAS STUDIED, PURSUANT TO SECTION 3 OF THE WILDER- NESS ACT OF 1964 [16 USC 1132] PART 24 FORT NOIBRARA WILDERNESS NEBRASKA DECEMBER 4, 1974.— Referred to the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs and ordered to be printed with illustrations. U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE WASHINGTON : 1974 42 797 O THE WHITE HOUSE WAS HIN GTO N December 4, 1974 Dear Mr. Speaker: Pursuant to the Wilderness Act of September 3, 1964, I am pleased to transmit herewith proposals for thirty-seven additions to the National Wilderness Preservation System. As described in the Wilderness Message that I am con- currently sending to the Congress today, the proposed new wilderness areas cover a total of over nine million primeval acres. In addition, the Secretary of the Interior has recommended that Congressional action on five other areas which include surface lands suitable for wilderness be deferred for the reasons set forth below: A. Three areas which are open to mining might be needed in the future to provide vital minerals for the Nation, but these areas have not been adequately surveyed for mineral deposits. The areas are the Kofa Game Range, Arizona; Charles Sheldon Antelope Range, Nevada and Oregon; and, Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Range, Montana. B. One area is subject to withdrawals for power purposes and additional study is needed of the West's potential energy needs before a wilderness decision can be made. This is Lake Mead National Recreation Area, located in Arizona and Nevada. C. Certain parts of one area are subject to selection by the village of Mekoryuk under the terms of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act and a wilderness recommenda- tion should be made only after the completion of the Native selection process. The area in question is the Nunivak National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska. Four other possibilities considered by the Secretary of the Interior in his review of roadless areas of 5,000 acres or more were found to be unsuitable for inclusion in the Wilderness System: Deer Flat National Wildlife Refuge, Oregon and Idaho; Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, Maryland; Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky; and, Upper Mississippi River Wildlife and Fish Refuge, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa and Illinois. I concur in this finding and in the other recommendations of the Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture, all of which are transmitted herewith. Wilderness designation of both of these new wilderness areas and those already submitted that are pending be- fore the Congress would dramatically demonstrate our commitment to preserve America's irreplaceable heritage, and I urge the Congress to act promptly in this regard. Sincerely, The Honorable Carl Albert Speaker of the House of Representatives Washington, D.C. 20515 United States Department of the Interior OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY WASHINGTON, D.C. 20240 Dear Mr. President: It is with pleas.ure that I recommend the establishment of areas totaling approximately ^,635 acres in Fort Niobrara National Wildlife Refuge as part of the National Wilderness Preservation System. The recommendation stems from this Department's responsibility under the Wilderness Act (78 Stat. 890) to recommend to the President areas within its jurisdiction suitable for designation as wilderness. Having reviewed potential areas in Fort Niobrara National Wildlife Refuge, we conclude that ^,635 of the refuge's 19»122 acres should be designated wilderness. Originally a military post, the Fort Niobrara National Wildlife Refuge was converted to a refuge in 1912. It is located in north central Nebraska, eight miles south of the South Dakota line. The refuge is managed primarily to support herds of American bison, elk, and Texas longhorns. The refuge is divided by the Niobrara River into a northern portion, characterized by high grazing lands which are furrowed with deep canyons, and a southern portion, an elevated, rolling plain. Large areas of the refuge are fenced into pastures which, in rotation, are devoted to haying and grazing and left fallow. Most of the northern portion, as well as the river segment in the refuge, is recommended for wilderness designation.' Remaining areas of the refuge are too intensively managed for the benefit of wildlife to qualify as wilder- ness. A mineral survey of the refuge lands has not been made. A test for oil and gas reserves has been conducted just west of the refuge, with negative results: conditions on the refuge are thought to be similar. In accordance with the requirements of the Wilderness Act, a public hearing on the recommendation was held at Valentine, Nebraska, on March 23, 197^* Analyses of the hearing records and written expressions received, together with the letters received from other Federal agencies, are contained in the enclosed synopsis. Complete records have been compiled and are available for inspection by the public. Enclosed is a draft bill which, if enacted, would incorporate the recommended area of Fort Niobrara National Wildlife Refuge into the National Wilderness Preservation System. Sincerely yours, t/u^k.-? fan Aftting A33i3t£B* secretary of the Interior The President The White House Washington, D. C. 20500 Enclosure A B I L L To designate certain lands in the Fort Niobrara National Wildlife Refuge, Cherry County, Nebraska, as Wilderness. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, that, in accordance with section 3(c) of the Wilderness Act of September 3, 196U (78 Stat. 890, 892; 16 U.S.C. 1132(c)), certain lands in the Fort Niobrara National Wildlife Refuge, Nebraska, which comprise about 4,635 acres and which are depicted on a map entitled "Fort Niobrara Wilderness Proposal", dated November 1973, are hereby designated as wilderness. SEC. 2. As soon as practicable after this Act takes effect, a map of the wilderness area and a description of its boundaries shall be filed with the Interior and Insular Affairs Committees of the United States Senate and the House of Representatives, and such map and description shall have the same force and effect as if included in this Act: Provided, however, That correction of clerical and typographical errors in such map and description may be made. SEC. 3. The area designated by this Act as wilderness shall be known as the "Fort Niobrara Wilderness" and shall be administered by the Secretary of the Interior in accordance with the applicable provisions of the Wilderness Act governing areas designated by that Act as wilderness areas, and where appropriate any reference in that Act to the Secretary of Agriculture shall be deemed to be a reference to the Secretary of the Interior. 42-797 O - 75 - pt. 24 - 2 SEC. h. Subject to all valid rights existing on the date of enactment of this Act, lands designated as wilderness by this Act are hereby withdrawn from all forms of appropriation under the mining laws and from disposition under all laws pertaining to mineral leasing and all amendments thereto. PUBLIC HEARING ANALYSIS FORT NIOBRARA NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE On March 23, 1974 pursuant to the requirements of the Wilderness Act, a public hearing was held et Valentine, Nebraska to ascertain public views on the desirability to include the Fort Niobrara National Wild- life Refuge in the National Wilderness Preservation System. The hearing record remained open until April 23, 197** in order to allow sufficient time for interested agencies and individuals to submit written state- ments for inclusion in the official record. The public hearing was officially opened at 10 a.m. on March 23, 1974 at the Cherry County Courthouse, Valentine, Nebraska. The hearing officer was Edward L. Meredith, Attorney Advisor, Billings, Montana. Prepared statements were read by Mr. Meredith and Mr. Gilbert Key of the Pierre Area Office, Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife. A slide presentation was given by Mr. Robert Ellis, Refuge Manager of the Fort Niobrara National Wildlife Refuge. The'proposal made by the Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife as a result of a study was as follows: "Approximately A,635 acres qualify for inclusion in the Notional Wilderness Preservation System. The re- maining 14,488 acres were found not suitable and should not be considered." A total of 36 individuals attended the hearing. No elected public officials were present. Statements were presented by 14 individuals. Speakers were called to make statements in the order they registered. A telegram was read into the record from Patricia D. Duncan, Vice President, Save the Tall Grass Prairie, Inc., supporting wilderness designation of 4,635 acres. Organization representatives that presented statements in favor of the BSFW proposal in- cluded the following: The Wilderness Society, National Wildlife Federation, Platte Valley Sierra Club, Bluestem Sierra Club, Pine Ridge Group of the Sierra Club, Nebraska Agricultural Extension Service, Valentine Chamber of Commerce, and Temple Earth. Organizations opposing wilderness included the following: Cherry County Farm Bureau, Nebraska Farm Bureau Federation, and the Valentine Rural Fire Protection District. Opposition from these three organizations stemmed from the danger of grass fires and the hazards to nearby ranchers owing to the lack of proper fire suppression (this matter was discussed in great deta'U during the question and answer period and was resolved for some but not all the opposition). Five individuals represented themselves - of these, four favored the proposal and one was against. The entire proceedings lasted one hour and forty-five minutes, whereupon the hearing officer announced that the hearing record would remain open for 30 days.