Calendar No. 595
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Calendar No. 595 107TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! 2d Session SENATE 107–276 NATIONAL TRAILS SYSTEM WILLING SELLER ACT SEPTEMBER 12, 2002.—Ordered to be printed Mr. BINGAMAN, from the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, submitted the following R E P O R T [To accompany S. 1069] The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was referred the bill (S. 1069) to amend the National Trails System Act to clarify Federal authority relating to land acquisition from willing sellers for the majority of the trails in the System, and for other purposes, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon with amendments and recommends that the bill, as amended, do pass. The amendments are as follows: 1. On page 2, line 13, strike ‘‘area.’’ and insert ‘‘area, including the North Country National Scenic Trail, the Ice Age National Sce- nic Trail, and the Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail.’’. 2. On page 2, line 14, strike ‘‘these nine trails’’ and insert ‘‘the North Country National Scenic Trail, the Ice Age National Scenic Trail, and the Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail’’. 3. Beginning on page 3, line 15 strike all that follows through the end of the bill and insert the following: ‘‘(a) LIMITED ACQUISITION AUTHORITY.— ‘‘(1) NORTH COUNTRY NATIONAL SCENIC TRAIL.—Sec- tion 5(a)(8) of the National Trails System Act (16 U.S.C. 1244(a)(8)) is amended by adding at the end: ‘‘No lands or interests therein outside the exterior boundaries of any federally administered area may be acquired by the Federal government for the trail ex- cept with the consent of the owner thereof.’’. ‘‘(2) ICE AGE NATIONAL SCENIC TRAIL.—Section 5(a)(10) of the National Trails System Act (16 U.S.C. 1244(a)(10)) is amended by adding at the end: ‘‘No lands or interests therein outside the exterior bound- 99–010 VerDate Sep 04 2002 04:50 Sep 14, 2002 Jkt 099010 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6969 E:\HR\OC\SR276.XXX SR276 2 aries of any federally administered area may be ac- quired by the Federal government for the trail except with the consent of the owner thereof.’’. ‘‘(3) POTOMAC HERITAGE NATIONAL SCENIC TRAIL.— Section 5(a)(11) of the National Trails System Act (16 U.S.C. 1244(a)(11)) is amended by adding at the end: ‘‘No lands or interests therein outside the exterior boundaries of any federally administered area may be acquired by the Federal government for the trail ex- cept with the consent of the owner thereof.’’. ‘‘(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 10(c)(1) of the National Trails System Act (16 U.S.C. 1249(c)(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘the North Country National Scenic Trail, The Ice Age National Scenic Trail.’’. PURPOSE The purpose of S. 1069, as ordered reported, is to amend the Na- tional Trails System Act to provide Federal land acquisition au- thority from willing sellers for the North Country, Ice Age and Po- tomac Heritage National Scenic Trails. BACKGROUND AND NEED Congress enacted the National Trails System Act in 1968 to pro- vide for the increasing outdoor recreation needs and to promote the preservation of outdoor areas and historic resources of the Nation by instituting a national system of recreation, scenic and historic trails. Most of the 22 national and scenic trails in the system provide for Federal acquisition authority to complete the trails, in many cases from willing sellers only. There is no existing Federal acquisi- tion authority, however, for nine of the trails. During the late 1970’s and early 1980’s, proposed new national historic and national scenic trails were seen as primarily com- memorative with no need for acquisition authority. In addition, some supporters of the trails did not believe their Federal partners would need acquisition authority to complete their proposed trails. As a result, amendments to the National Trails System Act be- tween 1978 and 1983 banned the use of federal funds for any trail corridor outside Federal boundaries for nine trails. In the absence of willing seller acquisition authority, federal trail managers are unable to purchase lands or easements to protect trails when development threatens important links in the land- scapes of the national scenic or historic trails. In some cases, sec- tions of the trails can be moved from roads and critical historic sites can be preserved through willing seller authority. As ordered reported, S. 1069 would enable the Federal Govern- ment to acquire lands from willing sellers for three of the affected trails in the System: the North Country National Scenic Trail, the Ice Age National Scenic Trail, and the Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail. LEGISLATIVE HISTORY S. 1069 was introduced by Senators Levin, Kohl, Feingold, Schu- mer, Johnson, and Stabenow on June 20, 2001. Companion legisla- VerDate Sep 04 2002 04:50 Sep 14, 2002 Jkt 099010 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\SR276.XXX SR276 3 tion, H.R. 834, was introduced by Representatives McInnis on March 1, 2001 and passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 409–3 on March 13, 2001. The Subcommittee on National Parks held a hearing on S. 1069 and H.R. 834 on March 7, 2002. At the business meeting on July 31, 2002, the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources ordered S. 1069, as amended, favorably re- ported. COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in open busi- ness session on July 31, 2002, by a voice vote of a quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 1069, if amended as described herein. COMMITTEE AMENDMENT During the consideration of S. 1069, the Committee adopted three amendments. As introduced, the bill would have provided Federal acquisition authority, on a willing seller basis, for all nine trails lacking such authority. Amendment #3 limits the acquisition authority to three of the nine trails: the North County National Scenic Trail, the Ice Age National Scenic Trail, and the Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail. Amendments #1 and #2 make con- forming changes. SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS Section 1 contains the short title, the ‘‘National Trails System Willing Seller Act.’’ Section 2 contains congressional findings. Section 3 is a Sense of the Congress stating that the Secretary with jurisdiction over a national scenic or historic trail should co- operate with appropriate State and local officials and private per- sons, and should have sufficient authority to purchase lands and interests therein from willing sellers. Section 4(a) amends section 5(a) of the National Trails System Act (16 U.S.C. 1244(a)) to authorize the Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of Agriculture, as appropriate, to acquire lands on a willing seller basis for the North County National Scenic Trail, the Ice Age National Scenic Trail, and the Potomac Heritage Na- tional Scenic Trail. Subsection (b) makes a conforming amendment to section 10(c)(1) of the National Trails System Act (16 U.S.C. 1249(c)(1)). COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS The following estimate of the cost of this measure has been pro- vided by the Congressional Budget Office: VerDate Sep 04 2002 04:50 Sep 14, 2002 Jkt 099010 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\SR276.XXX SR276 4 U.S. CONGRESS, CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE, Washington, DC, August 15, 2002. Hon. JEFF BINGAMAN, Chairman, Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, U.S. Senate, Washington, DC. DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: The Congressional Budget Office has pre- pared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 1069, the National Trails System Willing Seller Act. If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Deborah Reis. Sincerely, ROBERT A. SUNSHINE (For Dan L. Crippen, Director). Enclosure. S. 1069—National Trails System Willing Seller Act S. 1069 would amend the National Trails System Act to allow the federal government to purchase land from willing sellers for three national trails. Under current law, the National Park Service (NPS) generally is not authorized to spend federal funds to acquire land for these trails that is outside of existing federal areas such as national parks. The costs of implementing S. 1069 are uncertain because the NPS has not completed land protection plans for the three trails cited in the bill. CBO expects that relatively little land along the nearly 5,000 miles composing the three trails would be acquired be- cause most land can probably be protected in other ways, as it is for other trails in the system. Nevertheless, acquisition costs for at least one trail—the 3,200-mile North Country National Scenic Trail—could exceed $100 million, assuming appropriation of the necessary amounts. For the two shorter trails, the Ice Age National Scenic Trail and the Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail, CBO expects that costs would be much lower. In any case, all acquisition funding would be subject to the appropriation of the necessary amounts and would probably be spent over a period of several years. This estimate is based on information provided by the Na- tional Park Service. S. 1069 would not affect direct spending or receipts; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures would not apply. The bill contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Un- funded Mandates Reform Act and would have no significant impact on the budgets of state, local, or tribal governments. The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Deborah Reis. The es- timate was approved by Peter H. Fontaine, Deputy Assistant Direc- tor for Budget Analysis. REGULATORY IMPACT EVALUATION In compliance with paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee makes the following evaluation of the regulatory impact which would be incurred in carrying out S.