[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5891 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5891

 To adjust the boundary of Big Thicket National Preserve in Texas and 
  provide for three ecotourism projects within the preserve, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 24, 2008

Mr. Brady of Texas introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
                   the Committee on Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To adjust the boundary of Big Thicket National Preserve in Texas and 
  provide for three ecotourism projects within the preserve, and for 
                            other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds as follows:
            (1) The Big Thicket National Preserve, located in East 
        Texas, was established by Congress in 1974 as the nation's 
        first Preserve.
            (2) The Big Thicket, known as the ``biological crossroads 
        of North America,'' is home to species native of the Gulf 
        Coastal Plains, Eastern Forests, and the Central Plains, 
        including the bald eagle, the peregrine falcon, and whooping 
        crane, which make their home among rivers, baldcypress swamps, 
        pine savannahs, sandhills, and tall forests.
            (3) In 1993, Congress approved an expansion of the 
        authorized boundary of the Big Thicket to incorporate more 
        biological diversity.
            (4) In 2007, major owners of timberland in the region began 
        divesting property, some of which was ultimately purchased by 
        the National Park Service for Big Thicket.
            (5) Because of these new additions, the Big Thicket has 
        reached its Congressionally authorized boundary of 97,000 
        acres.

SEC. 2. BOUNDARY ADJUSTMENT.

    The first section of the Act titled ``An Act to authorize the 
establishment of the Big Thicket National Preserve in the State of 
Texas, and for other purposes'' (16 U.S.C. 698), is amended--
            (1) by redesignating subsections (c), (d), and (e) as 
        subsections (d), (e), and (f), respectively;
            (2) by inserting after subsection (b) the following:
    ``(c) Additional Lands.--The boundary of the preserve may also 
include any lands acquired from willing sellers totaling not more than 
100,000 acres of land near the Preserve as generally depicted on the 
map titled `Big Thicket National Preserve Proposed Boundary Expansion', 
numbered 175/80, 017A, and dated April 2008. The map shall be on file 
and available for inspection in the appropriate offices of the National 
Park Service.'';
            (3) in subsection (d) (as redesignated by paragraph (1) 
        above)--
                    (A) by striking ``owner: Provided further'' and all 
                that follows through ``exchange:'' and inserting a 
                colon; and
                    (B) by striking ``After notifying'' through the end 
                of that sentence and inserting ``The Secretary may, if 
                the Secretary considers such that lands would make a 
                significant contribution to the purposes for which the 
                preserve was created, accept title to any lands, or 
                interests in lands, located outside of the boundaries 
                of the preserve, as established by subsections (b) and 
                (c), which the State of Texas or its political 
                subdivisions may acquire and offer to donate to the 
                United States or which any private person, 
                organization, or public or private corporation may 
                offer to donate to the United States. The Secretary may 
                administer such lands as a part of the preserve after 
                publishing notice to that effect in the Federal 
                Register.''; and
            (4) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(g) Private Landowner Withdrawal.--Any owner of private property 
included within the boundaries of the preserve shall have their 
property immediately removed from the boundary by submitting a written 
request for such withdrawal to the Secretary.''.

SEC. 3. CANOPY WALKS, ELEVATED BOARDWALKS, AND ASSOCIATED 
              INTERPRETATION.

    The Secretary of the Interior shall construct, operate, and 
maintain a system of canopy walks, elevated boardwalks, and associated 
interpretation that connect visitors with the ecological diversity of 
Big Thicket National Preserve. In developing the system, the Secretary 
may give special consideration to areas in Big Thicket National 
Preserve that are inaccessible to most visitors due to swamp, high 
vegetation, or fragile ecology.

SEC. 4. BIG THICKET NATIONAL PRESERVE INTERPRETIVE CENTER.

    The Secretary of the Interior shall construct, operate, and 
maintain a Big Thicket National Preserve interpretive center that is--
            (1) easily accessible to a heavily traveled area (such as 
        Beaumont, Texas, near Interstate 10); and
            (2) serves as an educational opportunity for children and 
        young adults to learn more about Big Thicket National Preserve, 
        wildlife, and the environment, and the importance of protecting 
        these resources.

SEC. 5. CANOE AND KAYAKING TRAILS.

    The Secretary of the Interior shall construct, operate, and 
maintain canoe and kayaking trails in Big Thicket National Preserve 
that--
            (1) are guided by Global Positioning System waypoints; and
            (2) include platforms off the water for kayaks and canoes 
        to be docked safely.

SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of the 
Interior such sums as are necessary to carry out this Act and the 
amendments made by this Act.
                                 <all>