    [Senate Hearing 115-504]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]

                                                            S. Hrg. 115-504

                              PENDING LEGISLATION

    =======================================================================

                                    HEARING

                                   BEFORE THE

                                SUBCOMMITTEE ON
                                 NATIONAL PARKS

                                     OF THE

                                  COMMITTEE ON
                          ENERGY AND NATURAL RESOURCES
                              UNITED STATES SENATE

                         ONE HUNDRED FIFTEENTH CONGRESS

                                 SECOND SESSION

                                       on

    S. 400                                 S. 1573                               S. 2102
    S. 966                                 S. 1602                               S. 2213/H.R. 4300
    S. 1160                                S. 1645                               S. 2225
    S. 1260/H.R. 2615                      S. 1646                               S. 2238
    S. 1335                                S. 1692                               H.R. 1397
    S. 1446/H.R. 1135                      S. 1956/H.R. 2897                     H.R. 1500
    S. 1472

                                   __________

                               FEBRUARY 14, 2018

                                   __________

     [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

                           Printed for the use of the
                   Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

            Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.govinfo.gov

                               ______

                  U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
     29-765                WASHINGTON : 2020

                   COMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND NATURAL RESOURCES

                        LISA MURKOWSKI, Alaska, Chairman
    JOHN BARRASSO, Wyoming               MARIA CANTWELL, Washington
    JAMES E. RISCH, Idaho                RON WYDEN, Oregon
    MIKE LEE, Utah                       BERNARD SANDERS, Vermont
    JEFF FLAKE, Arizona                  DEBBIE STABENOW, Michigan
    STEVE DAINES, Montana                JOE MANCHIN III, West Virginia
    CORY GARDNER, Colorado               MARTIN HEINRICH, New Mexico
    LAMAR ALEXANDER, Tennessee           MAZIE K. HIRONO, Hawaii
    JOHN HOEVEN, North Dakota            ANGUS S. KING, JR., Maine
    BILL CASSIDY, Louisiana              TAMMY DUCKWORTH, Illinois
    ROB PORTMAN, Ohio                    CATHERINE CORTEZ MASTO, Nevada
    SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO, West Virginia  TINA SMITH, Minnesota
                                     ------

                         Subcommittee on National Parks

                             STEVE DAINES, Chairman

    JOHN BARRASSO                        ANGUS S. KING, JR.
    MIKE LEE                             BERNARD SANDERS
    CORY GARDNER                         DEBBIE STABENOW
    LAMAR ALEXANDER                      MARTIN HEINRICH
    JOHN HOEVEN                          MAZIE K. HIRONO
    ROB PORTMAN                          TAMMY DUCKWORTH

                          Brian Hughes, Staff Director
                    Patrick J. McCormick III, Chief Counsel
                    Michelle Lane, Professional Staff Member
                 Mary Louise Wagner, Democratic Staff Director
                    Sam E. Fowler, Democratic Chief Counsel
                    David Brooks, Democratic General Counsel

                                C O N T E N T S

                                  ----------

                               OPENING STATEMENTS

                                                                       Page
    Daines, Hon. Steve, Subcommittee Chairman and a U.S. Senator from
      Montana........................................................     1
    King, Jr., Hon. Angus S., Subcommittee Ranking Member and a U.S.
      Senator from Maine.............................................     4
    Portman, Hon. Rob, a U.S. Senator from Ohio......................     5

                                    WITNESS

    Smith, P. Daniel, Deputy Director, National Park Service, U.S.
      Department of the Interior.....................................     6

              ALPHABETICAL LISTING AND APPENDIX MATERIAL SUBMITTED

    Agenda...........................................................     3
    American Discovery Trail Society:
        Statement for the Record.....................................    49
    Blue Ridge National Heritage Area:
        Statement for the Record.....................................    54
    Blunt, Hon. Roy:
        Statement for the Record.....................................    57
    Bowser, Hon. Muriel:
        Letter for the Record........................................    58
    Burr, Hon. Richard:
        Statement for the Record.....................................    60
    Capito, Hon. Shelley Moore and Coons, Hon. Chris:
        Joint Statement for the Record regarding S. 1573.............    61
        Joint Statement for the Record regarding S. 1692.............    63
    Cardin, Hon. Benjamin L. and Van Hollen, Hon. Chris:
        Joint Statement for the Record...............................    65
    Daines, Hon. Steve:
        Opening Statement............................................     1
    Hirono, Hon. Mazie K.:
        Statement for the Record.....................................    69
    King, Jr., Hon. Angus S.:
        Opening Statement............................................     4
    Murkowski, Hon. Lisa:
        Statement for the Record.....................................    71
    National EMS Memorial Foundation:
        Letter for the Record........................................    73
    National Parks Conservation Association:
        Letter for the Record........................................    76
    Portman, Hon. Rob:
        Opening Statement............................................     5
    Smith, P. Daniel:
        Opening Statement............................................     6
        Written Testimony............................................     8
        Responses to Questions for the Record........................    37
    (The) Wilderness Society:
        Letter for the Record........................................    79

                                   __________
    The text for each of the bills which were addressed in this hearing can
    be found on the committee's website at: https://www.energy.senate.gov/
    public/index.cfm/2018/2/subcommittee
    021418.

                              PENDING LEGISLATION

                                  ----------

                          WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2018

                                   U.S. Senate,
                        Subcommittee on National Parks,
                     Committee on Energy and Natural Resources,
                                                        Washington, DC.
        The Subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 3:07 p.m. in
    Room SD-366, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. Steve Daines,
    presiding.

                OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. STEVE DAINES,
                       U.S. SENATOR FROM MONTANA

        Senator Daines [presiding]. The Subcommittee will come to
    order.
        Before we begin I would like to take a moment to welcome
    our new Ranking Member, Senator Angus King, who hails from the
    great State of Maine. I will tell you there is some great
    symmetry here with Maine and Montana here leading this
    Committee. It is wonderful to have you and, truly, I look
    forward to working with you.
        The 23 bills we are examining this afternoon cover a wide
    range of issues related to the federal land administered by the
    U.S. Department of the Interior, primarily by the National Park
    Service.
        Some of the items we will hear today are new to the
    Subcommittee and others we have heard before in previous
    Congresses, but this will give us a great opportunity to update
    the record as well as for members to ask questions. In
    addition, a good number of the items on the agenda today have
    been included in S. 1460, the Energy and Natural Resources Act
    of 2017.
        Because we have so many items on the agenda today, I won't
    go through each one, but I would like to highlight a few before
    we do get started.
        For example, S. 1260, which was introduced by my colleague,
    Senator Cochran, is on the list today. This bill would
    authorize a land exchange between the Veterans of Foreign Wars
    (VFW) Post 5699 in Ocean Springs, Mississippi, and the National
    Park Service. Right now, the only way to reach the VFW Post is
    across a one lane, dirt access road. While the Park Service
    allows the VFW to construct and maintain the access road, they
    did not provide a right of way or a special use permit. This
    land exchange between the VFW and the Park Service would allow
    for guaranteed access to a driveway for VFW members and would
    be mutually beneficial for both parties. I think this is the
    least we can do for those who have served our country.
        Speaking of those who have served, we have another item on
    our agenda today, Senate bill 2213, which speaks to the legacy
    of the veterans of our greatest generation. This bill was
    introduced by Senator Hirono and would allow for the creation
    of the Pacific War Memorial at Pearl Harbor to tell the story
    of those U.S. Servicemembers who fought bravely alongside all
    other allied servicemembers in the Pacific Theater during World
    War II, many who made the ultimate sacrifice. This may come as
    a surprise to many, but the current memorials at Pearl Harbor
    commemorate America's entry into and the successful end to the
    war but lack of space to honor individuals who served in
    Theater. This legislation would allow a commemorative display
    to be constructed at no cost to the Federal Government and
    would be named after a hero of the greatest generation, Admiral
    Lloyd R. ``Joe'' Vasey, who, it is my understanding, recently
    celebrated his 101st birthday. I look forward to learning more
    about how we can move this forward on a bipartisan basis.
        We have a few other items on the agenda that, I believe,
    are of special significance today. It is February which is
    African American History Month. There are two bills on our
    agenda: S. 1645, which would authorize a special resource study
    for Public School 103, that is Thurgood Marshall's elementary
    school, and Senate bill 1646, which would authorize a special
    resource study for President Street Station in Baltimore, both
    of which are significant to African American and all American
    history. In addition, S. 1446, which would reauthorize
    Historically Black Colleges and Universities Preservation
    Program, is on the agenda. I look forward to a good discussion
    on each of these items in addition to the rest of all the bills
    on our long list.
        Each of these agenda items are not only important to
    individual members of the Subcommittee but to our nation's
    parks and citizens as a whole. This Subcommittee is so
    important to our members and our citizens because we often talk
    about very local issues and about access to our parks.
        In Montana, access to public lands and recreation is at the
    forefront of our minds and our economy. It is my hope that as
    Chair I can continue to further that discussion. In fact, just
    today we heard from the Bureau of Economic Analysis about the
    economic benefit of outdoor recreation to our economy.
        I know we have quite a few items on the agenda today, but I
    am hopeful we can move through the list fairly quickly. It is
    Valentine's Day. I am sure somebody in this room may have other
    plans this evening.
        The purpose of this hearing is to consider the
    Administration's views on these bills and allow Committee
    members an opportunity to ask questions. We will also include
    written statements that have been sent to the Subcommittee in
    the official hearing record.
        Because of the large number of bills on today's agenda, I
    will not read through the list, but at this time I will include
    the complete agenda in the hearing record. Without objection.
        [The complete agenda referred to follows:]

                              UNITED STATES SENATE

                                 COMMITTEE ON
                          ENERGY AND NATURAL RESOURCES

                         Subcommittee on National Parks

        February 14, 2018 Hearing regarding Pending Legislation

                                 AGENDA

       S. 400, the Susquehanna National Heritage Area Act
       S. 966, the National Historic Vehicle Register Act
            of 2017
       S. 1160, the Abraham Lincoln National Heritage Area
            Amendment Act
       S. 1260/H.R. 2615, the Gulf Islands National
            Seashore Land Exchange Act of 2017
       S. 1335, the Ste. Genevieve National Historical Park
            Establishment Act
       S. 1446/H.R. 1135, to reauthorize the Historically
            Black Colleges and Universities Historic Preservation
            program
       S. 1472, a bill to reauthorize the Tennessee Civil
            War Heritage Area
       S. 1573, the American Discovery Trail Act of 2017
       S. 1602, the Finger Lakes National Heritage Area
            Study Act
       S. 1645, the Thurgood Marshall's Elementary School
            Study Act
       S. 1646, the President Street Station Study Act
       S. 1692, the National Emergency Medical Services
            Commemorative Work Act
       S. 1956/H.R. 2897, a bill to authorize the Mayor of
            the District of Columbia and the Director of the
            National Park Service to enter into cooperative
            management agreements for the operation, maintenance,
            and management of units of the National Park System in
            the District of Columbia
       S. 2102, the Acadia National Park Boundary
            Clarification Act
       S. 2213/H.R. 4300, the Admiral Lloyd R. ``Joe''
            Vasey Pacific War Commemorative Display Establishment
            Act
       S. 2225, the Blue Ridge National Heritage Area
            Reauthorization Act of 2017
       S. 2238, a bill to amend the Ohio & Erie Canal
            National Heritage Canalway Act of 1996 to repeal the
            funding limitation
       H.R. 1397, to authorize, direct, facilitate, and
            expedite the transfer of administrative jurisdiction of
            certain Federal land, and for other purposes
       H.R. 1500, the Robert Emmet Park Act of 2017
        Senator Daines. We have one witness today, Mr. P. Daniel
    Smith, Deputy Director, National Park Service, U.S. Department
    of the Interior. This is Mr. Smith's first time testifying for
    the Subcommittee but not his first time up here in the Senate
    in this capacity. I would like to thank him for being here with
    us.
        First, let me turn to the Ranking Member, my friend,
    Senator King, for his opening remarks.

                 STATEMENT OF HON. ANGUS S. KING, JR.,
                        U.S. SENATOR FROM MAINE

        Senator King. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I must say I am
    delighted to be joining you as Ranking Member of this
    Subcommittee.
        I am just delighted to welcome Director Smith who, I just
    learned, hails from Portland, Maine, which means you have a lot
    of credibility coming out of the box, Mr. Director. Don't screw
    it up.
        [Laughter.]
        We are delighted to have you here.
        I am also excited you mentioned Thurgood Marshall. It was
    50 years ago this spring that I was a young law student and I
    heard Thurgood Marshall speak at the University of Virginia Law
    School. It is one of the highlights of my life. I still
    remember the speech to this day.
        I am a strong supporter of the National Park System, a firm
    believer in its mission to protect and preserve the natural and
    cultural resources of this nation for the enjoyment of future
    generations. In this role, I hope to help the Park Service
    bring its operations into the 21st century, to help our
    national parks connect to a new generation of visitors, and to
    redouble our efforts to solve the challenges facing the Park
    System from older challenges like park maintenance and funding
    to the newer challenges such as record visitation at certain
    parks and the long-term threats of climate change.
        Director Smith, I also welcome you to the Committee today.
    I appreciate your testimony on the pending legislation and
    appreciate the work that you have done for many years.
        I understand one of the issues that I am going to be
    talking about is Acadia National Park, and you worked on that
    issue in 1986. It is a delight to have you here with your
    expertise and history.
        The Park Service and the Department of the Interior has
    been working with me for some time to address concerns about
    the legislation involving Acadia. I know that both the
    Administration and the Maine delegation are dedicated to
    preserving and continuously improving Acadia National Park, one
    of the crown jewels of the National Park System.
        I think the changes we have made in this legislation
    appropriately take care of a number of issues at the Park.
    Importantly, the bill addresses the concern from local
    neighbors about the Park and about the boundaries by protecting
    traditional activities of clammers and wormers near the Park
    and it also addresses an assortment of other issues that were
    bound to arise between close neighbors who have been in
    proximity for 100 years.
        By the way, I was at a celebration two summers ago of the
    100th anniversary of Acadia National Park, and at the
    celebration was the only person on the island older than the
    Park, David Rockefeller. He was 101 and was at that
    celebration.
        The legislation that we are bringing forward also codifies
    important work and a welcome gift to Acadia, 1,400 acres on the
    Schoodic Peninsula and addresses some long-term concerns about
    the size and scale of the Park by ending a lack of clarity on
    the Park Service's authority and the role of Congress regarding
    future acquisitions and boundary changes.
        Thank you again, Director Smith, for being here, and thank
    you, Chairman Daines. I look forward to our hearing.
        Senator Daines. Thank you, Ranking Member King.
        Are there any Senators who would like to make a short
    statement on their legislation today?

                    STATEMENT OF HON. ROB PORTMAN,
                         U.S. SENATOR FROM OHIO

        Senator Portman. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I am delighted
    that you are chairing this Subcommittee and that you have an
    able Ranking Member, both of whom have great passion for the
    parks. I am proud to be on this Subcommittee.
        I know that both of you have some great parks in your
    states. We do too, in Ohio, as Mr. Smith knows. We are proud of
    our Cuyahoga Valley National Park.
        We worked last year with this Subcommittee, the full
    Committee and the Park Service on the National Park Service
    Centennial Act. I just had the National Park Foundation folks
    in recently and they reported that they have well exceeded
    their expectations on raising private money to match the
    federal money which is going to go into this issue of the
    maintenance backlog, among other things, which is so critical.
        And then, of course, we have this new legislation, the
    National Park Service Legacy Act with Senator Warner to
    dedicate some of these on and off shore resources to address
    that backlog that, I know, the Chair and Ranking Member feel
    strongly about also because they see it in their own parks. My
    hope is that we can move forward with legislation that
    continues to expand these public-private partnerships and get
    more money to the backlogs.
        We have a bill, also, that is going to be discussed today,
    the National Historic Vehicle Register Act, with Senator
    Peters, and then we have a reauthorization we need for the Ohio
    and Erie Canal which is a National Heritage Area. I will say on
    that one, Mr. Chairman, the leverage has been one to three. So
    $1.00 of federal funding, about $600,000 a year has been
    leveraged with another $3.00 of mostly private funding. It is a
    good example of leveraging some money from the Park Service to
    create additional funds that can help to protect some critical
    areas and, in this case as well as Cuyahoga Valley, areas that
    have high population and a lot of usage.
        Cuyahoga Valley National Park is one of the top ten parks
    in the country in terms of attendance, even though it is not as
    large and does not have the reputation, perhaps, of some other
    parks in your respective states.
        So thank you for being here, Mr. Smith. And again, to the
    Chair and Ranking Member, I am really excited to be on the
    Subcommittee with them and continue to take whatever efforts,
    steps, we can to help the National Parks be successful.
        Senator Daines. Thank you, Senator Portman.
        All member statements will be added to the hearing record.
        It is now time to hear from our witness, Mr. P. Daniel
    Smith, Deputy Director, National Park Service, U.S. Department
    of the Interior. At the end of your testimony, we will begin
    questions. Your full written testimony will be made part of the
    official hearing record.
        Mr. Smith, you may proceed.

     STATEMENT OF P. DANIEL SMITH, DEPUTY DIRECTOR, NATIONAL PARK
                SERVICE, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

        Mr. Smith. Mr. Chairman and Senators, I appear before you
    as the Deputy Director, executing the authority of the Director
    of the National Park Service.
        It's a pleasure to be here with you today, opportunity to
    present the Department of the Interior's views on the 23 bills
    on today's agenda.
        I would like to submit our full statements on each of these
    bills for the record and summarize our views. The Department
    supports the following bills:
        S. 2102 which would confirm in statute that the boundary of
    Acadia National Park includes Schoodic Woods property that was
    donated in 2015. The bill would strictly limit future
    administrative boundary adjustments and it would allow
    traditional harvesting of marine species in the Park.
        S. 1692 which would authorize the National Emergency
    Medical Services Memorial Foundation to establish a
    commemorative work in the District to honor the commitment and
    service of the emergency medical services profession.
        H.R. 1397 which would resolve a longstanding access issue
    on the George Washington Memorial Parkway.
        S. 1260 and H.R. 2615 which would resolve an access issue
    at Gulf Islands National Seashore.
        S. 1446 and H.R. 1135 which would reauthorize funding for
    the preservation and restoration of historic structures on the
    campuses of historically black colleges and universities.
        And finally, S. 2213 and H.R. 43 which would authorize the
    organization named Pacific Historic Parks to establish a
    commemorative display at Pearl Harbor.
        The Department supports the goals of the following bills:
        S. 1956 and H.R. 2897 which would clarify the National Park
    Service and District of Columbia may enter into cooperative
    management agreements. However, we would like to work with the
    sponsors and the Committee to ensure that these bills would not
    affect other existing authorities.
        And S. 1335 which would authorize the establishment of the
    Ste. Genevieve National Historical Park. However, the
    Administration's focus is to reduce the National Park Service's
    $11.6 billion deferred maintenance backlog and to address
    critical National Park issues. Funding for new units in the
    National Park System is not a priority in the Administration's
    Fiscal '19 budget.
        The Department does not object to H.R. 1500 which would
    rename Reservation 302 in the District of Columbia as the
    Robert Emmet Park.
        Mr. Chairman, there were also eight bills related to
    National Heritage Areas and special resource studies that the
    Administration cannot support at this time. They are:
        S. 1645 which would authorize a special resource study of
    P.S. 103, Thurgood Marshall School in West Baltimore.
        S. 1646 which would authorize a special resource study of
    President Street Station in Baltimore.
        S. 1602 which would authorize a study of the suitability
    and feasibility of designating an area in New York as the
    Finger Lakes National Heritage Area.
        S. 400 which would establish the Susquehanna National
    Heritage Area in Pennsylvania.
        S. 1160 which would expand the boundaries of Lincoln
    National Heritage Area.
        S. 1472 which would extend the funding authorization for
    the Tennessee Civil War Heritage Area for Fiscal Years 2018 to
    2021.
        S. 2225 which would extend the funding authorization for
    Blue Ridge National Heritage Area for Fiscal Years 2019 to
    2022.
        And finally, S. 2238 which would eliminate the funding
    ceiling for the Ohio and Erie National Historic Heritage
    Canalway.
        The Department recognizes that National Heritage Areas play
    an important role in preserving and interpreting unique aspects
    of our nation's history and that special resource studies help
    inform decisions about the future care of the places that are
    part of the American story; however, National Heritage Areas
    and special resource studies are not funding priorities in the
    Administration's budget. Under these circumstances, we believe
    it would be unwise to authorize new studies, designate new
    national heritage areas or extend the funding authority or
    boundaries of any national historic areas at this time.
        However, the Department looks forward to working with
    Congress, particularly the members of this Subcommittee, to
    craft long-term solutions that will fund our National Park
    System.
        The Department does not support S. 1573. This bill would
    mandate the placement of signage for the unauthorized American
    Discovery Trail on federal land.
        Finally, the Department opposes S. 966 which would require
    the National Park Service to establish and maintain a register
    of historic vehicles because it would create an unnecessary new
    program.
        Mr. Chairman, this concludes my statement and I would be
    pleased to answer any questions you may have.
        [The prepared statements of Mr. Smith follow:]

    [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

        Senator Daines. Thank you for your testimony.
        I know that Chairman Murkowski had some other commitments
    and did not have the opportunity to ask questions today.
        Mr. Smith, on Senate bill 1956 which would authorize the
    Mayor of the District of Columbia and the Director of the
    National Park Service to enter into a cooperative management
    agreement for the operation and maintenance and management of
    units of the National Park System in the District of Columbia.
    First, I want to thank you for the testimony on that, but I
    think all of us in this room can agree that this bill is about
    good government. Any time we have the opportunity to streamline
    efficiencies, improve visitor services and allow public-private
    partnerships to provide investments in our parks, it is a win-
    win. This bill will allow DC to invest, starting with Franklin
    Park, in the modernization of Franklin Park.
        Mr. Smith, your testimony mentioned that the National Park
    Service felt the city already had this authority to sign these
    agreements, but the city solicitors felt they lacked such
    authority. Could you explain how this discussion came about?
        Mr. Smith. Mr. Chairman, I don't have the actual details on
    that but I do know that as so many things with the District of
    Columbia, it's sometimes not aligned in law like the state,
    like our relationships with states are, as far as these types
    of agreements. So, in this regard, if we have legal opinions
    from two different sources, this bill addresses that and so,
    the Park Service is supporting the bill that would make this
    not an issue anymore.
        Senator Daines. That is the Park Service recommendation
    then, to clarify this discrepancy?
        Mr. Smith. Yes, sir.
        Senator Daines. Okay, thank you.
        I want to shift gears to S. 1573. As written, S. 1573 would
    authorize the Secretaries of Interior and Agriculture to place
    signage on federal land marking the American Discovery Trail.
    As noted in the Department's testimony, the American Discovery
    Trail is not a federally designated trail but rather a trail
    coordinated and promoted by a non-profit. The trail was subject
    to a Congressionally-mandated study which was ultimately
    recommended for inclusion as a new category of trail systems,
    separate from scenic or historic trails. No action has occurred
    on this recommendation.
        Your testimony notes that federal land managers should
    retain the authority to decline the request to allow signage
    for non-federal trails in instances where they believe the
    signage could have detrimental impacts. Could you describe how
    this type of signage, whether specific to the American
    Discovery Trail or using a similar example, could have some
    type of detrimental impact?
        Mr. Smith. Detrimental is a strong word.
        It's basically, especially in the case of a trail that's
    not been authorized by the Congress and to have to place, they
    have to take on the responsibility of placing that, from a
    program area point of view, once we would do it for the
    American Discovery Trail, would there be other instances where
    putting up signs on federal property would become an issue? And
    I don't know if detriment is the correct word, but it is a
    policy that if it begins in one place, you set a precedent for
    it to happen in others.
        And right now, I can't think of a good example of where
    there might be another instance of this, but I'd be glad to
    provide that for the record. I'm sure that my memory will be
    better when I'm not sitting here today.
        Senator Daines. Okay, that would be helpful and if there is
    a better word than detrimental, we are open to that as well, if
    you think about it, if it comes to mind.
        My last question, Mr. Smith, is about your testimony
    regarding H.R. 1500 which would rename Reservation 302 in the
    District of Columbia as Robert Emmet Park. I noted something
    interesting. While the Park Service did not object to this
    legislation, the Department did point out that the statue in
    this small park we would be renaming, is owned by the
    Smithsonian and could technically be moved at any point in
    time. Has the Department been in contact with the Smithsonian
    regarding their long-term plans for the statue?
        Mr. Smith. I mean, understand Mr. Chairman, that we're in
    negotiations to extend it for another two years and I don't
    know why it wouldn't be extended beyond that, but I don't have
    more details. For right now, we are in discussions with
    Smithsonian to leave it there, at least for several more years.
        Senator Daines. In 2016, when the Department rehabilitated
    the landscaping at Reservation 302, were the future needs of
    the statue coordinated with the Smithsonian?
        Mr. Smith. One more time, Mr. Chairman?
        Senator Daines. In 2016, when the Department rehabilitated
    the landscaping at Reservation 302, were the future needs of
    the statue the Smithsonian owns, was it coordinated with the
    Smithsonian?
        Mr. Smith. Mr. Chairman, I imagine that it was, but I will
    also provide that for the record.
        Senator Daines. Okay.
        Mr. Smith. I'm just not aware.
        Senator Daines. Alright. Thank you.
        Ranking Member King.
        Senator King. Thank you.
        Acting Director Smith, thank you again for your support of
    S. 2001 and S. 2102 on Acadia, and I really want to express the
    appreciation of the entire Maine delegation for the work that
    the Department has done to get that bill to a place where we
    could have your support and we think solves some nagging
    problems at the Park. I think everyone in the region will
    appreciate that.
        I also wanted to mention that I appreciate the fact that in
    the President's budget request, the new budget request, it
    includes funding for our new Katahdin Woods and Waters National
    Monument. The monument has already begun to generate a lot of
    interest, excitement, and economic activity in the region, and
    we're very optimistic about the opportunity that it presents to
    that region. Infrastructure is very limited there because it is
    brand new, but I would love to have you come and visit. I would
    suggest, perhaps, a little later in the year, but we would love
    to have you come and visit the monument. I think you will be
    impressed by this really, very special, place.
        This monument came with substantial private support, but it
    needs support from the Park Service as well. I know that they
    are working on their management plan now, and we are going to
    continue to work with that process.
        But again, I want to thank the Administration for funding
    the beginnings of the infrastructure program at the new
    monument and hope that you may be able to see your way clear to
    come to Maine and see this special place.
        Mr. Smith. I understand that you and Secretary Zinke had a
    very interesting discussion on his visit. I'm glad to tell you
    that leading trip and trail programs in Maine, years ago, I've
    been stared down by a very big bull moose on one of those
    timber roads as I was hauling six canoes. And so, I know the
    area very well, Senator.
        But I will use your statement to convince the Department
    that I need to be in Maine sometime this summer. Thank you very
    much.
        Senator King. Yes, sir, anytime.
        Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
        Senator Daines. Sounds like a pretty good deal there,
    Senator King.
        If there are no more questions for today, members may also
    submit follow-up questions for the record. The hearing record
    will be open for two weeks.
        Unless you have more questions, Ranking Member King?
        Okay, I want to thank Mr. Smith for his time and testimony
    today.
        This hearing is adjourned.
        [Whereupon, at 3:30 p.m. the hearing was adjourned.]

                          APPENDIX MATERIAL SUBMITTED

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