[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 71 (Wednesday, May 2, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5495-S5497]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        PETITIONS AND MEMORIALS

  The following petitions and memorials were laid before the Senate and 
were referred or ordered to lie on the table as indicated:

       POM-77. A joint resolution adopted by the Legislature of 
     the State of Idaho urging Congress to support Federal 
     legislation transferring management of National Forest System 
     Lands within Idaho to the State of Idaho to be managed for 
     the benefit of the rural counties and schools; to the 
     Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

                      House Joint Memorial No. 21

       Whereas, the United States Forest Service administers the 
     management of 39 percent of the land base in the state of 
     Idaho, and an additional 22 percent is administered by the 
     United States Bureau of Land Management; and
       Whereas, pursuant to 16 U.S.C. Section 471, an 1891 law 
     authorizing the President to establish national forests, the 
     purpose for establishing and administering national forests 
     was to set aside public lands reserved as national forests to 
     be controlled and administered, to the extent practical, in 
     accordance with the Act which provided that ``no national 
     forest may be established except to improve and protect the 
     forest, or to secure favorable conditions of water flows, and 
     to furnish a continuous supply of timber for the use and 
     necessities of citizens''; and
       Whereas, it has long been the intent and policy of the 
     federal government to hold rural communities harmless from 
     the creation of federal lands and in 1906 the Committee on 
     Public Lands recognized that the presence of federal lands 
     could create a hardship for many counties, as they provided 
     little revenue or commerce at that time; and
       Whereas, in 1908, Congress created the Twenty-five Percent 
     Fund Act to pay states and and counties 25 percent of 
     receipts collected from national forests and mandated that 
     payments were to be spent on schools and roads, recognizing 
     that viable communities adjacent to the public lands, with 
     adequate roads and schools, were essential for the 
     development and preservation of the national forests; and

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       Whereas, the federal policy of holding counties harmless 
     from the creation of public lands within counties was 
     reiterated in 1916 with the creation of the Oregon and 
     California Grant Lands under the Chamberlain-Ferris Act, and 
     again in 1937 with passage of the Oregon and California Grant 
     Lands Act; and
       Whereas, the forest resources were intended to be managed 
     in such an environmentally responsible manner that they would 
     produce long-term sustainable revenue to share with schools 
     and counties as well as products for the nation; and
       Whereas, in 2000, Congress passed the Secure Rural Schools 
     and Community Self-Determination Act, commonly known as 
     public law 106-393, which restored historical payment levels 
     previously made to states and counties from the federal 
     government for road and school purposes due to declining 
     levels of actual forest receipts; and
       Whereas, the reauthorization of public law 106-393 is 
     pending before the United States Congress and Idaho counties 
     are on record as being strongly supportive of a fully-funded 
     approval of this Act; and
       Whereas, recently, federal land managers have been faced 
     with an ever-present funding shortage and rural counties will 
     be faced with higher property taxes or a reduction in 
     services if the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-
     Determination Act is not reauthorized and appropriated; and
       Whereas, there is continued concern that if the Act is 
     reauthorized and appropriated it may be the last time it 
     occurs and a long-term solution to these issues is necessary; 
     and
       Whereas, the state of Idaho is dependent upon healthy 
     national forest system lands for economic benefit, recreation 
     and scenic beauty and it is time to demonstrate a new 
     initiative and commitment to the intent and policy of the 
     federal government to hold counties and schools harmless from 
     the creation of federal lands and construct a path leading to 
     economic stability for rural communities and schools; and
       Whereas, transfer of the management of the national forest 
     system lands that are not designated as wilderness, proposed 
     or recommended wilderness, wild and scenic river, or national 
     recreation area, or designated roadless area in Idaho, to the 
     state of Idaho would promote better stewardship of the public 
     lands, provide financial returns to the counties, secure 
     public access, meet Congress's intent to hold rural 
     communities harmless from the creation of federal lands, and 
     fund schools, road and bridge infrastructure which would 
     offset significant tax increases in rural counties in the 
     event the Secure Rural Schools payments are not reauthorized 
     or are allowed to expire following the 2006 reauthorization; 
     and
       Whereas, precedent for state administration of federally-
     owned lands exists in the state of Idaho at the City of Rocks 
     area in southern Idaho and campground-related facilities and 
     land at Lake Cascade; and
       Whereas, a transfer of management to the state of Idaho 
     would demonstrate a new initiative and commitment to the 
     intent and policy of the federal government to hold rural 
     counties and schools harmless from the consequences of the 
     reservation of federal lands and construct a process leading 
     to economic stability for rural communities and schools; and
       Whereas, lands for which management responsibility is 
     transferred to the state of Idaho could be administered by 
     the Idaho Department of Lands in cooperation with county 
     officials and with cooperative oversight by the United State 
     Forest Service and state and local government could 
     establish, or use existing natural resource advisory 
     committees composed of a diverse cross-section of the public, 
     with all decisions and actions relating to the lands being 
     required to comply with every federal and state environmental 
     law; and
       Whereas, the management of these lands would have to meet 
     the mandates of the Healthy Forest Initiative, the National 
     Fire Plan, and state and county fire mitigation plans: Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved by the members of the Second Regular Session of 
     the Fifty-eighth Idaho Legislature, the House of 
     Representatives and the Senate concurring therein, That we 
     urge the Congress to support federal legislation transferring 
     management of national forest system lands within Idaho to 
     the state of Idaho to be managed for the benefit of the rural 
     counties and schools with the state of Idaho being held 
     harmless from the costs of administration; and be it further
       Resolved, That Congress is urged to provide that any 
     transfer of management authority would not affect any rights 
     or authority of the state with respect to fish and wildlife, 
     or repeal or modify any provision of law that permits the 
     state or political subdivisions of the state to share in the 
     revenues from federal lands, or any provision of law that 
     provides that fees or charges collected at particular federal 
     areas be used for or credited to specific purposes or special 
     funds; and be it further
       Resolved, That Congress is urged to provide that fees or 
     revenues collected under state management be allocated 75 
     percent, or other appropriate percentage, for the benefit of 
     the counties and schools in which the national forest system 
     lands are located and 25 percent, or other appropriate 
     percentage, for the benefit of the national forest in which 
     the lands administered by the state of Idaho are located to 
     be paid at the end of the year to the Secretary of the 
     Treasury, and that amounts allocated to the counties should 
     not be taken into account for purposes of the Twenty-five 
     Percent Fund pursuant to 16 U.S.C. Section 500; and be it 
     further
       Resolved, That Congress is urged to seek a long-term 
     solution to the significant issues that will face rural 
     counties in the event the Secure Rural Schools payments are 
     not reauthorized or are allowed to expire following the 2006 
     reauthorization; and be it further
       Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the House of 
     Representatives be, and she is hereby authorized and directed 
     to forward a copy of this Memorial to the President of the 
     Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives of 
     Congress, and the congressional delegation representing the 
     State of Idaho in the Congress of the United States.
                                  ____

       POM-78. A concurrent resolution adopted by the House of 
     Representatives of the Legislature of the State of Idaho 
     stating findings of the Legislature and authorizing the 
     legislative council to appoint a committee to undertake and 
     complete a study of the decline in receipts on National 
     Forest System Lands; to the Committee on Energy and Natural 
     Resources.

                   House Concurrent Resolution No. 26

       Whereas, it has long been the intent and policy of the 
     federal government to hold rural communities harmless from 
     the creation of federal lands and in 1906 the Committee on 
     Public Lands recognized that the presence of federal lands 
     could create hardship for many counties as they provided 
     little revenue or commerce at that time; and
       Whereas, in 1908, the federal government promised rural 
     counties 25 percent of all revenues generated from the 
     multiple-use management of the newly created national forests 
     to support public roads and public schools; and
       Whereas, in recent decades, the forest resources have not 
     been managed in a manner to produce long-term sustainable 
     revenue to share with schools and counties; and
       Whereas, in 2000, Congress passed Public Law 106-393, the 
     Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act. 
     The Act restored historical payment levels previously made to 
     states and counties from the federal government for road and 
     school purposes because of declining levels of actual forest 
     receipts; and
       Whereas, the reauthorization and appropriation of the 
     Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act is 
     pending before the United States Congress, and Idaho counties 
     are on record as being strongly supportive of a fully funded 
     approval of this Act; and
       Whereas, federal land managers continue to be faced with 
     funding shortages. In the event the Secure Rural Schools and 
     Community Self-Determination Act is not reauthorized and 
     appropriated, counties will be faced with higher property 
     taxes or a reduction in services and, even if the Act is 
     reauthorized and appropriated, it will likely be the last 
     time, and the state of Idaho must seek a long-term solution; 
     and
       Whereas, in 2006, House Joint Memorial No. 21 was adopted 
     by the members of the Second Regular Session of the Fifty-
     eighth Idaho Legislature to provide one option to address the 
     problem of declining forest receipts by urging Congress to 
     support federal legislation transferring management of 
     National Forest System lands within Idaho to the state of 
     Idaho to be managed for the benefit of the rural counties and 
     schools: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the members of the First Regular Session of the 
     Fifty-ninth Idaho Legislature, the House of Representatives 
     and the Senate concurring therein, that the Legislative 
     Council is authorized to appoint an interim committee to 
     undertake and complete an assessment of the decline in 
     receipts on National Forest System lands, which have 
     historically been shared with counties, with the goal of the 
     interim committee's recommendations being to develop a 
     federal, bipartisan, long-term solution that addresses 
     sustainable management of federal forest lands to 
     stabilize payments to Idaho's forest counties, which help 
     support roads and schools, and to provided projects that 
     enhance forest ecosystem health and provide employment 
     opportunities, and to improve cooperative relationships 
     among those who use and care about the lands the agencies 
     manage. The Legislative Council shall determine the 
     membership from each house appointed to the interim 
     committee and shall authorize the interim committee to 
     receive input, advice and assistance from interested and 
     affected parties who are not members of the Legislature. 
     As much as is practicable, the interim committee shall 
     work in cooperation and coordination with the state of 
     Idaho, its counties, its school and highway districts, 
     along with the recognized Indian tribes of the state of 
     Idaho. The interim committee is also authorized to retain 
     the services of consultants, within appropriated moneys, 
     who are familiar with forest receipts, and who can provide 
     necessary economic and other research to assist the 
     interim committee and the Legislature in making an 
     informed decision on this most important topic; and now, 
     therefore, be it further
       Resolved, That the Idaho legislative interim committee on 
     forest receipts will address National Forest System lands, 
     but only those lands that do not have special designations. 
     The interim committee is directed to formulate a solution 
     that will protect all valid existing rights, existing public 
     access

[[Page S5497]]

     and activities, including hunting, fishing and recreation, 
     and that will not be construed to interfere with treaties or 
     any other obligations to the Indian tribes, commitments to 
     county governments, or the General Mining Law or Taylor 
     Grazing Act; and now, therefore, be it further
       Resolved, That nonlegislative members of the interim 
     committee may be appointed by the cochairs of the interim 
     committee who are appointed by the Legislative Council. 
     Nonlegislative members of the interim committee shall not be 
     reimbursed from legislative funds for per diem, mileage or 
     other expenses and shall not have voting privileges regarding 
     the interim committee's recommendations or proposed 
     legislation; and now, therefore, be it further
       Resolved, That the interim committee shall report its 
     findings, recommendations and proposed legislation, if any, 
     to the Second Regular Session of the Fifty-ninth Idaho 
     Legislature. 

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