[House Report 104-711]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



104th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 2d Session                                                     104-711
_______________________________________________________________________


 
CONVEYANCE OF CERTAIN PROPERTY CONTAINING FISH AND WILDLIFE FACILITY TO 
                          THE STATE OF WYOMING

                                _______
                                

 July 26, 1996.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
              State of the Union and ordered to be printed

_______________________________________________________________________


  Mr. Young of Alaska, from the Committee on Resources, submitted the 
                               following

                              R E P O R T

                             together with

                            ADDITIONAL VIEWS

                        [To accompany H.R. 3579]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

  The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill 
(H.R. 3579) to direct the Secretary of the Interior to convey 
certain property containing a fish and wildlife facility to the 
State of Wyoming, and for other purposes, having considered the 
same, report favorably thereon with an amendment and recommend 
that the bill as amended do pass.
  The amendment is as follows:
  Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert in lieu 
thereof the following:

SECTION 1. CONVEYANCE OF CERTAIN PROPERTY TO WYOMING.

  (a) Conveyance.--Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior shall convey to the State of 
Wyoming without reimbursement, all right, title, and interest of the 
United States in and to the property described in subsection (b).
  (b) Description of Property.--The property referred to in subsection 
(a) is the property commonly known as ``Ranch A'' in Crook County, 
Wyoming, consisting of approximately 680 acres of land including all 
real property, buildings, and all other improvements to real property, 
and all personal property including art, historic light fixtures, 
wildlife mounts, draperies, rugs, and furniture directly related to the 
site, including personal property on loan to museums and other 
entities, at the time of transfer.
  (c) Use and Reversionary Interest.--
          (1) Use.--The property conveyed to the State of Wyoming under 
        this section shall be retained in public ownership and be used 
        by the State for the purposes of--
                  (A) fish and wildlife management and education; and
                  (B) using, maintaining, displaying, and restoring, 
                through State or local agreements, or both, the museum 
                quality real and personal property and the historical 
                interests and significance of the real and personal 
                property, consistent with applicable Federal and State 
                laws.
          (2) Access by institutions of higher education.--The State of 
        Wyoming shall provide access to the property for institutions 
        of higher education at a compensation level that is agreed to 
        by the State and the institution of higher education.
          (3) Reversion.--If the property described in subsection (b) 
        is not used for a purpose consistent with paragraphs (1) and 
        (2), all right, title, and interest in and to the property 
        shall revert to the United States.

                          PURPOSE OF THE BILL

    The purpose of H.R. 3579 is to direct the Secretary of the 
Interior to convey certain property, known as ``Ranch A,'' to 
the State of Wyoming.

                  BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    The property commonly known as ``Ranch A'' is located in 
Crook County, Wyoming. It consists of approximately 685 acres 
plus water rights. The property is found within Sand Creek 
Canyon and includes the headwaters of Sand Creek. The area is 
recognized for trout fishing, undisturbed vegetation, 
surrounding geological formations and an abundance of wildlife. 
The Ranch A lodge, barn and associated buildings, which cover 
19.4 acres, were determined eligible for listing in the 
National Register of Historic Places in 1981.
    The Fish and Wildlife Service's (FWS) association with 
Ranch A began in 1963, when the facility was purchased for 
development as a fish genetics research laboratory. The 
original acquisition consisted of approximately 885 acres; 
however, 200 acres were surplused through the General Services 
Administration in 1965. The FWS's Division of Research built 
two laboratory buildings (RD-1 and RD-2) and a water collection 
system.
    In 1983, Ranch A management was conveyed to the City of 
Spearfish and the McNenny Hatchery was conveyed to the State of 
South Dakota. In 1986, the function of fish diet development 
performed at Ranch A was reassigned to the facility at Bozeman, 
Montana, and an audit by the Department of the Interior's 
Office of Inspector General recommended disposing of the 
property.
    In 1986, the FWS entered a long-term agreement with the 
Wyoming Department of Game and Fish. The State was responsible 
for all costs to maintain, repair and operate the facility, no 
annual fees were charged to the State, and the agreement could 
be mutually dissolved with a one-year notice. During its 
operation, the Department of Game and Fish hatched and 
transplanted trout to waters around the State of Wyoming. After 
proper notice, the Department of Game and Fish discontinued 
their fish production activities in the summer of 1995.
    Today, the majority of the ranch acreage (less than 640 
acres) is managed by the Wyoming Department of Game and Fish. 
There is limited bird hunting on the property and a select area 
of the Sand Creek stream is open to fishing, with public 
fishing available at several locations outside the Ranch A 
boundary. Nature trails have also been developed and maintained 
by the Game and Fish Department.
    The South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, which has 
used the lodge and other related structures (barn and garage) 
for educational purposes since 1980, is interested in 
maintaining access to these facilities in the future. By 
transferring the property to the State of Wyoming, private 
citizens have indicated that money will be raised to renovate 
and restore Ranch A and the surrounding buildings.

                            COMMITTEE ACTION

    H.R. 3579 was introduced on June 5, 1996, by Congresswoman 
Barbara Cubin (R-WY). The bill was referred to the Committee on 
Resources, and within the Committee to the Subcommittee on 
Fisheries, Wildlife and Oceans. Identical legislation, S. 1802, 
was introduced on May 23, 1996, by Senators Craig Thomas (R-WY) 
and Alan Simpson (R-WY).
    On July 11, 1996, the Subcommittee held a hearing on H.R. 
3579. Testimony was received from the Honorable Barbara Cubin 
and Mr. Gary Edwards, Assistant Director for Fisheries, FWS. In 
his testimony, Mr. Edwards said that ``the Service and the 
State of Wyoming mutually agree that all parties will benefit 
from the conveyance of ownership of this facility. The Service 
would support H.R. 3579 if certain amendments were made to the 
legislation.''
    On July 17, 1996, the Committee on Resources met to 
consider H.R. 3579. The Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife and 
Oceans was discharged from further consideration of the bill. 
Congresswoman Barbara Cubin offered an amendment in the nature 
of a substitute to the bill. The amendment addressed the 
concerns of the Administration and modified those provisions in 
the legislation dealing with the description of the conveyance 
property, how the property will be used and protected in the 
future, and the conditions under which it may revert to the 
ownership of the Federal Government. The amendment was adopted 
by voice vote. The bill, as amended, was then ordered favorably 
reported to the House of Representatives by voice vote, in the 
presence of a quorum.

                      SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Section 1. Conveyance of certain property to Wyoming

    Section 1(a) directs the Secretary of the Interior to 
convey to the State of Wyoming, within 180 days and without 
reimbursement, all right, title, and interest of the United 
States in and to the ``Ranch A'' property for use by the State.
    Section 1(b) states that the ``Ranch A'' property is 
located in Crook County, Wyoming, consisting of approximately 
680 acres including all real property, buildings, and all other 
improvements to real property, and all personal property 
including art, historic light fixtures, wildlife mounts, 
draperies, rugs and furniture directly related to the site, 
including personal property on loan to museums and other 
entities, at the time of transfer.
    Section 1(c) mandates that the property shall revert to the 
United States if the State of Wyoming decides to no longer use 
the property as part of fish and wildlife management, 
educational purposes, and consistent with applicable Federal 
and State laws, for using, maintaining, displaying and 
restoring the real and personal property, including historical 
interests and significance of the property. This section also 
requires the State of Wyoming to provide access to the property 
to institutions of higher education.

            COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

    With respect to the requirements of clause 2(l)(3) of rule 
XI of the Rules of the House of Representatives, and clause 
2(b)(1) of rule X of the Rules of the House of Representatives, 
the Committee on Resources' oversight findings and 
recommendations are reflected in the body of this report.

                     INFLATIONARY IMPACT STATEMENT

    Pursuant to clause 2(l)(4) of rule XI of the Rules of the 
House of Representatives, the Committee estimates that the 
enactment of H.R. 3579 will have no significant inflationary 
impact on prices and costs in the operation of the national 
economy.

                        COST OF THE LEGISLATION

    Clause 7(a) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives requires an estimate and a comparison by the 
Committee of the costs which would be incurred in carrying out 
H.R. 3579. However, clause 7(d) of that rule provides that this 
requirement does not apply when the Committee has included in 
its report a timely submitted cost estimate of the bill 
prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget Office 
under section 403 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974.

                     COMPLIANCE WITH HOUSE RULE XI

    1. With respect to the requirement of clause 2(l)(3)(B) of 
rule XI of the Rules of the House of Representatives and 
section 308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, H.R. 
3579 does not contain any new budget authority, spending 
authority, credit authority, or an increase or decrease in 
revenues or tax expenditures.
    2. With respect to the requirement of clause 2(l)(3)(D) of 
rule XI of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the 
Committee has received no report of oversight findings and 
recommendations from the Committee on Government Reform and 
Oversight on the subject of H.R. 3579.
    3. With respect to the requirement of clause 2(l)(3)(C) of 
rule XI of the Rules of the House of Representatives and 
section 403 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the 
Committee has received the following cost estimate for H.R. 
3579 from the Director of the Congressional Budget Office.

               CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE COST ESTIMATE

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                     Washington, DC, July 23, 1996.
Hon. Don Young,
Chariman, Committee on Resources, House of Representatives, Washington, 
        DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
reviewed H.R. 3579, a bill to direct the Secretary of the 
Interior to convey certain property containing a fish and 
wildlife facility to the state of Wyoming, and for other 
purposes, as ordered reported by the House Committee on 
Resources on July 17, 1996.
    H.R. 3579 would direct the Secretary of the Interior to 
convey about 680 acres of land and related property located in 
Wyoming to the state, without reimbursement. We expect that 
implementing this bill would have no significant impact on the 
federal budget. The bill would not affect direct spending or 
receipts; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures would not apply.
    H.R. 3579 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in Public Law 104-4 and would impose no 
costs on state, local, or tribal governments.
    CBO expects that the state of Wyoming would voluntarily 
accept title to the property and would seek to enter into a 
partnership with a private foundation to restore buildings on 
the site. We estimate that the cost of this project to the 
state and/or foundation would be about $2 million.
    On June 25, 1996, CBO prepared an estimate of S. 1802, as 
ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Environment and 
Public Works on June 20, 1996. The bills and the two estimates 
are identical.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contacts are Deborah 
Reis (for federal costs) and Marjorie Miller (for the state and 
local impact).
            Sincerely,
                                         June E. O'Neill, Director.

                    Compliance With Public Law 104-4

    H.R. 3579 contains no unfunded mandates.

                        Changes in Existing Law

    If enacted, H.R. 3579 would make no changes in existing 
law.
                            ADDITIONAL VIEWS

    This bill transfers a Fish and Wildlife Service property 
known as ``Ranch A'' and the 680 acres of land now associated 
with the Ranch to the State of Wyoming. The legislation, which 
has been employed in the transfer of several fish hatcheries in 
recent years, gives ownership to the State because the Fish and 
Wildlife Service is no longer able to or interested in managing 
the property as part of its research system.
    In this case, though the Fish and Wildlife Service and the 
State of Wyoming agree that the transfer of the ``Ranch ``A'' 
to State management could be beneficial, there is not unanimity 
in this view, and there are still unresolved issues that must 
be addressed. In particular, while there seems to be no 
disagreement over the transfer to the State the buildings and 
other facilities that comprise the Ranch itself, there is 
disagreement over the transfer and future management of the 
surrounding land which totals almost 680 acres.
    This legislation would transfer the land to the State along 
with ``Ranch A''. Because the property is surrounded on three 
sides by federal land and because of its significant 
environmental attributes, however, we are not convinced that 
the State should take responsibility for the land surrounding 
the Ranch, nor are we assured that sufficient guidelines have 
been established for its management.
    In addition, there are still concerns regarding water 
rights and future use of and access to the property. While 
efforts were made by those interested in the legislation to 
resolve all these concerns, the bill as reported still does not 
adequately address them. It is our hope that these problems can 
be remedied before the bill is brought to the floor.
    The dispute over the disposition of land raises a larger 
question of the Administration's approach to divesting itself 
of federal properties without consideration of alternative 
agency management opportunities or without compensation to the 
U.S. taxpayer. We have serious reservations about the piecemeal 
approach to property giveaways that the Fish and Wildlife 
Agency now employs which seems only to consider properties in 
terms of their management costs and not their greater intrinsic 
value. While this 680 acres may seem like a small parcel, it is 
indicative of a continuing trend that needs to be examined in a 
broader context.

                                   George Miller.
                                   Tim Johnson.