[House Report 105-112]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



105th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 1st Session                                                    105-112
_______________________________________________________________________


 
           RAGGEDS WILDERNESS, COLORADO, BOUNDARY ADJUSTMENT

                                _______
                                

  June 3, 1997.--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

                        [To accompany H.R. 1019]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill 
(H.R. 1019) to provide for a boundary adjustment and land 
conveyance involving the Raggeds Wilderness, White River 
National Forest, Colorado, to correct the effects of earlier 
erroneous land surveys, having considered the same, report 
favorably thereon without amendment and recommend that the bill 
do pass.

                          PURPOSE OF THE BILL

    The purpose of H.R. 1019 is to provide for a boundary 
adjustment and land conveyance involving the Raggeds 
Wilderness, White River National Forest, Colorado, to correct 
the effects of earlier erroneous land surveys.

                  BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    In 1993, following a boundary survey, an encroachment into 
the Raggeds Wilderness Area was discovered in the White River 
National Forest, just west of the Town of Marble. The 
encroachment consists of approximately 400 feet of power line 
and 450 feet of road. In addition, portions of four subdivision 
lots extend into the Wilderness. The road is a county road and 
provides the sole legal access to the four lots. The entire 
encroachment is less than one acre of land.
    Portions of Section 28, Township 11 South, Range 88 West 
became private land through the homesteading process in the 
late 1800s. In 1959, the area was surveyed and subdivided as 
the Crystal Meadows Subdivision, lots were sold, roads 
constructed and utilities installed. Landowners in the area 
have used the roads and built homes since 1959. In 1982, Public 
Law 96-560 created the Raggeds Wilderness. In 1988, the Bureau 
of Land Management, acting under the request of U.S. Forest 
Service, surveyed Section 28. In 1993, the Forest Service 
posted and marked the federal boundary. During the posting 
process, the Forest Service identified the encroachment in an 
area where the private/federal property line is coincident with 
the boundary of the Raggeds Wilderness.
    The Bureau of Land Management/Forest Service surveys found 
that the original survey of the Crystal Meadows subdivision in 
1959 was erroneous. Although less than one acre is affected, 
the Forest Service cannot settle the matter under the authority 
of the Small Tracts Act because the lands in question are 
within the Raggeds Wilderness. The wilderness boundary may only 
be modified by an act of Congress. Generally, H.R. 1019 follows 
the guidelines established by the Small Tracts Act (Public Law 
97-465).
    H.R. 1019 is identical to H.R. 2438, which passed the House 
of Representatives by voice vote in the 104th Congress. 
However, the legislation was not acted upon in the Senate.

                            COMMITTEE ACTION

    H.R. 1019 was introduced on March 11, 1997, by Congressman 
Scott McInnis (R-CO). The bill was referred to the Committee on 
Resources, and within the Committee to the Subcommittee on 
Forests and Forest Health. On May 6, 1997, the Subcommittee 
held a hearing on H.R. 1019, where the Administration testified 
in support of H.R. 1019. On May 8, 1997, the Subcommittee met 
to mark up H.R. 1019. The bill was ordered favorably reported 
to the Full Committee without amendment. On May 21, 1997, the 
Full Resources Committee met to consider H.R. 1019. The bill 
was ordered favorably reported to the House of Representatives 
without amendment by voice vote.

                      SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

    H.R. 1019 adjusts the boundary of the Raggeds Wilderness 
and directs the Secretary of Agriculture to convey the affected 
property to the private landowners under the authority of Small 
Tracts Act (16 U.S.C. 521c-521i).

            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.

                   CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY STATEMENT

    Article I, section 8, and Article IV, section 3 of the 
Constitution of the United States grant Congress the authority 
to enact H.R. 1019.

                        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. 1019. 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. 
1019 does not contain any new budget authority, spending 
authority, credit authority, or an increase or decrease in tax 
expenditures. Enactment of H.R. 1019 would increase revenues to 
the United States by less than $5,000.
    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. 1019.
    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. 
1019 from the Director of the Congressional Budget Office.

               congressional budget office cost estimate

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                      Washington, DC, May 27, 1997.
Hon. Don Young,
Chairman, Committee on Resources,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 1019, a bill to 
provide for a boundary adjustment and land conveyance involving 
the Raggeds Wilderness, White River National Forest, Colorado, 
to correct the effects of earlier erroneous land surveys.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Victoria V. 
Heid.
            Sincerely,
                                         June E. O'Neill, Director.
    Enclosure.

H.R. 1019--A bill to provide for a boundary adjustment and land 
        conveyance involving the Raggeds Wilderness, White River 
        National Forest, Colorado, to correct the effects of earlier 
        erroneous land surveys

    CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 1019 would have no 
significant impact on the federal budget. The bill would adjust 
the boundaries of the Raggeds Wilderness Area in Colorado to 
exclude about one acre of land on which roads and other 
improvements were inadvertently constructed. Enacting this bill 
would allow the Secretary of Agriculture to sell the property 
under the Small Tracts Act. Based on information from the 
Forest Service, CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 1019 could 
increase offsetting receipts as a result of the sale, but that 
the increase would total less than $5,000. This amount would be 
considered the proceeds of an asset sale.
    Enacting the bill would not affect direct spending or 
receipts, except to the extent that it results in receipts from 
an asset sale. Under the Balanced Budget Act, proceeds from 
asset sales are not counted in determining compliance with pay-
as-you-go requirements. Hence, pay-as-you-go procedures would 
not apply to the bill.
    H.R. 1019 contains no private-sector or intergovernmental 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 
and would have no impact on the budgets of state, local, or 
tribal governments.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Victoria V. 
Heid. This estimate was approved by Robert A. Sunshine, Deputy 
Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.

                    compliance with public law 104-4

    H.R. 1019 contains no unfunded mandates.

                        changes in existing law

    If enacted, H.R. 1019 would make no changes in existing 
law.