[Senate Report 105-391]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 704
105th Congress Report
SENATE
2d Session 105-391
_______________________________________________________________________
OREGON PUBLIC LAND TRANSFER AND PROTECTION ACT OF 1998
_______
October 9 (legislative day, October 2), 1998.--Ordered to be printed
_______________________________________________________________________
Mr. Murkowski, from the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany S. 2513]
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was
referred the bill (S. 2513) to transfer administrative
jurisdiction over certain Federal land located within or
adjacent to Rogue River National Forest and to clarify the
authority of the Bureau of Land Management to sell and exchange
other Federal land in Oregon, having considered the same,
reports favorably thereon without amendment and recommends that
the bill do pass.
purpose of the measure
S. 2513, as ordered reported, transfers administrative
jurisdiction over certain Federal lands located within or
adjacent to the Rogue River National Forest and limits the
authority of the Bureau of Land Management to sell and exchange
other Federal lands in Oregon.
background and need
S. 2513 consolidates the management over certain parcels of
Federal land by transferring jurisdiction of these parcels
between the Forest Service and the Bureau of Management.
Transferring jurisdiction over these parcels of land will
substantially reduce management costs for the two agencies. The
status of any Oregon and California Railroad grant (O and C)
lands transferred will not change, regardless of which agency
has jurisdiction over the lands following the transfer.
The bill also provides that, over successive ten-year
periods, there will be no net loss of acres designated as O and
C land and Coos Bay Wagon Road (CBWR) grant land in an
identified area in Oregon. In addition, the bill requires that
there be no net loss over successive ten-year periods of O and
C land, CBWR land, and public domain land available for timber
harvesting in the identified area in Oregon.
legislative history
S. 2513 was introduced on September 23, 1998, by Senator
Smith (R-OR) and referred to the Committee on Energy and
Natural Resources. The Subcommittee on Forests and Public Land
Management held a hearing on S. 2513 on October 1, 1998. At the
business meeting on October 6, 1998, the Committee on Energy
and Natural Resources ordered S. 2513 favorably reported
without amendment.
committee recommendation and tabulation of votes
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in open
business session on October 6, 1998, by unanimous vote of a
quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 2513,
without amendment.
section-by-section analysis
Section 1 provides a short title.
Section 101(a) identifies the public domain land to be
transferred to the Rogue River National Forest. It directs
transfer of administrative jurisdiction of the identified land
from the Secretary of the Interior to the Secretary of
Agriculture. It also states that, subject to valid existing
rights,the Secretary of Agriculture shall manage the land
described in accordance with the Weeks Act (36 Stat. 961,
chapter 186) and other laws applicable to the National Forest
System.
Subsection (b) identifies the Rogue River National Forest
lands to be transferred to unreserved public domain status.
This subsection also directs transfers of administrative
jurisdiction of the land described from the Secretary of
Agriculture to the Secretary of the Interior. This subsection
also states that, subject to valid existing rights, the
Secretary of the Interior shall administer the land described
under the laws applicable to unreserved public domain land.
Subsection (c) describes the lands restored to the status
of revested Oregon and California Railroad grant lands and
revokes the national forest status. It directs transfer of
administrative jurisdiction of the land described from the
Secretary of Agriculture to the Secretary of the Interior. It
states that, subject to valid existing rights, the Secretary of
the Interior shall administer the land described in accordance
with laws applicable to revested Oregon and California Railroad
grant land.
Subsection (d) describes the revested Oregon and California
Railroad grant land made a part of Rogue River National Forest.
It directs transfers of administrative jurisdiction of the land
described from the Secretary of the Interior to the Secretary
Agriculture. It states that, subject to valid existing rights,
the Secretary of Agriculture shall manage the land described as
part of Rogue River National Forest in accordance with laws
applicable to the National Forest System. This subsection
further states that, notwithstanding the provisions of certain
laws, revenue from the land shall be distributed in accordance
with the O and C Lands Act.
Subsection (e) adjusts the boundaries of Rogue River
National Forest and excludes adjacent private property
interests.
Subsection (f) states the date and location where maps will
be available for public inspection.
Subsection (g) requires that, as soon as practicable,
public land records be revised and appropriate notice be
published in the Federal Register.
Section 201 contains definitions.
Section 202 states that, in carrying out sales, purchases,
and exchanges of the described land, the Secretary shall ensure
that the number of acres of Oregon and California Railroad
grant lands and Coos Bay Wagon Road lands in the identified
area, as well as the number of acres of public domain land, O
and C land, and CBWR land available for timber harvesting, over
successive 10-year periods, is not less than the number of
acres of such land on the date of enactment.
Section 203 stipulates that this title shall not apply to
an exchange of land authorized under section 1028 of the
Omnibus Parks and Public Lands Management Act of 1996,or any
implementing legislation or administrative rule, if the land
exchange is consistent with the memorandum of understanding
between the Umpqua Land Exchange Project and the Association of
Oregon and California Land Grant Counties dated February 19,
1998.
cost and budgetary considerations
The cost and budgetary considerations prepared by the
Congressional Budget Office are as follows:
U.S. Congress,
Congressional Budget Office,
Washington, DC, October 8, 1998.
Hon. Frank H. Murkowski,
Chairman, Committee on Energy and Natural Resources,
U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 2513, the Oregon
Public Land Transfer and Protection Act of 1998.
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.
congressional budget office cost estimate
S. 2513--Oregon Public Land Transfer and Protection Act of 1998
Summary: S. 2513 would transfer administrative jurisdiction
over certain federal lands in the state of Oregon between the
Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the U.S. Forest Service.
The bill also would modify the Secretary of the Interior's
authority to sell, purchase, or exchange certain federal land
managed by BLM in Oregon.
CBO estimates that enacting S. 2513 would not have a
significant impact on the federal budget over the 1999-2008
period. Because the bill would affect direct spending, pay-as-
you-go procedures would apply; however, CBO estimates that such
effects would total less than $500,000 each year.
S. 2513 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA)
and would have no significant impact on the budgets of state,
local, or tribal governments.
Background: Under current law, offsetting receipts
generated from federal land result in payments to states and
counties based on formulas specific to the federal land
category. S. 2513 would affect three categories of federal land
in Oregon: National Forest System (NFS) lands, which are
managed by the U.S. Forest Service (within the Department of
Agriculture); public domain (PD) lands, which are managed by
BLM (within the Department of the Interior); and revested
Oregon and California (O&C) Railroad grant lands, which are
managed by BLM or the Forest Service.
Under current law, amounts equivalent to 25 percent of
offsetting receipts from NFS land are distributed to states for
the benefit of counties; amounts equivalent to 5 percent of net
receipts generated on PD land are distributed to the states;
and amounts equivalent to 50 percent of receipts from Oregon
and California grant lands are distributed to counties.
However, a different payment process is temporarily in effect
for counties in which federal land is affected by decisions
related to the northern spotted owl. Under the Omnibus Budget
Reconciliation Act of 1993 (OBRA-93), those counties receive a
special guaranteed payment through fiscal year 2003 based on
the historic levels of receipt-sharing payments. Beginning in
fiscal year 2004, those guaranteed special payments will end
and the underlying receipt-sharing formulas will take effect
again.
Estimated cost to the Federal Government: CBO estimates
that enacting S. 2513 would not have a significant impact on
the federal budget over the 1999-2008 period.
Title I would change the administration of about 8,950
acres of federal lands within the Rogue River National Forest
in Oregon by transferring jurisdiction between BLM and the
Forest Service. Title I also specifies the legal category of
the transferred lands, each of which has an associated receipt-
sharing formula. Implementing these changes in land status
would alter the receipt-sharing formula for 3,690 acres: 2,058
acres currently categorized as PD land would be redesignated as
NFS land, and 1,632 acres currently categorized as NFS land
would be redesignated as PD land. Of the 3,690 acres affected
by these changes, 235 acres are temporarily subject to the
OBRA-93 special payments for land affected by federal decisions
regarding the northern spotted owl. After 2003, the bill would
result in a net increase of 426 acres subject to the more
generous NFS formula instead of the PD formula.
CBO estimates that title I would increase payments to
Oregon and counties within the state, but that the increase
would be less than $500,000 a year. Once the special guaranteed
payments to counties affected by northern spotted owl decisions
expire at the end of 2003, title I would make more federal
acreage subject to the 25-percent receipt-sharing formula. For
purposes of this estimate, CBO assumes there will be no
significant change in the current restrictions on timber
harvests affected by the northern spotted owl decisions.
Because little timber is being harvested on those lands now, we
estimate that a more generous receipt-sharing formula on those
acres would not result in a significant increase in payments to
Oregon in any year over the 1999-2008 period.
Title II would require the Secretary to ensure no net loss
of certain types of acres when federal land is sold, purchased,
and exchanged within six BLM districts; Medford, Roseburg,
Eugene, Salem Coos Bay, and the Klamath Resource Area within
the Lakeview district. The provisions in title II could affect
direct spending (including offsetting receipts) if they
resulted in changes to timber harvests on federal land and the
associated payments to states and counties. However, CBO
estimates that any such effects would likely be insignificant
over the next ten years.
Pay-as-you-go-considerations: The Balanced Budget and
Emergency Deficit Control Act sets up pay-as-you-go procedures
for legislation affecting direct spending or receipts. CBO
estimates that S. 2513 would affect direct spending, but that
such changes would be less than $500,000 a year over the 1999-
2008 period.
Intergovernmental and private-sector impact: S. 2513
contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as
defined in UMRA and would have no significant impact on the
bugets of state, local, or tribal governments.
Previous CBO estimates: On September 22, 1998, CBO prepared
a cost estimate for H.R. 4326, the Oregon Public Lands Transfer
and Protection Act of 1998, as ordered reported by the House
Committee on Resources on July 29, 1998. Title I of S. 2513 is
similar to title I of H.R. 4326, and the estimated costs are
the same. Title II of S. 2513 differs from title II in H.R.
4326.
Estimate prepared by: Victoria V. Heid.
Estimate approved by: Paul N. Van de Water, Assistant
Director for Budget Analysis.
regulatory impact evaluation
In compliance with paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee makes the following
evaluation of the regulatory impact which would be incurred in
carrying out S. 2513.
The bill is not a regulatory measure in the sense of
imposing Government established standards or significant
economic responsibilities on private individuals and
businesses.
No personal information would be collected in administering
the program. Therefore, there would be no impact on personal
privacy.
Little if any additional paperwork would result from the
enactment of S. 2513.
executive communications
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources has requested
executive comment from the Department of Agriculture and the
Office of Management and Budget. These legislative reports were
not available at the time this report was filed. When the
requested reports become available, the Chairman will request
that they be printed in the Congressional Record for the advice
of the Senate. The testimony provided by Forest Service at the
October 1, 1998, Subcommittee hearing follows:
Statement of Sandra H. Key, Associate Deputy Chief, Programs and
Legislation, Forest Service, Department of Agriculture
S. 2513--Rogue River National Forest and O&C Lands in Oregon
The administration supports Title I of S. 2513 and strongly
opposes Title II of this bill. Title I of S. 2513 would
transfer jurisdiction over approximately 2,058 acres of land
from the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Land Management
(BLM) to the USDA Forest Service in southern Oregon. The lands
conveyed to the Forest Service would be managed under the
authority of the Weeks Act and other laws applicable to the
National Forest System. The bill would also transfer 1,632
acres from the Forest Service to the BLM as unreserved public
domain lands. In addition, the bill would restore 960 acres of
Oregon and California (O&C) lands to the Rogue River National
Forest. The boundaries of the Rogue River National Forest would
be adjusted to reflect the interchange.
This interchange between the two agencies would convey
isolated BLM parcels that are scattered within the National
Forest around Applegate Lake, southwest of Ashland, and north
of the Prospect Ranger District office in exchange for isolated
Forest Service parcels near Sugarloaf Mountain, Summit Prairie,
and along the Applegate River north of the general forest
boundary. The bill is written in a manner that assures the
continued commitment to O&C land grant counties, regardless of
management responsibility.
The interchange will result in the transfer of all BLM
lands within the general forest boundary to the Forest Service,
allowing for single agency management. It will also transfer to
the BLM the majority of the isolated national forest lands that
are located up to 10 miles from the general forest boundary and
are adjacent to current BLM managed lands. The resultant
consolidated land bases will provide for more efficient
management by both agencies, as well as improved service to the
public.
The Forest Service testified in support of the House bill,
H.R. 3186, if amended, before the House Resources Subcommittee
on Forests and Forest Health in April. The bill language in S.
2513 has been modified to address the Administration's concerns
with Title I by clarifying that the lands to be conveyed to the
Forest Service are to be managed under the authority of the
Weeks Act and other laws related to the National Forest System
lands; to adjust the boundaries of the Rogue River National
Forest; to reflect the interchange and other minor changes; to
exclude private property along the external boundaries, and to
provide for public availability of the maps related to this
bill.
Enactment of Title I, as amended, would result in improved
management of, and public service on, the currently
intermingled lands.
On behalf of the BLM, the Administration strongly opposes
Title II. While some of the objectionable provisions of the
related measure (H.R. 4326) have been removed, the provision
requiring no net loss of lands available for timber harvest is
unacceptable and could hamper the Administration's ability to
meet its goals under the Northwest Forest Plan.
Section 202 would segregate the public lands in western
Oregon by placing restrictions on the authority of the
Secretary of the Interior to sell, exchange and manage them.
The bill would statutorily fix the total acreage of affected
Oregon and California (O&C), Coos Bay Wagon Road (CBWR), and
public domain lands available for timber harvest at not less
than the number of acres on the date of enactment. It would
make it more difficult and perhaps impossible for the BLM to
accomplish its Northwest Forest Plan goals of providing for
timber production as well as protection of forest habitat. This
restriction would be radically different from the way in which
the BLM administers the rest of its 264 million acres of public
lands under FLPMA and we see no compelling reason that these
lands in western Oregon should be treated differently.
By fixing in statute the number of acres available for
timber harvest, this bill could restrict activities such as
land exchanges that result in win-win situations for all
parties. Let me give you an example of the types of exchanges
BLM does in this area and how they can be beneficial to
commercial interests, wildlife protection, private landowners,
and county governments. In 1994 the BLM completed the Dunning
Ranch exchange. The BLM acquired 6,581 acres of Columbia white
tail deer (an endangered species) habitat in exchange for 360
acres of commercial timber land. Of the acquired lands, 400
acres of Areas of Critical Environmental Concern were secure
habitat for the Columbia white-tail deer. As a result of this
exchange and an acquisition by the local county, the Fish and
Wildlife Service is in the process of de-listing the deer.
Thus, in this exchange the BLM was able to both protect the
timber base (actually, increasing it by 40 acres) and provide
secure habitat for an endangered species. The de-listing will
result in the lifting of restriction on other lands in the
area, including private lands. Similar exchanges might involve
the loss of some timber harvest acres, yet still result in win-
win situations for all parties.
Enactment of Title II of S. 2513 would seriously burden the
Administration's ability to do these activities.
changes in existing law
In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee notes that no
changes in existing law are made by the bill S. 2513 as ordered
reported.