House Report 106-724 - VALLES CALDERA PRESERVATION ACT

[House Report 106-724]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]

106th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session 106-724

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VALLES CALDERA PRESERVATION ACT

_______

July 11, 2000.--Committed to the Commitee 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 S. 1892]

[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill
(S. 1892) to authorize the acquisition of the Valles Caldera,
to provide for an effective land and wildlife management
program for this resource within the Department of Agriculture,
and for other purposes, having considered the same, report
favorably thereon without amendment and recommend that the bill
do pass.

PURPOSE OF THE BILL

The purpose of S. 1892 is to authorize the acquisition of
the Valles Caldera, to provide for an effective land and
wildlife management program for this resource within the
Department of Agriculture, and for other purposes.

BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

Title I of S. 1892 authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture
to acquire the Baca Ranch in New Mexico from its present
owners. The bill also designates the property as the Valles
Caldera National Preserve, and sets up an experimental
management regime for its administration. The Baca Ranch,
historically referred to as the Baca Location No. 1, is based
on an 1860 Congressional land grant. It comprises approximately
95,000 acres lying in the heart of the Jemez Mountains in
northern New Mexico. Located near Los Alamos and within an
hour's drive of Albuquerque and Santa Fe, the property is
accessible to the large population centers in New Mexico.
The Baca Ranch exhibits remarkable scenic beauty and
contains exceptional wildlife and fisheries resources. The
headwaters of the Jemez Wild and Scenic River originate on the
Baca Ranch, as well as San Antonio Creek, both of which have
outstanding fishery resources. Wildlife abounds on the Baca
Ranch including the largest elk herd in the southwest. The
ranch is large enough and exhibits such a wide variety of land
forms that it can provide opportunities for both recreation and
solitude. Portions of the Baca Ranch have special religious and
cultural significance for Native Americans residing in the
region.
The land has a unique geological past. Over 1.2 million
years ago, two major volcanic eruptions occurred, ejecting
cubic miles of material into the atmosphere and creating the
Valles Caldera, approximately 15 miles in diameter. The
mountains surrounding the Valles Caldera rise to a height of
3,000 feet above the valley floor. Hot springs, gas vents and
volcanic domes are present day evidence of this volcanic
activity.
The Baca Ranch is one of the most significant privately-
owned inholdings within the National Forest System. It is
surrounded by federal land including the Santa Fe National
Forest, the Jemez National Recreation Area, and the Bandelier
National Monument. The Baca ties these lands together in a
common ecosystem, and the management of the Ranch will directly
impact the public resources on adjacent lands.
In 1993, with the Dunigan family's cooperation, the Forest
Service conducted a study of the Ranch pursuant to the
Congressional direction in Public Law 101-556. The 1993 study
extensively examined the scenic, natural, recreational, and
multiple use resources of the Baca Ranch, and provided the
impetus for acquisition efforts when it became available for
purchase in 1998. Congress appropriated $101 million in fiscal
year 2000 for the purchase of the Baca Ranch subject to
specific authorizing legislation and completion of an
appraisal.
Once acquired, the Baca Ranch will be administered as the
Valles Caldera National Preserve. The Preserve will have many
of the attributes of other Congressionally-designated areas
designed to assure the protection of important scenic and
natural values. More uniquely, S. 1892 requires management of
the property by trust, and requires the acquired Baca Ranch to
continue to be managed as an operating ranch. The trust
management concept is intended to protect the unique values of
the property and demonstrate sustainable land use including
recreation, grazing, forest management, hunting, and fishing
while maintaining scenic, wildlife and species diversity. While
the goal of the trust will be to make the Ranch self-
sufficient, the legislation prohibits unreasonable diminishment
of scenic and natural values of the property.
Title II authorizes the Bureau of Land Management to
improve land management activities and consolidate federal
ownerships by selling parcels of federal land identified
through the agency's land use planning process as suitable for
disposal. Title II requires that eighty percent of the proceeds
from the sales be used to acquire inholdings from willing
sellers and other non-federal lands adjacent to designated
areas to improve the resources management ability of the
federal land management agencies. A portion of the proceeds
generated from the sales will become available to the Bureau of
Land Management to carry out the land disposal program.
Section 109(a)(3) of the bill clarifies that the Secretary
of Agriculture may continue to exercise his authority under the
Federal Power Act, and authorizes the Secretary to exercise
that authority ``in cooperation with the Trust.'' Under section
4(e) of the Federal Power Act, the Secretary of Agriculture has
authority to attach mandatory conditions to hydropower licenses
issued by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Section
109(a)(3) should not be construed to grant the trust any
authority to attach mandatory conditions to hydropower licenses
or require the Secretary to get the trust's consent to exercise
the Secretary's conditioning authority under the Federal Power
Act.
For further information about this bill, please see Senate
Report 106-267.
The companion bill to S. 1892 is H.R. 3288, introduced by
Congresswoman Heather Wilson (R-NM).

COMMITTEE ACTION

S. 1892 was introduced on November 9, 1999, by Senator
Peter Domenici (R-NM). The Senate passed the measure on April
13, 2000, by unanimous consent. The bill was referred to the
Resources Committee and within the Committee to the
Subcommittee on National Parks and Public Lands, and the
Subcommittee on Forests and Forest Health. On May 11, 2000, the
Full Committee held a hearing on the bill. On May 24, 2000, the
Full Resources Committee met to consider S. 1892. Both
Subcommittees were discharged from further consideration of the
bill by unanimous consent. No amendments were offered and the
bill was then ordered favorably reported to the House of
Representatives by voice vote.

COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Regarding clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of
rule XIII 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 this bill.

COMPLIANCE WITH HOUSE RULE XIII

1. Cost of Legislation. Clause 3(d)(2) 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 this bill. However, clause 3(d)(3)(B)
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 402 of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974.
2. Congressional Budget Act. As required by clause 3(c)(2)
of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and
section 308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, this
bill does not contain any new budget authority, credit
authority, or an increase or decrease in tax expenditures.
According to the Congressional Budget Office, enactment of this
bill will both increase and decrease direct spending.
3. Government Reform Oversight Findings. Under clause
3(c)(4) of rule XIII 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 on this bill.
4. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate. Under clause
3(c)(3) of rule XIII 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 this bill from the Director of the Congressional Budget
Office:

U.S. Congress,
Congressional Budget Office,
Washington, DC, May 31, 2000.
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 S. 1892, an act to
authorize the acquisition of the Valles Caldera, to provide for
an effective land and wildlife management program for this
resource within the Department of Agriculture, and of other
purposes.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contacts are Deborah
Reis and Megan Carroll (for federal costs), and Victoria Heid
Hall (for the state and local impact).
Sincerely,
Barry B. Anderson
(For Dan L. Crippen, Director).
Enclosure.

S. 1892--An act to authorize the acquisition of the Valles Caldera, to
provide for an effective land and wildlife management program
for this resource within the Department of Agriculture, and for
other purposes

Summary: Assuming appropriation of the necessary amounts,
CBO estimates that implementing S. 1892 would cost the federal
government between $6 million and $10 million over the next
five years. S. 1892 would also affect direct spending;
therefore pay-as-you-go procedures would apply. CBO estimates
that enacting this legislation would reduce net direct spending
by about $1 million over the 2001-2005 period, but would
increase net direct spending by about $15 million over the
2001-2010 period.
S. 1892 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA)
and would impose no significant costs on state, local, or
tribal governments. The act could benefit states and the Pueblo
of Santa Clara.
Major provisions of the act: Title I would authorize the
acquisition of the Baca Ranch, a 94,761-acre property in New
Mexico. This title also would:
Establish, upon acquisition of the ranch,
the Valles Caldera National Preserve as a unit of the
National Forest System;
Establish the Valles Caldera trust, board of
trustees, and fund for administration of the preserve;
Allow the Forest Service and the Valles
Caldera trust (a federal government entity) to collect
and spend donations, recreation fees and other charges
for use of the ranch; and
Authorize the appropriation of whatever sums
are necessary to operate the ranch over the next 15
years.
Title II would authorize a 10-year program to allow the
Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture to
sell certain federal lands identified for disposal and use the
net proceeds to acquire nonfederal lands.
Estimated cost to the Federal Government: The estimated
impact of S. 1892 on direct spending is shown in the following
table. In addition, CBO estimates that implementing S. 1892
would cost $6 million to $10 million over the 2001-2005 period,
subject to appropriation of the necessary funds, to operate the
ranch and build a visitors' center. The costs of this
legislation fall within budget function 300 (natural resources
and environment).

Additional Receipts From Sale of Federal Lands:
Estimated Budget Authority..................................... -2 -3 -5 -8 -9
Estimated Outlays.............................................. -2 -3 -5 -8 -9
Increase in Direct Spending:
Estimated Budget Authority..................................... 1 1 6 8 10
Estimated Outlays.............................................. 1 1 6 8 10
Net Change in Direct Spending:
Estimated Budget Authority..................................... -1 -2 1 0 1
Estimated Outlays.............................................. -1 -2 1 0 1
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Basis of estimate: For purposes of this estimate, CBO
assumes that S. 1892 will be enacted before the end of fiscal
year 2000. Estimates for the cost of title I are based on
information provided by the Forest Service and the current
manager of the Baca Ranch. Estimates for the cost of title II
are based on information from the Bureau of Land Management
(BLM).

Direct spending

Title I would authorize the Forest Service and the Valles
Caldera trust to collect and spend donations and fees from the
use of the ranch. CBO estimates that net direct spending in
each fiscal year as a result of this provision would not be
significant. Most of this spending would be to manage grazing,
hunting, and other public uses of the land, which we estimate
would cost about $2 million annually. This amount would be
offset by grazing, hunting, and recreation fees, most of which
the Forest Service or the trust would begin collecting
immediately.
Under current law, net receipts of about $1.5 million
annually from the sale of certain public land administered by
the Departments of Agriculture and the Interior are deposited
in the Treasury and are unavailable for spending without
appropriation. Title II would authorize BLM and the Forest
Service to retain those net proceeds and spend them to acquire
nonfederal lands within or adjacent to federal property over
the next 10 years. Based on information from BLM, CBO expects
that BLM land sales would increase under this legislation,
generating about $27 million in additional offsetting receipts
over the 2001-2005 period. Those sales receipts would be
largely offset by a corresponding increase in direct spending
of $26 million over the same period to purchase new lands. Over
the next 10 years, CBO estimates that this provision would
result in additional net direct spending of about $15 million
because it would allow spending of land sale receipts expected
under current law.

Spending subject to appropriation

CBO estimates that the Forest Service would operate the new
preserve at a cost of about $1 million annually including
payments to local governments in lieu of property taxes. We
expect that the agency also would purchase the subsurface
rights to this property, construct visitor facilities, and
upgrade some roads. We estimate that these costs would be
between $1 million and $5 million over the next few years,
depending on the level of visitor facilities provided and the
final appraisal of subsurface interests. We estimate that
purchase of the ranch would not have any additional cost beyond
the $101 million already appropriated for that purpose in 1999.
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. The net
changes in outlays that are subject to pay-as-you-go procedures
are shown in the following table. For the purposes of enforcing
pay-as-you-go procedures, only the effects in the current year,
the budget year, and the succeeding four years are counted.

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By fiscal year, in millions of dollars--
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
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Changes in outlays................. 0 -1 -2 1 0 1 2 3 3 4 4
Changes in receipts................ Not applicable
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Estimated impact on state, local, and tribal governments:
S. 1892 contains no intergovernmental mandates as defined in
UMRA and would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal
governments.
Title I would authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to
assign to the Pueblo of Santa Clara rights to purchase a
portion of the Baca Ranch from the current owners. The portions
of the ranch assigned would be by the mutual agreement of the
Secretary and the Pueblo. Lands acquired by the pueblo would be
deemed transferred into trust in the name of the United States
for the benefit of the pueblo and declared part of the existing
Santa Clara Indian Reservation. Any acquisitions by the Pueblo
of Santa Clara would be voluntary.
CBO estimates that enacting title II would increase federal
payments to states by a total of about $1 million over the
2001-2005 period. Under current law, states receive a
percentage of the proceeds from certain land sold within their
boundaries. Enacting title II would likely increase the amount
of federal land sold, thereby benefitting the states receiving
a portion of the proceeds.
Estimated impact on the private sector: This legislation
contains no new private-sector mandates as defined in UMRA.
Previous CBO estimate: On April 11, 2000, CBO transmitted a
cost estimate for S. 1892 as ordered reported by the Senate
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources on April 5, 2000. The
two versions of the legislation and our cost estimates are
identical.
Estimate prepared by: Federal costs: Deborah Reis and Megan
Carroll. Impact on State, local, and tribal governments:
Victoria Heid Hall. Impact on the private sector: Jean T.
Wooster.
Estimate approved by: Peter H. Fontaine, Deputy Assistant
Director for Budget Analysis.

compliance with public law 104-4

This bill contains no unfunded mandates.

preemption of state, local, or tribal law

This bill is not intended to preempt any State, local, or
tribal law.

changes in existing law

If enacted, this bill would make no changes in existing
law.