[Senate Report 106-374]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



                                                       Calendar No. 752
106th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE
 2d Session                                                     106-374

======================================================================



 
             EFFIGY MOUNDS NATIONAL MONUMENT ADDITIONS ACT

                                _______
                                

                August 25, 2000.--Ordered to be printed

            Filed under authority of Senate of July 26, 2000

                                _______
                                

  Mr. Murkowski, from the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                         [To accompany S. 1643]

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 
referred the bill (S. 1643) to authorize the addition of 
certain parcels to the Effigy Mounds National Monument, Iowa, 
having considered the same, reports favorably thereon with 
amendments and recommends that the bill, as amended, do pass.
    The amendments are as follows:
    1. On page 3, line 2, strike ``approximately 15 acres'' and 
insert ``approximately 50 acres''.
    2. On page 3, at the end of line 21, add the following: 
``Any parcel included within the boundary pursuant to this 
subsection shall be administered by the Secretary as part of 
the national monument.''.
    3. On page 4, line 3, strike ``$750,000'' and insert 
``$1,000,000''.

                         PURPOSE OF THE MEASURE

    The purpose of S. 1643 is to authorize the Secretary of the 
Interior to acquire approximately 1,100 acres of land on five 
parcels abutting Effigy Mounds National Monument, and to direct 
the Secretary to modify the boundaries of the site to include 
the acquired lands.

                          BACKGROUND AND NEED

    Effigy Mounds National Monument, located in the State of 
Iowa, was established by presidential proclamation in 1949, and 
currently includes 1,481 acres in three units. The site 
preserves outstanding examples of a significant phase of the 
prehistoric American Indian mound building culture, and 
protects wildlife and scenic and other natural values of the 
area.
    During the early 1990's the planning process for the 
monument's General Management Plan considered several tracts of 
land adjacent to the site for inclusion within the boundary. 
Although the public favored acquisition of the lands, the NPS 
at the time determined that the properties were not essential 
to preserve and interpret, and were not likely to be under 
severe development pressure. In the 1999 amendment to the 
General Management Plan, the NPS reassessed its view in light 
of new studies that shed light on the significance of the 
resources located on the adjacent lands, recent economic 
development trends in northeastern Iowa, and the failure of 
efforts by other parties to secure the lands for long-term 
preservation.
    The 1,054 acre Ferguson/Kistler tract is the largest of the 
five properties and contains a number of prehistoric mounds, 
archeological sites, and historical sites, as well as a variety 
of wildlife, including State-listed threatened and endangered 
species. In order to prevent the tract from being lost to 
development, the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation has signed a 
contract to purchase the land with the intent to sell it to the 
National Park Service. Of the remaining 80 acres on the other 
four tracts, the State of Iowa owns 30 acres, and 50 acres are 
privately owned.
    S. 1643 authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to acquire 
approximately 1,100 acres of land of five parcels abutting 
Effigy Mounds National Monument, and directs the Secretary to 
modify the boundaries of the site to include the acquired 
lands. The measure authorizes the appropriation of $1,000,000.

                          LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

    S. 1643 was introduced by Senators Grassley and Harkin on 
September 27, 1999. A hearing was held before the Subcommittee 
on National Parks, Historic Preservation and Recreation on June 
22, 2000. At the business meeting on July 13, 2000, the 
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources ordered S. 1643 
favorably reported, as amended.

                        COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in open 
business session on July 13, 2000, by a majority vote of a 
quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 1643, if 
amended as described herein.

                          COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS

    During the consideration of S. 1643, the Committee adopted 
three amendments. The first corrects an error concerning the 
size of one of the tracts of land. The second directs the 
Secretary of the Interior to administer the acquired parcels as 
part of the monument. The third increases the authorization of 
appropriations from $750,000 to $1 million.

                      SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

    Section 1 designates the bill's short title as ``Effigy 
Mounds National Monument Additions Act''.
    Section 2 defines terms used in the Act.
    Section 3 authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to 
acquire, from willing sellers only, five specific parcels of 
land as described in subsection (b). The secretary is 
authorized to modify the boundary of Effigy Mounds National 
Monument to include each parcel once it is acquired. There is 
authorized to be appropriated $1,000,000 to carry out the 
purposes of the legislation.

                   COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

    The following estimate of the cost of this measure has been 
provided by the Congressional Budget Office:

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                     Washington, DC, July 19, 2000.
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.1643, the Effigy 
Mounds National Monument Additions Act.
    Iif you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Deborah Reis.
            Sincerely,
                                          Barry B. Anderson
                                    (For Dan L. Crippen, Director).
    Enclosure.

S. 1643--Effigy Mounds National Monument Additions Act

    S. 1643 would authorize the Secretary of the Interior to 
purchase five parcels of land totaling about 1,130 acres to be 
added to the Effigy Mounds National Monument in Iowa. For this 
purpose, the bill would authorize the appropriation of $1 
million.
    Assumng appropriation of the necessary amounts and based on 
information provided by the National Park Service, CBO 
estimates that implementing S. 1643 would cost the federal 
government about $2 million over the next five years. Of this 
amount, $1 million would be used to purchase the five parcels 
authorized for inclusion in the monument's boundaries and $0.5 
million would be used to construct a visitor contact station on 
the largest parcel, the Ferguson/Kistler tract. Finally, annual 
costs to operate the monument would increase by about $250,000 
as a result of the bill.
    S. 1643 would not affect direct spending or receipts; 
therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures would not apply. The bill 
contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as 
defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would have no 
significant impact on the budgets of state, local, or tribal 
governments.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Deborah Reis. 
The estimate was approved by Peter H. Fontaine, Deputy 
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. 1643. 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. 1643, as ordered reported.

                        EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS

    On June 23, 2000, the Committee on Energy and Natural 
Resources requested legislative reports from the Department of 
the Interior and the Office of Management and Budget setting 
forth Executive agency recommendations on S. 1643. These 
reports had not been received at the time the report on S. 1643 
was filed. When the 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 the 
National Park Service at the Subcommittee hearing follows:

  Statement of Stephen Saunders, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Fish, 
             Wildlife and Parks, Department of the Interior

    Mr. Chairman, thank you for the opportunity to appear 
before the subcommittee to present the views of the Department 
of the Interior on S. 1643, a bill to authorize the addition of 
certain parcels to the Effigy Mounds National Monument, Iowa.
    S. 1643 would authorize the Secretary of the Interior to 
acquire approximately 1,100 acres on five tracts of land 
abutting Effigy Mounds National Monument. The Department of the 
Interior supports enactment of this legislation with amendments 
to correct the size of the Riverfront tract from 15 acres to 50 
acres and to increase the authorization of appropriations from 
$750,000 to $1 million. This increase would ensure sufficient 
funds are authorized for the purchase of all of the tracts in 
the long term.
    This position is consistent with the park's August 1999 
general management plan (GMP) amendment and environmental 
assessment (EA) and a June 1999 boundary review. The largest 
tract, the approximately 1,054-acre Ferguson/Kistler property, 
has been in the State forest reserve program for the past 20 
years and therefore has not been on the county tax rolls. The 
Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation has recently signed a contract 
to purchase this land for approximately $1.2 million with the 
intent to sell this property to the National Park Service for 
$750,000. Of the remaining 80 acres on the other four tracts, 
the State of Iowa owns 30 acres and 50 acres are privately 
owned.
    Effigy Mounds National Monument was established by 
presidential proclamation in 1949. It was established to 
preserve a representative and outstanding example of a 
significant phase of the prehistoric American Indian mound 
building culture, to protect wildlife, scenic and other natural 
values of the area and to provide for scientific study of its 
features.
    Indian burial mounds are found in a large part of the 
United states; however, effigy mounds are found only in a 
relatively small area in northeastern Iowa, southeastern 
Minnesota, and eastern Wisconsin. Effigy Mounds National 
Monument includes 1,481 acres in three units; the north and 
south units which overlook the Mississippi River, and the Sny 
Magill unit, which lies on the river bottom land. These three 
areas preserve over 200 mound sites and represent three known 
mound building cultures. There are four distinct mound types 
including outstanding examples of effigy mounds, or mounds in 
the shape of birds and bears. The monument's ``Marching Bears 
Mound Group'' is one of the finest in the country and the Sny 
Magill contains the largest extant concentration of Indian 
mounds (about 100) in the United States. The mounds are a 
legacy of the belief systems and practices of prehistoric, 
indigenous peoples.
    The landscape of the monument reveals evidence of a 
continuum of cultures and their relationships to the 
environment over a span of at least 2,500 years. The monument's 
varied landforms and habitats, characteristic of the 
unglaciated ``driftless zone,'' provide exceptional diversity 
of plant and animal species. These natural resources are 
important both for understanding past lifeways that depended on 
them and monitoring the health of present ecosystems.
    During the planning process for the GMP in the early 1990s, 
several tracts of land adjacent to the monument were considered 
for inclusion within the boundary. Public response from 
organizations such as the Allamakee County Tourism and Economic 
Development Commission and the Audubon Society favored the 
acquisition of these tracts. However, at that time it was 
decided that the properties were not essential to preserve and 
interpret, were not likely to be under severe development 
pressure in the next ten years, and could be preserved through 
other means. Today, ten years later, the NPS has reassessed 
this view in light of studies assessing the significance of 
resources on these lands, recent economic development trends in 
northeast Iowa, and the failure of serious efforts by other 
parties to secure important parcels for long-term preservation.
    The 1,054 acre Ferguson/Kistler tract, which is adjacent to 
the park, is a key property. This land contains a number of 
prehistoric mounds; two bear effigy mounds in very good 
condition which have a rare orientation of the bears, which are 
lying on their left side; Iowa state recorded archaeological 
sites; historical sites including potential village sites; rock 
shelters and the Jefferson Davis Sawmill. Natural resources 
present include river otters and jeweled shooting stars, both 
on Iowa's threatened species list, and red-shoulder hawks, 
which is on the state endangered list. To prevent this tract 
from being lost for use of forest resources, second-home 
development, or new agri-industrial facilities, which are 
intensifying in northeast Iowa, the Iowa Natural Heritage 
Foundation has signed a contract for this property.
    Management objectives for Effigy Mounds National Monument 
emphasize preservation of the cultural and natural resources, 
and the historic scene of the monument. In the GMP amendment 
and EA are plans that address the visitor use, interpretation 
and development of each unit of the park. Ultimately, the 
Ferguson/Kistler tract will have appropriate provisions for 
visitor access to the tract, including trails leading to the 
effigy mounds. With cooperative efforts among public land 
managers and local jurisdictions, this area could provide 
recreational trails and new canoeing, camping, birding and 
wildlife viewing opportunities. A small increase in base 
funding (less than $250,000) would be needed to provide 
maintenance, interpretive, resources protection and resource 
management services for the acquired areas. National Park 
Service funds for land acquisition would be subject to the 
availability of appropriations and National Park Service 
priorities.
    As seen from the blufftop viewpoints, the panorama of the 
undeveloped Ferguson/Kistler property appears to be a seamless 
extension of the cultural and natural landscape represented 
within the monument. Both the resources and the viewshed are 
significant to the mission and purpose of Effigy Mounds 
National Monument and this property will help ensure that the 
visual and historical integrity of the site is maintained. 
Also, this acquisition, which is one of the largest remaining 
blocks of unbroken forest in Northeast Iowa, will connect 
Effigy Mounds National Monument with Yellow River State Forest, 
with over 4,000 acres and 7.8 river miles of the Yellow River 
in public trust. This linkage would enable the public to enjoy 
recreation opportunities not available within the monument 
while protecting ecosystems with endangered and threatened 
species, cultural landscapes and a viewshed critical to the 
monument.
    This concludes my testimony. I would be happy to answer any 
questions that you or members of the subcommittee may have.

                        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. 1643, as 
ordered reported.

                                  
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