[House Report 107-561]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
107th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session 107-561
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MOUNT NAOMI WILDERNESS BOUNDARY ADJUSTMENT ACT
_______
July 10, 2002.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Hansen, from the Committee on Resources, submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 4870]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill
(H.R. 4870) to make certain adjustments to the boundaries of
the Mount Naomi Wilderness Area, 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 all after the enacting clause and insert the
following:
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Mount Naomi Wilderness Boundary
Adjustment Act''.
SEC. 2. BOUNDARY ADJUSTMENTS.
(a) Lands Removed.--The boundary of the Mount Naomi Wilderness is
adjusted to exclude the approximately 31 acres of land depicted on the
Map as ``Land Excluded''.
(b) Lands Added.--Subject to valid existing rights, the boundary of
the Mount Naomi Wilderness is adjusted to include the approximately 31
acres of land depicted on the Map as ``Land Added''. The Utah
Wilderness Act of 1984 (Public Law 98-428) shall apply to the land
added to the Mount Naomi Wilderness pursuant to this subsection.
SEC. 3. MAP.
(a) Definition.--For the purpose of this Act, the term ``Map'' shall
mean the map entitled ``Mt. Naomi Wilderness Boundary Adjustment'' and
dated May 23, 2002.
(b) Map on File.--The Map shall be on file and available for
inspection in the office of the Chief of the Forest Service, Department
of Agriculture.
(c) Corrections.--The Secretary of Agriculture may make technical
corrections to the Map.
PURPOSE OF THE BILL
The purpose of H.R. 4870 is to make certain adjustments to
the boundaries of the Mount Naomi Wilderness Area, and for
other purposes.
BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION
The Mount Naomi Wilderness Area, located to the northeast
of Logan, Utah, was created by the Utah Wilderness Act of 1984
(Public Law 98-428). Encompassing approximately 44,523 acres in
the Wasatch-Cache National Forest, the Mount Naomi Wilderness
Area is one of the largest wilderness areas in the state of
Utah and provides many recreational opportunities for the
residents of Cache County and the more than 20,000 students at
the neighboring Utah State University.
The close proximity of portions of the Mount Naomi
Wilderness Area to the Logan City limits not only creates some
difficulty for the Forest Service to manage these lands for
wilderness uses, but also presents potential problems for the
city. In one area of approximately 31 acres, the wilderness'
southwestern boundary abuts the Logan City limits. Within this
small area is a utility corridor with several utility lines,
including power and communication lines, each of which existed
prior to the designation of the wilderness area. Because no
motorized or mechanized equipment may be operated within a
wilderness area, maintenance of these facilities is difficult,
if not nearly impossible, to conduct. Adjusting the boundaries
of the wilderness area to exclude this small area would provide
a common-sense solution both to the utility corridor's
maintenance problem and the Forest Service's management
problem.
The 31 acre adjustment would provide a manageable, natural
boundary for the wilderness area. It allows the boundary to
follow the natural contour lines at the base of Mount Naomi
rather than arbitrary boundary lines on a map. The area to be
adjusted was chosen and agreed upon by the Forest Service,
Logan City, and Cache County, and is the smallest area
necessary to complete this adjustment and realign the boundary.
Additionally, a small portion of the Bonneville Shoreline
Trail has been proposed within this 31 acre area adjacent to
the Logan City limits. This portion of the trail would connect
with a number of other trails in the Bonneville Shoreline Trail
system, and would provide outstanding recreational
opportunities to thousands of people each year. The trail would
be approximately eight (8) feet wide and accessible to
pedestrian, biking, and equestrian traffic. Adjusting the
boundary around this 31 acre area would serve to eliminate a
potential non-conforming use in the wilderness area. This is
the only portion of this trail that lies within the wilderness
area.
In order to prevent a net loss of wilderness due to this
boundary adjustment, the Forest Service, in consultation with
Logan City and Cache County, identified a separate 31 acre
parcel with wilderness characteristics located adjacent to the
southern boundary of the wilderness area. This parcel would be
added to the wilderness area by this legislation, thus
resulting in no net loss of wilderness.
COMMITTEE ACTION
H.R. 4870 was introduced on June 5, 2002 by Congressman
James V. Hansen (R-UT). The bill was referred to the Committee
on Resources and within the Committee to the Subcommittee on
Forests and Forests Health. On June 20, 2002 the Subcommittee
held a hearing on the bill. On June 26, 2002 the Full Resources
Committee met to consider the bill. The bill was ordered
favorably reported to the Full Committee by unanimous consent.
Mr. Hansen offered a technical amendment to correct a
typographical error in the bill. It was adopted by unanimous
consent. The bill, as amended was then ordered favorably
reported to the House of Representatives by unanimous consent.
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 of the Constitution of the United
States grants 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, spending
authority, credit authority, or an increase or decrease in
revenues or tax expenditures.
3. General Performance Goals and Objectives. This bill does
not authorize funding and therefore, clause 3(c)(4) of rule
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives does not
apply.
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, July 3, 2002.
Hon. James V. Hansen,
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. 4870, the Mount
Naomi Wilderness Boundary Adjustment Act.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Megan
Carroll.
Sincerely,
Barry B. Anderson
(For Dan L. Crippen, Director).
Enclosure.
H.R. 4870--Mount Naomi Wilderness Boundary Adjustment Act
CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 4870 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. 4870 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.
H.R. 4870 would adjust the existing boundary of the Mount
Naomi Wilderness in the Wasatch-Cache National Forest in Utah.
The adjustment would exclude from the wilderness area about 31
acres of land and, subject to valid existing rights, would add
31 acres of other national forest land. Based on information
from the Forest Service, CBO estimates that the proposed change
would not significantly affect the agency's costs to manage
those lands.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Megan Carroll.
This estimate was 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.