[House Report 108-253]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



108th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 1st Session                                                    108-253

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             MOUNT NAOMI WILDERNESS BOUNDARY ADJUSTMENT ACT

                                _______
                                

 September 3, 2003.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on 
            the State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

  Mr. Pombo, from the Committee on Resources, submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                         [To accompany S. 278]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill 
(S. 278) to make certain adjustments to the boundaries of the 
Mount Naomi Wilderness Area, 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. 278 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 (MNWA), 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 MNWA is 
one of the largest wilderness areas in the State of Utah and 
provides many recreational opportunities for the residents of 
Cache County.
    The close proximity of portions of the MNWA to Logan City 
limits creates difficulty for the Forest Service to manage 
these lands for wilderness uses, and also presents potential 
problems for the City. In one area of approximately 31 acres, 
the MNWA's southwestern boundary abuts the Logan City limits. 
Within this small area is a utility corridor with several 
utility, power and communication lines that existed prior to 
the designation of the wilderness area. Maintenance of these 
facilities is extremely difficult because no motorized or 
mechanized equipment may be operated within a wilderness area. 
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 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.
    To prevent a net loss of wilderness due to this boundary 
adjustment, the Forest Service, in consultation with the city 
of Logan 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, there 
would be no net loss of wilderness.

                            COMMITTEE ACTION

    S. 278 was introduced on February 4, 2003, by Senator 
Robert E. Bennett (R-UT). On April, 7, 2003, the bill passed 
the Senate by unanimous consent and was received by the House 
of Representatives. In the House of the Representatives, the 
bill was referred to the Committee on Resources, and within the 
Committee to the Subcommittee on Forests and Forest Health. On 
July 9, 2003, the Resources Committee met to consider the bill. 
The Subcommittee was discharged from further consideration of 
the bill by unanimous consent. No amendments were offered and 
the bill was 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 16, 2003.
Hon. Richard Pombo,
Chairman, Committee on Resources,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 278, 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,
                                       Douglas Holtz-Eakin,
                                                          Director.
    Enclosure.

S. 278--Mount Naomi Wilderness Boundary Adjustment Act

    CBO estimates that enacting S. 278 would have no 
significant impact on the federal budget. The act would not 
affect direct spending or revenues. S. 278 contains no 
intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the 
Unfunded Mandate; Reform Act and would have no significant 
impact on the budgets of state, local, or tribal governments.
    S. 278 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 vallid 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.

                                
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