[House Report 108-344]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



108th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 1st Session                                                    108-344

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       BLACK CANYON OF THE GUNNISON BOUNDARY REVISION ACT OF 2003

                                _______
                                

November 4, 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. 677]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

  The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill (S. 
677) to revise the boundary of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison 
National Park and Gunnison Gorge National Conservation Area in 
the State of Colorado, 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. 677 is to revise the boundary of the 
Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park and Gunnison Gorge 
National Conservation Area in the State of Colorado.

                  Background and Need for Legislation

    Property owners adjacent to the Black Canyon of the 
Gunnison National Park and National Conservation Area have 
experienced pressure to sell their lands to developers. Instead 
of selling to developers, three property owners have negotiated 
with the National Park Service (NPS) to sell their land 
willingly or exchange it for other federal land. S. 677 would 
direct the Secretary of the Interior to exchange and/or 
purchase not more than 2,500 acres and adjust the boundary of 
the Park and the Conservation Area accordingly. In addition, S. 
677 would authorize the Secretary to transfer land under the 
jurisdiction of the Bureau of Land Management to the 
administration of the NPS to be placed within the boundary of 
the National Park. The bill would also ensure that any grazing 
rights involved in the land transfer would be continued. 
Finally, Section 5 of the bill clarifies that the Commissioner 
of the Bureau of Reclamation shall have access to and retain 
jurisdiction over certain roads and areas in the park, in 
addition to roads and facilities in the East Portal and Crystal 
Dam areas, for the maintenance, repair, construction, 
replacement, and operation of any facilities relating to the 
delivery of water and power.

                            Committee Action

    S. 677 was introduced on March 20, 2003, by Senator Ben 
Nighthorse Campbell (R-CO). The Senate passed the bill with an 
amendment on July 17, 2003, by unanimous consent. Within the 
House of Representatives, the bill was referred to the 
Committee on Resources. Within the Committee, the bill was 
referred to the Subcommittee on National Parks, Recreation and 
Public Lands and the Subcommittee on Water and Power. On 
October 21, 2003, the Subcommittee on National Parks, 
Recreation and Public Lands met to mark up the bill. No 
amendments were offered and the bill was forwarded to the Full 
Resources Committee by unanimous consent. On October 29, 2003, 
the Full Resources Committee met to consider the bill. The 
Subcommittee on Water and Power 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 and Article IV, section 3 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, October 31, 2003.
Hon. Richard W. 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. 677, the Black 
Canyon of the Gunnison Boundary Revision Act of 2003.
    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.
            Sincerely,
                                       Douglas Holtz-Eakin,
                                                          Director.
    Enclosure.

S. 677--Black Canyon of the Gunnison Boundary Revision Act of 2003

    CBO estimates that implementing S. 677 would not 
significantly affect the federal budget. Enacting the 
legislation would not affect direct spending or revenues. S. 
677 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.
    S. 677 would authorize the Secretary of the Interior to 
revise the boundaries of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison 
National Park in Colorado to include three parcels of privately 
owned land. The Secretary would exchange federal lands in order 
to acquire two of those parcels. According to the Department of 
the Interior (DOI), the federal lands to be exchanged currently 
generate no significant receipts and are not expected to do so 
in the near future; hence, CBO estimates that exchanging them 
would not significantly affect the federal budget. The 
Secretary would acquire, by purchase or donation, a 
conservation easement on the third parcel of land. According to 
DOI, sufficient funding already has been appropriated for that 
purpose; thus, CBO estimates that completing the transaction 
would not significantly increase federal spending.
    S. 677 also would authorize the Secretary to expand the 
boundaries of the Gunnison Gorge National Conservation Area to 
include 7,100 acres of federal lands administered by the Bureau 
of Land Management (BLM). Based on information from BLM, we 
estimate that adding those lands to the conservation area would 
not affect offsetting receipts or the agency's costs to manage 
them.
    On June 27, 2003, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for S. 
677 as ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Energy and 
Natural Resources on June 25, 2003. The two versions of the 
legislation are identical, as are the CBO cost estimates.
    The CBO staff contacts for this estimate are Deborah Reis 
and 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 Made by the Bill, as Reported

  In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by 
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law 
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new 
matter is printed in italic, existing law in which no change is 
proposed is shown in roman):

BLACK CANYON OF THE GUNNISON NATIONAL PARK AND GUNNISON GORGE NATIONAL 
CONSERVATION AREA ACT OF 1999

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *



SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF BLACK CANYON OF THE GUNNISON NATIONAL PARK.

  (a) Establishment.--(1) There is hereby established the Black 
Canyon of the Gunnison National Park in the State of Colorado 
as generally depicted on the map identified in section 3. The 
Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Monument is hereby 
abolished as such, the lands and interests therein are 
incorporated within and made part of the new Black Canyon of 
the Gunnison National Park, and any funds available for 
purposes of the monument shall be available for purposes of the 
park.
  (2) The boundary of the Park is revised to include the 
addition of approximately 2,530 acres, as generally depicted on 
the map entitled ``Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park 
and Gunnison Gorge NCA Boundary Modifications'' and dated April 
2, 2003.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

  (e) Grazing.--(1)(A) * * *

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

  (D) If land within the Park on which the grazing of livestock 
is authorized under permits or leases under subparagraph (A) is 
exchanged for private land under section 5(a), the Secretary 
shall transfer any grazing privileges to the land acquired in 
the exchange.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

  (3) With respect to the grazing permits and leases referenced 
in this subsection, the Secretary shall allow grazing to 
continue, subject to periodic renewal--
          (A) with respect to a permit or lease issued to an 
        individual, for the lifetime of the individual who was 
        the holder of the permit or lease on the date of the 
        enactment of this Act; [and]
          (B) with respect to the permit or lease issued to 
        LeValley Ranch Ltd., for the lifetime of the last 
        surviving limited partner as of October 21, 1999;
          (C) with respect to the permit or lease issued to 
        Sanburg Herefords, L.L.P., for the lifetime of the last 
        surviving general partner as of October 21, 1999; and
          [(B)] (D) with respect to a permit or lease issued to 
        a [partnership, corporation, or] corporation or other 
        legal entity, for a period which shall terminate on the 
        same date that the last permit or lease held under 
        [subparagraph (A)] subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) 
        terminates, unless the [partnership, corporation, or] 
        corporation or legal entity dissolves or terminates 
        before such time, in which case the permit or lease 
        shall terminate with the [partnership, corporation, or] 
        corporation or legal entity.

SEC. 5. ACQUISITION OF PROPERTY AND MINOR BOUNDARY ADJUSTMENTS.

  (a) Additional Acquisitions.--
          (1) In general.--The Secretary may acquire land or 
        interests in land depicted on the Map or the map 
        described in section 4(a)(2) as proposed additions.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


SEC. 7. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE GUNNISON GORGE NATIONAL CONSERVATION AREA.

  (a) In General.--(1) There is established the Gunnison Gorge 
National Conservation Area, consisting of approximately 57,725 
acres as generally depicted on the Map.
  (2) The boundary of the Conservation Area is revised to 
include the addition of approximately 7,100 acres, as generally 
depicted on the map entitled ``Black Canyon of the Gunnison 
National Park and Gunnison Gorge NCA Boundary Modifications'', 
and dated April 2, 2003.

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