[House Report 108-651]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



108th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session                                                     108-651

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



 
  WILSON'S CREEK NATIONAL BATTLEFIELD BOUNDARY ADJUSTMENT ACT OF 2004

                                _______
                                

 September 7, 2004.--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 H.R. 4481]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

  The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill 
(H.R. 4481) to amend Public Law 86-434 establishing Wilson's 
Creek National Battlefield in the State of Missouri to expand 
the boundaries of the park, 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 ``Wilson's Creek National Battlefield 
Boundary Adjustment Act of 2004''.

SEC. 2. EXPANSION OF BOUNDARIES, WILSON'S CREEK NATIONAL BATTLEFIELD, 
                    MISSOURI.

  (a) Boundary Expansion; Private Property Protections.--The first 
section of Public Law 86-434 (16 U.S.C. 430kk) is amended--
          (1) by striking ``That the Secretary'' and inserting the 
        following:

``SECTION 1. WILSON'S CREEK NATIONAL BATTLEFIELD: ESTABLISHMENT AND 
                    ACQUISITION OF LANDS.

  ``(a) Establishment, Initial Boundaries.--The Secretary''; and
          (2) by adding at the end the following new subsections:
  ``(b) Expansion of Boundaries.--(1) The boundaries of the Wilson's 
Creek National Battlefield are revised to include lands and interests 
therein consisting of six parcels totaling 615 acres and identified as 
parcels `1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6' on the map entitled `Wilson's Creek 
National battlefield Proposed Boundary', numbered 410/80,037 and dated 
January 27, 2004. The map shall be on file and available for public 
inspection in the appropriate offices of the National Park Service.
  ``(2) The Secretary is authorized to acquire the lands referred to in 
paragraph (1) by donation, by purchase from willing sellers with 
donated or appropriated funds, or by exchange. The Secretary may 
acquire by the same methods personal property associated with, and 
appropriate for, interpretation of the park.
  ``(c) Access to Private Property.--Nothing in this Act shall be 
construed to--
          ``(1) require any private property owner to allow public 
        access (including Federal, State, or local government access) 
        to such private property; or
          ``(2) modify any provision of Federal, State, or local law 
        with regard to public access to or use of private property.
  ``(d) Liability.--The revision of the boundaries of the Wilson's 
Creek National Battlefield by subsection (b) shall not be considered to 
create any liability for, or to have any effect on any liability under 
any other law of, any owner of private property with respect to any 
person injured on that private property.
  ``(e) Recognition of Authority to Control Land Use.--Nothing in this 
Act shall be construed to modify the authority of Federal, State, or 
local governments to regulate land use.
  ``(f) Participation of Private Property Owners.--Nothing in this Act 
shall be construed to require the owner of any private property located 
within the boundaries of the Wilson's Creek National Battlefield to 
participate in, or be associated with, the National Battlefield.
  ``(g) Effect of Expansion.--The boundaries of the Wilson's Creek 
National Battlefield, as revised by subsection (b), represent the area 
within which Federal funds appropriated for the purpose of this Act may 
be expended. The boundary revision shall not be construed to provide 
any nonexisting regulatory authority on land use within the National 
Battlefield or its viewshed by the Secretary or the National Park 
Service.''.
  (b) Authorization of Appropriations.--Section 3 of such Act (16 
U.S.C. 430mm) is amended by adding at the end the following new 
sentence: ``There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 
necessary to carry out section 1(b).''.

                          Purpose of the Bill

    The purpose of H.R. 4481 is to amend Public Law 86-434 
establishing Wilson's Creek National Battlefield in the State 
of Missouri to expand the boundaries of the park, and for other 
purposes.

                  Background and Need for Legislation

    The Wilson's Creek National Battlefield was established as 
a national park on April 22, 1960, to preserve and commemorate 
the Battle of Wilson's Creek, the site of the second battle of 
the Civil War and first major battle west of the Mississippi 
River. The battle took place on August 10, 1861, and involved 
approximately 5,400 Union troops and 12,000 Confederates. 
Nathaniel Lyon, the first Union general to be killed in combat, 
died at Wilson's Creek. The park contains 50 archeological 
sites, numerous historic structures, cultural landscapes, and 
artifacts related to the battle.
    The park reported 186,654 recreational visits for Fiscal 
Year (FY) 2003, and its FY 2004 annual budget is $1.798 
million. The park's authorized boundary encompasses 1,750 
acres, 75 percent of the actual combat areas associated with 
the Battle of Wilson's Creek. The proposed expansion would 
incorporate an additional six parcels of land totaling 615 
acres. The lands currently lie outside of the park's authorized 
boundaries and include sites significant to the battle.
    As part of the general management planning process, the 
National Parks Service identified and evaluated boundary 
adjustments that may be necessary or desirable to carry out the 
parks purposes. These adjustments were included in the final 
General Management Plan/Environmental Impact Statement (GMP) in 
2003. The GMP was completed following a three year planning 
period and public participation process. H.R. 4481 will 
implement part of the GMP's recommendations.

                            Committee Action

    H.R. 4481 was introduced on June 2, 2004, by Congressman 
Roy Blunt (R-MO). The bill was referred to the Committee on 
Resources, and within the Committee to the Subcommittee on 
National Parks, Recreation and Public Lands. On June 15, 2004, 
the Subcommittee held a hearing on the bill. On July 14, 2004, 
the Full Resource Committee met to consider the bill. By 
unanimous consent, the Subcommittee on National Parks, 
Recreation and Public Lands was discharged from further 
consideration of the bill. Chairman Richard Pombo (R-CA) 
offered amendment in the nature of a substitute adding a new 
section on private property. The amendment was agreed to by 
unanimous consent. The bill as amended 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 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, spending 
authority, credit authority, or an increase or decrease in 
revenues or tax expenditures.
    3. General Performance Goals and Objectives. As required by 
clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, the general performance goal or 
objective of this bill is to amend Public Law 86-434 
establishing Wilson's Creek National Battlefield in the State 
of Missouri to expand the boundaries of the park, and for other 
purposes.
    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:

H.R. 4481--Wilson's Creek National Battlefield Boundary Adjustment Act 
        of 2004

    H.R. 4481 would expand by about 615 acres the boundary of 
the Wilson's Creek National Battlefield in Missouri. The bill 
would authorize the National Park Service (NPS) to acquire the 
additional acreage and related personal property by purchase, 
donation, or exchange. Finally, the bill would authorize the 
appropriation of whatever amounts are necessary for these 
purposes.
    Assuming appropriation of the necessary amounts, CBO 
estimates that implementing H.R. 4481 would cost between $5 
million and $10 million over the next five years. We expect 
that the NPS would first purchase a 20-acre parcel containing a 
Civil War, museum, other improvements, and the museum contents, 
at a cost of between $3 million and $4 million. If the NPS 
later purchases some of the other 595 acres (or easements on 
that land), total acquisition costs could increase by up to $6 
million over several years. We estimate that additional costs 
to operate the museum and to develop visitor facilities and 
interpretive materials would be less than $0.5 million 
annually. Enacting the bill would not affect direct spending or 
revenues.
    H.R. 4481 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 government.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Deborah Reis. 
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):

                         ACT OF APRIL 22, 1960


                          (Public Law 86-434)

  Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
the United States of America in Congress assembled, [That the 
Secretary]

SECTION 1. WILSON'S CREEK NATIONAL BATTLEFIELD: ESTABLISHMENT AND 
                    ACQUISITION OF LANDS.

  (a) Establishment, Initial Boundaries.--The Secretary of the 
Interior shall acquire, by gift, purchase, condemnation, or 
otherwise, the lands (together with any improvements thereon) 
comprising the Wilson's Creek Battlefield site near 
Springfield, Missouri, and any other lands adjacent to such 
site which in his opinion are necessary or desirable to carry 
out the purposes of this Act.
  (b) Expansion of Boundaries.--(1) The boundaries of the 
Wilson's Creek National Battlefield are revised to include 
lands and interests therein consisting of six parcels totaling 
615 acres and identified as parcels ``1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6'' on 
the map entitled ``Wilson's Creek National Battlefield Proposed 
Boundary'', numbered 410/80,037 and dated January 27, 2004. The 
map shall be on file and available for public inspection in the 
appropriate offices of the National Park Service.
  (2) The Secretary is authorized to acquire the lands referred 
to in paragraph (1) by donation, by purchase from willing 
sellers with donated or appropriated funds, or by exchange. The 
Secretary may acquire by the same methods personal property 
associated with, and appropriate for, interpretation of the 
park.
  (c) Access to Private Property.--Nothing in this Act shall be 
construed to--
          (1) require any private property owner to allow 
        public access (including Federal, State, or local 
        government access) to such private property; or
          (2) modify any provision of Federal, State, or local 
        law with regard to public access to or use of private 
        property.
  (d) Liability.--The revision of the boundaries of the 
Wilson's Creek National Battlefield by subsection (b) shall not 
be considered to create any liability for, or to have any 
effect on any liability under any other law of, any owner of 
private property with respect to any person injured on that 
private property.
  (e) Recognition of Authority To Control Land Use.--Nothing in 
this Act shall be construed to modify the authority of Federal, 
State, or local governments to regulate land use.
  (f) Participation of Private Property Owners.--Nothing in 
this Act shall be construed to require the owner of any private 
property located within the boundaries of the Wilson's Creek 
National Battlefield to participate in, or be associated with, 
the National Battlefield.
  (g) Effect of Expansion.--The boundaries of the Wilson's 
Creek National Battlefield, as revised by subsection (b), 
represent the area within which Federal funds appropriated for 
the purpose of this Act may be expended. The boundary revision 
shall not be construed to provide any nonexisting regulatory 
authority on land use within the National Battlefield or its 
viewshed by the Secretary or the National Park Service.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

  Sec. 3. For development of the Wilson's Creek National 
Battlefield, there are authorized to be appropriated not more 
than $5,640,000. There are authorized to be appropriated such 
sums as may be necessary to carry out section 1(b).

                                  
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