[House Report 108-713]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



108th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session                                                     108-713
======================================================================

 
          PETRIFIED FOREST NATIONAL PARK EXPANSION ACT OF 2004

                                _______
                                

 September 30, 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. 1630]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

  The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill 
(H.R. 1630) to revise the boundary of the Petrified Forest 
National Park in the State of Arizona, 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 ``Petrified Forest National Park 
Expansion Act of 2004''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

  In this Act:
          (1) Map.--The term ``map'' means the map entitled ``Proposed 
        Boundary Adjustments, Petrified Forest National Park'', 
        numbered 110/80,044, and dated July 2004.
          (2) Park.--The term ``Park'' means the Petrified Forest 
        National Park in the State.
          (3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of 
        the Interior.
          (4) State.--The term ``State'' means the State of Arizona.

SEC. 3. BOUNDARY REVISION.

  (a) In General.--The Secretary is authorized to revise the boundary 
of the Park to include approximately 125,000 acres as depicted on the 
map.
  (b) Availability of Map.--The map shall be on file and available for 
public inspection in the appropriate offices of the National Park 
Service.

SEC. 4. ACQUISITION OF ADDITIONAL LAND.

  (a) Private Land.--The Secretary may acquire from a willing seller, 
by donation, purchase with donated or appropriated funds, or exchange, 
any private land or interests in private land within the revised 
boundary of the Park.
  (b) State Land.--
          (1) In general.--The Secretary may acquire from the State any 
        State land or interests in State land within the revised 
        boundary of the Park, if the acquisition is made--
                  (A) with the consent of the State;
                  (B) in accordance with State law; and
                  (C) by donation, purchase with donated or 
                appropriated funds, or exchange.
          (2) Plan.--Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment 
        of this Act, the Secretary shall, in coordination with the 
        State, develop a plan for acquisition of State land or 
        interests in State land under paragraph (1).
          (3) Management agreement.--If the Secretary is unable to 
        acquire the State lands under paragraph (1) within such 3-year 
        period, the Secretary may enter into an agreement with the 
        State that would allow the National Park Service to manage 
        State lands within the revised boundary of the Park.

SEC. 5. ADMINISTRATION.

  (a) In General.--Subject to applicable laws, all land and interests 
in land acquired under this Act shall be administered by the Secretary 
as part of the Park.
  (b) Transfer of Jurisdiction.--The Secretary shall transfer to the 
National Park Service administrative jurisdiction over any land under 
the jurisdiction of the Secretary that--
          (1) is depicted on the map as being within the boundaries of 
        the Park; and
          (2) is not under the administrative jurisdiction of the 
        National Park Service on the date of enactment of this Act.
  (c) Grazing.--
          (1) In general.--The Secretary shall permit the continuation 
        of grazing on land transferred to the Secretary under this Act 
        to the same extent as was permitted on such lands as of July 
        2004, subject to applicable laws and regulations.
          (2) Termination of leases or permits.--Nothing in this 
        subsection prohibits the Secretary from accepting the voluntary 
        termination of a grazing permit or grazing lease within the 
        Park.
  (d) Amendment to General Management Plan.--Not later than 3 years 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall amend 
the general management plan for the Park to address the use and 
management of any additional land acquired under this Act.

                          PURPOSE OF THE BILL

    The purpose of H.R. 1630 is to revise the boundary of the 
Petrified Forest National Park in the State of Arizona.

                  BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    Petrified Forest National Park, originally proclaimed a 
national monument by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1906 and 
later designated a national park in 1962, is located in 
northeastern Arizona. The Park encompasses approximately 93,500 
acres and was originally set aside to preserve the 
concentrations of rainbow-hued petrified wood, scenic 
landscapes of the Painted Desert, rare shortgrass prairie, and 
more than 500 archaeological and historical sites that reflect 
a 10,000-year continuum of human history.
    In their 1992 General Management Plan (GMP), National Park 
Service staff at Petrified National Forest cited the enormous 
potential significance and value of lands adjacent to the Park, 
and identified 97,800 acres as suitable for addition to the 
Park, based on then-known resources on those lands. The lands 
in question were known to possess globally significant 
paleontological resources and potentially nationally 
significant archaeological resources. The additional lands 
identified include 16 miles of the 22-mile Chinle escarpment, 
which contains the world's most significant record of late 
Triassic Period fossils. Only six miles of the escarpment fall 
within the existing Petrified Forest National Park boundaries, 
but the east and west Chinle additions are believed to contain 
scientific values that surpass those inside the Park. Other 
important additions are Wallace Tank Ruins, Rainbow Forest 
Badlands, and Canyon Butte Ruins around the southern end of the 
Park; West Rim Painted Desert to the northwest; and Dead Wash 
Petroglyphs to the east. The additional acreage specified in 
the expansion proposal reflects the need to avoid leaving 
private landowners with uneconomic remnants and the additional 
knowledge gained about the relevant lands since the 1992 GMP 
was finalized.
    Expansion of the Park's boundaries would also help to 
address long-standing concerns surrounding thefts of priceless 
fossils and artifacts, which are being systematically pilfered 
on these private, State and the Bureau of Land Management 
lands. With the advent of high tech, low-cost mobile sensors 
and other non-intrusive measures aimed at educating and 
redirecting well-meaning Park visitors, the Park has 
demonstrated its ability to protect this wealth of resources.
    H.R. 1630 would add approximately 125,000 acres to the 
Park, slightly more than half of which are currently in private 
ownership. The expansion has broad local support, including the 
City of Holbrook, the City of Winslow, the Holbrook Chamber of 
Commerce, and Navajo County. In addition, the State of Arizona 
expressed its support for the bill in a letter to the 
Committee. Four major landowners, who together own 
approximately half the total acreage of the expansion area are 
aware of the legislation and are supportive. They have 
indicated they would consider compensation for their lands 
either in the form of a purchase or an exchange. Forty-five 
percent of the lands within the proposed expansion areas are in 
State or federal ownership. H.R. 1630 directs the Secretary of 
the Interior to, in coordination with the State of Arizona, 
develop a plan for acquisition of State land or interests in 
State land identified for inclusion within the revised boundary 
of the Park, no later than three years after the date of 
enactment of Act.

                            COMMITTEE ACTION

    H.R. 1630 was introduced on April 3, 2003, by Congressman 
Rick Renzi (R-AZ). 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 8, 2004, 
the Subcommittee met to mark up the bill. Congressman George 
Radanovich (R-CA) offered an amendment in the nature of a 
substitute that added the map name and number to the bill as 
well as the acreage to be included in the new boundary. The 
amendment also clarified the authorizing language to acquire 
State lands. The amendment was adopted by unanimous consent. 
The bill as amended was forwarded to the Full Resources 
Committee by unanimous consent. On July 14, 2004, the Full 
Resources Committee met to consider the bill. Congressman Renzi 
offered an amendment to further amend the map boundary and 
total acreage in the bill. The amendment was adopted by 
unanimous consent. No further amendments were offered and 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. 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:

H.R. 1630--Petrified Forest National Park Expansion Act of 2004

    H.R. 1630 would authorize the Secretary of the Interior to 
revise the boundary of the Petrified Forest National Park in 
Arizona to include an additional 127,400 acres. CBO estimates 
that implementing the bill would cost approximately $20 million 
over the 2005-2009 period, assuming the appropriation of the 
necessary funds. Enacting H.R. 1630 would not affect direct 
spending or receipts.
    The bill would authorize the National Park Service (NPS) to 
acquire the added acreage--including both private and state-
owned lands--by purchase, donation, or exchange. Under the 
bill, the state property (about 34,000 acres) could be managed 
by the NPS under an agreement with the state if an acquisition 
plan cannot be negotiated within three years. The legislation 
also would direct the Secretary to transfer to the NPS about 
15,500 acres of land currently administered by the Bureau of 
Land Management. Finally, the bill would direct the NPS to 
amend the park's general management plan within three years to 
reflect those changes.
    Assuming appropriation of the necessary amounts, CBO 
estimates that implementing H.R. 1630 would cost about $18 
million over the next three years. Of this amount, we estimate 
that about $650,000 a year would be used for up-front 
management, planning, and development of the expansion area. 
The remaining $16 million would be used to purchase about 
77,900 acres of private property within that area. Finally, we 
estimate that recurring costs to maintain the additional lands 
would be around $700,000 a year beginning in fiscal year 208.
    This estimate is based on information provided by the NPS 
and by local tax authorities. For the estimate, CBO assumes 
that the NPS would enter into an agreement with Arizona that 
would enable the federal government to manage the state-owned 
lands within the new boundary as part of the national park. If 
the NPS purchased this land, however, the cost to implement the 
bill would increase by an estimated $7 million.
    H.R. 1630 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act. The 
transfer of private land into federal ownership authorized by 
this bill would result in both direct costs and benefits for 
affected state and local governments.
    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

    If enacted, this bill would make no changes in existing 
law.

                                  
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