[House Report 108-738]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



108th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session                                                     108-738
======================================================================


 
      CUMBERLAND ISLAND WILDERNESS BOUNDARY ADJUSTMENT ACT OF 2004

                                _______
                                

October 6, 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

                             together with

                            DISSENTING VIEWS

                        [To accompany H.R. 4887]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill 
(H.R. 4887) to adjust the boundary of the Cumberland Island 
Wilderness, to authorize tours of the Cumberland Island 
National Seashore, 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 ``Cumberland Island Wilderness Boundary 
Adjustment Act of 2004''.

SEC. 2. CUMBERLAND ISLAND WILDERNESS BOUNDARY ADJUSTMENT.

  Public Law 97-250 (96 Stat. 709) is amended by striking section 2 and 
inserting the following:

``SEC. 2. CUMBERLAND ISLAND WILDERNESS.

  ``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
          ``(1) Map.--The term `map' means the map entitled `Cumberland 
        Island Wilderness', numbered 640/20,038I, and dated September 
        2004.
          ``(2) Secretary.--The term `Secretary' means the Secretary of 
        the Interior.
          ``(3) Wilderness.--The term `Wilderness' means the Cumberland 
        Island Wilderness established by subsection (b).
          ``(4) Potential wilderness.--The term `Potential Wilderness' 
        means the 10,500 acres of potential wilderness described in 
        subsection (c)(2), but does not include the area at the north 
        end of Cumberland Island known as the `High Point Half-Moon 
        Bluff Historic District'.
  ``(b) Establishment.--
          ``(1) In general.--Approximately 9,886 acres of land in the 
        Cumberland Island National Seashore depicted on the map as 
        `Wilderness' is designated as a component of the National 
        Wilderness Preservation System and shall be known as the 
        `Cumberland Island Wilderness'.
          ``(2) Exclusions.--The 25-foot wide roadways depicted on the 
        map as the `Main Road', `Plum Orchard', and the `North Cut 
        Road' shall not be included in the Wilderness and shall be 
        maintained by the Secretary for continued vehicle use.
  ``(c) Additional Land.--In addition to the land designated under 
subsection (b), the Secretary shall--
          ``(1) on acquisition of the approximately 231 acres of land 
        identified on the map as `Areas Become Designated Wilderness 
        upon Acquisition by the NPS'; and
          ``(2) on publication in the Federal Register of a notice that 
        all uses of the approximately 10,500 acres of land depicted on 
        the map as `Potential Wilderness' that are prohibited under the 
        Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.) have ceased, adjust the 
        boundary of the Wilderness to include the land.
  ``(d) Availability of Map.--The map shall be on file and available 
for public inspection in the appropriate offices of the National Park 
Service.
  ``(e) Administration.--Subject to valid existing rights, the 
Wilderness shall be administered by the Secretary, in accordance with 
the applicable provisions of the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et 
seq.) governing areas designated by that Act as wilderness areas, 
except that--
          ``(1) any reference in such provisions to the effective date 
        of that Act shall be deemed to be a reference to the effective 
        date of this Act; and
          ``(2) where appropriate, any reference in that Act to the 
        Secretary of Agriculture shall be deemed to be a reference to 
        the Secretary.
  ``(f) Effect.--Any person with a right to utility service on 
Cumberland Island on the date of enactment of this subsection shall 
continue to have the right to utility service in the Wilderness after 
the date of enactment of this subsection.
  ``(g) Management Plan for Access to Main Road and North Cut Road.--
Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of the 
Cumberland Island Wilderness Boundary Adjustment Act of 2004, the 
Secretary shall complete a management plan to ensure that not more than 
8 and not less than 5 round trips are made available daily on the Main 
Road north of the Plum Orchard Spur and the North Cut Road by the 
National Park Service or a concessionaire for the purpose of 
transporting visitors to and from the historic sites located adjacent 
to Wilderness.''.

SEC. 3. TOURS OF CUMBERLAND ISLAND NATIONAL SEASHORE.

  Section 6 of Public Law 92-536 (86 Stat. 1066) is amended--
          (1) in subsection (b), by inserting ``, except as provided in 
        subsection (c),'' before ``no development of the project''; and
          (2) by adding at the end the following:
  ``(c) Tours of the Seashore.--Notwithstanding subsection (b), the 
Secretary may enter into not more than 3 concession contracts, as the 
Secretary determines appropriate, for the provision of tours for 
visitors to the seashore that are consistent with--
          ``(1) this Act;
          ``(2) the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.); and
          ``(3) Public Law 97-250 (96 Stat. 709).''.

                          Purpose of the Bill

    The purpose of H.R. 4887 is to adjust the boundary of the 
Cumberland Island Wilderness, to authorize tours of the 
Cumberland Island National Seashore, and for other purposes.

                  Background and Need for Legislation

    Cumberland Island National Seashore, located on the State 
of Georgia's largest and southernmost barrier island, was 
established in 1972 by Public Law 92-536. In 1982, through the 
enactment of Public Law 97-250, Congress designated 
approximately 8,840 acres in the center of the Island as 
wilderness under the Wilderness Act and designated an 
additional 11,718 acres in the northern and western part of the 
Island as potential wilderness. At the time, the proponents of 
the wilderness designation--primarily those who lived and 
worked on the Island--believed that wilderness designation was 
the only way to prevent anticipated development on the Island. 
Today, the current wilderness designation covers a majority of 
the Main Road that runs north and south on the Island as well 
as the North Cut Road and the Plum Orchard Spur. Because of the 
inclusion of these principal roads in the wilderness, access to 
many important historical and cultural resources is severely 
restricted, particularly for the National Park Service. The 
consequence of the wilderness designation was a dissection of 
the Seashore into three sections--making unfettered access to 
the Island's cultural and historic resources in the central and 
north near impossible for the typical visitor to the Island. 
Meanwhile, in terms of the designated potential wilderness, 
once the nonconforming uses prohibited by the Wilderness Act 
have ceased in the area, the acreage will become designated 
wilderness. H.R. 4887 would remove the Main Road, Plum Orchard 
Spur Road and North Cut Road--approximately 25 acres total 
(based on a 25 foot width)--from the designated wilderness 
area. This would allow for controlled vehicular access to Plum 
Orchard, the Settlement (a historic African American community) 
and the beach at the north end of the Island.
    H.R. 4887 would also allow any person with the right to 
utility service on the Island to continue to have the right to 
utility service in the wilderness area, and permit the 
Secretary to enter into one or more contracts with concession 
companies as the Secretary of the Interior determines to be 
appropriate for tours and visitors to the Seashore. As of now, 
Greyfield Inn, a historic bed and breakfast on the southern 
part of the Island, has a pre-existing right to conduct 
motorized tours on the Island.

                            Committee Action

    H.R. 4887 was introduced on July 21, 2004, by Congressman 
Jack Kingston (R-GA). The bill was referred to the Committee on 
Resources, and within the Committee to the Subcommittee on 
National Parks, Recreation and Public Lands. On September 14, 
2004, the Subcommittee held a hearing on the bill. On September 
22, 2004, the Full Resources Committee met to consider the 
bill. Congressman George Radanovich (R-CA) offered an amendment 
in the nature of a substitute that made the following changes 
to the original text: (1) Added a new map and number to the 
bill; (2) removed the proposed wilderness designation from the 
southern part of the Island; (3) directed the Secretary of the 
Interior to develop a management plan for vehicle use of the 
Main Road and the North Cut Road; and (4) limited the number of 
concession contracts for tours of the Seashore to no more than 
three. The amendment was adopted by voice vote. The bill, as 
amended, was ordered favorably reported to the House of 
Representatives by a rollcall vote of 23 to 15, as follows:


            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, credit 
authority, or an increase or decrease in revenues or tax 
expenditures. According to the Congressional Budget Office, 
enactment of this bill could result in additional franchise fee 
payments to the federal government, which could then be spent 
by the National Park Service. This results in no net budgetary 
impact.
    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. 4887--Cumberland Island Wilderness Boundary Adjustment Act of 2004

    H.R. 4887 would exclude three roads from land designated as 
wilderness or potential wilderness on Cumberland Island, a 
national seashore in Georgia. Under the bill, the National Park 
Service (NPS) would have to provide island visitors with 
between five and eight round-trips daily over these roads and 
would be authorized to enter into a limited number of 
concessions contracts for this purpose. Finally, the bill would 
authorize the NPS to add about 230 acres to the wilderness area 
if that land is acquired by the agency under existing 
authority.
    Eliminating the national wilderness designations from the 
island's roads and allowing private concessioners to use them 
would likely facilitate the development of Plum Orchard, an 
historic estate owned by the NPS that currently has little 
recreational use because it is only accessible to visitors by 
boat or on foot. The NPS has already spent more than $2 million 
to restore the mansion. CBO expects that the agency would spend 
another $6 million to complete the mansion's restoration even 
without legislation, but we believe that the project would 
become more expensive if the old estate is developed for 
visitor uses--a scenario that is likely under this legislation. 
As a result, we estimate that the cost of implementing the bill 
would be about $5 million over the next five years, assuming 
appropriation of the necessary amounts. This amount would be 
used to convert the mansion for visitor use and to provide a 
staging area for tourist traffic at an existing boat landing 
area. Alternatively, the necessary amounts could be provided by 
a future concessioner or lessee in exchange for lower franchise 
fees, but CBO has no basis for predicting such an outcome.
    CBO estimates that adding the 230 acres of property to the 
wilderness area of the island would have no significant cost. 
The NPS is already authorized to accept donation of the 
acreage, which is currently owned by a nonprofit organization. 
Finally, by allowing concession companies to operate on the 
island's roads, enacting the bill could result in additional 
franchise-fee income to the federal government. Any such 
increases in offsetting receipts would be offset by additional 
direct spending, however, resulting in no net budgetary impact.
    H.R. 4887 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and 
would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal 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 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):

               SECTION 2 OF THE ACT OF SEPTEMBER 8, 1982


                          (Public Law 97-250)

  AN ACT To correct the boundary of Crater Lake National Park in the 
                State of Oregon, and for other purposes.

  [Sec. 2. (a) In accordance with section 3(c) of the 
Wilderness Act (78 Stat. 890, 892; 16 U.S.C. 1132(c)), certain 
lands in the Cumberland Island National Seashore, Georgia, 
which comprise about eight thousand eight hundred and forty 
acres, and which are depicted on the map entitled ``Wilderness 
Plan, Cumberland Island National Seashore, Georgia'', dated 
November 1981, and numbered 640-20038E, are hereby designated 
as wilderness and therefor, as components of the National 
Wilderness Preservation System. Certain other lands in the 
Seashore, which comprise about eleven thousand seven hundred 
and eighteen acres, and which are designated on such map as 
``Potential Wilderness'', are, effective upon publication in 
the Federal Register of a notice by the Secretary of the 
Interior that all uses thereon prohibited by the Wilderness Act 
have ceased, designated wilderness. Such notice shall be 
published with respect to any tract within such eleven thousand 
seven hundred and eighteen acre area after the Secretary has 
determined that such uses have ceased on that tract. The map 
and a description of the boundaries of the areas designated by 
this section as wilderness shall be on file and available for 
public inspection in the office of the Director of the National 
Park Service, Department of the Interior, and in the office of 
the Superintendent of the Cumberland Island National Seashore.
  [(b) Within six months after the enactment of this Act, a map 
and a description of the boundaries of the Cumberland Island 
Wilderness shall be filed with the Energy and Natural Resources 
Committee of the United States Senate and with the Interior and 
Insular Affairs Committee of the United States House of 
Representatives. Such map and description shall have the same 
force and effect as if included in this Act, except that 
correction of clerical and typographical errors in such map and 
description may be made.
  [(c) The wilderness area designated by this section shall be 
known as the Cumberland Island Wilderness. Subject to valid 
existing rights, the wilderness areas shall be administered by 
the Secretary of the Interior in accordance with the applicable 
provisions of the Wilderness Act governing areas designated by 
that Act as wilderness areas, except that any reference in such 
provisions to the effective date of the Wilderness Act shall be 
deemed to be a reference to the effective date of this Act, and 
where appropriate, any reference in that Act to the Secretary 
of Agriculture shall be deemed to be a reference to the 
Secretary of the Interior.]

SEC. 2. CUMBERLAND ISLAND WILDERNESS.

  (a) Definitions.--In this section:
          (1) Map.--The term ``map'' means the map entitled 
        ``Cumberland Island Wilderness'', numbered 640/20,038I, 
        and dated September 2004.
          (2) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the 
        Secretary of the Interior.
          (3) Wilderness.--The term ``Wilderness'' means the 
        Cumberland Island Wilderness established by subsection 
        (b).
          (4) Potential wilderness.--The term ``Potential 
        Wilderness'' means the 10,500 acres of potential 
        wilderness described in subsection (c)(2), but does not 
        include the area at the north end of Cumberland Island 
        known as the ``High Point Half-Moon Bluff Historic 
        District''.
  (b) Establishment.--
          (1) In general.--Approximately 9,886 acres of land in 
        the Cumberland Island National Seashore depicted on the 
        map as ``Wilderness'' is designated as a component of 
        the National Wilderness Preservation System and shall 
        be known as the ``Cumberland Island Wilderness''.
          (2) Exclusions.--The 25-foot wide roadways depicted 
        on the map as the ``Main Road'', ``Plum Orchard'', and 
        the ``North Cut Road'' shall not be included in the 
        Wilderness and shall be maintained by the Secretary for 
        continued vehicle use.
  (c) Additional Land.--In addition to the land designated 
under subsection (b), the Secretary shall--
          (1) on acquisition of the approximately 231 acres of 
        land identified on the map as ``Areas Become Designated 
        Wilderness upon Acquisition by the NPS''; and
          (2) on publication in the Federal Register of a 
        notice that all uses of the approximately 10,500 acres 
        of land depicted on the map as ``Potential Wilderness'' 
        that are prohibited under the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 
        1131 et seq.) have ceased, adjust the boundary of the 
        Wilderness to include the land.
  (d) Availability of Map.--The map shall be on file and 
available for public inspection in the appropriate offices of 
the National Park Service.
  (e) Administration.--Subject to valid existing rights, the 
Wilderness shall be administered by the Secretary, in 
accordance with the applicable provisions of the Wilderness Act 
(16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.) governing areas designated by that Act 
as wilderness areas, except that--
          (1) any reference in such provisions to the effective 
        date of that Act shall be deemed to be a reference to 
        the effective date of this Act; and
          (2) where appropriate, any reference in that Act to 
        the Secretary of Agriculture shall be deemed to be a 
        reference to the Secretary.
  (f) Effect.--Any person with a right to utility service on 
Cumberland Island on the date of enactment of this subsection 
shall continue to have the right to utility service in the 
Wilderness after the date of enactment of this subsection.
  (g) Management Plan for Access to Main Road and North Cut 
Road.--Not later than one year after the date of the enactment 
of the Cumberland Island Wilderness Boundary Adjustment Act of 
2004, the Secretary shall complete a management plan to ensure 
that not more than 8 and not less than 5 roundtrips are made 
available daily on the Main Road north of the Plum Orchard Spur 
and the North Cut Road by the National Park Service or a 
concessionaire for the purpose of transporting visitors to and 
from the historic sites located adjacent to Wilderness.
                              ----------                              


                SECTION 6 OF THE ACT OF OCTOBER 23, 1972


                          (Public Law 92-536)

  AN ACT To establish the Cumberland Island National Seashore in the 
               State of Georgia, and for other purposes.

  Sec. 6. (a) * * *
  (b) Except for certain portions of the seashore deemed to be 
especially adaptable for recreational uses, particularly 
swimming, boating, fishing, hiking, horseback riding, and for 
other recreational activities of similar nature, which shall be 
developed for such uses as needed, the seashore shall be 
permanently preserved in its primitive state, and, except as 
provided in subsection (c), no development of the project or 
plan for the convenience of visitors shall be undertaken which 
would be incompatible with the preservation of the unique flora 
and fauna or the physiographic conditions not prevailing, nor 
shall any road or causeway connecting Cumberland Island to the 
mainland be constructed.
  (c) Tours of the Seashore.--Notwithstanding subsection (b), 
the Secretary may enter into not more than 3 concession 
contracts, as the Secretary determines appropriate, for the 
provision of tours for visitors to the seashore that are 
consistent with--
          (1) this Act;
          (2) the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.); and
          (3) Public Law 97-250 (96 Stat. 709).

                            DISSENTING VIEWS

    We oppose H.R. 4887 because the legislation would overturn 
the clear prohibitions on development and roads in wilderness 
contained in the 1972 Act establishing the Cumberland Island 
National Seashore and the 1982 Act designating the Cumberland 
Island Wilderness.
    Reopening roads in wilderness and allowing commercial 
operations to use those roads would fragment the wilderness and 
undermine the fundamental purpose of the 1972 and 1982 Acts 
which was to permanently preserve a significant portion of this 
unique island in its primitive state.
    The existing and potential wilderness on Cumberland Island 
is not very large, totaling less than 20,000 acres. Reopening 
three roads, including a road down the center of the wilderness 
would be a significant degradation of that wilderness. A 
contiguous block of wilderness would, under H.R. 4887, be 
sliced and diced into fragments. Further, the bill would also 
delete from potential wilderness all the beach frontage, and 
thus open that area to motorized use.
    By allowing concession tours of the island, the bill 
overturns a significant provision of the 1972 Act regarding 
uses of the area. This is a very important point. It is not 
just the Wilderness Act that prohibits commercial operations, 
it is also the 1972 Act establishing the National Seashore 
which restricted commercial operations so that the seashore 
``shall be permanently preserved in its primitive state.''
    On June 28, 2004, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals issued 
a stinging rebuke to the National Park Service on 
transportation in the Cumberland Island wilderness. Rather than 
comply with that decision the proponents of H.R. 4887 seek to 
overturn the court decision legislatively.
    One of the main arguments that proponents make is that 
there should be access to African-American historic resources 
on the northern part of the island. However, there are numerous 
historic resources in the National Park System and in 
wildernesses across the country that are not accessible by 
motorized vehicles. Using that accessibility logic, do we 
believe the National Park Service should provide commercial 
motorized access to all historic resources in the National Park 
System?
    In fact, many of the historic African-American resources on 
Cumberland Island, like the Dungeness Ruins and the slave 
cemetery are easily accessible by car and probably the most 
important site, ``The Chimneys'' is located approximately one-
half mile within the wilderness.
    In Committee the legislation was made worse by the adoption 
of an amendment that made numerous changes to the bill. These 
changes include the deletion of 952 acres that in the original 
bill would be added to wilderness on the southern end of the 
island. The National Park Service testimony on H.R. 4887 stated 
that the Administration's support ``is based in large part on 
the addition of these lands at the southern end of the island 
to the designated wilderness.'' The amendment also specifies 
25-foot road corridors opening the way for one lane roads to be 
turned into two lane roads.
    With or without the Committee amendment, H.R. 4887 is a 
misguided piece of legislation that would severely compromise 
the wilderness and overturn a fundamental purpose of the 
National Seashore dating back to its establishment in 1972. We 
oppose this bill and recommend our colleagues do likewise.

                                   Nick Rahall.
                                   Donna M. Christensen.

                                  
