[Senate Report 108-23]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



                                                        Calendar No. 38
108th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE
 1st Session                                                     108-23
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             MOUNT NAOMI WILDERNESS BOUNDARY ADJUSTMENT ACT

                                _______
                                

                 March 19, 2003.--Ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

   Mr. Domenici, from the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                         [To accompany S. 278]

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which 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, reports favorably thereon 
without amendment and recommends that the bill do pass.

                         PURPOSE OF THE MEASURE

    S. 278 adjusts the boundaries of the Mount Naomi Wilderness 
by removing 31 acres of land and by adding another 31 acres. 
Subject to valid existing rights, the Utah Wilderness Act of 
1984 will apply to the land added to the Mount Naomi 
Wilderness.

                          BACKGROUND AND NEED

    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.
    In order 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.

                          LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

    S. 278 was introduced by Senator Bennett on February 4, 
2003. The Public Lands and Forests Subcommittee held a hearing 
on S. 278 on February 27, 2003. At the business meeting on 
March 12, 2003, the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 
ordered S. 278 favorably reported.

                        COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in open 
business session on March 12, 2003, by a voice vote of a quorum 
present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 278.

                      SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

    Section 1 provides a short title for the bill, ``The Mount 
Naomi Wilderness Boundary Adjustment Act.''
    Section 2 adjusts the boundaries of the Mount Naomi 
Wilderness by removing 31 acres of land depicted on the map as 
``Land Excluded'' and by adding 31 acres of land, depicted on 
the map as ``Land Added''. Subject to valid existing rights the 
Utah Wilderness Act of 1984 shall apply to the land added to 
the Mount Naomi Wilderness.
    Section 3 provides a map of reference and authorizes the 
Secretary of Agriculture to make technical corrections.

                   COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

    The following estimate of costs of this measure has been 
provided by the Congressional Budget Office.

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                    Washington, DC, March 13, 2003.
Hon. Pete V. Domenici,
Chairman, Committee on Energy and Natural Resources,
U.S. Senate, 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 bill would not 
affect direct spending or receipts. S. 278 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. 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 valid 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.

                      REGULATORY IMPACT EVALUATION

    In compliance with paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee makes the following 
evaluation of the regulatory impact which would be incurred in 
carrying out S. 278. The bill is not a regulatory measure in 
the sense of imposing Government-established standards or 
significant economic responsibilities on private individuals 
and businesses.
    No personal information would be collected in administering 
the program. Therefore, there would be no impact on personal 
privacy.
    Little, if any, additional paperwork would result from the 
enactment of S. 278, as ordered reported.

                        EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS

    On, March 12, 2003, the Committee on Energy and Natural 
Resources requested legislative reports from the Department of 
Agriculture and the Office of Management and Budget setting 
forth Executive agency recommendations on S. 278. These reports 
had not been received at the time the report on S. 278 was 
filed. When the reports become available, the Chairman will 
request that they be printed in the Congressional Record for 
the advice of the Senate. The testimony provided by the U.S. 
Forest Service at the Subcommittee hearing follows:

Statement of Jim Reaves, Director, Vegetation Management and Protection 
   Research, Forest Service, United States Department of Agriculture

    Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee, Thank you for 
the opportunity to appear before you today. I am Jim Reaves, 
Director, Vegetation Management and Protection Research. With 
me today is David Cleaves, National Program Leader for Fire 
Systems Research. I would like to present the Administration's 
views on S. 278--the Mount Naomi Wilderness Boundary Act.
    The Department supports S. 278, a bill that would adjust 
the boundary of the Mount Naomi Wilderness in the Wasatch-Cache 
National Forest in Utah. We believe the boundary adjustment 
will create a higher level of wilderness value by improving the 
area's solitude, scenery, and pristine qualities. We supported 
similar legislation that was considered during the 107th 
Congress.
    The boundary adjustment would exclude approximately 31 
acres of land currently part of the Mount Naomi Wilderness and, 
subject to with valid existing rights, would add 31 acres to 
the wilderness area. The bill also requires the Secretary to 
manage the 31 additional acres pursuant to the Utah Wilderness 
Act of 1984 (Public Law 98-428).
    The adjustment would allow for the alignment of the 
Bonneville Shoreline trail, which is a multi-county 
recreational trail. The trail is designed predominately for 
heavy non-motorized use, which does not conform to use as a 
wilderness trail. The boundary adjustment would also eliminate 
the need for a power line easement within the wilderness area, 
which is also a non-conforming use.
    This concludes my statement and we look forward to working 
with the Subcommittee. I would be happy to answer any questions 
you may have.

                        CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

    In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee notes that no 
changes in existing law are made by the bill S. 278, as ordered 
reported.

                                
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