[Senate Report 108-24]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



                                                        Calendar No. 39
108th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE
 1st Session                                                     108-24
======================================================================
 
       CATOCTIN MOUNTAIN NATIONAL RECREATION AREA DESIGNATION 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. 328]

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 
referred the bill (S. 328) to designate Catoctin Mountain Park 
in the State of Maryland as the ``Catoctin Mountain National 
Recreation Area'', and for other purposes, having considered 
the same, reports favorably thereon with an amendment and 
recommends that the bill, as amended, do pass.
    The amendment is as follows:
    Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert in lieu 
thereof the following:

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Catoctin Mountain National 
Recreation Area Designation Act''.

SEC. 2. CATOCTIN MOUNTAIN NATIONAL RECREATION AREA.

    (a) Designation.--Catoctin Mountain Park in the State of Maryland 
is designated as the Catoctin Mountain National Recreation Area.
    (b) References.--Any reference in a law, map, regulation, document, 
paper, or other record of the United States to Catoctin Mountain Park 
shall be deemed to be a reference to the Catoctin Mountain National 
Recreation Area (hereinafter referred to as the ``recreation area'').
    (c) Boundary.--
          (1) In general.--The recreation area shall consist of land 
        within the boundary depicted on map entitled ``Catoctin 
        Mountain National Recreation Area'' numbered 841/80444A, and 
        dated March 7, 2003.
          (c) Availability of map.--The map shall be on file and 
        available for public inspection in the appropriate offices of 
        the National Park Service.
          (3) Minor boundary adjustments.--The Secretary of the 
        Interior may make minor adjustments in the boundary of the 
        recreation area consistent with section 7(c) of the Land and 
        Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 (16 U.S.C. 4601-9(c)).
    (d) Administration.--
          (1) In general.--The Secretary of the Interior shall 
        administer the recreation area in a manner that protects and 
        enhances the scenic, natural, cultural, historical, and 
        recreational resources of the recreation area, in accordance 
        with this Act and the laws generally applicable to units of the 
        National Park System, including the Act of August 25, 1916 (16 
        U.S.C. 1, 2-4) and the Act of August 21, 1935 (16 U.S.C. 461 et 
        seq.).''
          (2) Cooperative agreement.--The Secretary of the Interior 
        shall enter into a cooperative agreement with the Secretary of 
        the Navy for the operation of the presidential retreat, known 
        as Camp David, while preserving the site as part of the 
        national recreation area. Nothing done under this Act shall 
        conflict with the administration of the presidential retreat as 
        a residence for the President and his family and for his 
        official purposes, nor shall it alter any privileges, powers, 
        or duties vested in the White House Police and the United 
        States Secret Service, Treasury Department, by section 202 of 
        title 3, United States Code, and section 3056 of title 18, 
        United States Code.

SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 
necessary to carry out this Act.

                         PURPOSE OF THE MEASURE

    The purpose of S. 328 is to designate Catoctin Mountain 
Park in the State of Maryland as the ``Catoctin Mountain 
National Recreation Area.''

                          BACKGROUND AND NEED

    Catoctin Mountain Park, located in northern Maryland, was 
established in 1935 by the National Industrial Recovery Act as 
the Catoctin Recreation Demonstration Area (RDA) and 
transferred to the National Park Service by Executive Order 
7496 on November 14, 1936. On July 7, 1942 the Presidential 
Retreat, Camp David, was established in the park. On June 11, 
1954, approximately 4,400 acres south of Route 77 was 
transferred to the State of Maryland and became Cunningham 
Falls State Park. The current designation of the remaining part 
of Catoctin RDA was changed to Catoctin Mountain Park on July 
12, 1954. The park includes 5,770 acres with an average annual 
visitation of 700,000.
    Catoctin Mountain Park is continually misidentified as 
either containing lake and beach areas associated with 
Cunningham Falls State Park or as being operated by the State 
of Maryland. Designation of the area as a National Recreation 
Area will eliminate the confusion and be more consistent with 
similar recreation areas.

                          LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

    S. 328 was introduced by Senator Sarbanes on February 6, 
2003. The Subcommittee on National Parks held a hearing on S. 
328 on March 4, 2003. At the business meeting on March 12, 
2003, the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources ordered S. 
328, as amended, favorably reported.

                        COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in open 
business session on March 12, 2003, by a unanimous vote of a 
quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 328, if 
amended as described herein.

                          COMMITTEE AMENDMENT

    During the consideration of S. 328, the Committee adopted 
an amendment in the nature of a substitute which deletes the 
congressional findings and purpose session. The amendment 
includes a new map reference to clarify the boundary of the 
recreation area, including the recent acquisition of an 18-acre 
parcel. Finally, the amendment removes the subsection 
authorizing land acquisition. This authority is not necessary 
since all land inside the boundary is owned by the Federal 
Government.

                      SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

    Section 1 entitles the Act the ``Catoctin Mountain National 
Recreation Area Designation Act.''
    Section 2 contains the designation, references, boundary 
and administration requirements.
    Section 3 authorizes the appropriations necessary to carry 
out this Act.

                   COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

    The following estimate of the cost 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. 328, the Catoctin 
Mountain National Recreation Area Designation Act.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Deborah Reis.
            Sincerely,
                                       Douglas Holtz-Eakin,
                                                          Director.
    Enclosure.

S. 328--Catoctin Mountain National Recreation Area Designation Act

    S. 328 would redesignate the Catoctin Mountain Park in 
Maryland as the Catoctin Mountain National Recreation Area. The 
bill would authorize the appropriation of whatever amounts are 
necessary to implement the redesignation.
    CBO estimates that implementing S. 328 would have no 
significant effect on the federal budget. The 5,770-acre park, 
which is already a unit of the National Park System, would 
continue to be operated by the National Park Service under its 
existing authority. The bill would have no effect on the park's 
boundaries, facilities, or operations. We expect that one-time 
costs to revise park brochures, maps, and signs would be 
minimal because most such revisions would take place in 
conjunction with scheduled reprinting and other routine park 
operations. CBO estimates that enacting S. 328 would not affect 
revenues or direct spending.
    S. 328 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.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Deborah Reis. 
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. 328. 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. 328, as ordered reported.

                        EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS

    On February 26, 2003, the Committee on Energy and Natural 
Resources requested legislative reports from the Department of 
the Interior and the Office of Management and Budget setting 
forth Executive agency recommendations on S. 328. These reports 
had not been received at the time the report on S. 328 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 
National Park Service at the Subcommittee hearing follows:

  Statement of deTeel Patterson Tiller, Acting Associate Director for 
 Cultural Resources, National Park Service, Department of the Interior

    Mr. Chairman, thank you for the opportunity to present the 
views of the Department of the Interior on S. 328, a bill to 
designate Catoctin Mountain Park in the State of Maryland as 
the ``Catoctin Mountain National Recreation Area.''
    The Department supports S. 328. This legislation would 
provide a name for Catoctin Mountain Park that is appropriate 
for the purpose and use of this unit of the National Park 
System, and it also would update the authorities for 
administering this park.
    Catoctin Mountain Park had its origins as one of 46 Great 
Depression-era Recreational Demonstration Areas established by 
the Resettlement Administration, which was authorized under the 
National Industrial Recovery Act (1933) and Executive Orders of 
President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The Resettlement 
Administration acquired and developed Recreational 
Demonstration Areas across the nation to provide accessible, 
low-cost, quality outdoor recreation opportunities. They were 
used for day trips, picnicking, and overnight camping by 
families, social groups, and public organizations.
    Catoctin Recreational Demonstration Area, which comprised 
approximately 20,000 acres, was acquired after the area had 
sustained years of charcoal production, mountain farming, and 
harvesting of trees for timber. The Works Progress 
Administration and the Civilian Conservation Corps administered 
projects at Catoctin both to put people back to work and to 
establish an outdoor recreation area for the urban dwellers of 
nearby Washington, DC and Baltimore, Maryland. Jurisdiction 
over the Catoctin Recreational Demonstration Area was 
transferred to the National Park Service in 1935 by Executive 
Order.
    In 1942, one of the cabin camps built at Catoctin, Camp Hi-
Catoctin, was selected by President Roosevelt as the 
Presidential Retreat we know today as Camp David. Catoctin's 
distinctive history also includes serving as an O.S.S. training 
camp during World War II, and having the first Job Corps camp 
in the United States and the nation's oldest camp for the 
disabled.
    In 1954, approximately 4,400 acres of the area was 
transferred to the State of Maryland and became Cunningham 
Falls State Park. That same year, the Director of the National 
Park Service approved the renaming of Catoctin Recreational 
Demonstration Area as ``Catoctin Mountain Park'' and Congress 
provided authority to exchange lands to consolidate holdings in 
the park. Catoctin Mountain Park is currently 5,810 acres in 
size and has an average annual visitation of 700,000. The park, 
consisting largely of eastern hardwood forest, has many 
attractions for visitors: camping, picnicking, fishing, 25 
miles of hiking trails and scenic mountain vistas.
    The proximity of Catoctin Mountain Park, Camp David, and 
Cunningham Falls State Park has caused longstanding confusion 
for visitors to the area. Catoctin Mountain Park is continually 
misunderstood as being closed to the public because of the 
presence of Camp David. Renaming the park as a ``national 
recreation area'' would offer an opportunity to reintroduce the 
park as an area that is open to public recreation. The public 
also has difficulty understanding why there is a difference 
between the activities permitted at Catoctin Mountain Park and 
those permitted at Cunningham Falls State Park. Including the 
word ``national'' in the name of Catoctin Mountain Park would 
facilitate efforts to educate the public about these 
differences and to emphasize the value the National Park 
Service places on protecting cultural and natural resources for 
future generations.
    In addition, the name ``national recreation area'' would 
also help distinguish Catoctin Mountain Park from other local 
attractions, such as the privately-owned Catoctin Wildlife 
Preserve and Zoo, which are often confused with the park. And, 
the name change would enhance the efforts of the Maryland 
Office of Tourism Development and local tourism officials to 
promote the presence of the five National Park System units 
located in Frederick County, one of which is Catoctin Mountain 
Park.
    In addition to changing the name of the Catoctin Mountain 
Park, S. 328 would provide the usual authorities that are 
included when a new unit of the National Park System is 
established. These provisions will make it easier for the 
National Park Service to administer the unit than continuing to 
rely on the piecemeal authorities that were granted since the 
1930's. The authorities provided by S. 328 include formally 
establishing a boundary, permitting land acquisition within the 
boundary, providing for administration of the unit in 
accordance with laws governing the National Park System, and 
authorizing appropriations for the park. These provisions will 
ensure that the park is able to continue to appropriately 
administer the park's significant historic resources and 
important natural areas. The costs associated with this 
legislation would be negligible.
    We are currently reviewing previous authorities for 
Catoctin Mountain Park to determine whether any of them should 
be repealed in conjunction with providing the new authority for 
the park under S. 328. We will advise the subcommittee of our 
findings as soon as possible.
    Mr. Chairman, this concludes my remarks. I will be happy to 
answer any questions you or the other Committee members 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. 328, as ordered 
reported.

                                
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