[Senate Report 108-241]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 451
108th Congress Report
SENATE
2d Session 108-241
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CIBOLA NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE, CALIFORNIA
_______
March 9, 2004.--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 H.R. 417]
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was
referred the Act (H.R. 417) to revoke a Public Land Order with
respect to certain lands erroneously included in the Cibola
National Wildlife Refuge, California, having considered the
same, reports favorably thereon without amendment and
recommends that the Act do pass.
PURPOSE
H.R. 417 revokes Public Land Order 3442, dated August 21,
1964, insofar as it included approximately 140 acres in
Imperial County, California (in the Cibola National Wildlife
Refuge). H.R. 417 directs the Secretary of the Interior to
resurvey and publish the new boundaries of the Refuge. The
effect of the bill is to transfer administrative jurisdiction
over the 140-acre parcel from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service to the Bureau of Land Management.
BACKGROUND AND NEED
H.R. 417 will correct an error made in the designation the
Cibola National Wildlife Refuge (NWR). In 1964, Public Land
Order 3442 withdrew approximately 16,600 acres of public domain
lands along the Colorado River in California and Arizona for
the Cibola NWR. The withdrawal erroneously included
approximately 140 acres in Imperial County at the southern
boundary of the California portion of the refuge.
Prior to 1964, this property fell under the jurisdiction of
the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and, beginning in 1962, the
BLM issued a permit for a public recreation concession on 18
acres of the lands now in question. Because neither the Fish
and Wildlife Service nor the BLM recognized the mistake in
legal descriptions on the ground, the BLM continued to renew
the original permit and the recreational concession use has
continued, unbroken, to the present time. However, given the
discovery of the past mistake, neither the BLM nor the Fish and
Wildlife Service have the authority to continue issuing the
concession contract.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
H.R. 417 was introduced by Representative Hunter on January
28, 2003 and was passed by the House of Representatives on
March 19, 2003. A similar bill, H.R. 3937, was passed by the
House in the 107th Congress, but was not acted upon by the
Senate. The Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests held a
hearing on H.R. 417 on June 4, 2003. S. Hrg. 108-68. At the
business meeting on February 11, 2004, the Committee on Energy
and Natural Resources ordered H.R. 417 favorably reported
without amendment.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION AND TABULATION OF VOTES
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in open
business session on February 11, 2004, by a unanimous vote of a
quorum present recommends that the Senate pass H.R. 417.
The rollcall vote on reporting the measure was 23 yeas, 0
nays, as follows:
YEAS NAYS
Mr. Domenici
Mr. Nickles
Mr. Craig
Mr. Campbell *
Mr. Thomas
Mr. Alexander
Ms. Murkowski
Mr. Talent
Mr. Burns
Mr. Smith *
Mr. Bunning
Mr. Kyl *
Mr. Bingaman
Mr. Akaka
Mr. Dorgan *
Mr. Graham *
Mr. Wyden *
Mr. Johnson *
Ms. Landrieu *
Mr. Bayh *
Mrs. Feinstein *
Mr. Schumer *
Ms. Cantwell
* Indicates vote by proxy.
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS
Section 1 revokes a portion of Public Land Order 3442 that
established the Cibola National Wildlife Refuge in August 21,
1964 for the purpose of excluding specific lands from the
refuge, totaling 140 acres. The effect of the revocation is to
transfer administrative jurisdiction over the lands from the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to the Bureau of Land
Management. The lands to be conveyed include a BLM concession
known as ``Walker's Camp.'' The Committee understands that
there is a proposal to expand the size and scope of the
existing concession operation, which currently occupies
approximately 18 acres. The Committee does not intend for the
transfer of the 140 acres from the Fish and Wildlife Service to
the BLM to be viewed as an endorsement of any development of
the lands in question. The Committee expects that any
management changes proposed by the BLM for the affected acreage
will be made through the agency's standard planning process,
with full opportunity for public involvement and comment from
interested parties. These management changes should be
consistent with existing uses and compliment the purposes of
the neighboring refuge lands.
The Committee does not intend for the transfer of these
lands from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to the BLM to
result in any substantive change in the natural, cultural and
historical resources located on the land. The Committee expects
that the BLM will safeguard these resources, including any
sacred sites or trails, in consultation with affected Indian
tribes.
Section 2 directs the Secretary of the Interior to resurvey
and notice of modified boundaries.
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, February 25, 2004.
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 H.R. 417, an act to
revoke a public land order with respect to certain lands
erroneously included in the Cibola National Wildlife Refuge,
California.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Megan
Carroll.
Sincerely,
Elizabeth M. Robinson
(For Douglas Holtz-Eakin, Director).
Enclosure.
H.R. 417--An act to revoke a public land order with respect to certain
lands erroneously included in the Cibola National Wildlife
Refuge, California
CBO estimates that H.R. 417 would have no significant
impact on the federal budget. The bill could increase both
offsetting receipts and direct spending, but we estimate that
any such effects would be negligible. The bill would not affect
revenues. H.R. 417 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.
H.R. 417 would revoke Public Land Order 3442 as it pertains
to 140 acres of land within the Cibola National Wildlife Refuge
in California. By doing so, the bill would effectively remove
those lands from the refuge and return them to the jurisdiction
of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). According to BLM, this
change would allow the agency to renegotiate a lease with a
private concessionaire who currently operates recreational
facilities on the affected lands. Based on information from the
agency, CBO estimates that any change in offsetting receipts
from lease payments, and subsequent spending of those receipts,
would be negligible.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Megan Carroll.
This estimate was approved by Robert A. Sunshine, 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 H.R. 417. 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 H.R. 417, as ordered reported.
EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS
The pertinent legislative report received by the Committee
from the Department of the Interior setting forth Executive
agency recommendation relating to H.R. 417 is set forth below:
Department of the Interior,
Office of the Secretary,
Washington, DC, June 24, 2003.
Hon. Pete V. Domenici,
Chairman, Committee on Energy and Natural Resources,
U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: This letter sets forth the views of the
Department of the Interior on H.R. 417, an Act to revoke a
Public Land Order with respect to certain lands erroneously
included in the Cibola National Wildlife Refuge, California.
H.R. 417 would revoke a small portion of Public Land Order
3442, dated August 21, 1964. This Public Land Order withdrew
approximately 16,600 acres of public domain lands along the
Colorado River in California and Arizona for the Cibola NWR.
The withdrawal erroneously included a small area of
approximately 140 acres in Imperial County at the southern
boundary of the California portion of the refuge. A similar
bill, H.R. 3937, was passed by the House last year, but was not
acted upon by the Senate.
Prior to 1964, this property fell under the jurisdiction of
the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and, beginning in 1962, the
BLM issued a permit for a public recreation concession on the
lands now in question. Because neither the Service nor the BLM
recognized the mistake in legal descriptions on the ground, the
BLM continued to renew the original permit and the recreational
concession use has continued, unbroken, to the present time,
although the BLM lease did expire in April 2002. The concession
and location are commonly known as ``Walters Camp,'' which
consists of a recreational vehicle park, a small marina, and a
store, and the BLM estimates that Walter's Camp receives 11,000
visitors per year.
The National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of
1966, as amended, (Act) requires that all uses of refuge lands
be compatible with the purpose for which the refuge was
established. Section 4(a) of the Act and section 204(j) of the
Federal Land Policy and Management Act both prohibit the
Secretary of the Interior from revoking withdrawals of land
within NWRs. For this reason, Congressional action is required
to remove these lands from the Refuge System.
Since the inclusion of these lands in the Public Land Order
was a mistake, due to the prior existence of the concession, we
believe the most equitable solution is removal of the lands
from the refuge. There are no listed species inhabiting the 140
acres and the area in question is, at best, marginal wildlife
habitat. Removal of the 140 acres of land from the refuge would
free-up the area necessary for the continuation of the
recreational concession, while still affording more than
adequate protection for the nearest significant wildlife
habitat feature, Three Fingers Lake.
We believe that the withdrawal of these lands will benefit
all parties involved--the concessionaire, the Service, the BLM
and, ultimately, the public. For this reason, we support the
bill and urge prompt action on enactment of H.R. 417.
The Office of Management and Budget has advised that there
is no objection to the presentation of this report from the
standpoint of the Administration's program.
Sincerely,
Rebecca W. Watson,
Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management.
CHANGES TO 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 Act H.R. 417, as
ordered reported.