[Senate Report 108-330]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



                                                       Calendar No. 686
108th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE
 2d Session                                                     108-330
======================================================================
 
      MOUNT RAINIER NATIONAL PARK BOUNDARY ADJUSTMENT ACT OF 2004

                                _______
                                

                August 25, 2004.--Ordered to be printed

   Filed, under authority of the order of the Senate of July 22, 2004

                                _______
                                

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

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 265]

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 
referred the Act (H.R. 265) to provide for an adjustment of the 
boundaries of Mount Rainier National Park, and for other 
purposes, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon 
without amendment and recommends that the Act do pass.

                         PURPOSE OF THE MEASURE

    The purpose of H.R. 265 is to authorize the Secretary of 
the Interior to expand the boundary of Mount Rainier National 
Park to include approximately 800 acres.

                          BACKGROUND AND NEED

    Mount Rainier is an active volcano encased in over 35 
square miles of ice and snow. Mount Rainier was established as 
a National Park in 1899 and hosts over 1.3 million visitors per 
year. There are five entrances to the park. The Carbon River 
entrance in the northwest corner of the Park is the closest to 
the major population centers of Seattle and Tacoma. The Ipsut 
Creek Campground, located near the Carbon River entrance, is 
typically full on summer weekends. Visitors are frequently 
denied access to the park through the Carbon River entrance 
because portions of the Carbon River Road lie within the 
floodplain of the Carbon River and seasonal fluctuations of the 
glacier fed Carbon River cause severe flooding. The river, 
which now flows at a higher elevation than the road, has 
blocked visitors from reaching the Ipsut Creek campground and 
nearby hiking trails. Repairing the road is ineffective and 
intensive maintenance is required to maintain roadway safety 
standards.
    The Record of Decision (ROD) for the Mount Rainier National 
Park General Management Plan, signed in 2001, includes a 
decision to adjust the boundary of the park to include 
approximately 1,000 acres for the development of a new 
campground, picnic area, and administrative facilities. The ROD 
also closes the Carbon River Road to private vehicles once 
vehicle travel is no longer feasible and converts the existing 
Ipsut Creek Campground to a walk-in or bike-in camping area.
    Consistent with the recommendations of the general 
management plan, H.R. 265 would authorize the Secretary of the 
Interior to acquire the additional land for inclusion in the 
park's boundary.

                          LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

    H.R. 265 was introduced by Representative Dunn on January 
8, 2003. The House Resources Committee ordered H.R. 265 
favorably reported (H. Rpt. 108-370), as amended, on October 
29, 2003. The House of Representatives passed H.R. 265 on May 
17, 2004. H.R. 265 was referred to the Senate Committee on 
Energy and Natural Resources on June 2, 2004.
    A companion measure, S. 2140, was introduced by Senators 
Cantwell and Murray on April 29, 2003. The Subcommittee on 
National Parks held a hearing on S. 2140 on June 8, 2004.
    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources ordered H.R. 
265 favorably reported on July 14, 2004.

                        COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

    The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in an 
open business session on July 14, 2004, by a unanimous voice 
vote of a quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass H.R. 
265 as described herein.

                      SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

    Section 1 entitles the bill the ``Mount Rainier National 
Park Boundary Adjustment Act of 2004.''
    Section 2 contains congressional findings.
    Section 3(a) modifies the boundary of Mount Rainier 
National Park. This section references a map depicting the 
boundary adjustment and requires the Secretary of the Interior 
(Secretary) to keep the map on file in the appropriate National 
Park Service offices.
    Subsection (b) authorizes the Secretary to acquire 
approximately 800 acres from a willing seller, by donation, 
purchase with donated or appropriated funds or by exchange.
    Paragraph (1) requires that the land references in 
subsection (a) be limited to not more than 800 acres, for the 
development of camping and other recreational facilities.
    Paragraph (2) authorizes the Secretary to acquire not more 
than one acre of land near the town of Wilkeson, Washington, to 
provide information services to visitors of nearby public 
lands.
    Subsection (c) directs the Secretary to administer the 
lands described in subsection (a) as part of Mount Rainier 
National Park.
    Section 4 directs the Secretary of Agriculture to maintain 
the national forest lands adjacent to Mount Rainier National 
Park in a way that is consistent with the area's management as 
of June 1, 2003.

                   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, July 16, 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. 265, the Mount 
Rainier National Park Boundary Adjustment Act of 2004.
    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.

H.R. 265--Mount Rainier National Park Boundary Adjustment Act of 2004

    H.R. 265 would modify the boundary of the Mount Rainier 
National Park in the state of Washington to include a 
noncontiguous area west of the existing park. The act would 
authorize the National Park Service (NPS) to acquire up to 800 
acres within the new area (as well as an additional 1-acre 
parcel in a nearby town) by donation, purchase, or exchange. 
The new parkland would be developed for camping and other 
recreational purposes; the small off-site parcel would be used 
for a visitor facility.
    Based on information provided by the NPS and assuming 
appropriation of the necessary amounts, CBO estimates that the 
federal government would spend about $12 million over the next 
two years to implement H.R. 265. We estimate that about one-
half of that amount would be used to purchase nearly 750 acres 
of land; the remaining amount would finance the development of 
a new campground and other visitor facilities. We expect that 
annual spending at the park would not increase significantly 
because the costs to operate the new recreational facilities 
are likely to be roughly equal to the cost of operating similar 
facilities that would be made obsolete.
    H.R. 265 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.
    On January 30, 2004, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for 
H.R. 265 as ordered reported by the House Committee on 
Resources on October 29, 2003. The two versions of the 
legislation are identical, as are the estimated costs.
    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 H.R. 265. 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. 265, as ordered reported.

                        EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS

    On July 13, 2004, 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 H.R. 265. These 
reports had not been received when this report was filed. The 
testimony provided by the Department of the Interior at the 
Subcommittee hearing on S. 2140 follows:

  Statement of Janet Snyder Matthews, Associate Director for Cultural 
      Resources, National Park Service, Department of the Interior

    Mr. Chairman, thank you for the opportunity to present the 
Department of the Interior's views on S. 2140, a bill to expand 
the boundary of Mount Rainier National Park.
    The Department of the Interior supports enactment of s. 
2140, but would like to work with the committee on an 
amendment, as described later in this statement. This 
legislation would enable the National Park Service to acquire a 
site for a new campground and other facilities to replace an 
existing campground along the Carbon River that is frequently 
inaccessible due to flooding, and it would also enhance 
recreational opportunities and services for visitors in other 
ways. This proposal is consistent with the Administration's 
priority to reduce the National Park System's deferred 
maintenance backlog and to make parks more accessible.
    S. 2140 would authorize the acquisition from willing 
sellers of up to 800 acres of land near the Carbon River 
entrance to Mount Rainier National Park in the northwestern 
corner of the park. It would implement the only recommendation 
for a boundary expansion contained in the park's new General 
Management Plan, adopted in 2002. The plan identifies the 
addition of these lands as a means to allow the National Park 
Service to replace the Ipsut Creek campground, picnic area, and 
day-use parking for access to the popular Carbon Glacier and 
Wonderland Trail. These facilities, and the two-lane gravel 
Carbon River Road that serves them, are located within or close 
to the Carbon River floodplain. They are flooded on average 
every seven years, resulting in significant road damage. 
Repairs to the Carbon River Road from a 1996 flood cost 
$750,000. The repairs lasted a month before another flood 
damaged the road again. The road now has a facility condition 
index of .56, a ``serious'' rating, worse than ``poor.'' The 
campground, which has a facility condition index of .31, or 
``poor,'' has to be closed whenever the washouts occur. It is 
likely that a future flood will permanently preclude vehicular 
access to the campground.
    With the addition of the new lands in the Carbon River 
Valley above the floodplain, the National Park Service could 
develop a 190-acre recreational-administrative hub that would 
include a replacement 50-campsite vehicular-accessible 
campground, picnic sites, and administrative and visitor 
contact facilities. The new facilities would include a ranger 
office and housing, allowing a ranger presence in the area that 
has been missing since the current ranger facilities were 
abandoned due to flooding. Once a major flood event permanently 
closes the Carbon River Road, the road would be converted to a 
hiking and biking trail, and the Ipsut Creek campground would 
become a backcountry campground accessible by foot or bike.
    Acquisition of the nearly 800 acres of land is estimated to 
cost about $3 to $6 million, although no appraisals have been 
completed. Development costs for a new 50-site campground, a 
picnic area, associated roads and parking, a water and septic 
system, along with modifying an existing home and a small 
maintenance building, are estimated to be $4.8 million. 
Additional operating costs associated with the new site would 
be negligible. Funding for the acquisition and line-item 
construction projects would be addressed through the 
prioritization process used by the National Park Service. A 
projection cannot be made at this time as to when such projects 
would be of sufficient priority to merit their inclusion in the 
National Park Service budget.
    Adding the new area along the Carbon River corridor to the 
park would have other benefits besides facilitating development 
of new camping and administrative facilities in a safer 
location. It would provide additional hiking trails and 
accessible riverbank fishing, protect scenic resources of the 
road corridor entering the park from the west, and contribute 
to a comprehensive plan for a large corridor of diverse outdoor 
recreation opportunities on public lands along State Route 165. 
It would also provide protection for natural resources, 
including habitat for the marbled murrelet, northern spotted 
owl, bull trout, and salmon, which are all listed or proposed 
for listing as threatened or endangered species. The new 
boundary would better reflect the natural ecosystems and 
processes needed to maintain the health of the park, which has 
been impacted by logging along its borders, urbanization, and 
population growth since 1899, when the original boundary for 
Mount Rainier National Park was established.
    Lying in between the existing boundary of the park and the 
area proposed for addition to the park is a mile-long corridor 
of land that is part of the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National 
Forest. Section 4 of S. 2140 would require the Secretary of 
Agriculture to manage that land to maintain the area's natural 
setting in a manner consistent with the area's designation as 
part of a late successional reserve. We are in discussion with 
the Department of Agriculture about this provision, and the 
Departments would like to work with the committee on developing 
an amendment that would address management of this area.
    S. 2140 would also allow the Secretary of the Interior to 
acquire a one-acre site in the community of Wilkeson for a 
permanent visitor contact facility, or welcome center. Having 
welcome centers in the Mount Rainier gateway communities, 
including Wilkeson, is supported by the park's General 
Management Plan as a critical component of the park's provision 
of services to visitors. The National Park Service already 
operates a welcome center in a leased facility in Wilkeson to 
serve visitors headed toward the Carbon River and Mowich areas 
of the park, as well as Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest 
and state and local recreational areas. The Wilkeson center 
will serve an even more critical function if the boundary 
change proposed by this bill is fulfilled and recreational 
opportunities in the Carbon River corridor are expanded. The 
authority in this bill simply provides the option, if the 
opportunity arises, for the park to own rather than lease a 
welcome center in Wilkeson. The cost of the facility, for which 
we do not have an estimate, would be offset by savings of 
$26,000 annually that is currently spent on the leased site.
    Mr. Chairman, that concludes my prepared statement. I would 
be happy to answer any questions you or the other members of 
the subcommittee 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 Act H.R. 265 as ordered 
reported.

                                  
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