[Senate Report 109-155]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



                                                       Calendar No. 247
109th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE
 1st Session                                                    109-155

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                 CARIBBEAN NATIONAL FOREST ACT OF 2005

                                _______
                                

                October 19, 2005.--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. 539]

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 
referred the Act (H.R. 539) to designate certain National 
Forest System land in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico as a 
component of the National Wilderness Preservation System, 
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. 539 is to designate approximately 
10,000 acres of the Caribbean National Forest in the 
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico as a component of the National 
Wilderness Preservation System.

                          BACKGROUND AND NEED

    The Caribbean National Forest (CNF) has long been 
recognized as a special area that is worthy of protection. The 
Spanish Crown proclaimed much of the current CNF as a forest 
reserve in 1824. One hundred years ago, President Theodore 
Roosevelt reasserted the protection of the CNF. The CNF has the 
largest number of species of native trees (with 240) in the 
National Forest System. It contains 50 varieties of orchids and 
over 150 species of ferns. The area also is rich in wildlife, 
with over 100 species of vertebrates, including the severely 
endangered Puerto Rican parrot.
    The El Toro Wilderness would be the only tropical forest 
wilderness in the National Forest System and the first 
wilderness in Puerto Rico. Wilderness designation will ensure 
that the forest home to these species will remain protected. It 
also will protect the major watersheds in the CNF, which 
provide water to over 800,000 residents. The designation will 
enhance protections for the endangered Puerto Rican parrot and 
permit recovery efforts to continue.

                          LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

    H.R. 539 was introduced by Representative Luis Fortuno on 
February 2, 2005. The Subcommittee on Forests and Forest Health 
of the House Committee on Resources held a hearing on May 11, 
2005. H.R. 539 was reported from the Committee with an 
amendment in the nature of a substitute by unanimous consent on 
May 18, 2005 (H. Rept. 109-126). H.R. 539 was passed by the 
House of Representatives, as amended, under suspension of the 
rules on September 13, 2005. On September 14, 2005, H.R. 539 
was received in the Senate and referred to the Committee on 
Energy and Natural Resources. On September 28, 2005, the 
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources ordered H.R. 539 
favorably reported, without amendment, by voice vote.
    A companion bill, S. 272, was introduced by Senator Clinton 
for herself and Senator Schumer on February 3, 2005. At its 
business meeting on February 16, 2005, the Committee on Energy 
and Natural Resources ordered S. 272 favorably reported, with 
amendments (S. Rept. 109-34). The Senate passed S. 272 on July 
26, 2005.
    A similar bill (S. 2334) also was introduced by Senator 
Clinton for herself and Senator Schumer in the 108th Congress. 
The Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests held a hearing on 
July 21, 2004 (S. Hrg. 108-714). The Committee favorably 
reported S. 2334, without amendment, by a voice vote of a 
quorum present, on September 28, 2004 (S. Rept. 108-368). The 
Senate passed S. 2334 without amendment on October 10, 2004.

                        COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

    The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in 
open business session on September 28, 2005, by a voice vote of 
a quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass H.R. 539.

                      SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

    Section 1 provides the short title.
    Section 2 defines key terms.
    Section 3 designates approximately 10,000 acres of the CNF 
as the El Toro Wilderness and directs the Secretary of 
Agriculture to manage the area in accordance to the Wilderness 
Act of 1964 (16 U.S.C. 1131), subject to valid existing rights. 
Subsection (d) provides that nothing in the bill precludes the 
installation and maintenance of certain data collection and 
remote transmission facilities where the Secretary determines 
they are essential to the scientific research purposes of the 
Luquillo Experimental Forest.

                   COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

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

H.R. 539--Caribbean National Forest Act of 2005

    CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 539 would have no 
significant impact on the federal budget. Enacting the bill 
would not affect direct spending or revenues. H.R. 539 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.
    H.R. 539 would designate as wilderness approximately 10,000 
acres of land within the Caribbean National Forest/Luquillo 
Experimental Forest, located in Puerto Rico. Based on 
information from the Forest Service, CBO estimates that 
designating that area as wilderness would not significantly 
affect the agency's costs to manage it. We also estimate that 
the proposed designation would have no impact on offsetting 
receipts from programs to develop federally owned natural 
resources.
    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 H.R. 539.
    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. 539.

                        EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS

    The Administration views on H.R. 539 were included in 
testimony received by the House Resources Subcommittee on 
Forests and Forest Health at a hearing on May 11, 2005, as 
follows:

 Statement of Joel Holtrop, Deputy Chief, National Forest System, U.S. 
        Forest Service, United States Department of Agriculture

    Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee, Thank you for 
the opportunity to present the Department's views on the four 
bills before the Subcommittee today.
    The Department supports H.R. 539.
    H.R. 539 would designate approximately 10,000 acres of land 
in the Caribbean National Forest/Luquillo Experimental Forest 
in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico as the El Toro Wilderness 
and as a component of the National Wilderness Preservation 
System.
    The Caribbean National Forest encompasses over 28,000 acres 
of land, making it the largest block of public land on the 
Island of Puerto Rico. The Forest, locally known as El Yunque, 
is one of the most popular recreation sites in Puerto Rico and 
the National Forest System. Almost a million tourists, from 
Puerto Rico, the U.S. mainland, and abroad, experience this 
tropical rain forest environment each year.
    El Yunque is the only tropical rain forest in the National 
Forest System. It is home to the Puerto Rican parrot, one of 
the 10 most endangered birds in the world, and nearly 240 
species of trees and 120 terrestrial animals--four of which are 
also listed as endangered species.
    The 1997 revised Land and Resource Management Plan for the 
Caribbean National Forest/Luquillo Experimental Forest 
recommended wilderness designation for the 10,000-acre El Toro 
area. The El Toro Wilderness would become the only tropical 
forest in the National Forest Wilderness System and the only 
wilderness area in Puerto Rico. We believe the designation of 
the El Toro Wilderness would enhance the areas solitude, 
scenery and pristine qualities of the area.
    H.R. 539 specifically provides that hydrologic, 
meteorological, climatological, or atmospheric data collection 
and transmission facilities may be installed and maintained 
within the designated Wilderness area's boundaries when they 
are determined by the Secretary to be essential to the 
scientific research purposes of the Luquillo Experimental 
Forest.
    This concludes my statement. I would be pleased to answer 
any questions that 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 Act H.R. 539 as ordered 
reported.

                                  
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