[House Report 110-391]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



110th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 1st Session                                                    110-391

======================================================================



 
   HOPEWELL CULTURE NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK BOUNDARY ADJUSTMENT ACT

                                _______
                                

October 22, 2007.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
              State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

  Mr. Rahall, from the Committee on Natural Resources, submitted the 
                               following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 2197]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

  The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred the 
bill (H.R. 2197) to modify the boundary of the Hopewell Culture 
National Historical Park in the State of Ohio, and for other 
purposes, having considered the same, report favorably thereon 
without amendment and recommend that the bill do pass.

                          Purpose of the Bill

    The purpose of H.R. 2197 is to modify the boundary of the 
Hopewell Culture National Historical Park in the State of Ohio.

                  Background and Need for Legislation

    The Hopewell Culture was a pre-European civilization now 
best known for the numerous mounds and earthworks, often built 
in geometric patterns, found throughout the Ohio Valley. This 
mound-building culture flourished between 200 B.C. and 500 A.D. 
at the center of a vast trade network that brought raw 
materials from much of the continent to Ohio: copper from the 
Great Lakes, mica from the southern Appalachian Mountains, 
seashells from the Gulf of Mexico and volcanic obsidian from 
the Rocky Mountains.
    Hopewell Culture National Historical Park, located in 
south-central Ohio near Chillicothe, Ohio, grew out of the 
former Mound City Group National Monument, which was created in 
1923 by presidential proclamation. Congress expanded the 
monument in 1980 (Public Law 96-607), adding a portion of the 
nearby Hopeton Earthworks.
    In 1992, Congress further expanded the park, expanding the 
boundaries of the Hopeton Earthworks unit and adding the High 
Bank Works, the Hopewell Mound Group and a portion of the Seip 
Earthworks. That law (Public Law 102-294) also renamed the park 
to reflect the name given to a culture formed by a broad 
network of economic, political and religious connections among 
different Native American groups.
    The current park boundary encompasses 1,174 acres (947 
acres are federally owned and the National Park Service has 
another 8 acres under easement) in five sites scattered along 
Paint Creek and the Scioto River.
    H.R. 2197 would add two tracts, the 177-acre Spruce Hill 
Works unit and a 180-acre addition to the existing Seip 
Earthworks unit.
    The Spruce Hill site was recently purchased by a coalition 
of archaeologists and Native American groups who intend to 
protect the site until it can be added to the park. The site 
includes a stone rampart enclosing 140 acres on top of an 
irregularly shaped hill; the fortress-like structure may have 
been defensive or ceremonial. Finely crafted objects have been 
found at the site, as have structures that may be ancient 
smelting furnaces. The site was added to the National Register 
of Historic Places on Feb. 23, 1972. The site also includes 
natural areas including an Appalachian hardwood forest, open 
fields that are home to rare Grasshopper and Henslow's 
sparrows, and white oak wetlands that shelter salamanders, wood 
frogs and wood ducks.
    The Seip Earthworks consists of earthworks shaped in 
squares and circles and three connected burial mounds. Objects 
found during excavations of the largest mound in the early 
1900s include a stone effigy pipe, a trumpeter swan effigy of 
tortoise shell, copper objects, textiles, and flint tools. The 
park currently owns 168 acres of the earthworks; and more of 
the site is protected as part of the Seip Mound State Memorial. 
The proposed addition includes a large elliptical mound and the 
remains of workshops used to create ceremonial objects.
    Of the 180 acres to be added to the Seip Earthworks unit, 
69 acres are already owned by the National Park Service but lie 
outside the congressionally established boundary of the park. 
The bill would adjust the boundary to reflect that and include 
39 acres owned by the Ohio Historical Society as well as two 
parcels that may be acquired from willing sellers.

                            Committee Action

    H.R. 2197 was introduced on May 7, 2007, by Representative 
Zachary Space (D-OH). The bill was referred to the Committee on 
Natural Resources, and within the Committee to the Subcommittee 
on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands. On June 14, 2007, 
the Subcommittee held a hearing on the bill. On October 10, 
2007, the Subcommittee was discharged from further 
consideration of the legislation and the Full Natural Resources 
Committee met to consider the bill. The bill was ordered 
favorably reported, without amendment, to the House of 
Representatives by unanimous consent.

            Committee Oversight Findings and Recommendations

    Regarding clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of 
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the 
Committee on Natural Resources' oversight findings and 
recommendations are reflected in the body of this report.

                   Constitutional Authority Statement

    Article I, section 8 of the Constitution of the United 
States grants Congress the authority to enact this bill.

                    Compliance With House Rule XIII

    1. Cost of Legislation. Clause 3(d)(2) of rule XIII of the 
Rules of the House of Representatives requires an estimate and 
a comparison by the Committee of the costs which would be 
incurred in carrying out this bill. However, clause 3(d)(3)(B) 
of that Rule provides that this requirement does not apply when 
the Committee has included in its report a timely submitted 
cost estimate of the bill prepared by the Director of the 
Congressional Budget Office under section 402 of the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974.
    2. Congressional Budget Act. As required by clause 3(c)(2) 
of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and 
section 308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, this 
bill does not contain any new budget authority, spending 
authority, credit authority, or an increase or decrease in 
revenues or tax expenditures.
    3. General Performance Goals and Objectives. This bill does 
not authorize funding and therefore, clause 3(c)(4) of rule 
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives does not 
apply.
    4. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate. Under clause 
3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives and section 403 of the Congressional Budget Act 
of 1974, the Committee has received the following cost estimate 
for this bill from the Director of the Congressional Budget 
Office:

H.R. 2197--Hopewell Culture National Historical Park Boundary 
        Adjustment Act

    H.R. 2197 would expand the boundaries of the Hopewell 
Culture National Historical Park in Ohio by nearly 360 acres. 
The National Park Service (NPS) could acquire that acreage (or 
lesser property interests such as easements) by purchase, 
donation, or exchange.
    Based on information provided by the NPS, CBO estimates 
that implementing H.R. 2197 would cost about $1 million over 
the next five years, assuming the availability of appropriated 
funds. We estimate that the NPS would spend about $700,000 of 
this amount in the first year or two to purchase about 250 
acres of private land, including nearly 180 acres at the Spruce 
Hill Works site and about 70 acres at the Seip Earthworks site. 
(We expect that 39 acres of land at the Seip Earthworks site 
would be donated by the Ohio Historical Society; the remaining 
70 acres at that site are already owned by the NPS.) We 
estimate that the NPS would spend $300,000 over the following 
few years to construct visitor facilities for the two sites, 
including trails, parking lots, and wayside exhibits. Finally, 
we estimate that costs to manage the newly added areas would be 
minimal. Enacting H.R. 2197 would have no effect on direct 
spending or revenues.
    H.R. 2197 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and 
would impose no cost on state, local, or tribal governments.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Deborah Reis. 
This estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant 
Director for Budget Analysis.

                    Compliance With Public Law 104-4

    This bill contains no unfunded mandates.

                           Earmark Statement

    H.R. 2197 does not contain any congressional earmarks, 
limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined in 
clause 9(d), 9(e) or 9(f) of rule XXI.

                Preemption of State, Local or Tribal Law

    This bill is not intended to preempt any State, local or 
tribal law.

         Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported

  In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by 
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law 
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new 
matter is printed in italic, existing law in which no change is 
proposed is shown in roman):

                  SECTION 2 OF THE ACT OF MAY 27, 1992


                          (Public Law 102-294)

  AN ACT to rename and expand the boundaries of the Mound City Group 
                       National Monument in Ohio.

SEC. 2. EXPANSION OF BOUNDARIES.

  (a) In General.--The boundaries of the Hopewell Culture 
National Historical Park (referred to as the ``park'') are 
revised to include the lands within the areas marked for 
inclusion in the monument as generally depicted on--
          (1) * * *

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

          (3) the map entitled ``Hopewell Mound Group'' 
        numbered 353-80029 and dated July 1987; [and]
          (4) the map entitled ``Seip Earthworks'' numbered 
        353-80033 and dated July 1987[.]; and
          (5) the map entitled ``Hopewell Culture National 
        Historical Park, Ohio Proposed Boundary Adjustment'' 
        numbered 353/80,049 and dated June, 2006.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

  (d) Acquisition of Lands.--(1) * * *

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

          (3) The Secretary may acquire lands added by 
        subsection (a)(5) only from willing sellers.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


                                  
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