[House Report 110-90]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]





110th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 1st Session                                                     110-90

======================================================================
 
 TO DIRECT THE SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR TO ESTABLISH A DEMONSTRATION 
  PROGRAM TO FACILITATE LANDSCAPE RESTORATION PROGRAMS WITHIN CERTAIN 
 UNITS OF THE NATIONAL PARK SYSTEM ESTABLISHED BY LAW TO PRESERVE AND 
  INTERPRET RESOURCES ASSOCIATED WITH AMERICAN HISTORY, AND FOR OTHER 
                                PURPOSES

                                _______
                                

 April 17, 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

                             together with

                            ADDITIONAL VIEWS

                        [To accompany H.R. 309]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

  The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred the 
bill (H.R. 309) to direct the Secretary of the Interior to 
establish a demonstration program to facilitate landscape 
restoration programs within certain units of the National Park 
System established by law to preserve and interpret resources 
associated with American history, and for other purposes, 
having considered the same, report favorably thereon with an 
amendment and recommend that the bill as amended do pass.

  The amendment is as follows:
  Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the 
following:

SECTION 1. PURPOSE.

  The purpose of this Act is to establish a demonstration program to 
facilitate landscape restoration programs within those units of the 
National Park System established by statute to preserve and interpret 
resources associated with American military history.

SEC. 2. DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.

  (a) Authorization.--The Secretary of the Interior (hereafter in this 
Act referred to as the ``Secretary''), acting through the Director of 
the National Park Service, shall carry out a demonstration program that 
provides that receipts from timber sales shall be retained for 
expenditure within units of the National Park System

[[Page 2]]

from which the timber is removed as part of an approved plan for the 
restoration or protection of park resources or values.
  (b) Participation.--The Secretary shall permit each of the 24 
National Battlefields, National Battlefield Parks, National Military 
Parks, and National Battlefield Sites in existence on the date of the 
enactment of this Act to participate in the demonstration program 
authorized by subsection (a) if the unit has in place, before the date 
of the enactment of this Act, a general management plan, cultural 
landscape plan, or other resources management plan approved pursuant to 
the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (43 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), 
that identifies specific timber for removal for purposes of cultural or 
historic landscape restoration or fuel load reduction.
  (c) Use of Receipts.--Each unit selected to participate in the 
demonstration program authorized under subsection (a) shall retain 
receipts from the sale or disposal of timber removed from that unit. 
Such receipts shall be available for expenditure without further 
appropriation or fiscal year limitation for the following purposes 
only:
          (1) Landscape restoration within the unit.
          (2) Interpretive services within the unit.
          (3) Eradication of disease, insects, or invasive species 
        within the unit.
          (4) Fuel load reduction within the unit.

SEC. 3. REPORT.

  Two years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 
shall submit a report to the House Natural Resources Committee and the 
Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources that contains the 
results of the demonstration program authorized under this Act, 
including--
          (1) a detailed accounting of the receipts generated in each 
        unit by the demonstration program;
          (2) the expenditure by each unit of those receipts; and
          (3) any resource or other impacts, positive or negative, on 
        each participating unit.

SEC. 4. SUNSET.

  The authority granted to the Secretary in section 2 shall expire 4 
years after the date of the enactment of this Act.

                          PURPOSE OF THE BILL

    The purpose of H.R. 309 is to direct the Secretary of the 
Interior to establish a demonstration program to facilitate 
landscape restoration programs within certain units of the 
National Park System.

                  BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    Many units of the National Park System established to 
conserve U.S. military history have restoration of their 
historic landscapes as a management goal. This entails removal 
of landscape features, including trees, not present at the time 
the relevant historic events occurred. Removal of resources 
from a unit of the National Park System must be undertaken 
carefully, however, and many Park units report a lack of 
funding for such work.
    H.R. 309 would create a revenue source for such projects by 
allowing individual units to retain proceeds from the sale of 
timber removed from that unit. Importantly, the legislation is 
narrowly written to apply within a defined list of 24 military 
parks and to prevent any change to existing environmental 
requirements governing the removal of timber on NPS land.

                            COMMITTEE ACTION

    H.R. 309 was introduced on January 5, 2007, by 
Representative Stevan Pearce (R-NM). 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 March 7, 2007,

[[Page 3]]

the Subcommittee was discharged by unanimous consent and the 
full Natural Resources Committee met to consider the bill. 
Subcommittee Chairman Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) offered an amendment 
in the nature of a substitute to alter the reporting 
requirements under the bill. The amendment was adopted by voice 
vote. The bill as amended was then ordered favorably reported 
to the House of Representatives by voice vote.

                      SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Section 1. Purpose

    Section 1 establishes the purpose of H.R. 309.

Section 2. Demonstration program authorized

    Section 2(a) authorizes the Secretary of the Interior, 
acting through the Director of the National Park Service to 
establish a demonstration program whereby receipts from timber 
sales shall be retained for expenditure within the unit from 
which the timber was removed. The section specifies that such 
removal must be conducted pursuant to an approved plan for the 
restoration or protection of park resources or values.
    Section 2(b) limits participation in the program authorized 
in Section 2(a) to the 24 national battlefields, national 
battlefield parks, national military parks, and national 
battlefield sites in existence on the date of enactment of H.R. 
309. Further, each participating unit must have in place, 
before the date of enactment of this act, a general management 
plan, cultural landscape plan, or other resource management 
plan approved pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act 
of 1969 identifying specific timber for removal for purposes of 
cultural or historic landscape restoration or fuel load 
reduction.
    Section 2(c) requires units participating in the program 
authorized in Section 2(a) to retain receipts from the sale or 
disposal of timber from that unit for expenditure on landscape 
restoration, interpretive services, eradication of disease, 
insects or invasive species or fuel load reduction.

Section 3. Report

    Section 3 requires the Secretary of the Interior to submit 
a report to the committees of jurisdiction in the House and 
Senate two years after the date of enactment of H.R. 309. The 
report is to contain a detailed accounting of receipts and 
expenditures under the program authorized in the bill as well 
as any resource or other impacts, positive or negative, in each 
participating unit.

Section 4. Sunset

    Section 4 states that the authority granted in Section 2 
expires four years after the date of enactment of H.R. 309.

            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.

[[Page 4]]

                   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. 309--A bill to direct the Secretary of the Interior to establish a 
        demonstration program to facilitate landscape restoration 
        programs within certain units of the National Park System 
        established by law to preserve and interpret resources 
        associated with American history

    H.R. 309 would direct the National Park Service (NPS) to 
implement a demonstration program for landscape restoration and 
other projects at national battlefields. CBO estimates that 
enacting H.R. 309 would increase direct spending by negligible 
amounts over the 2008-2012 period.
    The legislation contains no intergovernmental or private-
sector mandates as defined by the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 
and would have no significant impact on the budgets of state, 
local, or tribal governments.
    Under H.R. 309, the NPS would carry out projects such as 
landscape restoration at 24 national battlefields or similar 
sites using receipts earned from sales of timber at those park 
units. Such receipts would be available without further 
appropriation. Authority to retain and spend timber receipts at 
battlefield units would expire after four years.
    Based on recent timber receipts at the affected park units, 
CBO estimates that the NPS would spend, without further 
appropriation, less than $20,000 annually over the 2008-2012 
period for the projects authorized by the bill. Such amounts--
generally between $3,000 and $25,000 a year--are currently 
deposited in the U.S. Treasury and cannot be used without 
further appropriation.

[[Page 5]]

    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Deborah Reis. 
This estimate was approved by Peter H. Fontaine, Deputy 
Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.

                    COMPLIANCE WITH PUBLIC LAW 104-4

    This bill contains no unfunded mandates.

                           EARMARK STATEMENT

    H.R. 309 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

    If enacted, this bill would make no changes in existing 
law.


[[Page (6)]]



                            ADDITIONAL VIEWS

    As the author of this legislation, I am pleased that the 
Committee has chosen to move this bill promptly to the House 
floor. This legislation is the result of numerous hearings and 
a shift in the thought process of the National Park Service.
    During a visit to Pea Ridge National Military Park 
Superintendent Scott, discussed efforts to restore the 
wonderful landscape to what it looked like during that major 
battle in March 1862, which allowed the Union forces to 
maintain control of Missouri. Our discussion covered everything 
from process to costs. It was during that conversation that I 
discovered that the service had excessive costs for tree 
removal or tree thinning. The NPS Superintendent was spending 
about $6,000.00 per acre, an extraordinary high cost per acre. 
For 1,000 acres, the total cost would be $6 million. Think how 
much further along in reducing their backlog NPS could get if 
instead of paying $6,000 an acre, receive $500 an acre, not an 
unreasonable assumption for timber sales.
    That is the point of this bill. Instilling in the Park 
Service a business sense, and helping NPS manage and control 
costs on their park units.
    During the Committee mark up of this bill the Chairman 
removed a 6-month reporting requirement in the original 
legislation. While I do not oppose the removal of this report, 
I do hope that the Park Service will keep us closely informed 
of the progress and results of this legislation prior to the 2-
year report required in this bill.
    I believe this Landscape Restoration pilot project will 
provide tremendous benefits for our National Parks, in that it 
will expedite historic landscape restoration, reduce the 
maintenance backlog, and establish good business practices in 
our Park leadership.
                                                     Stevan Pearce.

                                  
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