[Senate Report 110-27]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



                                                        Calendar No. 53
110th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE
 1st Session                                                     110-27

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



 
       PREHISTORIC TRACKWAYS NATIONAL MONUMENT ESTABLISHMENT ACT

                                _______
                                

               February 16, 2007.--Ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

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

                              R E P O R T

                         [To accompany S. 275]

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 
referred the bill (S. 275) to establish the Prehistoric 
Trackways National Monument in the State of New Mexico, having 
considered the same, reports favorably thereon with amendments 
and recommends that the bill, as amended, do pass.
    The amendments are as follows:
    1. On page 4, line 4, strike ``5,367'' and insert 
``5,280''.
    2. On page 4, line 7, strike ``June 1, 2006'' and insert 
``January 25, 2007''.
    3. On page 6, strike lines 3 through 7.
    4. Beginning on page 9, strike line 18 and all that follows 
through page 10, line 4.
    5. On page 10, strike lines 5 through 7 and insert the 
following:
    ``(i) Water Rights.--Nothing in this Act constitutes an 
express or implied reservation by the United States of any 
water or water rights with respect to the Monument.''.

                         PURPOSE OF THE MEASURE

    The purpose of S. 275 is to establish the Prehistoric 
Trackways National Monument near Las Cruces, New Mexico, to 
provide for the protection, scientific investigation, and 
public interpretation of significant Permian fossils and 
fossilized trackways.

                          BACKGROUND AND NEED

    S. 275 establishes the Prehistoric Trackways National 
Monument to protect the prehistoric trackways discovered in the 
Robledo Mountains outside Las Cruces. The trackways are series 
of fossilized footprints of amphibians, reptiles, and other 
animals predating the dinosaurs. The trackways are estimated to 
date back more than 280 million years. The site is located on 
public land administered by the Bureau of Land Management 
(BLM).
    Las Cruces resident Jerry MacDonald discovered the 
trackways in the late 1980's. In 1990, Congress enacted 
legislation (title III of Public Law 101-578) directing the BLM 
to study the trackways site to assess the significance of the 
find and to recommend ways to protect the site. In 1994, 
scientists from the New Mexico Museum of Natural History & 
Science, the University of Colorado, and the Smithsonian 
Institution completed their study for the BLM (Paleozoic 
Trackways Scientific Study Report, December 15, 1994) and 
documented the significant scientific value of the find. The 
study characterized the site as containing ``the most 
significant Early Permian tracksites'' in the world. (The 
Permian period was the geologic period immediately preceding 
the time of the dinosaurs, covering approximately 40 million 
years and extending back 290 million years ago). Particularly 
owing to the quality of the specimens and the wide range of 
animals that had left their imprint there, the study found that 
the site was of immense scientific value. The study concluded, 
in part, ``[t]he diversity, abundance and quality of the tracks 
in the Robledo Mountains is far greater than at any other known 
tracksite or aggregation of tracksites. Because of this, the 
Robledo tracks allow a wide range of scientific problems 
regarding late Paleozoic tracks to be solved that could not be 
solved before.''
    The bill would create a national monument of approximately 
5,280 acres of BLM land and would encompass all of the 
significant trackway sites identified to date. The BLM would be 
directed to manage the monument to protect the trackways and to 
allow only other uses consistent with that mission. The bill 
also directs the Secretary of the Interior to provide for 
public education of the monument's paleontological resources, 
with priority given to exhibiting the resources in Dona Ana 
County.

                          LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

    Senators Bingaman and Domenici introduced S. 275 on January 
11, 2007. The Committee considered similar legislation in the 
109th Congress, S. 3599, also sponsored by Senators Bingaman 
and Domenici. The Committee held a hearing on S. 3599 on 
September 27, 2006. No further action occurred during the 109th 
Congress.

                        COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

    The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in an 
open business session on January 31, 2007, by voice vote of a 
quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 275, if 
amended as described herein.

                          COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS

    During the consideration of S. 275, the Committee adopted 
several clarifying amendments. The bill ordered reported by the 
Committee reflects a minor boundary adjustment to the national 
monument boundary to exclude approximately 90 acres along the 
southern boundary where a mineral materials site is located.
    Amendment 1 reduces the acreage reference in the bill to 
reflect that adjustment.
    Amendment 2 references the revised national monument 
boundary map.
    Amendment 3 deletes paragraph 5(a)(3), which directed the 
Secretary of the Interior to manage public lands (administered 
by the Bureau of Land Management) adjacent to the monument in a 
manner that is consistent with the protection of the resources 
and values of the monument. The Committee approved the deletion 
of this language to avoid ambiguity it could create about BLM's 
management of nearby activities authorized under existing 
authorities. However, deletion of this paragraph should not be 
interpreted as a lessening of the BLM's responsibility to 
ensure that the monument's resources are protected.
    Paragraph 5(a)(3) was intended to address an issue raised 
by the operation of a rock quarry known as Community Pit No. 1, 
which is located immediately adjacent to the monument's eastern 
boundary, surrounded on three sides by monument lands. The 
BLM's 1994 Paleontological Trackways Scientific Study Report 
identified continued quarrying operations as a significant 
threat to trackway resources, and recommended closure or 
relocation of the quarry. Despite that recommendation, quarry 
operations continued, and an environmental assessment prepared 
by the BLM in 2005 found that four of the trackway sites 
identified in the 1994 study had been covered by spoil from the 
quarry.
    The Committee understands that the BLM will begin phasing 
out excavation activities at the quarry. In the interim, the 
Committee expects the BLM to ensure that activities at the 
quarry are conducted in a manner that is compatible with the 
designation of the national monument and the protection of its 
resources.
    Amendment 4 deletes subsection 5(i), which clarified that 
designation of the monument did not affect the responsibilities 
of the State of New Mexico with respect to fish and wildlife 
management, while authorizing the Secretary of the Interior, in 
consultation with the State, to designate zones where, and 
establish periods when, hunting would not be allowed within the 
monument. The Committee views this subsection as unnecessary, 
since the State of New Mexico is responsible for the management 
of fish and wildlife within the State, a responsibility that is 
not altered by the designation of the monument. Furthermore, 
under its existing authorities, the BLM is able to close public 
lands for various reasons, including the health and safety of 
the public. This authority would continue to apply to public 
lands within the national monument and allow the agency to 
ensure that hunting does not occur in inappropriate areas, such 
as near public campgrounds or areas of high public use.

                      SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

    Section 1 provides the short title, the ``Prehistoric 
Trackways National Monument Establishment Act''.
    Section 2 defines key terms used in the bill.
    Section 3 contains Congressional findings.
    Section 4(a) establishes the Prehistoric Trackways National 
Monument and designates the purposes of the monument.
    Subsection (b) references the map and gives a general 
description of the monument.
    Subsection (c) requires the Secretary of the Interior 
(Secretary) to produce a map of the monument and make it 
available for public inspection at the appropriate BLM offices.
    Subsection (d) authorizes the Secretary to make minor 
boundary adjustments to include additional paleontological 
resources discovered on adjacent public lands.
    Section 5(a) requires the Secretary to manage the monument, 
as a part of the National Landscape Conservation System, in a 
manner that conserves, protects, and enhances the resources and 
values cited in the bill and in accordance with the Federal 
Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 and other applicable 
law.
    Subsection (b) requires the Secretary to produce a 
management plan for the monument within 3 years of the date of 
enactment. The plan must describe appropriate uses of the 
monument, allow for continued scientific research during the 
development of the plan, and incorporate any decisions or 
information developed previously or during the pendancy of the 
plan.
    Subsection (c) limits uses of the monument to those that 
further the purposes of the designation, as outlined in the 
bill.
    Subsection (d) requires the Secretary to provide for 
scientific research on and public interpretation of the 
resources within the monument, with a priority given to the 
local population and scientific community and grants authority 
to enter into cooperative agreements in order to carry out this 
directive.
    Subsection (e) clarifies that the establishment of the 
monument does not alter the management status of 
administratively designated areas within the boundaries, and if 
there is a conflict between this Act and those designations, 
the more restrictive provision is applied.
    Subsection (f) restricts non-emergency use of motorized 
vehicles to roads and trails designated for such use by the 
Secretary. The Secretary is specifically authorized to permit 
special recreation events, such as the ``Chile Challenge,'' 
currently operating within the boundaries, so long as there is 
no harm to the paleontological resources.
    Subsection (g) withdraws the mineral and geothermal 
resources from operation under the mining laws.
    Subsection (h) allows the Secretary to continue grazing in 
areas within the monument where it currently is permitted, 
subject to applicable law and regulation.
    Subsection (i) clarifies that the designation of the 
monument shall not act as an express or implied reservation of 
water rights.
    Section 6 authorizes the appropriation of such sums as are 
necessary to implement the bill.

                   COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

    The Congressional Budget Office estimate of the costs of 
this measure has been requested but was not received at the 
time the report was filed. When the Congressional Budget Office 
completes its cost estimate, it will be posted on the Internet 
at www.cbo.gov.

                      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 that would be incurred in 
carrying out S. 275. 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 S. 275.

                        EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS

    Because S. 275 is similar to legislation considered during 
the 109th Congress, the Committee did not request Executive 
Agency views. The testimony provided by the Bureau of Land 
Management at the Subcommittee hearing on S. 3599 in the 109th 
Congress follows:

 Statement of Chad Calvert, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Land 
          and Minerals Management, Department of the Interior

    Thank you for the opportunity to testify in support of S. 
3599, the Prehistoric Trackways National Monument Establishment 
Act. We are excited about the discovery of these important 
prehistoric trackways on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) 
managed land in New Mexico and agree with Senator Bingaman that 
we must permanently protect these exceptional resources.


                               background


    The Paleozoic trackways site is located on public land 
managed by the BLM in the Robledo Mountains in south-central 
New Mexico. The area is located within a sequence of 
sedimentary rocks representing a transition zone between marine 
and continental environments that existed during the early 
Permian period (280 million years ago). During times of higher 
sea level, limestone formed. The limestones contain a variety 
of invertebrate fossils. As the sea retreated, a tidal flat 
environment developed and sand, silt and clay dominated 
deposition. The sandy siltstones contain a variety of 
sedimentary structures, including raindrop impressions, 
mudcracks, and ripple laminations. These sandy siltstones are 
known to contain fossil tracks of land dwelling vertebrates 
which roamed New Mexico before the age of the dinosaurs.
    In 1987, Las Cruces resident Jerry MacDonald discovered a 
major Paleozoic trackways area. Over the next few years, other 
significant sites were also discovered by MacDonald. The 
resources that have been found in the Robledos are considered 
by scientists who have examined them to be the largest, and 
scientifically, the most important Paleozoic fossil footprint 
discovery ever made in the western United States and possibly 
the world. The trackways are extremely diverse and varied, and 
appear to represent a very broad spectrum of ancient animal 
life; including the 11 foot long, fin-backed Dimetrodon and the 
big headed amphibian Batrachichnus, as well as other reptiles, 
amphibians, insects and other invertebrates. They also 
represent not just an occasional footprint, but entire 
trackways where different animals had left a record of 
activity. This is considered the best locality in the world for 
early Permian tetrapod trackways.
    In 1990, the Congress passed legislation sponsored by 
Senator Bingaman along with Senator Domenici and Representative 
Skeen which withdrew 736 acres around the trackway site and 
called for a study of the area. In 1993, the BLM using its 
resource management planning process designated 720 acres as a 
Research Natural Area (RNA). The study was completed in 1994 
and gave a range of alternatives for protection, most of which 
were implemented, including an agreement BLM initiated with the 
New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science to ensure 
professional curation of fossils. The Museum holds the largest 
collection of these important fossils to allow for scientific 
study and interpretation from around the world. In fact, the 
public is not able to access the collection on the Museum's 
website. As part of the BLM's ongoing planning process, 
additional protections for the area are being considered.
    Jerry MacDonald's excavation and collection of material 
from the trackways site is now preserved in the New Mexico 
Museum of Natural History and Science, the Carnegie Museum, the 
Smithsonian, the Los Angles County Museum, and the City of Las 
Cruces Natural History Museum.


                                s. 3599


    The legislation before the Committee today would designate 
5,367 acres of public land in Dona Ana County as the 
Prehistoric Trackways National Monument. The legislation's 
stated goal is to conserve, protect, and enhance the unique and 
nationally important paleontological, scientific, educational, 
scenic, and recreational resources and values of the area. We 
strongly support those goals and legislation to implement them. 
We would like the opportunity to work with Senator Bingaman, as 
well as Senator Domenici and the Committee staff, on amendments 
which we believe can improve the legislation.
    Section 5(a)(3) of the bill directs the BLM to ``manage 
public land adjacent to the Monument in a manner that is 
consistent with the protection of the resources and values of 
the monument.'' The intent of this provision is not clear, and 
it is not clear how the BLM would implement it. In addition, we 
would encourage the sponsor and the Committee to include within 
the monument boundaries all public lands intended for 
protection without setting up de facto buffer zones.
    Section 5(d) of the bill gives priority to exhibiting and 
curating the resources from the monument in Dona Ana County, 
New Mexico. Many, if not most, of the significant specimen 
resources will remain in situ for study. Those that are removed 
for scientific purposes deserve the highest level of curation. 
At this time we are concerned that there may not be adequate 
facilities in Dona Ana County for curation at the level 
afforded by the excellent facility at the New Mexico Museum of 
Natural History and Science. It may be preferable for curation 
to take place at the museum in Albuquerque and then exhibition 
in Dona Ana County.
    The legislation in section 5(g) withdraws the area from the 
land, mining, mineral leasing and minerals materials laws. We 
generally support this withdrawal in order to protect the 
important paleontological resources within the proposed 
monument. Within this area is a ten acre site on which a 
mineral materials operation has existed for a number of years. 
Continuation of this operation should not interfere with the 
protection of the resources within the monument and there is 
strong local demand for the rock produced from the mine.
    While we strongly support the concept of protecting the 
Prehistoric Trackways, we believe a designation of the area as 
a National Conservation Area (NCA) is more appropriate. The 
title of ``National Monument'' may raise the expectation of the 
public that this area is similar to an area like the Kasha 
Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument. The visual qualities found 
at Tent Rocks will not be replicated at the trackways site. An 
NCA would provide as much as or even more protection for the 
trackways than a National Monument, depending on the 
legislation written, and may be preferable.
    Finally, we would like to clarify that the BLM does not 
regulate hunting on public lands, but may in some circumstances 
work cooperatively with the state to limit firearms in 
particular areas such as campgrounds or active excavation 
sites.


                               CONCLUSION


    We want to express our deep appreciation to Senator 
Bingaman and Senator Domenici for introducing this legislation 
to protect the important Paleozoic Trackways in south-central 
New Mexico. It is critical that we protect these resources for 
future generations. We look forward to working cooperatively 
with the Committee to ensure their protection.

                        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 bill S. 275, as ordered 
reported.


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