[Senate Report 110-299]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



                                                       Calendar No. 651
110th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE
 2d Session                                                     110-299

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



 
           IDAHO WILDERNESS BOUNDARY MODIFICATION ACT OF 2008

                                _______
                                

                 April 10, 2008.--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. 1802]

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 
referred the bill (S. 1802) to adjust the boundaries of the 
Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness in the State of 
Idaho, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon 
with an amendment and recommends that the bill, as amended, do 
pass.
    The amendment is as follows:
  Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert in lieu 
thereof the following:

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

  This Act may be cited as the ``Idaho Wilderness Boundary Modification 
Act of 2008''.

SEC. 2. PURPOSES.

  The purposes of this Act are--
          (1) to adjust the boundaries of the wilderness area; and
          (2) to authorize the Secretary to sell the land designated 
        for removal from the wilderness area due to encroachment.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

  In this Act:
          (1) Land designated for exclusion.--The term ``land 
        designated for exclusion'' means the parcel of land that is--
                  (A) comprised of approximately 10.2 acres of land;
                  (B) generally depicted on the survey plat entitled 
                ``Proposed Boundary Change FCRONRW Sections 15 
                (unsurveyed) Township 14 North, Range 13 East, B.M., 
                Custer County, Idaho'' and dated November 14, 2001; and
                  (C) more particularly described in the survey plat 
                and legal description on file in--
                          (i) the office of the Chief of the Forest 
                        Service, Washington, DC; and
                          (ii) the office of the Intermountain Regional 
                        Forester, Ogden, Utah.
          (2) Land designated for inclusion.--The term ``land 
        designated for inclusion'' means the parcel of National Forest 
        System land that is--
                  (A) comprised of approximately 10.2 acres of land;
                  (B) located in unsurveyed section 22, T. 14 N., R. 13 
                E., Boise Meridian, Custer County, Idaho;
                  (C) generally depicted on the map entitled ``Challis 
                National Forest, T.14 N., R. 13 E., B.M., Custer 
                County, Idaho, Proposed Boundary Change FCRONRW'' and 
                dated September 19, 2007; and
                  (D) more particularly described on the map and legal 
                description on file in--
                          (i) the office of the Chief of the Forest 
                        Service, Washington, DC; and
                          (ii) the Intermountain Regional Forester, 
                        Ogden, Utah.
          (3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of 
        Agriculture.
          (4) Wilderness area.--The term ``wilderness area'' means the 
        Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness designated by 
        section 3 of the Central Idaho Wilderness Act of 1980 (16 
        U.S.C. 1132 note; 94 Stat. 948).

SEC. 4. BOUNDARY ADJUSTMENT.

  (a) Adjustment to Wilderness Area.--
          (1) Inclusion.--The wilderness area shall include the land 
        designated for inclusion.
          (2) Exclusion.--The wilderness area shall not include the 
        land designated for exclusion.
  (b) Corrections to Legal Descriptions.--The Secretary may make 
corrections to the legal descriptions.

SEC. 5. CONVEYANCE OF LAND DESIGNATED FOR EXCLUSION.

  (a) In General.--Subject to subsection (b), to resolve the 
encroachment on the land designated for exclusion, the Secretary may 
sell for consideration in an amount equal to fair market value--
          (1) the land designated for exclusion; and
          (2) as the Secretary determines to be necessary, not more 
        than 10 acres of land adjacent to the land designated for 
        exclusion.
  (b) Conditions.--The sale of land under subsection (a) shall be 
subject to the conditions that--
          (1) the land to be conveyed be appraised in accordance with 
        the Uniform Appraisal Standards for Federal Land Acquisitions;
          (2) the person buying the land shall pay--
                  (A) the costs associated with appraising and, if the 
                land needs to be resurveyed, resurveying the land; and
                  (B) any analyses and closing costs associated with 
                the conveyance;
          (3) for management purposes, the Secretary may reconfigure 
        the description of the land for sale; and
          (4) the owner of the adjacent private land shall have the 
        first opportunity to buy the land.
  (c) Disposition of Proceeds.--
          (1) In general.--The Secretary shall deposit the cash 
        proceeds from a sale of land under subsection (a) in the fund 
        established under Public Law 90-171 (commonly known as the 
        ``Sisk Act'') (16 U.S.C. 484a).
          (2) Availability and use.--Amounts deposited under paragraph 
        (1)--
                  (A) shall remain available until expended for the 
                acquisition of land for National Forest purposes in the 
                State of Idaho; and
                  (B) shall not be subject to transfer or reprogramming 
                for--
                          (i) wildland fire management; or
                          (ii) any other emergency purposes.

                                PURPOSE

    The purpose of S. 1802 is to adjust the boundaries of the 
Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness in the State of 
Idaho.

                          BACKGROUND AND NEED

    The Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness, within the 
Salmon-Challis National Forest in Idaho, was designated by 
section 3 of the Central Idaho Wilderness Act of 1980 (16 
U.S.C. 1132 note).
    S. 1802 makes a small modification to the boundary of the 
wilderness located around a private ranch. Specifically, the 
bill would remove wilderness designation on approximately ten 
acres that currently contain a road and a water development. 
These improvements pre-dated the wilderness designation. In 
addition, S. 1802 adds approximately ten acres of existing 
national forest system land to the wilderness.

                          LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

    S. 1802 was introduced by Senator Craig on July 17, 2007. 
The Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests held a hearing on 
the bill on September 20, 2007 (S. Hrg. 110-216). The Committee 
on Energy and Natural Resources ordered the bill favorably 
reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute at its 
business meeting on January 30, 2008.

                        COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in open 
business session on January 30, 2008, by a voice vote of a 
quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 1802, if 
amended as described herein.

                          COMMITTEE AMENDMENT

    During its consideration of S. 1802, the Committee adopted 
an amendment in the nature of a substitute. The amendment more 
accurately describes the land and clearly provides the 
Secretary with authority to sell the land excluded from the 
wilderness as well as not more than ten additional acres of 
adjoining land.

                      SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

    Section 1 contains the short title.
    Section 2 contains the purposes.
    Section 3 contains the definitions.
    Section 4 adjusts the wilderness area by including the 
lands designated for inclusion and excluding the lands 
designated for exclusion.
    Section 5(a) states that, subject to subsection (b) and in 
order to resolve the encroachment on the land designated for 
exclusion, the Secretary may sell, for consideration in an 
amount equal to fair market value, the land designated for 
exclusion as well as not more than ten acres of land adjacent 
to the land designated for exclusion.
    Subsection (b) sets forth a list of conditions that must be 
met in order to complete the sale of land authorized by 
subsection (a).
    Subsection (c) requires the Secretary to deposit the cash 
proceeds from a sale of land under subsection (a) into the fund 
established under Public Law 90-171. This subsection also 
states that the proceeds shall remain available until expended 
for the acquisition of and for National Forest purposes in the 
State of Idaho. Finally, the subsection prohibits the proceeds 
from being used for wildland fire management or any other 
emergency purposes.

                   COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

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

S. 1802--Idaho Wilderness Boundary Modification Act of 2007

    S. 1802 would authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to 
sell up to 20 acres of Forest Service land in the Frank Church 
River of No Return Wilderness in Idaho.
    Any costs associated with the sale of the land would be 
paid by a private buyer, and the Forest Service would be 
authorized to spend any proceeds to purchase other property in 
Idaho. Therefore, enacting S. 1802 would have no net effect on 
direct spending. The legislation would not affect revenues.
    S. 1802 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and 
would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Tyler Kruzich. 
This estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, 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 S. 1802. 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. 1802, as ordered reported.

                   CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING

    S. 1802, as reported, does not contain any congressionally 
directed spending items, limited tax benefits, or limited 
tariff benefits as defined in rule XLIV of the Standing Rules 
of the Senate.

                        EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS

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

S. 1802, Idaho Wilderness Boundary Modification Act of 2007

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


    Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, I appreciate the 
opportunity to appear before you to provide the Department's 
views on the bills which are on the agenda today.

      S. 1802, Idaho Wilderness Boundary Modification Act of 2007

    This bill would adjust the boundaries of the Frank Church 
River of No Return Wilderness and provide authorization for a 
land ownership adjustment to resolve conflicts related to 
unauthorized improvements.
    The Department would support the bill if amended to correct 
the survey description and provide for a more appropriate 
manner in which to resolve the associated land issues.
    The Diamond D Ranch consists of three separate parcels of 
private land located in the Challis National Forest and 
surrounded by the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness 
near Stanley, Idaho. In 2001, a boundary survey identified 
several unauthorized improvements associated with the ranch on 
National Forest System lands, including a portion of a water 
diversion and transmission pipeline in the designated 
wilderness area. Most of the unauthorized improvements, which 
also include fences, roads, and borrow pits, predate wilderness 
designation. The ranch owner has offered to enter into 
negotiations with the Forest Service to effect an exchange of 
the lands containing unauthorized improvements for other 
interests that could be more desirable for National Forest 
management.
    The wilderness configuration in this vicinity is an 
approximately 10.2 acre triangular shaped area between two 
private parcels. Due to the adjacency of private lands and the 
unauthorized improvements, this area lacks the characteristics 
normally associated with designated wilderness. The bill would 
retract the wilderness boundary to exclude the 10.2 acres and 
expand the wilderness boundary to add approximately the same 
acreage to the wilderness in a nearby location. This would 
adjust the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness with no 
net loss of designated wilderness, while improving its overall 
wilderness characteristics.
    In addition, through a waiver of qualifying criteria, the 
bill would give the Secretary the discretion to use the Small 
Tracts Act (P.L. 97-465) in order for the Forest Service to 
address the unauthorized improvements.
    The Department supports the bill's goals of improving 
wilderness characteristics while resolving longstanding land 
management issues. However, as written, the bill contains 
technical errors in the survey description of the lands 
proposed to be excluded and included in the wilderness. It also 
contains a technical error in the description of the lands that 
would be subject to the waiver of the Small Tracts Act acreage 
requirement. In addition, the Department would prefer to use a 
different land adjustment authority than the Small Tracts Act, 
which is not appropriate to this situation.
    The Department would like to work with the bill's sponsor 
and the committee to make these technical corrections and 
provide for a more appropriate land adjustment authority. We 
will support the bill with these amendments and appreciate the 
opportunity to enhance the Frank Church River of No Return 
Wilderness.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

    Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, this concludes 
my testimony. I am happy to answer any questions you may have 
at this time.

                        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. 1802, as 
ordered reported.

                                  
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