[Senate Report 110-93]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



                                                       Calendar No. 223
110th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE
 1st Session                                                     110-93
======================================================================
 
        MESA VERDE NATIONAL PARK BOUNDARY EXPANSION ACT OF 2007

                                _______
                                

                 June 26, 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. 126]

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 
referred the bill (S. 126) to modify the boundary of Mesa Verde 
National Park, and for other purposes, having considered the 
same, reports favorably thereon without amendment and 
recommends that the bill do pass.
    The amendment is as follows:

    On page 3, strike lines 18 through 20 and insert the 
following:
          ``(1) Map.--The term `map' means the map entitled 
        `Mesa Verde National Park Proposed Boundary 
        Adjustment', numbered 307/80,180, and dated March 1, 
        2007.''

                         PURPOSE OF THE MEASURE

    The purpose of S. 126 is to modify the boundary of Mesa 
Verde National Park in Colorado to include approximately 360 
acres within the park boundary.

                          BACKGROUND AND NEED

    Mesa Verde National Park, located in southwestern Colorado, 
was established in 1906 to preserve sites built by ``Pre-
Columbian Indians'' on mesa tops and in canyon alcoves. Mesa 
Verde was the Nation's tenth national park and the first 
established under the authority of the Antiquities Act. The 
park protects lands that were inhabited by Ancestral Puebloans 
from approximately A.D. 600 to A.D. 1300, and includes the most 
complete and extensive concentration of prehistoric cliff 
dwellings in the United States. Today, with over 52,000 acres, 
Mesa Verde National Park preserves and protects over 4,000 
archeological sites, which include 600 cliff dwellings and over 
3 million associated objects in the park's research collection. 
The archeological sites found here are some of the most notable 
and best preserved in the United States.
    S. 126 would authorize the acquisition of 324 acres known 
as the Henneman property, which borders the northeastern corner 
of the park. The property is threatened by development and has 
already been zoned for subdivision into 10-acre lots. Both the 
property owners and the National Park Service agree that 
development is undesirable at the gateway to the park.
    The Conservation Fund, a nonprofit organization, has 
entered into a contract with the Henneman family to purchase 
the property for later conveyance to the National Park Service. 
Authorization of the property is the first step in this 
process.
    The bill also authorizes the acquisition of a 38-acre 
parcel that would be donated to the Park Service by the Mesa 
Verde Foundation.

                          LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

    S. 126 was introduced by Senators Allard and Salazar on 
January 4, 2007. The Subcommittee on National Parks held a 
hearing on the bill on March 20, 2007. At its business meeting 
on May 23, 2007, the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 
ordered S. 126 favorably reported, with an amendment.

                        COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

    The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in an 
open business session on May 23, 2007, by a unanimous voice 
vote of a quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 
126, if amended as described herein.

                          COMMITTEE AMENDMENT

    During its consideration of S. 126, the Committee adopted 
an amendment to update the map referenced in the bill.

                      SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

    Section 1 provides the short title, the ``Mesa Verde 
National Park Boundary Expansion Act of 2007.''
    Section 2 lists congressional findings and purposes.
    Section 3 references the new official boundary map, and 
defines the terms ``park'' and ``Secretary'' as used in the 
Act.
    Section 4(a) authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to 
acquire lands or interests therein described in subsection (b) 
for addition to Mesa Verde National Park. Lands may be acquired 
by donation, exchange, or purchase from a willing seller with 
donated or appropriated funds.
    Subsection (b) describes the approximately 360 acres to be 
acquired, as depicted on the referenced map.
    Subsection (c) states that the map shall be kept on file 
and available for public inspection in the appropriate offices 
of the National Park Service.
    Subsection (d) modifies the park boundary to reflect the 
acquisition of any lands under this Act.
    Subsection (e) provides that any acquired lands shall be 
administered by the Secretary as part of Mesa Verde National 
Park, and in accordance with any laws and regulations 
applicable to the park.
    Section 5 authorizes the appropriation of such sums as may 
be necessary to carry out this Act.

                   COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

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

                                                      June 7, 2007.
Hon. Jeff Bingaman,
Chairman, Committee on Energy and Natural Resources,
U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 126, a bill to 
modify the boundary of Mesa Verde National Park, and for other 
purposes.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Deborah Reis.
            Sincerely,
                                                   Peter R. Orszag.
    Enclosure.

S. 126--A bill to modify the boundary of Mesa Verde National Park, and 
        for other purposes

    Summary: S. 126 would authorize the National Park Service 
(NPS) to acquire approximately 360 acres to be added to Mesa 
Verde National Park. Assuming appropriation of the necessary 
funds, CBO estimates that implementing S. 126 would cost $12 
million over the 2008-2012 period. Enacting S. 126 would not 
affect direct spending or revenues.
    The legislation contains no intergovernmental or private-
sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 
(UMRA) and would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal 
governments.
    Estimated costs to the Federal Government: The estimated 
budgetary impact of S. 126 is shown in the following table. The 
costs of this legislation fall within budget function 300 
(natural resources and environment).

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                       By fiscal year, in millions of dollars--
                                                                    --------------------------------------------
                                                                       2008     2009     2010     2011     2012
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                  CHANGES IN SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION

Estimated Authorization Level......................................        2       10        0        0        0
Estimated Outlays..................................................        2        2        3        3        2
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Basis of estimate: For this estimate, CBO assumes that S. 
126 will be enacted near the end of 2007 and that the necessary 
amounts will be appropriated for each year. The legislation 
would authorize the NPS to acquire 360 acres of land adjacent 
to Mesa Verde National Park. Based on information provided by 
the agency, CBO estimates that it would spend $2 million in 
2008 to purchase a 324-acre tract of land called the Henneman 
property.
    In addition, CBO understands that an additional 38 acres 
owned by the Mesa Verde Foundation would be donated to the NPS 
in 2008. Assuming appropriation of the necessary amounts, we 
estimate that the agency would spend about $10 million over the 
2009-2012 period to construct a visitor facility on the donated 
land. That estimate is based on information from the NPS. Some 
federal construction costs could be offset by private donations 
to the NPS or through cost-sharing arrangements with the Mesa 
Verde Foundation.
    We estimate that annual expenses to administer lands 
acquired under the bill, including those to operate the new 
visitor facility, would be less than $100,000.
    Intergovernmental and private-sector impact: S. 126 
contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as 
defined by UMRA and would have no significant impact on the 
budgets of state, local, or tribal governments.
    Estimate prepared by: Federal costs: Deborah Reis and David 
Reynolds; Impact on state, local, and tribal governments: Lisa 
Ramirez-Branum; Impact on the private sector: Craig Cammarata.
    Estimate 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 S. 126. 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. 126, as ordered reported.

                        EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS

    The testimony provided by the National Park Service on S. 
126 at the March 20, 2007 Subcommittee hearing follows:

 Statement of Daniel N. Wenk, Deputy Director, National Park Service, 
                    U.S. Department of the Interior

    Mr. Chairman and members of the Subcommittee, thank you for 
the opportunity to appear before you today to present the 
Department of the Interior's views on S. 126, a bill to modify 
the boundary of Mesa Verde National Park.
    The Department supports S. 126. This bill would adjust the 
boundary of Mesa Verde National Park (park) by adding to the 
park a total of approximately 360 acres, located near the park 
entrance. This land includes 324 acres currently owned by the 
Henneman family and 38 acres owned by the Mesa Verde purchase 
from a willing seller with donated or appropriated funds, or by 
exchange.
    We estimate that $45,000 would be required for closing and 
survey costs for the Henneman property. Acquisition is 
estimated to cost approximately $1.5 million. At this time, 
operational costs are estimated to be minimal and are not 
expected to exceed approximately $20,000 per year. This 
acquisition would have to compete with other Park Service 
priorities for funds.
    Mesa Verde was authorized as our nation's tenth national 
park in 1906 and currently includes 52,122 acres. The resources 
preserved at Mesa Verde include more than 4,000 known 
archeological sites, three million objects in the park's 
collections, and natural resources that provided a rich 
environment and supported the lives of the Ancestral Puebloans 
who lived there for more than 700 years.
    The Henneman and Mesa Verde Foundation properties are 
adjacent to the current park boundary and in full view from the 
entrance road into the park. The property forms the foreground 
of the view of Point Lookout, the promontory which Congress 
added to the park in 1931. In addition to its strategic 
position at the park's entrance, the Henneman property 
possesses Ancestral Puebloan sites, a several-hundred-year-old 
pinyon-juniper forest, a major wildlife corridor and important 
winter habitat, and the largest recorded population of the 
globally imperiled Gray's Townsend daisy, a few of which are 
found within the current park boundary.
    The Hennemans approached Mesa Verde National Park in 2002 
with their desire to protect their property through its 
inclusion in the park. Currently, the Henneman property could 
be developed and is zoned for subdivision into 10-acre lots and 
the Hennemans have received written offers from a developer 
interested in constructing a high-end RV park and convention 
center on the property. Rather than selling for development, 
the Hennemans have entered into a contract to sell their 
property to The Conservation Fund by November 15, 2007, 
contingent upon passage of this boundary legislation and the 
availability of funds to acquire the property.
    The Mesa Verde Foundation has been working with the park to 
provide a visitor information center adjacent to the 
collections facility being designed by the National Park 
Service for construction. The facility will be located in part 
on the Foundation property. The Foundation intends to donate 
their 38-acre parcel to the park, but cannot do so until the 
land has been included within the park boundary.
    We understand that the Hennemans have discussed their 
desire to include their property in the park with the Montezuma 
County Commissioners. The commissioners' position was neutral, 
stating that this is a landowner-initiated project, and it is 
the right of the landowner to exercise their property rights as 
they desire. They have also talked with their neighbors about 
the proposal and no opposition has been voiced.
    We recommend one amendment to correct the map reference in 
the bill. In section 3, paragraph 1, strike ``entitled `2006 
Proposed Mesa Verde National Park Boundary Adjustment'.'' and 
insert ``entitled `Mesa Verde National Park Proposed Boundary 
Adjustment' numbered 307/80,180, and dated March 1, 2007.''
    Mr. Chairman, this concludes my testimony. I would be happy 
to answer any questions you or other members of the 
subcommittee might 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 bill S. 126, as ordered 
reported.


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