[House Report 111-229]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


111th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 1st Session                                                    111-229

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



 
        WACO MAMMOTH NATIONAL MONUMENT ESTABLISHMENT ACT OF 2009

                                _______
                                

 July 24, 2009.--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. 1376]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

  The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred the 
bill (H.R. 1376) to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to 
establish the Waco Mammoth National Monument in the State of 
Texas, 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 all after the enacting clause and insert the 
following:

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

  This Act may be cited as the ``Waco Mammoth National Monument 
Establishment Act of 2009''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

  Congress finds as follows:
          (1) The Waco Mammoth Site area is located near the confluence 
        of the Brazos and the Bosque rivers in Central Texas, near the 
        City of Waco.
          (2) Baylor University has been investigating the site since 
        1978 after the discovery of bones emerging from eroding creek 
        banks leading to the uncovering of portions of five mammoths.
          (3) Several additional mammoth remains have been uncovered 
        making this the largest known concentration of mammoths dying 
        from the same event.
          (4) The discoveries have received international attention.
          (5) The University and the City of Waco have been working 
        together to protect the site and to develop further research 
        and educational opportunities.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

  In this Act the following definitions apply:
          (1) National monument.--The term ``national monument'' means 
        the Waco Mammoth National Monument, established in section 4.
          (2) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of 
        the Interior.
          (3)  Map.--The term ``map'' means the map titled ``Proposed 
        Boundary Waco-Mammoth National Monument'', numbered T21/80,000, 
        and dated April, 2009.

SEC. 4. WACO MAMMOTH NATIONAL MONUMENT, TEXAS.

  (a) Establishment.--There is established the Waco Mammoth National 
Monument in the State of Texas, as a unit of the National Park System, 
as generally depicted on the map.
  (b) Availability of Map.--The map shall be on file and available for 
public inspection in the appropriate offices of the National Park 
Service.

SEC. 5. ADMINISTRATION OF NATIONAL MONUMENT.

  (a) In General.--The Secretary shall administer the national monument 
in accordance with this Act, the cooperative agreements described in 
this section, and laws and regulations generally applicable to units of 
the National Park System, including the National Park Service Organic 
Act (39 Stat. 535, 16 U.S.C. 1).
  (b) Cooperative Agreements.--The Secretary may enter into cooperative 
agreements for the management of the national monument with Baylor 
University and City of Waco, pursuant to the National Park Service 
General Authorities Act (16 U.S.C. 1a-2(1)).

SEC. 6. ACQUISITION OF PROPERTY AND BOUNDARY MANAGEMENT.

  (a) Acquisition of Property.--The Secretary is authorized to acquire 
from willing sellers lands, or interests in lands, within the proposed 
boundary of the national monument necessary for effective management.
  (b) Conditions.--Lands identified in subsection (a) may be acquired--
          (1) by donation, purchase with donated or appropriated funds, 
        transfer from another Federal agency, or by exchange; and
          (2) in the case of lands owned by the State of Texas, or a 
        political subdivision thereof, or Baylor University only by 
        donation or exchange.

SEC. 7. CONSTRUCTION OF FACILITIES ON NONFEDERAL LANDS.

  (a) In General.--The Secretary is authorized, subject to the 
appropriation of necessary funds, to construct essential administrative 
or visitor use facilities on non-Federal lands within the national 
monument.
  (b) Other Funding.--In addition to the use of Federal funds 
authorized in subsection (a), the Secretary may use donated funds, 
property, and services to carry out this section.

SEC. 8. GENERAL MANAGEMENT PLAN.

  (a) In General.--Not later than three years after the date on which 
funds are made available to carry out this Act, the Secretary, in 
consultation with Baylor University and City of Waco, shall prepare a 
management plan for the national monument.
  (b) Inclusions.--The management plan shall include, at a minimum--
          (1) measures for the preservation of the resources of the 
        national monument;
          (2) requirements for the type and extent of development and 
        use of the national monument;
          (3) identification of visitor carrying capacities for 
        national monument; and
          (4) opportunities for involvement by Baylor University, the 
        City of Waco, the State of Texas, and other local and national 
        entities in the formulation of educational programs for the 
        national monument and for developing and supporting the 
        national monument.

                          PURPOSE OF THE BILL

    The purpose of H.R. 1376 is to authorize the Secretary of 
the Interior to establish the Waco Mammoth National Monument in 
the State of Texas.

                  BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    H.R. 1376 would provide for the preservation and 
interpretation of the burial site of many Pleistocene Columbian 
mammoths near Waco, Texas. Since 1978, when the first bones 
were found, the skeletons of 24 mammoths and one camel have 
been uncovered in a wooded ravine between the Bosque and Brazos 
Rivers. Researchers have concluded that the site contains the 
remains of several herds of mammoths, ranging from three to 55 
years of age, which appear to have died together in one or more 
floods some 68,000 years ago.
    Evidence at the site indicates that the region was used 
over a long period by nursery herds of Pleistocene mammoths. 
One herd of at least 19 of the animals died in a single event, 
representing the largest known concentration of mammoths dying 
from one event in North America and providing ``a unique 
opportunity to understand and interpret the behavior and 
ecology of an extinct species,'' according to the National Park 
Service (NPS).
    The site is unusual not only in the collection of 
skeletons, many complete, but also because it has been 
excavated by a single institution, Baylor University, since the 
site was discovered. This means that the specimens and related 
documentation are all maintained by that one institution. The 
City of Waco and Baylor University own a total of slightly more 
than 109 acres at the site, which has never been open to the 
public. Baylor's Mayborn Museum exhibits original casts of the 
fossil bones beneath a glass floor, giving the public a view of 
how excavators found the bones at the site. The City is 
constructing an 8,400-square-foot shelter to cover the 
excavation area and in situ specimens. The development will 
also include interpretive exhibits, an access road and parking 
facilities, trails, visitor facilities, and enhanced security, 
allowing public access to the site.
    H.R. 1376 is based on a NPS study conducted pursuant to 
Public Law 107-341, which directed the NPS to study the 
significance, suitability, and feasibility of the site as a new 
unit of the National Park System. The study, transmitted to 
Congress in November 2008, found that a partnership led by the 
National Park Service would most effectively and efficiently 
ensure the long-term protection of the site and its 
paleontological resources while providing for public enjoyment.
    The bill provides that the 109-acre site be managed under a 
cooperative agreement among the NPS, the City of Waco, and 
Baylor University. The City has indicated its willingness to 
convey to the NPS the 5-acre core site; the remaining land 
would be managed primarily by the City as a park, with the 
university's lands there being transferred to the City. The 
university's Mayborn Museum Complex would house the 
paleontological collection, and the NPS and the university 
would share management of the collection. The bill gives the 
NPS three years to develop a management plan for the national 
monument that outlines how the resources of the site will be 
protected, what type of development and site use are 
anticipated, how many visitors the national monument will be 
able to accommodate, and how the City, the university, and 
other national and local groups may be involved in developing 
educational programs and supporting the national monument.

                            COMMITTEE ACTION

    H.R. 1376 was introduced on March 6, 2009, by 
Representative Chet Edwards (D-TX). 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 April 23, 2009, the Subcommittee held a hearing on the bill. 
Representatives of the Department of the Interior and the City 
of Waco testified in favor of the legislation.
    On July 9, 2009, the full Natural Resources Committee met 
to consider the bill. The Subcommittee on National Parks, 
Forests and Public Lands was discharged from further 
consideration of the measure. Subcommittee Chairman Raul 
Grijalva (D-AZ) offered an en bloc amendment to add map 
references to the bill. The amendment was agreed to by voice 
vote. Subcommittee Ranking Member Rob Bishop (R-UT) offered an 
amendment to include lands owned by Baylor University in the 
provision requiring that state and municipal lands be acquired 
only by donation or exchange. The amendment was agreed to by 
voice vote. Representative Bishop then offered an amendment 
prohibiting buffer zones around the site. The amendment was not 
agreed to by a roll call vote of 20 yeas and 22 nays, as 
follows:


    The bill, as amended, was then ordered favorably reported 
to the House of Representatives by voice vote.

            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. As required by 
clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, the general performance goal or 
objective of this bill is to authorize the Secretary of the 
Interior to establish the Waco Mammoth National Monument in the 
State of Texas.
    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. 1376--Waco Mammoth National Monument Establishment Act of 2009

    H.R. 1376 would establish the Waco Mammoth National 
Monument in Texas. The cost to develop and manage the new 
monument would be shared by the National Park Service (NPS) and 
local partners, such as the city of Waco and Baylor University, 
under cooperative agreements. The bill would authorize the NPS 
to both acquire land for the monument and construct facilities 
on nonfederal lands within the monument's boundaries. Finally, 
the bill would require NPS to prepare a management plan for the 
monument within three years of receiving funding for that 
purpose.
    Based on information provided by the NPS and assuming the 
availability of appropriated funds, CBO estimates that 
implementing H.R. 1376 would cost about $1 million over the 
next three years and about $400,000 a year thereafter. The $1 
million would be used to develop a management plan for the site 
and construct exhibits and interpretive facilities. The 
$400,000 would be needed (beginning in 2013) for the federal 
share of annual operating costs.
    For this estimate, CBO assumes that about 5 acres of land 
owned by Waco or Baylor University would be donated to the NPS 
within the next three years; the rest of the approximately 110-
acre site would remain in nonfederal ownership. We further 
assume that other costs to develop visitor facilities within 
the monument--an estimated $8 million--would be borne by the 
city or other nonfederal participants. If, alternatively, the 
NPS needs to acquire more land for the monument or bear more of 
the costs of financing new facilities, federal costs would be 
higher than $1 million (assuming appropriation of the necessary 
amounts).
    H.R. 1376 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 Deborah Reis. 
The 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. 1376 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.

                                  
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