[House Report 111-290]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


111th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 1st Session                                                    111-290

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



 
    NORTH COUNTRY NATIONAL SCENIC TRAIL ROUTE ADJUSTMENT ACT OF 2009

                                _______
                                

October 8, 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. 481]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

  The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred the 
bill (H.R. 481) to revise the authorized route of the North 
Country National Scenic Trail in northeastern Minnesota to 
include existing hiking trails along Lake Superior's north 
shore and in Superior National Forest and Chippewa National 
Forest, 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. SHORT TITLE.

  This Act may be cited as the ``North Country National Scenic Trail 
Route Adjustment Act of 2009''.

SEC. 2. ROUTE REAUTHORIZATION.

  Section 5(a)(8) of the National Trails System Act (16 U.S.C. 
1244(a)(8)) is amended--
          (1) by striking ``thirty-two hundred miles'' and inserting 
        ``4,600 miles''; and
          (2) by striking ```Proposed North Country Trail'' and all 
        that follows through ``June 1975.'' and inserting ```North 
        Country National Scenic Trail, Authorized Route', dated 
        February 16, 2005, and numbered 649/80,002.''.

SEC. 3. LAND ACQUISITION.

  Neither the Secretary of Agriculture nor the Secretary of the 
Interior may acquire for the North Country National Scenic Trail land 
that was obtained through condemnation by a State or local government.

SEC. 4. ENERGY.

  Nothing in the Act or the amendments made by this Act shall prohibit 
or hinder the development, production, conveyance, or transmission of 
energy.

                          Purpose of the Bill

    The purpose of H.R. 481 is to revise the authorized route 
of the North Country National Scenic Trail in northeastern 
Minnesota to include existing hiking trails along Lake 
Superior's north shore and in Superior National Forest and 
Chippewa National Forest.

                  Background and Need For Legislation

    The North Country National Scenic Trail, stretching from 
New York to North Dakota, was established in 1980 (Public Law 
96-199). At the time the trail was created, the length was 
estimated to be 3,200 miles. Modern, digital measuring 
equipment indicates, however, that when construction is 
completed on the currently authorized route, the length of the 
trail as currently authorized would be approximately 4,200 
miles.
    Further, in Minnesota, trail partners have discovered that 
a portion of the currently authorized route west of Duluth is 
not feasible because much of that route crosses tamarack swamp.
    Instead, trail supporters have proposed the use of existing 
and planned hiking trails that follow the north shore of Lake 
Superior and cross the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness to 
connect Duluth, MN, to Ely, MN. These trails, including the 
Superior Hiking Trail, Border Route Trail, and Kekekabic Trail, 
take hikers through characteristically North Country scenery in 
a region known locally as the ``Arrowhead.''
    Several new trails will have to be built to connect these 
trails to the authorized North Country route. These new and 
existing trails of the Arrowhead Reroute will add another 400 
miles to the length of the North Country National Scenic Trail 
for a total of nearly 4,600 miles nationally.
    H.R. 481 would amend Public Law 96-199 to cite a new map 
reflecting the revised route in Minnesota, and correct the 
estimated length of the entire national scenic trail.

                            Committee Action

    H.R. 481 was introduced by Representative James Oberstar 
(D-MN) on January 13, 2009. The bill was referred to the 
Committee on Natural Resources, and within the Committee to the 
Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands. At a 
July 8, 2009, hearing before the Subcommittee, a representative 
of the National Park Service testified that the Interior 
Department supports the bill, and recommended two technical 
changes.
    On July 29, 2009, the full Natural Resources Committee met 
to consider H.R. 481. The Subcommittee on National Parks, 
Forests and Public Lands was discharged from further 
consideration of the measure. Subcommittee Chairman Grijalva 
(D-AZ) offered an amendment in the nature of a substitute to 
simplify the bill by amending the establishing legislation to 
strike the original map reference and mileage estimate and 
insert the updated map reference and mileage estimate.
    Rep. Rob Wittman (R-VA) offered an amendment to the 
amendment in the nature of a substitute to state that nothing 
in the bill shall prohibit or hinder the development, 
production, conveyance or transmission of energy. The amendment 
was agreed to by voice vote.
    Rep. Paul Broun (R-GA) offered an amendment to the 
amendment in the nature of a substitute to forbid the Secretary 
of Agriculture or the Secretary of the Interior from acquiring 
land for the trail that was obtained by condemnation by a state 
or local government. The amendment was agreed to by voice vote.
    Rep. Rob Bishop (R-UT) offered an amendment to the 
amendment in the nature of a substitute to prohibit buffer 
zones around the trail. The amendment was not agreed to by a 
roll call vote of 18 yeas to 22 nays, as follows:



    The Grijalva amendment in the nature of a substitute, as 
amended, was then adopted by voice vote. 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 revise the authorized route of the 
North Country National Scenic Trail in northeastern Minnesota 
to include existing hiking trails along Lake Superior's north 
shore and in Superior National Forest and Chippewa National 
Forest.
    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. 481--North Country National Scenic Trail Route Adjustment Act of 
        2009

    H.R. 481 would revise the route of the North Country 
National Scenic Trail, which currently spans an estimated 4,200 
miles in seven states from New York to North Dakota. 
Specifically, the bill would reroute a segment of the trail 
that runs through northeastern Minnesota, adding around 400 
miles to the overall length.
    Based on information provided by the National Park Service, 
which administers the trail, and assuming appropriation of the 
necessary amounts, CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 481 
would cost less than $5 million over the 2010-2014 period. Most 
of this amount would be spent to acquire private land (or 
easements on that land) along the new trail segment. We 
estimate that ongoing costs to develop, manage, and maintain 
the added property would be minimal. Enacting the bill would 
have no effect on revenues or direct spending.
    The bill 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. 481 does not contain any congressional earmarks, 
limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined in 
clause 9 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 Made by the Bill, as Reported

  In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by 
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law 
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new 
matter is printed in italic, existing law in which no change is 
proposed is shown in roman):

NATIONAL TRAILS SYSTEM ACT

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *



             NATIONAL SCENIC AND NATIONAL HISTORICAL TRAILS

  Sec. 5. (a) National scenic and national historic trails 
shall be authorized and designated only by Act of Congress. 
There are hereby established the following National Scenic and 
National Historic Trails:
          (1) * * *

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

          (8) The North Country National Scenic Trail, a trail 
        of approximately [thirty-two hundred miles] 4,600 
        miles, extending from eastern New York State to the 
        vicinity of Lake Sakakawea in North Dakota, following 
        the approximate route depicted on the map identified as 
        [``Proposed North Country Trail-Vicinity Map'' in the 
        Department of the Interior ``North Country Trail 
        Report'', dated June 1975.] ``North Country National 
        Scenic Trail, Authorized Route'', dated February 16, 
        2005, and numbered 649/80,002. The map shall be on file 
        and available for public inspection in the office of 
        the Director, National Park Service, Washington, 
        District of Columbia. The trail shall be administered 
        by the Secretary of the Interior. No land or interest 
        in land outside the exterior boundaries of any 
        federally administered area may be acquired by the 
        Federal Government for the trail except with the 
        consent of the owner of the land or interest in land.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


                                  
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