[House Report 111-292]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


111th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 1st Session                                                    111-292

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



 
                    CASCADIA MARINE TRAIL STUDY ACT

                                _______
                                

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. 1641]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

  The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred the 
bill (H.R. 1641) to amend the National Trails System Act to 
provide for a study of the Cascadia Marine Trail, 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. DESIGNATION OF TRAIL FOR STUDY.

  (a) Short Title.--This section may be cited as the ``Cascadia Marine 
Trail Study Act''.
  (b) Designation of Trail for Study.--Section 5(c) of the National 
Trails System Act (16 U.S.C. 1244(c)) is amended by adding at the end 
the following:
          ``(__) Cascadia Marine Trail, a series of water trail routes 
        encompassing approximately 2,300 miles of shoreline in the 
        State of Washington, extending from Point Roberts near the 
        Canadian border to the southern reach of Puget Sound near 
        Olympia. In conducting the study, the Secretary shall 
        coordinate with appropriate Federal, State, local, tribal, and 
        private entities, and may evaluate sites of recreational, 
        scenic, or historic significance near the Cascadia Marine Trail 
        for potential inclusion in the Trail. The Secretary shall also 
        consider what activities may be limited by the designation, 
        including existing activities, hunting, boating, or proposed 
        infrastructure improvements.''.

                          Purpose of the Bill

    The purpose of H.R. 1641 is to amend the National Trails 
System Act to provide for a study of the Cascadia Marine Trail.

                  Background and Need for Legislation

    H.R. 1641 amends the National Trail System Act to authorize 
a study of the Cascadia Marine Trail, a system of water routes 
in the Puget Sound region of Washington State, for possible 
inclusion in the National Trails System.
    The 150-mile long trail was established in 1993 by the 
Washington Water Trails Association. Designed for human and 
sail powered boaters, the trail has 54 designated campsites 
between Olympia, Washington and the Canadian border. It was 
designated a National Recreational Trail in 1994.
    The Puget Sound is an area of great natural beauty and 
cultural history. This saltwater trail introduces paddlers and 
sailors to historic and commercial coastal routes, in voyages 
of discovery along the shores of the native peoples' Salish 
Sea. Orca, salmon, bald eagle, heron, and puffins are just a 
few of the wildlife species found among the forested islands of 
the sound.
    Proponents of the legislation believe that changing the 
designation of the trail from a National Recreation Trail to a 
National Scenic or National Historic Trail would improve public 
awareness of the route, which proponents see as a key component 
of larger Puget Sound restoration and protection efforts.

                            Committee Action

    H.R. 1641 was introduced on March 19, 2009 by 
Representative Jay Inslee (D-WA). 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 
May 14, 2009, the Subcommittee held a hearing on the bill. The 
National Park Service testified in favor of the bill with a 
request for a minor technical amendment ensuring that area 
tribes and other federal agencies are consulted during the 
study.
    On July 29, 2009, the full Natural Resources Committee met 
to consider the bill. The subcommittee was discharged from 
further consideration of H.R. 1641. Representative Inslee (D-
WA) offered an amendment in the nature of a substitute to 
simplify the bill and add federal agencies and tribes to the 
list of entities to be consulted during the study. 
Representative Paul Broun (R-GA) offered an amendment to the 
amendment in the nature of a substitute that would require the 
written consent of private property owners for inclusion in the 
study. The amendment was not adopted by a roll call vote of 18 
yeas to 22 nays, as follows:


    Representative Rob Bishop (R-UT) offered an amendment to 
the amendment in the nature of a substitute that would require 
the agency to include in the study the impacts of a potential 
inclusion of the trail in the National Trail System upon 
existing recreational activities, hunting, boating, or proposed 
infrastructure improvements. The amendment was adopted by voice 
vote.
    The 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 amend the National Trails System 
Act to provide for a study of the Cascadia Marine Trail.
    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. 1641--Cascadia Marine Trail Study Act

    H.R. 1641 would direct the National Park Service (NPS) to 
study the possibility of including the Cascadia Marine Trail in 
the state of Washington in the National Trails System. The 
proposed trail would encompass over 2,000 miles of shoreline 
extending from Point Roberts (near the Canadian border) to the 
southern reach of Puget Sound near Olympia.
    Based on information provided by the NPS and assuming the 
availability of appropriated funds, CBO estimates that 
completing the required study would cost $400,000 over the next 
three years. Enacting this legislation would not affect direct 
spending or revenues.
    H.R. 1641 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 Peter H. Fontaine, Assistant 
Director for Budget Analysis.

                    Compliance with Public Law 104-4

    This bill contains no unfunded mandates.

                           Earmark Statement

    H.R. 1641 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 (new matter is 
printed in italic and 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) * * *

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

  (c) The following routes shall be studied in accordance with 
the objectives outlined in subsection (b) of this section:
          (1) * * *

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

                  (__) Cascadia Marine Trail, a series of water 
                trail routes encompassing approximately 2,300 
                miles of shoreline in the State of Washington, 
                extending from Point Roberts near the Canadian 
                border to the southern reach of Puget Sound 
                near Olympia. In conducting the study, the 
                Secretary shall coordinate with appropriate 
                Federal, State, local, tribal, and private 
                entities, and may evaluate sites of 
                recreational, scenic, or historic significance 
                near the Cascadia Marine Trail for potential 
                inclusion in the Trail. The Secretary shall 
                also consider what activities may be limited by 
                the designation, including existing activities, 
                hunting, boating, or proposed infrastructure 
                improvements.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


                                  
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