[House Report 111-336]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


111th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 1st Session                                                    111-336

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


 
 TO AMEND THE WILD AND SCENIC RIVERS ACT TO DESIGNATE SEGMENTS OF THE 
MOLALLA RIVER IN OREGON, AS COMPONENTS OF THE NATIONAL WILD AND SCENIC 
                 RIVERS SYSTEM, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

                                _______
                                

 November 16, 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

                             together with

                            DISSENTING VIEWS

                        [To accompany H.R. 2781]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

  The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred the 
bill (H.R. 2781) to amend the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to 
designate segments of the Molalla River in Oregon, as 
components of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, 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. DESIGNATION OF WILD AND SCENIC RIVER SEGMENTS.

  Section 3(a) of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (16 U.S.C. 1274(a)) is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
  ``(___) Molalla River, Oregon.--The following segments in the State 
of Oregon, to be administered by the Secretary of the Interior as a 
recreational river:
          ``(A) Molalla river.--The approximately 15.1 miles from the 
        southern boundary line of section 19, Township 7 south, Range 4 
        east downstream to the edge of the Bureau of Land Management 
        boundary in section 7, Township 6 south, Range 3 east.
          ``(B) Table rock fork molalla river.--The approximately 6.2 
        miles from the easternmost Bureau of Land Management boundary 
        line in the northeast quarter of section 4, Township 7 south, 
        Range 4 east downstream to the confluence with the Molalla 
        River.''.

                          Purpose of the Bill

    The purpose of H.R. 2781 is to amend the Wild and Scenic 
Rivers Act to designate segments of the Molalla River in 
Oregon, as components of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers 
System, and for other purposes.

                  Background and Need for Legislation

    H.R. 2781 would add two segments of the Molalla River, 
totaling 21.3 miles, in northwestern Oregon to the National 
Wild and Scenic Rivers System. The Molalla rises in the Cascade 
Range, east of Salem. From its headwaters above the Table Rock 
Wilderness Area, the river flows through cedar, hemlock, and 
old-growth Douglas fir forests, and basalt rock canyons until 
it meets the Willamette River near Canby.
    Both Canby and the city of Molalla draw their water from 
the river, and thousands visit the river corridor every year to 
recreate. There are more than 30 miles of non-motorized trails 
leading to numerous waterfalls and vistas. This river and its 
surrounds also contain critical habitat for rare creatures 
including the northern spotted owl, pileated woodpecker, red 
tree vole, red-legged frog, and pacific giant salamander.
    The upper river and its major tributaries provide critical 
spawning and rearing habitat for steelhead, salmon and native 
wild cutthroat trout. Distinct populations of Molalla River 
steelhead and salmon are listed as threatened under the 
Endangered Species Act. H.R. 2781 designates two segments of 
the Molalla as a recreational river: 15.1 miles on the main 
stem, and 6.2 miles on the Table Rock Fork.

                            Committee Action

    H.R. 2781 was introduced June 9, 2009, by Representative 
Kurt Schrader (D-OR). 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 an October 1, 
2009, hearing before the Subcommittee, a representative of the 
Department of the Interior testified that the Department 
supports the bill and recommended technical changes.
    On October 28, 2009, the Subcommittee was discharged from 
further consideration of H.R. 2781 and the full Natural 
Resources Committee met to consider the bill. Subcommittee 
Chairman Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) offered an en bloc amendment to 
make technical changes to the bill, including specifying that 
the two segments of the river will be managed as a recreational 
river, and deleting language that is redundant to the 
underlying Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. The amendment was agreed 
to by voice vote.
    Rep. Rob Bishop (R-UT) offered an amendment to require the 
Bureau of Land Management to designate new lands available for 
timber production to offset any loss of timber lands as a 
result of the bill. The amendment was ruled non-germane.
    The bill, as amended, was then ordered favorably reported 
to the House of Representatives by a rollcall vote of 23 to 18, 
as follows:


            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 and Article IV, section 3 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 Wild and Scenic Rivers 
Act to designate segments of the Molalla River in Oregon, as 
components of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, and 
for other purposes.
    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. 2781--A bill to amend the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to designate 
        segments of the Molalla River in Oregon as components of the 
        National Wild and Scenic Rivers System

    H.R. 2781 would designate two segments of the Molalla River 
in Oregon as a recreational river within the National Wild and 
Scenic Rivers System. Based on information provided by the 
Bureau of Land Management, which administers the two river 
segments that would be affected by the proposed designation, 
implementing the bill would have no effect on the federal 
budget. The affected segments, which total about 21 miles, are 
already protected for wilderness values, and the proposed 
designation would not significantly affect the way they are 
administered.
    H.R. 2781 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. 2781 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):

WILD AND SCENIC RIVERS ACT

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


  Sec. 3. (a) The following rivers and the land adjacent 
thereto are hereby designated as components of the national 
wild and scenic rivers system:
  (1)  * * *

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

  (___) Molalla River, Oregon.--The following segments in the 
State of Oregon, to be administered by the Secretary of the 
Interior as a recreational river:
          (A) Molalla river.--The approximately 15.1 miles from 
        the southern boundary line of section 19, Township 7 
        south, Range 4 east downstream to the edge of the 
        Bureau of Land Management boundary in section 7, 
        Township 6 south, Range 3 east.
          (B) Table rock fork molalla river.--The approximately 
        6.2 miles from the easternmost Bureau of Land 
        Management boundary line in the northeast quarter of 
        section 4, Township 7 south, Range 4 east downstream to 
        the confluence with the Molalla River.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


                            DISSENTING VIEWS

    At the October 1, 2009 Subcommittee on National Parks, 
Forests and Public Lands hearing where H.R. 2781 was 
considered, Rep. Schrader, the sponsor of the legislation, 
testified:

          Under my bill there is approximately 420 acres of 
        timber management acres or ``matrix'' lands that would 
        be impacted. While this represents a relatively small 
        amount of impacted timber lands, I am sensitive to the 
        reduction. Therefore, as the committee moves forward, I 
        would ask the Chairman and Ranking Member to work with 
        me and my staff to ensure there will be no net-loss of 
        the acres available for timber management as a result 
        of this legislation.

    Mr. Schrader was right to identify a no net-loss provision 
as an essential part of the bill in light of Oregon's 11% + 
unemployment rate and the collapse of the wood products 
industry that was once a powerful piston in the state's 
economic engine. A recent report by the Pew Center on the 
States cited Oregon as one of nine states that could follow 
California into a budget abyss. The timber industry is a large 
part of the tax base in many communities throughout the 
Northwest. The recent recession has sharply accelerated the 
decline of the industry but for close to a decade Congress has 
helped offset the loss of timber receipts by creating and 
reauthorizing the Secure Rural Schools program which has cost 
billions of dollars. To simply continue to lock up more and 
more lands to appease special interest groups without finding 
other lands to offset these lost acres is not only fiscally and 
economically irresponsible but environmentally ignorant, as 
well.
    However, the Democrat majority on the Committee not only 
failed to add the language Mr. Schrader called for in their 
bill, they also blocked a vote on an offset timber land 
amendment. By rejecting the amendment, the Democrat majority 
produced a bill that denies resources to an economy that is 
languishing as well as a funding source for schools. Each acre 
that is whittled away is an acre that could have been used to 
pay for another teacher, needed public infrastructure, or even 
firefighting equipment.

                                                        Rob Bishop.

                                  
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