[House Report 111-337]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


111th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 1st Session                                                    111-337

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



 
                DEVIL'S STAIRCASE WILDERNESS ACT OF 2009

                                _______
                                

 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. 2888]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

  The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred the 
bill (H.R. 2888) to provide for the designation of the Devil's 
Staircase Wilderness Area in the State of Oregon, to designate 
segments of Wasson and Franklin Creeks in the State of Oregon 
as wild or recreation rivers, 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 ``Devil's Staircase Wilderness Act of 
2009''.

SEC. 2. DESIGNATION OF WILDERNESS AREA, DEVIL'S STAIRCASE WILDERNESS, 
                    OREGON.

  (a) Designation.--In furtherance of the purposes of the Wilderness 
Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.), the Federal land in the State of Oregon 
administered by the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management, 
comprising approximately 30,520 acres, as generally depicted on the map 
titled ``Devil's Staircase Wilderness Proposal'', dated October 26, 
2009, are designated as a wilderness area for inclusion in the National 
Wilderness Preservation System and to be known as the ``Devil's 
Staircase Wilderness''.
  (b) Map and Legal Description.--As soon as practicable after the date 
of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall file with the 
Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives and the 
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate a map and legal 
description of wilderness area designated by subsection (a). The map 
and legal description shall have the same force and effect as if 
included in this Act, except that the Secretary may correct clerical 
and typographical errors in the map and description. In the case of any 
discrepancy between the acreage specified in subsection (a) and the 
map, the map shall control. The map and legal description shall be on 
file and available for public inspection in the Office of the Chief of 
the Forest Service.

SEC. 3. ADMINISTRATION.

  (a) In General.--Subject to valid existing rights, the Devil's 
Staircase Wilderness Area shall be administered by the Secretaries of 
Agriculture and the Interior, in accordance with the Wilderness Act and 
the Oregon Wilderness Act of 1984, except that, with respect to the 
wilderness area, any reference in the Wilderness Act to the effective 
date of that Act shall be deemed to be a reference to the date of the 
enactment of this Act.
  (b) Forest Service Roads.--As provided in section 4(d)(1) of the 
Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1133(d)(1)), the Secretary of Agriculture 
shall--
          (1) decommission any National Forest System road within the 
        wilderness boundaries; and
          (2) convert Forest Service Road 4100 within the wilderness 
        boundary to a trail for primitive recreational use.

SEC. 4. INCORPORATION OF ACQUIRED LAND AND INTERESTS.

  Any land within the boundary of the wilderness area designated by 
this Act that is acquired by the United States shall--
          (1) become part of the Devil's Staircase Wilderness Area; and
          (2) be managed in accordance with this Act and any other 
        applicable law.

SEC. 5. FISH AND WILDLIFE.

  Nothing in this Act shall be construed as affecting the jurisdiction 
or responsibilities of the State of Oregon with respect to wildlife and 
fish in the national forests.

SEC. 6. BUFFER ZONES.

  (a) In General.--As provided in the Oregon Wilderness Act of 1984 (16 
U.S.C. 1132 note; Public Law 98-328), Congress does not intend for 
designation of the wilderness area under this Act to lead to the 
creation of protective perimeters or buffer zones around the wilderness 
area.
  (b) Activities or Uses up to Boundaries.--The fact that nonwilderness 
activities or uses can be seen or heard from within a wilderness area 
shall not, of itself, preclude the activities or uses up to the 
boundary of the wilderness area.

SEC. 7. WITHDRAWAL.

  Subject to valid rights in existence on the date of enactment of this 
Act, the Federal land designated as wilderness area by this Act is 
withdrawn from all forms of--
          (1) entry, appropriation, or disposal under the public land 
        laws;
          (2) location, entry, and patent under the mining laws; and
          (3) disposition under all laws pertaining to mineral and 
        geothermal leasing or mineral materials.

SEC. 8. PROTECTION OF TRIBAL RIGHTS.

  Nothing in this Act shall be construed to diminish--
          (1) the existing rights of any Indian tribe; or
          (2) tribal rights regarding access to Federal lands for 
        tribal activities, including spiritual, cultural, and 
        traditional food gathering activities.

SEC. 9. WILD AND SCENIC RIVER DESIGNATIONS, WASSON CREEK AND FRANKLIN 
                    CREEK, OREGON.

  Section 3(a) of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (16 U.S.C. 1274(a)) is 
amended by inserting the following paragraphs:
          ``(__) Franklin creek, oregon.--The 4.5-mile segment from the 
        headwaters to the private land boundary in section 8 to be 
        administered by the Secretary of Agriculture as a wild river.
          ``(__) Wasson creek, oregon.--
                  ``(A) The 4.2-mile segment from the eastern edge of 
                section 17 downstream to the boundary of sections 11 
                and 12 to be administered by the Secretary of Interior 
                as a wild river.
                  ``(B) The 5.9-mile segment downstream from the 
                boundary of sections 11 and 12 to the private land 
                boundary in section 22 to be administered by the 
                Secretary of Agriculture as a wild river.''.

                          Purpose of the Bill

    The purpose of H.R. 2888 is to provide for the designation 
of the Devil's Staircase Wilderness Area in the State of Oregon 
and to designate segments of Wasson and Franklin Creeks in the 
State of Oregon as components of the National Wild and Scenic 
Rivers System.

                  Background and Need for Legislation

    H.R. 2888 would designate 30,520 acres of land administered 
by the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management as 
wilderness, and would designate more than 14 miles of the 
Wasson and Franklin Creeks under the Wild and Scenic Rivers 
Act. Often considered one of the most remote locations in 
Oregon, the proposed wilderness area lies deep in the heart of 
the state's coastal rainforest. It is named after a waterfall 
known as ``The Devil's Staircase.'' Wasson Creek flows over 
multiple steps of sandstone, creating the appearance of a 50-
foot staircase.
    People often hike to catch a glimpse of the waterfall, only 
to be thrown off course by the rugged terrain. Since the 
adoption of the Northwest Forest Plan in 1994, the area has 
been closed to logging and road building. Wasson and Franklin 
Creeks are lined by stands of ancient old growth woods, some of 
the last remaining old growth in the region. The creeks support 
trout, native Coho, and Chinook salmon. A 4.5-mile portion of 
Franklin Creek and a 10.1-mile segment of Wasson Creek would be 
designated as wild rivers.

                            Committee Action

    H.R. 2888 was introduced on June 16, 2009, by 
Representative Peter DeFazio (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. 
On October 1, 2009, the Subcommittee held a hearing on the bill 
at which representatives of the Department of the Interior and 
the Department of Agriculture testified that the Administration 
supports the bill.
    On October 28, 2009, the Subcommittee was discharged from 
further consideration of H.R. 2888 and the full Natural 
Resources Committee met to consider the bill. Representative 
DeFazio offered an amendment in the nature of a substitute to 
provide that a road within the proposed wilderness area be 
turned into a hiking path, and make other technical 
corrections.
    Representative Rob Bishop (R-UT) offered an amendment to 
the amendment in the nature of a substitute that would require 
the Secretary of the Interior to identify public domain lands 
available for timber harvesting that contain timber with a 
value equal to the timber value of the land designated as 
wilderness. The amendment was ruled not germane.
    The amendment in the nature of a substitute was agreed to 
by voice vote. The bill, as amended, was then ordered favorably 
reported to the House of Representatives by a roll call vote of 
25 yeas to 17 nays, 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 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 provide for the designation of the 
Devil's Staircase Wilderness Area in the State of Oregon and to 
designate segments of Wasson and Franklin Creeks in the State 
of Oregon as wild or recreation rivers.
    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. 2888--Devil's Staircase Wilderness Act of 2009

    H.R. 2888 would designate about 29,650 acres of federal 
land in Oregon as the Devil's Staircase Wilderness. The bill 
also would designate about 15 miles of creeks in the area as 
wild rivers under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. Based on 
information provided by the affected federal agencies, CBO 
estimates that implementing H.R. 2888 would have no significant 
effect on the federal budget. Enacting the legislation would 
not affect revenues or direct spending.
    The acreage and waterways to be added to the National 
Wilderness Preservation System and the Wild and Scenic Rivers 
System are currently administered by the Forest Service or 
Bureau of Land Management (BLM). CBO estimates that no 
additional resources would be required to manage the affected 
areas as a result of the new designations. Assuming 
availability of appropriated funds, we estimate that the Forest 
Service would incur some small costs to decommission roads 
within the wilderness and convert one road to a recreational 
trail. We expect that any costs to revise brochures, maps, and 
signs would be minimal because most such revisions would take 
place in conjunction with scheduled reprinting and routine 
maintenance.
    Finally, we estimate that enacting the legislation would 
have no effect on Forest Service or BLM offsetting receipts 
because the affected lands, which are already managed for 
conservation purposes, currently produce no income and are not 
expected to in the future.
    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. 2888 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) * * *

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

          (__) Franklin creek, oregon.--The 4.5-mile segment 
        from the headwaters to the private land boundary in 
        section 8 to be administered by the Secretary of 
        Agriculture as a wild river.
          (__) Wasson creek, oregon.--
                  (A) The 4.2-mile segment from the eastern 
                edge of section 17 downstream to the boundary 
                of sections 11 and 12 to be administered by the 
                Secretary of Interior as a wild river.
                  (B) The 5.9-mile segment downstream from the 
                boundary of sections 11 and 12 to the private 
                land boundary in section 22 to be administered 
                by the Secretary of Agriculture as a wild 
                river.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


                     DISSENTING VIEWS ON H.R. 2888

    I oppose H.R. 2888 because it needlessly designates 
approximately 30,000 acres of federal land as wilderness and 
removes economic opportunities from the devastated Oregon 
economy. From testimony we learned that much of this land is 
currently managed in a restrictive manner due to past 
administrative decisions, not Congressional action, during the 
Clinton years. Much of this land was previously harvested and 
there are miles of roads, hardly what could be described as 
``untrammeled by man.'' However, proponents would like to 
designate this as wilderness, taking even more land out of 
timber production. We have heard substantial testimony about 
the closing of timber mills in the Northwest due to a lack of 
land available for production. I am perplexed as to how 
permanently restricting even more land alleviates the 
catastrophic unemployment being realized there.
    I am primarily concerned with the 6,000 acres of Oregon & 
California (O&C) lands that were set aside some 70 years ago 
specifically for the economic benefit of the local communities 
through timber harvesting. Each acre that is whittled away is 
an acre that could have been used to pay for another teacher, 
needed public infrastructure, or even fire fighting equipment.
    I offered an amendment to bring some balance to this 
shortsighted bill that purports to protect land no one claims 
is facing any risk. The amendment would have required the 
Federal Government to identify suitable acreage outside of the 
designation to replace the value of acreage lost with this 
passage of this legislation. Supporters of the bill argue these 
O&C lands are too difficult to harvest, that no value will be 
lost. However, they also acknowledge the fact that the land has 
been cut in the past, and adjacent lands are still harvested. 
Additionally, the specific need for the amendment was 
highlighted in a letter to Members of Congress from the 
Association of O&C Counties.
    Unfortunately for the people in the area who need jobs so 
they can provide for their families, and for local governments 
trying to keep the school house open, the Democrat Majority 
refused to allow a vote on this commonsense amendment as they 
rushed the bill towards passage.
    It remains my hope that the Majority will see past 
ideological divides and allow a free and open debate on the 
Floor of the House of Representatives, where I will welcome 
their support in our effort to provide critically needed 
opportunities to neglected timber communities.
                                                        Rob Bishop.

                                  
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