[House Report 111-434]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


111th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session                                                     111-434

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



 
ALPINE LAKES WILDERNESS ADDITIONS AND PRATT AND MIDDLE FORK SNOQUALMIE 
                         RIVERS PROTECTION ACT

                                _______
                                

 March 11, 2010.--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. 1769]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred 
the bill (H.R. 1769) to expand the Alpine Lakes Wilderness in 
the State of Washington, to designate the Middle Fork 
Snoqualmie River and Pratt River as wild and scenic 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 ``Alpine Lakes Wilderness Additions and 
Pratt and Middle Fork Snoqualmie Rivers Protection Act''.

SEC. 2. EXPANSION OF ALPINE LAKES WILDERNESS.

  (a) In General.--There is designated as wilderness and as a component 
of the National Wilderness Preservation System certain Federal land in 
the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest in the State of Washington 
comprising approximately 22,173 acres that is within the Proposed 
Alpine Lakes Wilderness Additions Boundary, as generally depicted on 
the map entitled ``Proposed Alpine Lakes Wilderness Additions'' and 
dated December 3, 2009, which is incorporated in and shall be 
considered to be a part of the Alpine Lakes Wilderness.
  (b) Administration.--
          (1) Management.--Subject to valid existing rights, the land 
        designated as wilderness by subsection (a) shall be 
        administered by the Secretary of Agriculture (referred to in 
        this section as the ``Secretary''), in accordance with the 
        Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.), except that any 
        reference in that Act to the effective date of that Act shall 
        be considered to be a reference to the date of enactment of 
        this Act.
          (2) Map and description.--
                  (A) In general.--As soon as practicable after the 
                date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall file 
                a map and a legal description of the land designated as 
                wilderness by subsection (a) with--
                          (i) the Committee on Natural Resources of the 
                        House of Representatives; and
                          (ii) the Committee on Energy and Natural 
                        Resources of the Senate.
                  (B) Force of law.--A map and legal description filed 
                under subparagraph (A) shall have the same force and 
                effect as if included in this Act, except that the 
                Secretary may correct minor errors in the map and legal 
                description.
                  (C) Public availability.--The map and legal 
                description filed under subparagraph (A) shall be filed 
                and made available for public inspection in the 
                appropriate office of the Forest Service.
  (c) Incorporation of Acquired Land and Interests in Land.--Any land 
or interests in land within the Proposed Alpine Lakes Wilderness 
Additions Boundary, as generally depicted on the map entitled 
``Proposed Alpine Lakes Wilderness Additions'' and dated December 3, 
2009, that is acquired by the United States shall--
          (1) become part of the wilderness area; and
          (2) be managed in accordance with subsection (b)(1).

SEC. 3. WILD AND SCENIC RIVER DESIGNATIONS.

  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:
  ``(__) Middle Fork Snoqualmie, Washington.--The 27.4-mile segment 
from the headwaters of the Middle Fork Snoqualmie River near La Bohn 
Gap in NE \1/4\ sec. 20, T. 24 N., R. 13 E., to the northern boundary 
of sec. 11, T. 23 N., R. 9 E., to be administered by the Secretary of 
Agriculture in the following classifications:
          ``(A) The approximately 6.4-mile segment from the headwaters 
        of the Middle Fork Snoqualmie River near La Bohn Gap in NE \1/
        4\ sec. 20, T. 24 N., R. 13 E., to the west section line of 
        sec. 3, T. 23 N., R. 12 E., as a wild river.
          ``(B) The approximately 21-mile segment from the west section 
        line of sec. 3, T. 23 N., R. 12 E., to the northern boundary of 
        sec. 11, T. 23 N., R. 9 E., as a scenic river.
  ``(__) Pratt River, Washington.--The entirety of the Pratt River in 
the State of Washington, located in the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National 
Forest, to be administered by the Secretary of Agriculture as a wild 
river.''.

                          Purpose of the Bill

    The purpose of H.R. 1769 is to expand the Alpine Lakes 
Wilderness in the State of Washington, to designate the Middle 
Fork Snoqualmie River and Pratt River as wild and scenic 
rivers, and for other purposes.

                  Background and Need for Legislation

    The Alpine Lakes Wilderness was originally designated by 
Congress in 1976. It sits 45 minutes east of downtown Seattle 
and has become one of the most visited wilderness areas in the 
country. The proposed wilderness additions, which total 
approximately 22,000 acres, are low elevation lands that 
provide important habitat for wildlife during times of the year 
when high elevation lands are covered by snow. Elk, deer, 
cougars, and bobcats all live in the mountain valleys that 
comprise the wilderness additions proposed by H.R. 1769.
    The bill would also designate 27.4 miles of the Middle Fork 
Snoqualmie River and the entire Pratt River as wild and scenic 
rivers. In 1990, the U.S. Forest Service recommended these 
rivers for designation because of their outstanding recreation, 
fisheries, wildlife, and ecological values. The Pratt River is 
a major tributary of the Middle Fork Snoqualmie River, and both 
rivers are a source of clean water for the fisheries of the 
Snohomish River system.

                            Committee Action

    H.R. 1769 was introduced on March 26, 2009 by 
Representative Dave Reichert (R-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 November 5, 2009, the Subcommittee held a hearing on the 
bill, during which a representative of the Forest Service 
testified that the Administration is in favor of the bill with 
some technical changes regarding two trails that impact the 
proposed wilderness additions.
    On February 24, 2010, the Subcommittee was discharged from 
further consideration of H.R. 1769 and the full Natural 
Resources Committee met to consider the bill. Subcommittee 
Chairman Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) offered an amendment in the 
nature of a substitute to address the boundary issues raised by 
the Forest Service. The amendment was 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 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 expand the Alpine Lakes Wilderness 
in the State of Washington, to designate the Middle Fork 
Snoqualmie River and Pratt River as wild and scenic rivers, 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. 1769--Alpine Lakes Wilderness Additions and Pratt and Middle Fork 
        Snoqualmie Rivers Protection Act

    H.R. 1769 would add more than 22,000 acres of public land 
in the state of Washington to the Alpine Lakes Wilderness. The 
bill also would designate about 27 miles of waterways in the 
area as wild or scenic rivers. Based on information provided by 
the Forest Service, which administers most of the affected 
land, CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 1769 would have no 
significant effect on the federal budget. Enacting the 
legislation would not affect revenues or direct spending; 
therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures would not apply.
    The acreage and waterways to be added by the legislation to 
the National Wilderness Preservation System and the Wild and 
Scenic Rivers System are currently administered by the Forest 
Service or owned by the state. CBO estimates that no additional 
resources would be required to manage the affected areas as a 
result of the new designations. 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 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.
    On January 21, 2010, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for S. 
721, the Alpine Lakes Wilderness Additions and Pratt and Middle 
Fork Snoqualmie Rivers Protection Act as ordered reported by 
the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources on 
December 16, 2009. The two versions of the legislation are 
nearly identical, and the estimated costs are the same.
    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. 1769 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) * * *

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

  (__) Middle Fork Snoqualmie, Washington.--The 27.4-mile 
segment from the headwaters of the Middle Fork Snoqualmie River 
near La Bohn Gap in NE \1/4\ sec. 20, T. 24 N., R. 13 E., to 
the northern boundary of sec. 11, T. 23 N., R. 9 E., to be 
administered by the Secretary of Agriculture in the following 
classifications:
          (A) The approximately 6.4-mile segment from the 
        headwaters of the Middle Fork Snoqualmie River near La 
        Bohn Gap in NE \1/4\ sec. 20, T. 24 N., R. 13 E., to 
        the west section line of sec. 3, T. 23 N., R. 12 E., as 
        a wild river.
          (B) The approximately 21-mile segment from the west 
        section line of sec. 3, T. 23 N., R. 12 E., to the 
        northern boundary of sec. 11, T. 23 N., R. 9 E., as a 
        scenic river.
  (__) Pratt River, Washington.--The entirety of the Pratt 
River in the State of Washington, located in the Mount Baker-
Snoqualmie National Forest, to be administered by the Secretary 
of Agriculture as a wild river.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


                                  
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