[House Report 111-601]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
111th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session 111-601
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CIBOLA NATIONAL FOREST BOUNDARY EXPANSION
_______
September 16, 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. 5388]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred the
bill (H.R. 5388) to expand the boundaries of the Cibola
National Forest in the State of New Mexico, 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. CIBOLA NATIONAL FOREST BOUNDARY EXPANSION.
(a) Boundary Expansion.--The boundaries of Cibola National Forest,
located in the State of New Mexico, are hereby modified to include the
land depicted for such inclusion on the Bureau of Land Management map
entitled ``Manzano Wilderness Study Area'', dated August 31, 2009.
(b) Availability and Correction of Map.--The map referred to in
subsection (a) shall be on file and available for public inspection in
the appropriate offices of the Forest Service. The Chief of the Forest
Service is authorized to make technical and clerical corrections to the
map.
(c) Transfer of Jurisdiction.--Administrative jurisdiction over any
land under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Interior that is
depicted on the map referred to in subsection (a) is hereby transferred
to the Secretary of Agriculture, and such lands shall be subject to the
laws and regulations pertaining to the National Forest System.
(d) Manzano Mountain Wilderness Addition.--
(1) Designation.--The land depicted as the Manzano Wilderness
Study Area on the map referred to in subsection (a)--
(A) is hereby designated as wilderness; and
(B) is added to the Manzano Mountain Wilderness
designated by section 2(f) of the Endangered American
Wilderness Act of 1978 (Public Law 95-237; 92 Stat. 42;
16 U.S.C. 1132 note).
(2) Administration.--The lands designated as wilderness in
paragraph (1) shall be administered by the Secretary of
Agriculture in accordance with Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131
et seq.), except that any reference in the Wilderness Act to
the effective date shall be considered to be a reference to the
date of enactment of this Act.
(e) Relation to Land and Water Conservation Fund Act.--For purposes
of section 7 of the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 (16
U.S.C. 460l-9), the boundaries of the Cibola National Forest, as
modified by subsection (a), shall be considered to be boundaries of the
Cibola National Forest as of January 1, 1965.
PURPOSE OF THE BILL
The purpose of H.R. 5388, as amended, is to expand the
boundaries of the Cibola National Forest in New Mexico and
designate the Manzano Wilderness Study Area as wilderness.
BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION
The Cibola National Forest (Forest) covers over 1.6 million
acres spread primarily across New Mexico (with several
grasslands districts located in northwestern Texas and western
Oklahoma). In New Mexico, the Forest consists of five separate
ranger districts or management units. Two of those districts,
the Sandia Mountain District and Mountainair District, are in
the vicinity of Albuquerque and are thus the most visited areas
of the Forest. The other units are scattered across the state
as far west as Gallup, extending south past Socorro, and tucked
into the remote northeastern corner of the state. The Forest
encompasses some of New Mexico's most famous natural features,
including the Sandia Mountains, which serve as a celebrated
backdrop to Albuquerque. Within the Forest there are several
wilderness areas including the Manzano Mountain Wilderness.
The Forest showcases the diversity of New Mexico's
ecosystems ranging from Chihuahuan desert to short grass
prairie to pinon-juniper forests to sub-alpine spruce and fir.
The Forest is home to an array of wildlife, and supports the
north-south migration of larger mammals. It also contains many
historic and cultural resources, and the mountain ranges within
the Forest are spiritual landmarks and sacred sites for the
various Pueblos of New Mexico. The Forest is well known for its
bird-watching, hunting, and other recreational opportunities,
and the Sandia Mountains in particular are a popular
destination for Albuquerque residents who flock there to ride
the Sandia Peak Tram or drive the Sandia Crest National Scenic
Byway to take in spectacular views of Central New Mexico.
H.R. 5388 would expand the boundaries of the Cibola
National Forest to include the area known as the Manzano
Wilderness Study Area (WSA), adjacent to the Mountainair
District, which is currently managed by the Bureau of Land
Management (BLM). The bill directs the Secretary of the
Interior to transfer administrative jurisdiction over these BLM
lands to the U.S. Forest Service. The bill then provides that
these lands be managed in accordance with laws and regulations
pertaining to the National Forest System. Specifically, upon
acquisition of the Manzano WSA by the Forest Service, the land
shall be designated as wilderness, added to the Manzano
Mountain Wilderness and be administered in accordance with the
Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.).
COMMITTEE ACTION
H.R. 5388 was introduced by Representative Martin Heinrich
(D-NM) on May 25, 2010. 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
June 24, 2010, hearing before the Subcommittee, a
representative from the Forest Service testified in support of
the bill but recommended changes to language dealing with the
land grant communities and acequia associations.
On July 22, 2010, the Subcommittee was discharged from
further consideration of H.R. 5388 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 which removed a section of the bill that
included the administrative transfer from the BLM to the Forest
Service of an area known as the Crest of Montezuma parcel. The
amendment also removed provisions dealing with the land grant
communities and access to acequias. These provisions were
removed to give the sponsor of the bill more time to work with
these communities to address their concerns with transfer of
this specific parcel of land.
Subcommittee Ranking Member Rob Bishop (R-UT) offered an
amendment to the amendment in the nature of a substitute to
allow wheeled, muscle-powered, game retrieval carts into the
wilderness area. The Bishop amendment was not agreed to by a
roll call vote of 13 yeas and 22 nays, as follows:
The amendment in the nature of a substitute was then agreed
to 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 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, as ordered reported, is to expand the
boundaries of the Cibola National Forest and designate certain
areas as wilderness.
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. 5388--A bill to expand the boundaries of the Cibola National
Forest in the state of New Mexico
H.R. 5388 would transfer administrative jurisdiction of
certain lands from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to the
Forest Service. Based on information provided by the agencies,
CBO estimates that enacting the legislation would have no
significant impact on the federal budget. Enacting H.R. 5388
would not affect direct spending or revenues; therefore, pay-
as-you-go procedures do not apply.
Under the bill, the Forest Service would assume
responsibility for about 1,800 acres of land currently
administered by BLM. The lands affected by the transfer, which
are located near Albuquerque, New Mexico, would become part of
the Cibola National Forest. Because the affected lands are
currently managed by the federal government, CBO estimates that
enacting the legislation would have no significant impact on
the federal budget.
H.R. 5388 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and
would not affect the budgets of state, local, or tribal
governments.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Jeff LaFave. 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. 5388 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
If enacted, this bill would make no changes in existing
law.