[House Report 111-601]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


111th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session                                                     111-601

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



 
               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.

                                  
