[Senate Report 112-123]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                                                       Calendar No. 285
112th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE
 2d Session                                                     112-123

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                        TENNESSEE WILDERNESS ACT

                                _______
                                

                January 13, 2012.--Ordered to be printed

 Filed, under authority of the order of the Senate of December 17, 2011

                                _______
                                

   Mr. Bingaman, from the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                         [To accompany S. 1090]

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 
referred the bill (S. 1090) to designate as wilderness certain 
public land in the Cherokee National Forest in the State of 
Tennessee, and for other purposes, having considered the same, 
reports favorably thereon without amendment and recommends that 
the bill do pass.

                                PURPOSE

    The purpose of S. 1090 is to designate certain Federal land 
in the Cherokee National Forest in the State of Tennessee as 
wilderness.

                          BACKGROUND AND NEED

    The 650,000-acre Cherokee National Forest is located in the 
Southern Appalachian Mountains of eastern Tennessee. With 
650,000 acres, it is the largest tract of public land in the 
State, and it adjoins the Great Smokey Mountains National Park 
and other national forests in Virginia, North Carolina, and 
Georgia.
    The first wilderness areas in the Cherokee National Forest 
were established in 1975, and subsequent additions have 
extended wilderness designation to 66,637 acres in 11 areas. 
Through its public forest planning process, the Forest Service 
recommended in 2004 that additional lands in the Cherokee 
National Forest be designated as wilderness. Since then, the 
Forest Service has managed the lands as Wilderness Study Areas 
to protect their wilderness characteristics.
    Consistent with the Forest Service's recommendations, S. 
1090 would designate one new wilderness area and expand five 
existing wilderness areas to add a total of 19,556 acres to the 
National Wilderness Preservation System. The new wilderness 
will respond to the public's desire for primitive recreation 
and ecosystem protection on a portion of the remaining roadless 
areas within the Cherokee National Forest.

                          LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

    S. 1090 was introduced by Senators Alexander and Corker on 
May 26, 2011. The Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests held 
a hearing on the bill on October 3, 2011. At its business 
meeting on November 10, 2011, the Committee on Energy and 
Natural Resources ordered S. 1090 favorably reported without 
amendment.

                        COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in open 
business session on November 10, 2011, by a voice vote of a 
quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 1090. 
Senators Lee and Paul asked to be recorded as opposing the 
measure.

                           SUMMARY OF S. 1090

    S. 1090 would designate approximately 19,556 acres of 
Federal land in the Cherokee National Forest in Tennessee as 
wilderness, to be administered in accordance with the 
Wilderness Act of 1964. As generally depicted on referenced 
maps, the bill would designate approximately 9,038 acres as the 
new Upper Bald River Wilderness; 348 acres as an addition to 
the Big Frog Wilderness, 966 acres as additions to the Little 
Frog Mountain Wilderness; 2,922 acres as an addition to the 
Sampson Mountain Wilderness; 4,446 acres as an addition to the 
Big Laurel Branch Wilderness; and 1,836 acres as an addition to 
the Joyce Kilmer-Slickrock Wilderness.

                   COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

    The following estimate of costs of this measure has been 
provided by the Congressional Budget Office:

S. 1090--Tennessee Wilderness Act of 2011

    S. 1090 would designate about 20,000 acres of federal land 
in Tennessee as wilderness under the Wilderness Act of 1964. 
Based on information provided by the Forest Service, CB0 
estimates that implementing the legislation would have no 
significant impact on the federal budget. Enacting S. 1090 
would not affect direct spending or revenues; therefore, pay-
as-you-go procedures do not apply.
    The lands to be added by S. 1090 to the National Wilderness 
Preservation System are already owned by the federal government 
and are currently being managed to protect their value as 
wilderness by the Forest Service. CB0 expects that designating 
those areas as wilderness would not increase the costs of 
managing or protecting them. In addition, because those lands 
are already managed as wilderness, we expect that they would 
produce no income from commercial activities over the next 10 
years under current law.
    S. 1090 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 CB0 staff contact for this estimate is Jeff LaFave. The 
estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant 
Director for Budget Analysis.

                      REGULATORY IMPACT EVALUATION

    In compliance with paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee makes the following 
evaluation of the regulatory impact which would be incurred in 
carrying out S. 1090.
    The bill is not a regulatory measure in the sense of 
imposing Government-established standards or significant 
economic responsibilities on private individuals and 
businesses.
    No personal information would be collected in administering 
the program. Therefore, there would be no impact on personal 
privacy.
    Little, if any, additional paperwork would result from the 
enactment of S. 1090, as ordered reported.

                   CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING

    S. 1090, as reported, does not contain any congressionally 
directed spending items, limited tax benefits, or limited 
tariff benefits as defined in rule XLIV of the Standing Rules 
of the Senate.

                        EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS

    The views of the Administration were included in testimony 
received by the Committee at the October 3, 2011 hearing, which 
is provided below.

   Statement Of Thomas Tidwell, Chief, Forest Service, Department of 
                              Agriculture

    Chairman Wyden, Ranking Member Barrasso, and members of the 
Subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to appear before 
you today to provide the Department of Agriculture's views on 
S. 1344, the ``Arizona Wallow Fire Recovery and Monitoring 
Act'' and S. 1090, the ``Tennessee Wilderness Act of 2011.''


             s. 1090, the tennessee wilderness act of 2011


    S. 1090, the ``Tennessee Wilderness Act of 2011,'' would 
designate seven parcels totaling 19,586 acres as wilderness in 
the Cherokee National Forest in east Tennessee. The Department 
strongly supports this legislation.
    S. 1090 would create one new wilderness area and expand the 
boundaries of five existing wilderness areas:
    (1) The Upper Bald River Wilderness includes 9,038 acres 
and contains headwaters of streams that drain into the Tellico 
River.
    (2) The Big Frog Addition to the Big Frog Wilderness 
includes 348 acres and is a mountain ridge containing the 
headwaters of Payne Branch, a tributary of Tumbling Creek which 
is in turn a tributary of the Ocoee River.
    (3) The Little Frog Mountain Additions, NW and NE, to the 
Little Frog Mountain Wilderness include 996 acres including the 
headwaters of Deweese Creek and portions of Dry Pond Lead 
Trail.
    (4) The Sampson Mountain Addition to the Sampson Mountain 
Wilderness includes 2,922 acres including a mountain ridge and 
the Hell Hollow Trail.
    (5) The Big Laurel Branch Addition to the Big Laurel 
Wilderness includes 4,446 acres and portions of the Appalachian 
National Scenic Trail.
    (6) Joyce Kilmer--Slickrock Addition to the Joyce Kilmer--
Slickrock Wilderness includes 1,836 acres along a mountain 
ridge and a portion of the Stiffknee trail.
    Wilderness management is an important part of the Forest 
Service mission. There are currently 11 designated wildernesses 
covering 66,600 acres in the Cherokee National Forest. The 
areas proposed for wilderness designation in S. 1090 were 
recommended for wilderness status by the Forest Service in the 
development of its comprehensive 2004 Land and Resource 
Management Plan (Forest Plan) for the Cherokee National Forest 
and have been managed as recommended wilderness since that 
time.
    Public involvement was an integral part of the Forest Plan 
revision process. Individuals, groups, other agencies and 
various organizations took advantage of the opportunities to 
provide input into the overall management of the Forest, 
including areas proposed for wilderness designation. The final 
Forest Plan reflects years of collaboration and public 
participation. Congressional designation of these areas as 
wilderness would be the culmination of this process.
    Thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today 
and I look forward to answering any questions you may have.

                        CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

    In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee notes that no 
changes in existing law are made by the bill S. 1090 as ordered 
reported.

                                  
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