[House Report 113-366]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


113th Congress }                                             {   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session    }                                             {  113-366

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 SLEEPING BEAR DUNES NATIONAL LAKESHORE CONSERVATION AND RECREATION ACT

                                _______
                                

 February 28, 2014.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on 
            the State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

 Mr. Hastings of Washington, from the Committee on Natural Resources, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 163]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred 
the bill (H.R. 163) to designate as wilderness certain land and 
inland water within the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore 
in the State of Michigan, 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 ``Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore 
Conservation and Recreation Act''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

  In this Act:
          (1) Map.--The term ``map'' means the map consisting of 6 
        sheets entitled ``Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore 
        Proposed Wilderness Boundary'', numbered 634/80,083B, and dated 
        November 2010.
          (2) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of 
        the Interior.

SEC. 3. SLEEPING BEAR DUNES WILDERNESS.

  (a) Designation.--In accordance with the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 
1131 et seq.), certain land and inland water within the Sleeping Bear 
Dunes National Lakeshore comprising approximately 32,557 acres along 
the mainland shore of Lake Michigan and on certain nearby islands in 
Benzie and Leelanau Counties, Michigan, as generally depicted on the 
map, is designated as wilderness and as a component of the National 
Wilderness Preservation System, to be known as the ``Sleeping Bear 
Dunes Wilderness''.
  (b) Map.--
          (1) Availability.--The map shall be on file and available for 
        public inspection in appropriate offices of the National Park 
        Service.
          (2) Corrections.--The Secretary may correct any clerical or 
        typographical errors in the map.
          (3) Legal description.--As soon as practicable after the date 
        of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall prepare a legal 
        description of the wilderness boundary and submit a copy of the 
        map and legal description to the Committee on Energy and 
        Natural Resources of the Senate and the Committee on Natural 
        Resources of the House of Representatives.
  (c) Road Setbacks.--The wilderness boundary shall be--
          (1) 100 feet from the centerline of adjacent county roads; 
        and
          (2) 300 feet from the centerline of adjacent State highways.

SEC. 4. ADMINISTRATION.

  (a) In General.--Subject to valid existing rights, the wilderness 
area designated by section 3(a) shall be administered by the Secretary 
in accordance with the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.), except 
that--
          (1) any reference in the Wilderness Act to the effective date 
        of that Act shall be considered to be a reference to the date 
        of enactment of this Act; and
          (2) any reference in the Wilderness Act to the Secretary of 
        Agriculture shall be considered to be a reference to the 
        Secretary.
  (b) Maintenance of Roads Outside Wilderness Boundary.--Nothing in 
this Act prevents the maintenance and improvement of roads that are 
located outside the boundary of the wilderness area designated by 
section 3(a).
  (c) Fish and Wildlife.--Nothing in this Act affects the jurisdiction 
of the State of Michigan with respect to the management of fish and 
wildlife, including hunting and fishing within the national lakeshore 
in accordance with section 5 of Public Law 91-479 (16 U.S.C. 460x-4).
  (d) Buffer Zones.--
          (1) In general.--Nothing in this section creates a protective 
        perimeter or buffer zone around any area designated as 
        wilderness by subsection (a).
          (2) Activities outside wilderness.--The fact that an activity 
        or use on land outside any area designated as wilderness by 
        subsection (a) can be seen or heard within the wilderness shall 
        not preclude the activity or use outside the boundary of the 
        wilderness.
  (e) Military Overflights.--Nothing in this section restricts or 
precludes--
          (1) low-level overflights of military aircraft over an area 
        designated as wilderness by subsection (a), including military 
        overflights that can be seen or heard within any wilderness 
        area;
          (2) flight testing and evaluation; or
          (3) the designation or creation of new units of special use 
        airspace, or the establishment of military flight training 
        routes over the wilderness area.
  (f) Savings Provisions.--Nothing in this Act modifies, alters, or 
affects--
          (1) any treaty rights; or
          (2) any valid private property rights in existence on the day 
        before the date of enactment of this Act.

                          PURPOSE OF THE BILL

    The purpose of H.R. 163 is to designate as wilderness 
certain land and inland water within the Sleeping Bear Dunes 
National Lakeshore, a unit of the National Park System, in the 
State of Michigan.

                  BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore was established on 
October 21, 1970, in order ``. . . that certain outstanding 
natural features including forests, beaches, dune formations, 
and ancient (glacial) phenomena . . . be preserved in their 
natural setting . . . for the benefit, inspiration, education, 
recreation, and enjoyment of the public.'' The Lakeshore 
extends nearly 30 miles along the eastern shore of Lake 
Michigan and includes two large islands with an additional 35 
miles of shoreline. The lakeshore encompasses 71,291 acres with 
30,000 acres currently managed as wilderness.
    In 1981 the Department of the Interior published a General 
Management Plan (GMP) that would greatly hinder public 
recreational access to the lake shoreline and prevent 
maintenance of popular trails, roads and historic sites through 
wilderness restrictions. In 2002, when the GMP was about to go 
into effect, a local citizens group was formed to block 
implementation. After years of negotiations, a revised GMP was 
issued in 2009. It re-aligned the wilderness boundaries to 
allow motor boat access, maintenance of trails and historic 
sites and permits hunting under state regulation.
    H.R. 163 codifies these negotiated changes to protect 
public access. Under the bill, the wilderness area does not 
include any existing county roads or areas managed primarily 
for historic resources. This is to ensure the continued 
availability of the county roads for visitors accessing remote 
trailheads, beaches, backcountry areas and historic areas. 
Although the lakeshore's boundary extends one-quarter mile out 
into Lake Michigan, none of the waters of Lake Michigan are 
proposed as wilderness. This ensures continued access by motor 
boaters to the shoreline beach adjacent to the wilderness area.

                            COMMITTEE ACTION

    H.R. 163 was introduced on January 4, 2013, by Congressman 
Dan Benishek (R-MI). The bill was referred to the Committee on 
Natural Resources, and within the Committee to the Subcommittee 
on Public Lands and Environmental Regulation. On July 23, 2013, 
the Subcommittee on Public Lands and Environmental Regulation 
held a hearing on the bill. On January 28, 2014, the Natural 
Resources Committee met to consider the bill. The Subcommittee 
on Public Lands and Environmental Regulation was discharged by 
unanimous consent. Congressman Doc Hastings (R-WA) offered an 
amendment designated #1 to the bill; the amendment was adopted 
by voice vote. The bill as amended was then adopted and 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.

                    COMPLIANCE WITH HOUSE RULE XIII

    1. Cost of Legislation. Clause 3(d)(1) 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)(2)(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. 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. 163--Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore Conservation and 
        Recreation Act

    H.R. 163 would designate as wilderness about 32,500 acres 
of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in the state of 
Michigan. The newly designated lands and inland waterways would 
comprise the Sleeping Bear Dunes Wilderness, a new component of 
the National Wilderness Preservation System.
    Based on information from the National Park Service, CBO 
estimates that the bill would have no significant impact on the 
federal budget. More than 30,000 of the affected acres have 
been managed as wilderness since 1981, and CBO estimates that 
the potential impact of the designation on public use would be 
minor. Enacting H.R. 163 would not affect direct spending or 
revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply.
    H.R. 163 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 March 25, 2013, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for S. 
23, the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore Conservation and 
Recreation Act, as ordered reported by the Senate Committee on 
Energy and Natural Resources on March 14, 2013. The two pieces 
of legislation are similar, and the CBO cost estimates are the 
same.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Martin von 
Gnechten. The estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy 
Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.
    2. Section 308(a) of 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. Based on 
information from the National Park Service, CBO estimates that 
the bill would have no significant impact on the federal 
budget. Enacting H.R. 163 would not affect direct spending or 
revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures to not apply.
    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 designate as wilderness certain 
land and inland water within the Sleeping Bear Dunes National 
Lakeshore in the State of Michigan.

                           EARMARK STATEMENT

    This bill does not contain any Congressional earmarks, 
limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined 
under clause 9(e), 9(f), and 9(g) of rule XXI of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives.

                    COMPLIANCE WITH PUBLIC LAW 104-4

    This bill contains no unfunded mandates.

                       COMPLIANCE WITH H. RES. 5

    Directed Rule Making. The Chairman does not believe that 
this bill directs any executive branch official to conduct any 
specific rule-making proceedings.
    Duplication of Existing Programs. This bill does not 
establish or reauthorize a program of the federal government 
known to be duplicative of another program. Such program was 
not included in any report from the Government Accountability 
Office to Congress pursuant to section 21 of Public Law 111-139 
or identified in the most recent Catalog of Federal Domestic 
Assistance published pursuant to the Federal Program 
Information Act (Public Law 95-220, as amended by Public Law 
98-169) as relating to other programs.

                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.

                                  
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