[House Report 115-989]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
115th Congress } { Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session } { 115-989
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FLATSIDE WILDERNESS ENHANCEMENT ACT
_______
October 23, 2018.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Bishop of Utah, from the Committee on Natural Resources, submitted
the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 5636]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred
the bill (H.R. 5636) to designate additions to the Flatside
Wilderness on the Ouachita National Forest, 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 ``Flatside Wilderness Enhancement Act''.
SEC. 2. ADDITIONS TO FLATSIDE WILDERNESS.
Section 3(d) of Arkansas Wilderness Act of 1984 (Public Law 98-508;
98 Stat. 2349) is amended by inserting ``and certain land in the
Ouachita National Forest, which comprise approximately 640 acres, as
generally depicted as `Recommended Wilderness Area' on the map titled
`Flatside Wilderness, Recommended Wilderness Area', dated September 6,
2018'' after ``1984''.
SEC. 3. DESIGNATION OF WILDERNESS ADDITION.
The wilderness addition created under section 2 shall be known as the
Bethune Woods-Flatside Wilderness. Any reference in a law, map,
regulation, document, paper, or other record of the United States to
such portion of the Flatside Wilderness shall be deemed to be a
reference to the Bethune Woods-Flatside Wilderness.
Purpose of the Bill
The purpose of H.R. 5636 is to designate additions to the
Flatside Wilderness on the Ouachita National Forest.
Background and Need for Legislation
The Flatside Wilderness was designated by Congress and
added to the National Wilderness Preservation System (NWPS) in
1984 with the passage of the Arkansas Wilderness Act.\1\ The
Wilderness is comprised of approximately 9,500 acres of U.S.
Forest Service land in Arkansas' Ouachita National Forest.\2\
The area features small creeks, panoramic views, rugged
terrain, and a section of the Ouachita National Recreation
Trail.\3\
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\1\Public Law 98-508.
\2\Wilderness Areas: Ouachita National Forest. U.S. Forest Service.
Sept. 2008. https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/
stelprdb5085891.pdf
\3\Ibid.
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In 2005 the U.S. Forest Service recommended approximately
640 acres of U.S. Forest Service land adjacent to the Flatside
Wilderness be added to the NWPS as a part of the Flatside
Wilderness. In its recommendation, the Forest Service found
that ``adding these lands to NWPS would establish more logical
and manageable boundaries for these areas.''\4\
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\4\Revised Land and Resource Management Plan; Ouachita National
Forest. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service Southern Region.
September 2005. https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/
fsm9_039609.pdf
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H.R. 5636 would add a tract of approximately 640 acres of
studied and recommended wilderness to the Flatside Wilderness
in Arkansas' Ouachita National Forest. The tract would be named
the Bethune Woods-Flatside Wilderness, in honor of retired
Congressman Ed Bethune.
The 640 acres of recommended wilderness has undergone a
full National Environmental Policy Act of 1969\5\ analysis as a
part of the U.S. Forest Service's forest planning process,
including public comment. H.R. 5636 is supported by the
Department of Arkansas Heritage, the Arkansas Department of
Parks and Tourism, the Arkansas State Parks, Recreation and
Travel Commission, the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, Perry
County, Arkansas, the Perry County Chamber of Commerce, and
several other local, State and national organizations.
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\5\42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.
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Committee Action
H.R. 5636 was introduced on April 26, 2018, by Congressman
J. French Hill (R-AR). The bill was referred to the Committee
on Natural Resources, and within the Committee to the
Subcommittee on Federal Lands. On September 26, 2018, the
Natural Resources Committee met to consider the bill. The
Subcommittee was discharged by unanimous consent. Congressman
Bruce Westerman (R-AR) offered an amendment designated #1; it
was adopted by unanimous consent. No additional amendments were
offered, and the bill, as amended, was ordered favorably
reported to the House of Representatives by unanimous consent.
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 and Congressional Budget Act
1. Cost of Legislation and the Congressional Budget Act.
With respect to the requirements of clause 3(c)(2) and (3) of
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and
sections 308(a) and 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of
1974, the Committee has received the following estimate for the
bill from the Director of the Congressional Budget Office:
U.S. Congress,
Congressional Budget Office,
Washington, DC, October 17, 2018.
Hon. Rob Bishop,
Chairman, Committee on Natural Resources,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 5636, the Flatside
Wilderness Enhancement Act.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Janani
Shankaran.
Sincerely,
Mark P. Hadley
(For Keith Hall, Director).
Enclosure.
H.R. 5636--Flatside Wilderness Enhancement Act
H.R. 5636 would add 640 acres in the Ouachita National
Forest in Arkansas to the National Wilderness Preservation
System as part of the Flatside Wilderness. CBO estimates that
enacting the bill would have no significant effect on the
federal budget.
The affected lands are already protected for conservation
and wilderness values; therefore, CBO estimates that
implementing H.R. 5636 would have no significant effect on the
cost of administering the area. CBO expects that any revisions
to federal maps and other materials would be made in
conjunction with scheduled reprinting and other routine work.
Finally, because the affected lands currently produce no income
from mineral leasing, timber production, or other activities
(and are not expected to do so in the future), CBO estimates
that enacting the bill would not affect offsetting receipts,
which are treated as reductions in direct spending.
Because enacting H.R. 5636 would not affect direct spending
or revenues, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply.
CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 5636 would not increase
net direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four
consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2029.
H.R. 5636 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Janani
Shankaran. The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss,
Deputy Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.
2. 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 additions to the
Flatside Wilderness on the Ouachita National Forest.
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. This bill does not contain any
directed rule makings.
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 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):
SECTION 3 OF THE ARKANSAS WILDERNESS ACT OF 1984
Sec. 3. In furtherance of the purposes of the Wilderness Act,
the following lands in the state of Arkansas are hereby
designated as wilderness and, therefore, as components of the
National Wilderness Preservation System:
(a) Certain lands in the Ouachita National Forest, Arkansas,
which comprise approximately seven thousand five hundred and
sixty-eight acres, as generally depicted on a map entitled
``Black Fork Mountain Wilderness-Proposed'', dated September
1984, and which shall be known as the Black Fork Mountain
Wilderness;
(b) certain lands in the Ouachita National Forest, Arkansas,
which comprise approximately six thousand three hundred and ten
acres, as generally depicted on a map entitled ``Dry Creek
Wilderness-Proposed'', dated September 1984, and which shall be
known as the Dry Creek Wilderness;
(c) certain lands in the Ouachita National Forest, Arkansas,
which comprise approximately ten thousand eight hundred and
eighty-four acres, as generally depicted on a map entitled
``Poteau Mountain Wilderness-Proposed'', dated September 1984,
and which shall be known as the Poteau Mountain Wilderness;
(d) certain lands in the Ouachita National Forest, Arkansas,
which comprise approximately ten thousand one hundred and five
acres, as generally depicted on a map entitled ``Flatside
Wilderness-Proposed'', dated September 1984 and certain land in
the Ouachita National Forest, which comprise approximately 640
acres, as generally depicted as ``Recommended Wilderness Area''
on the map titled ``Flatside Wilderness, Recommended Wilderness
Area'', dated September 6, 2018, and which shall be known as
the Flatside Wilderness;
(e) certain lands in the Ozark-Saint Francis National Forest
which comprise approximately one thousand five hundred and four
acres, as generally depicted on a map entitled ``Upper Buffalo
Addition-Proposed'', dated November 1983, and which are hereby
incorporated in and shall be deemed to be a part of the Upper
Buffalo Wilderness as designated by Public Law 93-622;
(f) certain lands in the Ozark-Saint Francis National Forest
which comprise approximately fifteen thousand one hundred and
seventy-seven acres, as generally depicted on a map entitled
``Hurricane Creek Wilderness-Proposed'', dated November 1983,
and which shall be known as the Hurricane Creek Wilderness;
(g) certain lands in the Ozark-Saint Francis National Forest,
Arkansas, which comprise approximately eleven thousand eight
hundred and twenty-two acres, as generally depicted on a map
entitled ``Richland Creek Wilderness-Proposed'', dated November
1983, and which shall be known as the Richland Creek
Wilderness;
(h) certain lands in the Ozark-saint Francis national forest,
Arkansas, which comprise approximately ten thousand seven
hundred and seventy-seven acres, as generally depicted on a map
entitled ``East Fork Wilderness-Proposed'', dated September
1984, and which shall be known as the East Fork Wilderness; and
(i) certain lands in the Ozark-Saint Francis National Forest,
Arkansas, which comprise approximately sixteen thousand nine
hundred and fifty-six acres, as generally depicted on a map
entitled ``Leatherwood Wilderness-Proposed'', dated November
1983, and which shall be known as the Leatherwood Wilderness.
[all]