[Senate Report 115-57]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                                                        Calendar No. 70

115th Congress}                                            { Report
                                 SENATE
 1st Session  }                                            { 115-57


======================================================================
 
        ARAPAHO NATIONAL FOREST BOUNDARY ADJUSTMENT ACT OF 2017

                                _______
                                

                  May 9, 2017.--Ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

        Ms. Murkowski, from the Committee on Energy and Natural 
                   Resources, submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 688]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 
referred the bill (H.R. 688) to adjust the boundary of the 
Arapaho National Forest, Colorado, and for other purposes, 
having considered the same, reports favorably thereon without 
amendment and recommends that the bill do pass.

                                PURPOSE

    The purpose of H.R. 688 is to adjust the boundary of the 
Arapaho National Forest, Colorado.

                          BACKGROUND AND NEED

    Between Rocky Mountain National Park and the Bowen Gulch 
Protection Area on the Arapaho National Forest in the State of 
Colorado is a 10-lot subdivision known as the ``Wedge.'' The 
Rocky Mountain Nature Association and the Trust for Public 
Land, in partnership with the U.S. Forest Service and the 
National Park Service, have worked for 20 years to acquire 
these Wedge lots, which are part of the Colorado River 
headwaters and are highly visible from Trail Ridge Road, the 
main road that traverses Rocky Mountain National Park. 
Currently, the Forest Service owns seven of the Wedge lots but 
these parcels do not have national forest status as the 
boundary of Arapaho National Forest has never been adjusted to 
include the lots within the Arapaho National Forest.
    H.R. 688 would adjust the boundary of the Arapaho National 
Forest to incorporate 92.95 additional acres. Federal land to 
be included in the new boundary will become part of the Bowen 
Gulch Protection Area established under section 6 of the 
Colorado Wilderness Act of 1993. Owners of non-Federal lands 
within the new boundary who historically have accessed their 
lands through lands included in the Arapaho expansion would 
have continued right of motorized access to their lands across 
an existing roadway.
    H.R. 688 requires the Secretary of Agriculture to obtain 
written permission from the private land owners of the lots to 
include the lots within the new boundary. The bill also 
authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to acquire non-Federal 
lands from willing sellers within the new boundary.
    Completion of these acquisitions would ensure the 
protection of the view shed of Rocky Mountain National Park and 
the resource values of the Bowen Gulch Protection Area within 
the Arapaho National Forest. Without financial support from the 
Land and Water Conservation Fund, the only options available to 
the Federal government to acquire the remaining parcels are 
through existing administrative authorities, such as donation 
or exchange. These administrative authorities, however, are 
only available if Congress modifies the boundary of the Arapaho 
National Forest to include the Wedge within the national 
forest. H.R. 688 accomplishes this boundary adjustment.

                          LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

    H.R. 688 was introduced in the House of Representatives by 
Representatives Polis, Tipton, and Lamborn on January 24, 2017 
and passed the House of Representatives by a voice vote on 
February 6, 2017.
    On February 2, 2017, S. 289, an identical measure, was 
introduced by Senators Bennet and Gardner.
    In the 114th Congress, H.R. 1324 was introduced by 
Representative Polis on March 4, 2015. On March 25, 2015, the 
House Natural Resources Committee ordered H.R. 1324 reported. 
The House of Representatives passed H.R. 1324 under suspension 
of the rules by a vote of 381-30 on April 28, 2015. The bill 
was received by the Senate and referred to the Committee on 
Energy and Natural Resources.
    On May 12, 2015, Senators Bennet and Gardner introduced a 
similar bill, S. 1295. The Subcommittee on Public Lands, 
Forest, and Mining held a hearing on both H.R. 1324 and S. 1295 
on October 8, 2015. On November 19, 2015, the Committee on 
Energy and Natural Resources met in open business session and 
on a voice vote ordered H.R. 1324 favorably reported without 
amendment.
    The measure was included in Amendment No. 3234, which the 
Senate agreed to on April 19, 2016, as an amendment to S. 2012, 
the Energy Policy and Modernization Act of 2016, which the 
Senate passed, as amended, on April 20, 2016.
    In the 113th Congress, a similar bill, H.R. 4846, was 
introduced in the House of Representatives by Representative 
Polis on June 11, 2014. The House Natural Resources Committee's 
Subcommittee on Public Lands and Environmental Regulation held 
a hearing on the bill on September 9, 2014, and the Natural 
Resources Committee ordered the bill reported as amended on 
September 18, 2014. The House of Representatives passed H.R. 
4846 as amended under suspension of the rules on November 13, 
2014.
    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources met in open 
business session on March 30, 2017, and ordered H.R. 688 and S. 
289 favorably reported.

                        COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

    The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in 
open business session on March 30, 2017, by a majority voice 
vote of a quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass H.R. 
688.

                      SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

    Section 1 contains the short title, the ``Arapaho National 
Forest Boundary Adjustment Act of 2017''.
    Section 2(a) adjusts the boundary of the Arapaho National 
Forest to include approximately 92.95 additional acres. 
Privately owned lots may only be included within the boundary 
adjustment area if the Secretary obtains written permission for 
inclusion from the lot owners.
    Subsection (b) designates all Federal land within the 
boundary adjustment area as part of the Bowen Gulch Protection 
Area.
    Subsection (c) makes the boundary effective as of January 
1, 1965, for purposes of the Land and Water Conservation Fund 
Act (authorizing acquisition of lands within the boundaries of 
the national forest).
    Subsection (d) clarifies that nothing in the Act opens 
privately owned land within the boundary adjustment area to 
public motorized use.
    Subsection (e) allows for continued motorized access for 
the owners of non-Federal land within the boundary adjustment 
area to their private land across certain access points 
historically used by the owners.

                   COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

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

H.R. 688--Arapaho National Forest Boundary Adjustment Act of 2007

    H.R. 688 would modify the boundary of the Arapaho National 
Forest in Colorado to include an additional 93 acres of land. 
Based on information provided by the Forest Service, CBO 
estimates that implementing the legislation would have no 
significant effect on the federal budget. We expect that any 
additional costs to revise brochures, maps, and signs to 
reflect the new boundary would not be significant because such 
revisions would take place in conjunction with scheduled 
reprinting and routine maintenance.
    Enacting H.R. 688 would not affect direct spending or 
revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply. CBO 
estimates that enacting H.R. 688 would not increase net direct 
spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 
10-year periods beginning in 2028.
    H.R. 688 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 April 7, 2017, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for S. 
289, the Arapaho National Forest Boundary Adjustment Act of 
2017, as ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Energy and 
Natural Resources on March 30, 2017. H.R. 688 and S. 289 are 
similar and CBO's cost estimate for each piece of legislation 
is the same.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Jeff LaFave. 
This estimate was approved by H. Samuel Papenfuss, 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 H.R. 688. 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 H.R. 688, as ordered reported.

                   CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING

    H.R. 688, as ordered 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

    Because H.R. 688 is similar to legislation considered by 
the Committee in the 114th Congress, the Committee did not 
request Executive Agency views. The testimony provided by the 
U.S. Forest Service at the hearing before the Subcommittee on 
Public Lands, Forests, and Mining hearing on October 8, 2015, 
follows:

 Statement of Glenn Casamassa, Associate Deputy Chief, National Forest 
                                 System

    Mr. Chairman and members of the Subcommittee, thank you for 
the opportunity to present the views of the U.S. Department of 
Agriculture (USDA) regarding S. 1295, S. 1448, S. 1941, and S. 
1942.


    s. 1295, the ``arapaho national forest boundary adjustment act''


    S. 1295 would modify the boundary of the Arapaho National 
Forest in the State of Colorado to incorporate approximately 
92.95 acres of land currently outside the proclaimed National 
Forest boundary. All Federal land within the new boundary would 
be included in the Bowen Gulch Protection Area established 
under section 6 of the Colorado Wilderness Act of 1993. S. 1295 
requires the Secretary to obtain written permission from the 
owners of lots to include the lots in the boundary adjustment. 
Private land owners have provided letters of support.
    The Federal lands within the new boundary would be closed 
to motorized use by the public. S. 1295 allows for continued 
motorized access over historical routes by owners of non-
Federal land within the new boundary.
    The Department supports S. 1295. It would provide National 
Forest status for parcels previously purchased. It would also 
allow the Forest Service to use its existing land exchange 
authorities to acquire additional parcels from willing 
landowners within the new boundary. Completion of these 
acquisitions would ensure protection of the Rocky Mountain 
National Park view-shed and the resource values of the Bowen 
Gulch Protection Area. We would also like to work with the 
Committee to clarify that motorized use for administrative 
purposes within the new boundary area is allowed.

                        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 as ordered 
reported.

                                  [all]