[House Report 117-294]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
117th Congress } { Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session } { 117-294
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WILDLIFE REFUGE CONSERVATION AND RECREATION FOR THE COMMUNITY ACT
_______
April 25, 2022.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Grijalva, from the Committee on Natural Resources, submitted the
following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 972]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred
the bill (H.R. 972) to establish the Western Riverside County
Wildlife Refuge, and for other purposes, having considered the
same, reports favorably thereon without amendment and
recommends that the bill do pass.
PURPOSE OF THE BILL
The purpose of H.R. 972 is to establish the Western
Riverside County Wildlife Refuge.
BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION
Riverside County is located in Southern California,
spanning from the Greater Los Angeles area to the Arizona
Border. The county is the fourth most populated in the state,
with 2.46 million people.\1\ As a result of this large
population and high growth rates, the Western Riverside County
Regional Conservation Authority was established in 2004 to
implement the Western Riverside County Multiple Species Habitat
Conservation Plan (MSHCP) under Section 10 of the Endangered
Species Act (ESA).\2\ The MSHCP framework seeks to preserve a
half million acres of wildlife habitat to allow for future
development and infrastructure projects necessary to
accommodate the growing population. The MSHCP protects 146
native species of plants, birds, and animals,\3\ and at the
time of the MSHCP's drafting there were 32 listed and proposed
species in the MSHCP Plan Area.\4\
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\1\QuickFacts, Riverside County, California, U.S. Census Bureau,
https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/riversidecountycalifornia (estimate
of July 1, 2021).
\2\See About RCA, W. Riverside Cnty. Reg'l Conservation Auth.,
https://www.wrc-rca.org/about-rca/ (last visited Apr. 8, 2022). See
generally Habitat Conservation Plans, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Serv.,
https://www.fws.gov/service/habitat-conservation-plans (last visited
Apr. 8, 2022).
\3\About RCA, supra note 2.
\4\W. Riverside Cnty. Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan
vol. 4, 2.5 (2003), https://www.rctlma.org/Portals/0/mshcp/volume4/
02.html#2.5.
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H.R. 972 would direct the Secretary of the Interior to
establish the Western Riverside County Wildlife Refuge within
the lands and waters of the Plan Area. The purpose of this
refuge is to conserve habitats for future generations, support
the recovery and protection of threatened and endangered
species, and provide the refuge with habitat connectivity and
migratory corridors.
COMMITTEE ACTION
H.R. 972 was introduced on February 11, 2021, by
Representative Ken Calvert (R-CA). The bill was referred solely
to the Committee on Natural Resources, and within the Committee
to the Subcommittee on Water, Oceans, and Wildlife. On July 14,
2021, the Natural Resources Committee met to consider the bill.
The Subcommittee was discharged by unanimous consent. No
amendments were offered, and the bill was adopted and ordered
favorably reported to the House of Representatives by unanimous
consent.
HEARINGS
For the purposes of clause 3(c)(6) of House Rule XIII, the
following hearing was used to develop or consider this measure:
full committee markup by the House Committee on Natural
Resources held on July 14, 2021.
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, September 15, 2021.
Hon. Raul M. Grijalva,
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. 972, the Wildlife
Refuge Conservation and Recreation for the Community Act.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Janani
Shankaran.
Sincerely,
Phillip L. Swagel,
Director.
Enclosure.
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
H.R. 972 would direct the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
(USFWS) to establish the Western Riverside County National
Wildlife Refuge in California. Under the bill, federal agencies
that manage land within the proposed boundary, including the
Bureau of Land Management, the Forest Service, and the Army
Corps of Engineers, would be required to assess the suitability
of transferring their land to USFWS to include in the refuge.
For this estimate, CBO assumes that the bill would be
enacted around the end of calendar year 2021. Using information
from the affected agencies, CBO estimates that the federal
government would incur costs totaling $3 million over the 2022-
2026 period to establish the refuge; such spending would be
subject to the availability of appropriated funds. That amount
includes the costs to assess federal land for inclusion,
complete the necessary environmental studies, and conduct
related planning. CBO estimates that the net change in costs to
manage the land would be negligible over the 2022-2026 period.
H.R. 972 would authorize USFWS to acquire nonfederal land
by donation, purchase with donated or appropriated funds, or
exchange. CBO expects that any donations, which are classified
in the budget as offsetting receipts or reductions in direct
spending, would be spent soon thereafter, resulting in a
negligible effect on net direct spending.
Any income from communication site leases, timber
production, and special use permits on federal land is also
classified in the budget as offsetting receipts. Under H.R.
972, the federal government could forgo such receipts if
federal land was transferred to the refuge because it would be
unavailable for some of those purposes. However, CBO expects
that federal agencies would probably not transfer land that
generates such income; thus, CBO estimates that any reduction
in those receipts would be insignificant over the 2022-2031
period.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Janani
Shankaran. The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss,
Deputy Director of Budget Analysis.
2. General Performance Goals and Objectives. As required by
clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, the general performance goals and
objectives of this bill are to establish the Western Riverside
County Wildlife Refuge.
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.
UNFUNDED MANDATES REFORM ACT STATEMENT
According to CBO, this bill contains no unfunded mandates
as defined by the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.
EXISTING PROGRAMS
This bill does not establish or reauthorize a program of
the federal government known to be duplicative of another
program.
APPLICABILITY TO LEGISLATIVE BRANCH
The Committee finds that the legislation does not relate to
the terms and conditions of employment or access to public
services or accommodations within the meaning of section
102(b)(3) of the Congressional Accountability Act.
PREEMPTION OF STATE, LOCAL, OR TRIBAL LAW
Any preemptive effect of this bill over state, local, or
tribal law is intended to be consistent with the bill's
purposes and text and the Supremacy Clause of Article VI of the
U.S. Constitution.
CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW
If enacted, this bill would make no changes to existing
law.
SUPPLEMENTAL, MINORITY, ADDITIONAL, OR DISSENTING VIEWS
None.
[all]