[Senate Report 117-185]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                                                      Calendar No. 536
117th Congress      }                            {         Report
                                 SENATE
 2d Session         }                            {         117-185

======================================================================

 
              WILSON'S CREEK NATIONAL BATTLEFIELD ADDITION

                                _______
                                

                October 18, 2022.--Ordered to be printed

 Filed, under authority of the order of the Senate of October 14, 2022

                                _______
                                

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

                              R E P O R T

                         [To accompany S. 3307]

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 
referred the bill (S. 3307), to modify the boundary of the 
Wilson's Creek National Battlefield in the State of Missouri, 
and for other purposes, having considered the same, reports 
favorably thereon with amendments and recommends that the bill, 
as amended, do pass.

                               Amendments

    The amendments are as follows:
    1. On page 2, line 14, strike ``624'' and insert ``25''.
    2. On page 2, line 18, strike ``September 2021'' and insert 
``July 2022''.

                                Purpose

    The purpose of S. 3307, as ordered reported, is to modify 
the boundary of the Wilson's Creek National Battlefield in 
Missouri to include approximately 25 acres of the Newtonia 
Battlefield site.

                          Background and Need

    Wilson's Creek National Battlefield was established in 1960 
to commemorate and interpret the 1861 Civil War Battle of 
Wilson's Creek, Missouri. In 2008, Congress authorized the 
National Park Service to evaluate if the Newtonia Battlefields 
in Newtonia, Missouri, met the criteria for addition to the 
National Park System as an independent unit of the National 
Park System, or as an addition to the Wilson's Creek National 
Battlefield.
    Newtonia was the site of two Civil War battles. The First 
Battle of Newtonia occurred on September 30, 1862, and the 
military consequences of the battle were minor. However, the 
battle is distinguished by regiments of American Indian 
soldiers fighting on both sides. The historic context places 
the First Battle of Newtonia in the perspective of the complex 
and tragic history of intertribal violence and the affiliation 
of the American Indian tribes with the Union or Confederate 
armies in the Civil War. The Second Battle of Newtonia on 
October 28, 1864, although minor, was the final full-scale 
battle of the Civil War in Missouri, and the final battle of 
General Sterling Price's Missouri Expedition of 1864. The 
historic context places the Second Battle of Newtonia in the 
context of that campaign.
    Newtonia is a small, predominantly agricultural town that 
still strongly resembles the Civil War era in size and land 
use. Resources such as the Ritchey Mansion, a prominent home 
that was used during the War as a field hospital and troop 
headquarters, as well as cemeteries, stone walls, agricultural 
fields, and other landscape features remain.
    As ordered reported, S. 3307 would include 25 acres of the 
Newtonia Battlefield site, including the Ritchey Mansion, 
within the boundary of Wilson's Creek National Battlefield.

                          Legislative History

    S. 3307 was introduced by Senators Blunt and Hawley on 
December 2, 2021. The Subcommittee on National Parks held a 
hearing on S. 3307 on May 11, 2022. A companion bill, H.R. 6130 
was introduced in the House by Representative Long on December 
2, 2021.

                          Committee Amendments

    During its consideration of S. 3307, the Committee adopted 
several clarifying amendments updating the map reference and 
reducing the acreage of the Newtonia addition from 624 acres to 
25 acres.

                        Committee Recommendation

    The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in 
open business session on July 21, 2022, by a voice vote of a 
quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 3307, if 
amended as described herein. Senator Lee asked to be recorded 
as voting no.

                      Section-by-Section Analysis


Section 1. Short title

    Section 1 establishes the short title of the Act as 
``Wilson's Creek National Battlefield Boundary Revision Act of 
2021.''

Sec. 2. Wilson's Creek National Battlefield Boundary modification

    Section 2 amends Public Law 86-434 (as amended by Public 
Law 108-394), to include approximately 25 acres of land within 
the boundaries of the Wilson's Creek National Battlefield, to 
allow the Secretary to correct clerical or typographical errors 
on the boundary map.

                   Cost and Budgetary Considerations

    The Committee has requested, but has not yet received, the 
Congressional Budget Office's estimate of the cost of S. 3307 
as ordered reported. When the Congressional Budget Office 
completes its cost estimate, it will be posted on the Internet 
at www.cbo.gov.

                      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. 3307. 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. 3307, as ordered reported.

                   Congressionally Directed Spending

    S. 3307, 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

    The testimony provided by the Department of the Interior at 
the May 11, 2022, subcommittee hearing on S. 3307 follows:

   Statement of Michael A. Caldwell, Acting Associate Director, Park 
Planning, Facilities and Lands, National Park Service, U.S. Department 
                            of the Interior

    Chairman King, Ranking Member Daines, and members of the 
Subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to present the 
Department of the Interior's views on S. 3307, a bill to modify 
the boundary of the Wilson's Creek National Battlefield in the 
State of Missouri, and for other purposes.
    The Department opposes S. 3307.
    The bill would amend the boundary of the Wilson's Creek 
National Battlefield to include approximately 624 acres that 
include the site of the first and second battles of Newtonia. 
The precise location of the boundary revision is identified on 
a map numbered 410/117,379 and dated September 2021.
    Pursuant to public law 110-229, a special resource study 
was conducted to evaluate if the Newtonia Battlefields in 
Newtonia, Missouri, met the criteria for addition to the 
National Park System as an independent unit of the system or as 
an addition to the Wilson's Creek National Battlefield in 
Republic, Missouri. The study found that the Newtonia 
Battlefields did not meet the significance or suitability 
criteria as an independent unit of the system. In evaluating 
the boundary of Wilson's Creek National Battlefield, the study 
found that the Newtonia Battlefields are only tangentially 
related to the existing unit and the boundary modification 
would not protect significant resources, enhance opportunities 
for public enjoyment, address operational and management issues 
for the existing park site, or protect critical park resources. 
Given these findings, the Department does not support modifying 
the boundary of Wilson's Creek National Battlefield as 
described in S. 3307.
    Currently the Newtonia Battlefields Protection Association 
(Association) owns and maintains 25 plus acres of the 
Battlefields. This includes the Ritchey Mansion and the ``Old 
Newtonia Cemetery'' or the ``Civil War Cemetery'' as it is 
locally known, with an unspecified number of unmarked graves. 
Nine markers have been identified as belonging to Union 
soldiers, including that of Captain Robert F. Christian, who 
was killed during the Second Battle of Newtonia.
    The Association was instrumental in having the sites of the 
1862 and the 1864 battles listed on the National Register of 
Historic Places. The Ritchey Mansion was previously listed on 
the National Register, and the Association revised that 
application after they purchased the Mansion in 2002 to include 
the battlefields. The Association applied for and received 
multiple grants from the American Battlefield Protection 
Program of the National Park Service to learn more about the 
site and improve its management, and can continue to compete 
for additional grants in the future if desired.
    Chairman King, this concludes my statement. I would be 
pleased to answer any questions you or other members of the 
Subcommittee may have.

                        Changes in Existing Law

    In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, changes in existing law made by 
the bill S. 3307, as ordered reported, are shown as follows 
(existing law proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black 
brackets, new matter is printed in italic, existing law in 
which no change is proposed is shown in roman):

          Public Law 86-434 (as amended by Public Law 108-394)


AN ACT To provide for the establishment of the Wilson Creek Battlefield 
National Park in the State of Missouri.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


SECTION 1. WILSON CREEK NATIONAL BATTLEFIELD: ESTABLISHMENT AND 
                    ACQUISITION OF LANDS.

    (a) Establishment, Initial Boundaries.--The Secretary of 
the Interior shall acquire, by gift, purchase, condemnation, or 
otherwise, the lands (together with any improvements thereon) 
comprising the Wilson's Creek Battlefield site near 
Springfield, Missouri, and any other lands adjacent to such 
site which in his opinion are necessary or desirable to carry 
out the purposes of this Act.
    (b) Expansion of Boundaries.--
          [(1) The boundaries] (1) Additional land.--
                  (A) In general._The boundaries of the 
                Wilson's Creek National Battlefield are revised 
                to include lands and interests therein 
                consisting of six parcels totaling 615 acres 
                and identified as parcels ``1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 
                6'' on the map entitled ``Wilson's Creek 
                National Battlefield Proposed Boundary'', 
                numbered 410/80,037 and dated January 27, 2004.
                  (B) Newtonia battlefield addition._The 
                boundary of the Wilson's Creek National 
                Battlefield is revised to include the 
                approximately 25 acres of land identified as 
                ``Proposed Addition'' on the map entitled 
                ``Wilson's Creek National Battlefield Proposed 
                Boundary Modification'', numbered 410/177,379, 
                and dated July 2022.
    [The map] (C) Availability of maps._The maps described in 
subparagraphs (A) and (B) shall be on file and available for 
public inspection in the appropriate offices of the National 
Park Service.
                  (D) Errors._The Secretary of the Interior may 
                correct any clerical or typographical error in 
                a map described in subparagraph (A) or (B).
          [(2) The Secretary is authorized to acquire the lands 
        referred to in paragraph (1)] (2) Method of 
        acquisition._The Secretary of the Interior may acquire 
        the land described in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of 
        paragraph (1) by donation, by purchase from willing 
        sellers with donated or appropriated funds, or by 
        exchange. The Secretary may acquire by the same methods 
        personal property associated with, and appropriate for, 
        interpretation of the [park] Wilson's Creek National 
        Battlefield.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


                                  [all]