[Senate Report 117-88]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                                                      Calendar No. 297
117th Congress         }                            {         Report
                                 SENATE
 2d Session            }                            {         117-88

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



 
                        CHIRICAHUA NATIONAL PARK

                                _______
                                

                 March 2, 2022.--Ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

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

                              R E P O R T

                         [To accompany S. 1320]

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 
referred the bill (S. 1320), to establish the Chiricahua 
National Park in the State of Arizona as a unit of the National 
Park System, and for other purposes, having considered the 
same, reports favorably thereon with an amendment in the nature 
of a substitute and recommends that the bill, as amended, do 
pass.

                               AMENDMENT

    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 ``Chiricahua National Park Act''.

SEC. 2. DESIGNATION OF CHIRICAHUA NATIONAL PARK, ARIZONA.

    (a) Designation.--
          (1) In general.--The Chiricahua National Monument in the 
        State of Arizona established by Presidential Proclamation 1692 
        (54 U.S.C. 320301 note; 43 Stat. 1946) shall be known and 
        designated as ``Chiricahua National Park'' (referred to in this 
        Act as the ``National Park'').
          (2) Boundaries.--The boundaries of the National Park shall be 
        the boundaries of the Chiricahua National Monument as of the 
        date of enactment of this Act, as generally depicted on the map 
        entitled ``Chiricahua National Park Proposed Boundary'', 
        numbered 145/156,356, and dated March 2021.
          (3) References.--Any reference in a law, map, regulation, 
        document, or other record of the United States to the 
        Chiricahua National Monument shall be considered to be a 
        reference to the ``Chiricahua National Park''.
          (4) Availability of funds.--Any funds available for the 
        Chiricahua National Monument shall be available for the 
        National Park.
    (b) Administration.--The Secretary of the Interior shall administer 
the National Park in accordance with--
          (1) Presidential Proclamation 1692 (54 U.S.C. 320301 note; 43 
        Stat. 1946);
          (2) Presidential Proclamation 2288 (54 U.S.C. 320301 note; 52 
        Stat. 1551); and (3) the laws generally applicable to units of 
        the National Park System, including--
                  (A) section 100101(a), chapter 1003, and sections 
                100751(a), 100752, 100753, and 102101 of title 54, 
                United States Code; and
                  (B) chapter 3201 of title 54, United States Code.

                                PURPOSE

    As ordered reported, the purpose of S. 1320 is to 
redesignate the Chiricahua National Monument in the State of 
Arizona as Chiricahua National Park.

                          BACKGROUND AND NEED

    Established by Presidential Proclamation issued by 
President Coolidge in 1924 under the authority of the 
Antiquities Act, the Chiricahua National Monument protects 
approximately 12,000 acres of unique natural and cultural 
heritage in Cochise County, Arizona. The national monument is 
primarily known for its unique ``standing rock'' formations 
eroded from rhyolitic tuff, but also includes a varied 
biological landscape due to its location at the crossroads of 
four biogeographical regions.
    The national monument's cultural landscape includes the 
homeland of the Chiricahua Apache Indians and their ancestors, 
19th century homesteads, Buffalo Soldier history, an early 20th 
century guest ranch, and a depression-era Civilian Conservation 
Corps camp. In 1976, Congress designated the majority of the 
monument as wilderness.
    S. 1320 redesignates the national monument as a national 
park, but does not change the National Park Service management 
of the area.

                          LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

    Senators Kelly and Sinema introduced S. 1320 on April 22, 
2021. The Subcommittee on National Parks held a hearing on the 
bill on June 23, 2021. A related bill, H.R. 6451, was 
introduced in the House by Representative Kirkpatrick on 
January 20, 2022. The Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests, 
and Public Lands held a hearing on the bill on February 3, 
2022. No further action has been taken.
    In the 116th Congress, Senators McSally and Sinema 
introduced similar legislation, S. 3121. Senator Kelly later 
joined as a cosponsor. The Subcommittee on National Parks held 
a hearing on that bill on March 4, 2020, but no further action 
was taken.

                        COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

    The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in 
open business session on November 18, 2021, by a majority voice 
vote of a quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 
1320, if amended as described herein.

                          COMMITTEE AMENDMENT

    During its consideration of S. 1320, the committee adopted 
an amendment in the nature of a substitute. As introduced, the 
bill abolished the Chiracahua National Monument and established 
the Chiracahua National Park. The substitute amendment 
redesignates the national monument as a national park and makes 
other clarifying edits. The amendment is described in the 
summary below.

                                SUMMARY

    S. 1320 redesignates the 12,305-acre Chiricahua National 
Monument as Chiricahua National Park. The bill provides that 
the boundaries of the National Park shall be the boundaries of 
Chiricahua National Monument and any reference to the monument 
or funding made available to the monument shall be available to 
the park. The national park is to be administered in accordance 
with the presidential proclamations establishing and expanding 
the national monument and other laws generally applicable to 
units of the National Park System.

                   COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

    The Congressional Budget Office has not estimated the costs 
of S. 1320 as passed by the Senate. The Committee has 
requested, but has not yet received, the Congressional Budget 
Office's estimate of the cost of S. 1320 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. 1320. 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. 1320, as ordered reported.

                   CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING

    S. 1320, 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 June 23, 2021, hearing on S. 1320 follows:

    Statement of Michael 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 
views of the Department of the Interior on S. 1320, to 
establish the Chiricahua National Park in the State of Arizona 
as a unit of the National Park System, and for other purposes. 
The Department supports S. 1320.
    Chiricahua National Monument was established on April 18, 
1924, by President Calvin Coolidge by presidential 
proclamation. The monument is located in Cochise County, 
approximately 37 miles southeast of Willcox, Arizona. It is 
located at the intersection of the Chihuahuan and Sonoran 
deserts, the southern Rocky Mountains, and the northern Sierra 
Madre.
    Chiricahua National Monument is known as a ``Wonderland of 
Rocks'' because of its distinctive pinnacle formations. These 
formations are the result of powerful volcanic events combined 
with geologic erosive forces over time creating the rhyolitic 
rock formations in the monument. The Madrean Sky Island 
ecosystem of the Monument protects a great diversity of flora 
and fauna as well as critical habitat for threatened, 
endangered and endemic species.
    Chiricahua National Monument also preserves evidence of 
diverse human history spanning thousands of years, including 
prehistoric indigenous peoples, Chiricahua Apaches, Buffalo 
Soldiers, European American pioneers and ranchers, and the 
1930's Civilian Conservation Corps. The monument's Faraway 
Ranch Historic District includes structures, resources and 
landscapes associated with the former pioneer homestead and 
working cattle ranch. Stories and evidence of struggle, 
perseverance, stewardship and connection to the land unite the 
experiences of each of these groups which left a lasting legacy 
on the land and our country.
    Re-designating the monument as Chiricahua National Park is 
consistent with the nomenclature patterns of the National Park 
System. Units designated as national parks generally contain a 
variety of resources and encompass a large land or water area 
to help provide adequate protection of the resources. With its 
wealth of both natural and cultural resources over a large land 
mass of approximately 12,025 acres, it is appropriate to 
designate this unit as a national park.
    Mr. Chairman, 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, the Committee notes that no 
changes in existing law are made by the bill as ordered 
reported.

                                  [all]