[Senate Report 118-66]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                                                       Calendar No. 140
                                                       
118th Congress  }                                             {  Report
                               SENATE
 1st Session    }                                             {   118-66

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                  CHIRICAHUA NATIONAL PARK DESIGNATION

                                _______
                                

                 July 19, 2023.--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. 736]

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 
referred the bill (S. 736), 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 without amendment and 
recommends that the bill do pass.

                                PURPOSE

    The purpose of S. 736 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 
national monument as wilderness.
    S. 736 redesignates the national monument as a national 
park, but does not change the National Park Service management 
of the area.

                          LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

    S. 736 was introduced by Senators Kelly and Sinema on March 
9, 2023. Similar legislation, S. 1320, was introduced in the 
117th Congress by Senators Kelly and Sinema. The Subcommittee 
on National Parks held a hearing on S. 1320 on June 23, 2021. 
The Committee ordered S. 1320 reported favorably with an 
amendment in the nature of a substitute on November 18, 2021 
(S. Rept. 117-88). A related bill in the 117th Congress, 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.
    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 on the bill.

                        COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

    The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in 
open business session on May 17, 2023, by a majority voice vote 
of a quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 736.

                      SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

    Section 1 provides the short title, the ``Chiricahua 
National Park Act.''
    Section 2(a) redesignates the 12,305-acre Chiricahua 
National Monument as Chiricahua National Park. The subsection 
provides that the boundaries of the national park shall be the 
boundaries of Chiricahua National Monument and any reference to 
the monument shall be considered to be a reference to the 
national park. The bill also clarifies that any funding made 
available to the monument shall be available to the national 
park.
    Subsection (b) provides that the national park shall 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 Committee has requested, but has not yet received, the 
Congressional Budget Office's estimate of the cost of S. 736 as 
ordered reported. When the Congressional Budget Office 
completes its cost estimate, it will be posted on the Internet 
at www.cbo.gov.
    On November 21, 2022, the Congressional Budget Office 
provided a table entitled ``Summary Estimates of Legislation 
Ordered Reported'' by the Committee during the 117th Congress. 
The table included a cost estimate for similar legislation in 
the 117th Congress, S. 1320. The table is posted 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. 736. 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. 736, as ordered reported.

                   CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING

    S. 736, 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, similar legislation that 
was filed during the 117th Congress, 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 S. 736 as ordered reported