[House Report 108-253]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
108th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
1st Session 108-253
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MOUNT NAOMI WILDERNESS BOUNDARY ADJUSTMENT ACT
_______
September 3, 2003.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on
the State of the Union and ordered to be printed
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Mr. Pombo, from the Committee on Resources, submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany S. 278]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill
(S. 278) to make certain adjustments to the boundaries of the
Mount Naomi Wilderness Area, and for other purposes, having
considered the same, report favorably thereon without amendment
and recommend that the bill do pass.
PURPOSE OF THE BILL
The purpose of S. 278 is to make certain adjustments to the
boundaries of the Mount Naomi Wilderness Area, and for other
purposes.
BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION
The Mount Naomi Wilderness Area (MNWA), located to the
northeast of Logan, Utah, was created by the Utah Wilderness
Act of 1984 (Public Law 98-428). Encompassing approximately
44,523 acres in the Wasatch-Cache National Forest, the MNWA is
one of the largest wilderness areas in the State of Utah and
provides many recreational opportunities for the residents of
Cache County.
The close proximity of portions of the MNWA to Logan City
limits creates difficulty for the Forest Service to manage
these lands for wilderness uses, and also presents potential
problems for the City. In one area of approximately 31 acres,
the MNWA's southwestern boundary abuts the Logan City limits.
Within this small area is a utility corridor with several
utility, power and communication lines that existed prior to
the designation of the wilderness area. Maintenance of these
facilities is extremely difficult because no motorized or
mechanized equipment may be operated within a wilderness area.
Adjusting the boundaries of the wilderness area to exclude this
small area would provide a common-sense solution both to the
utility corridor's maintenance problem and the Forest Service's
management problem.
The 31-acre adjustment would provide a manageable, natural
boundary for the wilderness area. It allows the boundary to
follow the natural contour lines at the base of Mount Naomi
rather than arbitrary boundary lines on a map. The area to be
adjusted was chosen and agreed upon by the Forest Service,
Logan City, and Cache County, and is the smallest area
necessary to complete this adjustment and realign the boundary.
Additionally, a small portion of the Bonneville Shoreline
Trail has been proposed within this 31-acre area adjacent to
the Logan City limits. This portion of the trail would connect
with a number of other trails in the Bonneville Shoreline Trail
system, and would provide outstanding recreational
opportunities to thousands of people each year. The trail would
be approximately eight feet wide and accessible to pedestrian,
biking, and equestrian traffic. Adjusting the boundary around
this 31-acre area would serve to eliminate a potential non-
conforming use in the wilderness area. This is the only portion
of this trail that lies within the wilderness area.
To prevent a net loss of wilderness due to this boundary
adjustment, the Forest Service, in consultation with the city
of Logan and Cache County, identified a separate 31-acre parcel
with wilderness characteristics located adjacent to the
southern boundary of the wilderness area. This parcel would be
added to the wilderness area by this legislation. Thus, there
would be no net loss of wilderness.
COMMITTEE ACTION
S. 278 was introduced on February 4, 2003, by Senator
Robert E. Bennett (R-UT). On April, 7, 2003, the bill passed
the Senate by unanimous consent and was received by the House
of Representatives. In the House of the Representatives, the
bill was referred to the Committee on Resources, and within the
Committee to the Subcommittee on Forests and Forest Health. On
July 9, 2003, the Resources Committee met to consider the bill.
The Subcommittee was discharged from further consideration of
the bill by unanimous consent. No amendments were offered and
the bill was ordered favorably reported to the House of
Representatives by unanimous consent.
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 Resources' oversight findings and recommendations
are reflected in the body of this report.
CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY STATEMENT
Article I, section 8 of the Constitution of the United
States grants Congress the authority to enact this bill.
COMPLIANCE WITH HOUSE RULE XIII
1. Cost of Legislation. Clause 3(d)(2) of rule XIII of the
Rules of the House of Representatives requires an estimate and
a comparison by the Committee of the costs which would be
incurred in carrying out this bill. However, clause 3(d)(3)(B)
of that rule provides that this requirement does not apply when
the Committee has included in its report a timely submitted
cost estimate of the bill prepared by the Director of the
Congressional Budget Office under section 402 of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974.
2. Congressional Budget Act. As required by clause 3(c)(2)
of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and
section 308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, this
bill does not contain any new budget authority, spending
authority, credit authority, or an increase or decrease in
revenues or tax expenditures.
3. General Performance Goals and Objectives. This bill does
not authorize funding and therefore, clause 3(c)(4) of rule
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives does not
apply.
4. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate. Under clause
3(c)(3) of Rule XIII of the rules of the House of
Representatives and section 403 of the Congressional Budget Act
of 1974, the Committee has received the following cost estimate
for this bill from the Director of the Congressional Budget
Office:
U.S. Congress,
Congressional Budget Office,
Washington, DC, July 16, 2003.
Hon. Richard Pombo,
Chairman, Committee on Resources,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 278, the Mount Naomi
Wilderness Boundary Adjustment Act.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Megan
Carroll.
Sincerely,
Douglas Holtz-Eakin,
Director.
Enclosure.
S. 278--Mount Naomi Wilderness Boundary Adjustment Act
CBO estimates that enacting S. 278 would have no
significant impact on the federal budget. The act would not
affect direct spending or revenues. S. 278 contains no
intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the
Unfunded Mandate; Reform Act and would have no significant
impact on the budgets of state, local, or tribal governments.
S. 278 would adjust the existing boundary of the Mount
Naomi Wilderness in the Wasatch-Cache National Forest in Utah.
The adjustment would exclude from the wilderness area about 31
acres of land and, subject to vallid existing rights, would add
31 acres of other national forest land. Based on information
from the Forest Service, CBO estimates that the proposed change
would not significantly affect the agency's costs to manage
those lands.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Megan Carroll.
This estimate was approved by Peter H. Fontaine, Deputy
Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.
COMPLIANCE WITH PUBLIC LAW 104-4
This bill contains no unfunded mandates.
PREEMPTION OF STATE, LOCAL, OR TRIBAL LAW
This bill is not intended to preempt any State, local or
tribal law.
CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW
If enacted, this bill would make no changes in existing
law.