[Senate Report 109-171]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 272
109th Congress Report
SENATE
1st Session 109-171
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CATOCTIN MOUNTAIN NATIONAL RECREATION AREA DESIGNATION ACT
_______
October 27, 2005.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Domenici, from the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany S. 777]
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was
referred the bill (S. 777) to designate Catoctin Mountain Park
in the State of Maryland as the ``Catoctin Mountain National
Recreation Area'', and for other purposes, having considered
the same, reports favorably thereon with amendments and
recommends that the bill, as amended, do pass.
The amendments are as follows:
1. On page 2, line 6, strike ``in 1952, approximately
5,000'' and insert ``in 1954, approximately 4,400''.
2. On page 3, line 11, strike ``841/80444, and dated August
14, 2002'' and insert ``841/80444B and dated April 2005'' .
PURPOSE OF THE MEASURE
The purpose of S. 777 is to designate Catoctin Mountain
Park as the Catoctin Mountain National Recreation Area.
BACKGROUND AND NEED
Catoctin Mountain Park, located in northern Maryland, was
established in 1935 by the National Industrial Recovery Act as
the Catoctin Recreation Demonstration Area (RDA) and
transferred to the National Park Service by Executive Order
7496 on November 14, 1936. On July 7, 1942, the Presidential
Retreat was established in the park. President Roosevelt called
the Camp ``Shangri-La'' after the mountain kingdom in James
Hilton's book Lost Horizon. It was renamed Camp David in 1953
by President Eisenhower in honor of his grandson. On June 11,
1954, approximately 4,400 acres south of Route 77 was
transferred to the State of Maryland and became Cunningham
Falls State Park. The current designation of the remaining part
of the Catoctin RDA was changed to Catoctin Mountain Park on
July 12, 1954. The park includes 5,770 acres with an average
annual visitation of 700,000.
Catoctin Mountain Park is continually misidentified as
either containing lake and beach areas associated with
Cunningham Falls State Park or as being operated by the State
of Maryland. Designation of the area as a National Recreation
Area will eliminate the confusion andbe more consistent with
similar recreation areas.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
S. 777 was introduced by Senator Sarbanes on April 13,
2005. Similar legislation, S. 328, was introduced by Senators
Sarbanes and Mikulski in the 108th Congress. The Committee
ordered S. 328 favorably reported on March 19, 2003 (S. Rept.
10824). S. 328 passed the Senate by unanimous consent on April
7, 2003. No further action occurred in the House of
Representatives prior to the sine die adjournment of the 108th
Congress.
The Subcommittee on National Parks held a hearing on S. 777
on April 28, 2005, (S. Hrg. 10974). At its business meeting on
September 28, 2005, the Committee on Energy and Natural
Resources ordered S. 777 favorably reported with amendments.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in open
business session on September 28, 2005, by a voice vote of a
quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 777 if
amended as described herein.
COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS
During its consideration of S. 777 the Committee adopted
two technical amendments. One corrected an acreage reference in
one of the findings and the other provided an updated map
reference.
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS
Section 1 entitles the bill the ``Catoctin Mountain
National Recreation Area Designation Act.''
Section 2 contains congressional findings and a statement
of purpose.
Section 3 defines key terms used in the bill.
Section 4 redesignates Catoctin Mountain Park as the
Catoctin Mountain Park National Recreation Area as depicted on
the referenced map. The section contains standard language
directing the Secretary of the Interior to administer the park
in accordance with the laws generally applicable to units of
the National Park System.
Section 5 authorizes the appropriation of such sums as are
necessary.
COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS
The following estimate of costs of this measure has been
provided by the Congressional Budget Office:
S. 777--Catoctin Mountain National Recreation Area Designation Act
S. 777 would redesignate the Catoctin Mountain Park in
Maryland as the Catoctin Mountain National Recreation Area. The
bill would authorize the appropriation of whatever amounts are
necessary to implement the redesignation.
CBO estimates that implementing S. 777 would have no
significant effect on the federal budget. The 5,800-acre park,
which is already a unit of the National Park System, would
continue to be operated by the National Park Service under its
existing authority. The bill would have no effect on the park's
boundaries, facilities, or operations. We expect that onetime
costs to revise park brochures, maps, and signs would be
minimal because most such revisions would take place in
conjunction with scheduled reprinting and other routine park
operations. CBO estimates that enacting S. 777 would not affect
revenues or direct spending.
S. 777 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and
would have no significant impact on the budgets of state,
local, or tribal governments.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Deborah Reis.
This estimate was approved by Peter H. Fontaine, Deputy
Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.
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. 777. 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. 777, as ordered reported.
EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS
The views of the Administration on S. 777 were included in
testimony received by the Committee at a hearing on the bill on
April 28, 2005 as follows:
Statement of Michael Soukup, Associate Director, Natural Resource
Stewardship and Science, National Park Service, Department of the
Interior
Mr. Chairman, thank you for the opportunity to present the
views of the Department of the Interior on S. 777, a bill to
designate Catoctin Mountain Park in the State of Maryland as
the ``Catoctin Mountain National Recreation Area.''
The Department supports S. 777 with two technical
corrections added at the end of the testimony. This legislation
would provide a name for Catoctin Mountain Park that is
appropriate for the purpose and use of this unit of the
National Park System, and it also would update the authorities
for administering this park.
Catoctin Mountain Park had its origins as one of 46 Great
Depression-era Recreational Demonstration Areas established by
the Resettlement Administration, which was authorized under the
National Industrial Recovery Act (1933) and Executive Orders of
President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The Resettlement
Administration acquired and developed Recreational
Demonstration Areas across the nation to provide accessible,
low-cost, quality outdoor recreation opportunities. They were
used for day trips, picnicking, and overnight camping by
families, social groups, and public organizations.
Catoctin Recreational Demonstration Area, which comprised
approximately 20,000 acres, was acquired after the area had
sustained years of charcoal production, mountain farming, and
harvesting of trees for timber. The Works Progress
Administration and the Civilian Conservation Corps administered
projects at Catoctin both to put people back to work and to
establish an outdoor recreation area for the urban dwellers of
nearby Washington, D.C. and Baltimore, Maryland. Jurisdiction
over the Catoctin Recreational Demonstration Area was
transferred to the National Park Service in 1935 by Executive
Order.
In 1942, one of the cabin camps built at Catoctin, Camp Hi-
Catoctin, was selected by President Roosevelt as the
Presidential Retreat we know today as Camp David. Catoctin's
distinctive history also includes serving as an O.S.S. training
camp during World War II, and having the first Job Corps camp
in the United States and the nation's oldest camp for the
disabled.
In 1954, approximately 4,400 acres of the area was
transferred to the State of Maryland and became Cunningham
Falls State Park. That same year, the Director of the National
Park Service approved the renaming of Catoctin Recreational
Demonstration Area as ``Catoctin Mountain Park'' and Congress
provided authority to exchange lands to consolidate holdings in
the park. Catoctin Mountain Park is currently 5,810 acres in
size and has an average annual visitation of 700,000. The park,
consisting largely of eastern hardwood forest, has many
attractions for visitors: camping, picnicking, fishing, 25
miles of hiking trails and scenic mountain vistas.
The proximity of Catoctin Mountain Park, Camp David, and
Cunningham Falls State Park has caused longstanding confusion
for visitors to the area. Catoctin Mountain Park is continually
misunderstood as being closed to the public because of the
presence of Camp David. Renaming the park as a ``national
recreation area'' would offer an opportunity to reintroduce the
park as an area that is open to public recreation. The public
also has difficulty understanding why there is a difference
between the activities permitted at Catoctin Mountain Park and
those permitted at Cunningham Falls State Park. Including the
word ``national'' in the name of Catoctin Mountain Park would
facilitate efforts to educate the public about these
differences and to emphasize the value the National Park
Service places on protecting cultural and natural resources for
future generations.
In addition, the name ``national recreation area'' would
also help distinguish Catoctin Mountain Park from other local
attractions, such as the privately-owned Catoctin Wildlife
Preserve and Zoo, which are often confused with the park. And,
the name change would enhance the efforts of the Maryland
Office of Tourism Development and local tourism officials to
promote the presence of the five National Park System units
located in Frederick County, one of which is Catoctin Mountain
Park.
In addition to changing the name of the Catoctin Mountain
Park, S. 777 would provide the usual authorities that are
included when a new unit of the National Park System is
established. These provisions will make it easier for the
National Park Service to administer the unit than continuing to
rely on the piecemeal authorities that were granted since the
1930's. The authorities provided by S. 777 include providing
for administration of the unit in accordance with laws
governing the National Park System, and authorizing
appropriations for the park. It would also formally establish a
boundary, which is essentially the exiting ownership of the
National Park Service, and permit land acquisition that would
allow for minor boundary adjustments although none is
contemplated at this time. These provisions will ensure that
the park is able to continue to appropriately administer the
park's significant historic resources and important natural
areas. The costs associated with this legislation would be
negligible.
We are currently reviewing previous authorities for
Catoctin Mountain Park to determine whether any of them should
be repealed in conjunction with providing the new authority for
the park under S. 777. We will advise the subcommittee of our
findings as soon as possible.
Mr. Chairman, this concludes my remarks. I will be happy to
answer any questions you or the other committee members 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 S. 777, as ordered
reported.