[Senate Report 109-241]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 403
109th Congress Report
SENATE
2d Session 109-241
======================================================================
STUDYING CASTLE NUGENT FARMS FOR POTENTIAL ADDITION TO THE NATIONAL
PARK SYSTEM
_______
April 20, 2006.--Ordered to be printed
Filed, under authority of the order of the Senate of April 7, 2006
_______
Mr. Domenici, from the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 318]
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was
referred the Act (H.R. 318) to authorize the Secretary of the
Interior to study the suitability and feasibility of
designating Castle Nugent Farms located on St. Croix, Virgin
Islands, 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 Act do pass.
PURPOSE OF THE MEASURE
The purpose of H.R. 318 is to authorize the Secretary of
the Interior to study the suitability and feasibility of
designating Castle Nugent Farms, located on St. Croix, Virgin
Islands, as a unit of the National Park System.
BACKGROUND AND NEED
Castle Nugent Farms is located on the arid southeast coast
of St. Croix. At 1,400-acres, the Farm is believed to be the
largest remaining parcel of privately-held land on the island.
Historians believe that the buildings and historic objects
at Castle Nugent tell much of the history of the island and of
the Caribbean as a whole. The ``great house'' on the property
is believed to have been built during the 1730s, when the farm
was a thriving cotton plantation. Remains of slave quarters are
thought to tell the story of forced labor. Remains of a sugar
mill might tell the story of 18th and 19th century sugar,
molasses, and rum production and export. Potsherds at the site
might be pre-Columbian in origin. The study proposed by this
bill would determine the significance of these cultural
resources.
Castle Nugent Farms continues today as a working farm and
guest house. Since the 1950s, the farm has been known for the
Senepol breed of cattle. The Senepol breed was developed on St.
Croix and is adapted to the dry climate and poor forage that
characterize the island. The ``great house'' is rented out to
visitors interested in staying at the ranch.
Caroline Gaspari owns Castle Nugent Farms and is supportive
of this study.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
H.R. 318 was introduced by Delegate Christensen on January
25, 2005. The bill passed the House of Representatives on
November 15, 2005 on a voice vote. The Subcommittee on National
Parks held a hearing on H.R. 318 on February 16, 2006. At its
business meeting on March 8, 2006, the Committee on Energy and
Natural Resources ordered H.R. 318 favorably reported.
A similar bill, H.R. 2663, was introduced by Ms.
Christensen in the 108th Congress.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in open
business session on March 8, 2006, by unanimous voice vote of a
quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass H.R. 318, as
described herein.
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS
Section 1(a) contains congressional findings.
Subsection (b) directs the Secretary of the Interior to
study the feasibility of designating Castle Nugent Farms as a
unit of the National Park System.
Subsection (c) directs the Secretary to conduct the study
in accordance with Public Law 91-383. This law defines criteria
for additions to the National Park System and directs the
Secretary to complete the study no later than 3 years after
funds are made available.
COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS
The following estimate of costs of this measure has been
provided by the Congressional Budget Office.
H.R. 318--An act to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to study
the suitability and feasibility of designating Castle Nugent
Farms located on St. Croix, Virgin Islands, as a unit of the
National Park System, and for other purposes
H.R. 318 would direct the Department of the Interior to
study the feasibility and suitability of designating the
approximately 1,400-acre site of Castle Nugent Farms on St.
Croix as a unit of the National Park System. The department
would be required to report its findings and recommendations
within three years of receiving funds for the study.
Assuming the availability of appropriated funds, CBO
estimates that implementing H.R. 318 would cost the federal
government about $300,000 over the next three years to complete
the required study and report. Enacting the legislation would
not affect direct spending or revenues.
H.R. 318 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and
would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Matthew
Pickford. The 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 H.R. 318. 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 H.R. 318, as ordered reported.
EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS
The views of the Administration on H.R. 318 were included
in testimony received by the Committee at a hearing on the bill
on February 16, 2006. This testimony follows:
Statement of John Parsons, Associate Regional Director, National
Capital Region, 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 H.R. 318, a bill to
authorize the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) to study
the suitability and feasibility of designating Castle Nugent
Farms on St. Croix, Virgin Islands, as a unit of the National
Park System.
The Department does not oppose H.R. 318, if amended as
described in this testimony. This study would provide an
opportunity to determine the appropriate way to preserve and
interpret resources associated with the plantation period in
the Virgin Islands. The National Park Service (NPS) currently
manages three units on the island of St. Croix--Christiansted
National Historic Site, Buck Island Reef National Monument, and
Salt River Bay National Historical Park and Ecological
Preserve. In a time of tight budgets and a refocusing on the
core mission of the National Park Service (NPS), we believe
that funding should be directed first toward completing the 25
previously authorized studies.
In light of the President's commitment to devote more
resources to maintaining existing units of the National Park
System, we have made an effort to curtail taking on new
responsibilities. For this reason, we believe any study should
evaluate all alternatives for preservation and interpretation,
including what role, if any, might best be played by the NPS or
other partners. We recommend that H.R. 318 be amended to
specify that the study explore all options. Our proposed
amendment is attached to this testimony.
The NPS is in various stages of progress on 25 studies
previously authorized by Congress, 17 of which are being funded
through the special resource study budget. We transmitted three
studies in FY 2005, and there are seven studies in the
transmittal process. Our highest priority is to complete these
pending studies, though we expect to start newly authorized
studies as soon as funds are made available. We estimate that
the costs of completing this study will be approximately
$250,000 to $350,000.
H.R. 318 would direct the Secretary to carry out a study of
the Castle Nugent Farms, which consists of approximately 1,400-
acres located on the arid southeastern shore of St. Croix. The
property is believed to be the largest parcel of privately held
land in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
The farm's rolling terrain consists of a mixture of dry
forest, native vegetation, and rangeland that slopes down from
an elevation of 750 feet to the sea, fronting on a coastline
that includes cobble beaches. One of the largest and healthiest
fringing coral reef systems in the Virgin Islands extends only
a few hundred feet offshore. The property also provides nesting
areas for sea turtles, blackcrowned night herons, and a host of
other migrating and resident birds.
Castle Nugent Farms has a long and diverse history of
farming dating back to the 1730s when the property was first
established as a cotton and sugar plantation after the Danish
West Indies Company purchased St. Croix from France. For many
years, sugar cane, indigo, and cotton were the main crops.
After Emancipation in 1848, the plantation began breeding
N'Dama cattle, which had earlier been brought to St. Croix from
Africa. This breed was a prominent part of the farm's
operations until the 1960s when attention shifted towards
raising an N'Dama cross breed of cattle known as Senepol.
Introduced to Castle Nugent Farms in 1957 the Senepol breed has
been able to flourish due to its tolerance to tropical, dry
climates and its ability to survive in near-desert conditions,
thus making the cattle an ideal match for St. Croix' climate.
Today, the farm is well-known for its production of high
quality Senepol beef, which is both consumed locally and
exported to world markets.
Castle Nugent Farms contains a cluster of buildings from
the colonial plantation era including a great house that dates
from the plantation's establishment, a converted chapel, the
remains of a sugar mill, slave quarters, and a converted cotton
storage shed. The buildings are situated in close proximity to
each other on a hill with views towards the Caribbean Sea. The
current owner lives on-site and also operates the buildings and
grounds as a bed and breakfast. According to the owner, other
cultural resources on the grounds include recent discoveries of
pottery shards and other artifacts left over from either slave
shanties or Arawak Indian campsites.
If authorized by Congress, and if funds are made available,
a study would be able to determine if the resources present at
Castle Nugent Farms are nationally significant, if the site
would be a suitable and feasible addition to the National Park
System, whether direct NPS management or alternative protection
by other public agencies or the private sector is appropriate
for the site, and what management alternative would be most
effective and efficient in protecting the resources and
allowing for public enjoyment of the site.
That concludes my testimony. I would be happy to answer any
questions you or other members of the subcommittee may have.
PROPOSED AMENDMENTS--H.R. 318, CASTLE NUGENT FARMS STUDY
Insert a new subsection (c) as follows and redesignate the
existing subsection (c) as subsection (d).
``(c) Management Alternatives.--In completing the study
authorized in subsection (b), the Secretary shall examine
whether the National Park Service, the territorial government,
or other public or private groups will be the most appropriate
entity to provide for the management and preservation of Castle
Nugent Farms.''
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 Act H.R. 318, as
ordered reported.