[Senate Report 110-180]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 378
110th Congress Report
SENATE
1st Session 110-180
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CARL SANDBURG HOME NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE BOUNDARY REVISION ACT OF 2007
_______
September 17, 2007.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Bingaman, from the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 1100]
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was
referred the Act (H.R. 1100) to revise the boundary of the Carl
Sandburg Home National Historic Site in the State of North
Carolina, and for other purposes, having considered the same,
reports favorably thereon without amendment and recommends that
the Act do pass.
PURPOSE
The purpose of H.R. 1100 is to authorize the Secretary of
the Interior to acquire up to 115 acres of land for addition to
the Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site in Flat Rock,
North Carolina.
BACKGROUND AND NEED
Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site in Flat Rock,
North Carolina, commemorates the life and legacy of Carl
Sandburg, and his significance as an American poet, writer, and
historian. The Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site
preserves and interprets the farm, Connemara, where Sandburg
and his family lived for the last 22 years of his life, until
his death in 1967. The National Historic Site was established
as a unit of the National Park System in 1968.
The National Historic Site's enabling legislation
authorized the purchase of 248 acres. A boundary expansion was
authorized in 1980 to accept 16 acres of land donated by the
North Carolina Nature Conservancy.
The park's 2003 General Management Plan (GMP) identified
and evaluated boundary adjustments that may be necessary or
desirable in order to carry out the purposes of the historic
site. The preferred alternative from the GMP recommended a
boundary addition of 115 acres, of which not more than 5 acres
are for the construction of a new visitor center and parking
lot. Congressional authorization is required to expand the
boundary of the historic site.
H.R. 1100 authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to
acquire up to 115 acres of lands or interests therein from
willing sellers by donation, or purchase with donated or
appropriated funds for addition to the National Historic Site.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
H.R. 1100, sponsored by Representative Shuler and others,
passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 268-150 on May
23, 2007. A Senate companion measure, S. 488, was introduced by
Senators Dole and Burr on February 5, 2007. The Subcommittee on
National Parks held a hearing on S. 488 and H.R. 1100 on July
12, 2007.
At its business meeting on July 25, 2007, the Committee on
Energy and Natural Resources ordered H.R. 1100 favorably
reported without amendment.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in open
business session on July 25, 2007, by a voice vote of a quorum
present, recommends that the Senate pass H.R. 1100.
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS
Section 1 entitles the bill the ``Carl Sandburg Home
National Historic Site Boundary Revision Act of 2007.''
Section 2 defines key terms used in the Act.
Section 3(a) authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to
acquire up to 110 acres from lands identified on the referenced
map for addition to the National Historic Site. The lands, or
interests therein, may be acquired by donation, purchase from
willing sellers or by exchange.
Subsection (b) authorizes the Secretary to acquire up to 5
acres of land for the development of a visitor center and
visitor parking area near the National Historic Site.
Subsection (c) provides that upon acquiring any lands or
interests therein, the Secretary shall revise the boundary of
the National Historic Site to reflect the acquisition.
Subsection (d) requires that the park boundary map be on
file and available for public inspection in appropriate offices
of the National Park Service.
Subsection (e) states that lands added to the National
Historic Site shall be administered in accordance with
applicable laws and regulations.
COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS
The following estimate of costs of this measure has been
provided by the Congressional Budget Office:
July 30, 2007.
Hon. Jeff Bingaman,
Chairman, Committee on Energy and Natural Resources,
U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 1100, the Carl
Sandburg Home National Historic Site Boundary Revision Act of
2007.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Deborah Reis.
Sincerely,
Peter R. Orszag.
Enclosure.
H.R. 1100--Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site Boundary Revision
Act of 2007
H.R. 1100 would authorize the National Park Service (NPS)
to acquire 115 acres to be added to the boundary of the Carl
Sandburg Home National Historic Site in North Carolina. Under
the act, the NPS could acquire that acreage, or lesser property
interests such as easements, by purchase, donation, or
exchange.
Assuming appropriation of the necessary amounts, CBO
estimates that implementing H.R. 1100 would cost $7 million
over the next several years. We estimate that about half of
that amount would be used by the NPS to acquire about 115 acres
of land near the existing historic site. (Such costs could be
lower if the NPS can acquire easements for some of the
acreage.) The remaining funds would be used to construct and
equip a visitor center and related facilities near the site. We
estimate that costs to manage the additional acreage and
operate new visitor facilities would be less than $500,000 a
year, assuming the availability of appropriated funds. This
estimate is based on information provided by the NPS. Enacting
H.R. 1100 would have no effect on direct spending or revenues.
H.R. 1100 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.
On May 11, 2007, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for H.R.
1100 as ordered reported by the House Committee on Natural
Resources on May 2, 2007. The two versions of the legislation
are identical, as are the CBO cost estimates.
The CBO staff contacts for this estimate are Deborah Reis
and David Reynolds. 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 H.R. 1100. The Act 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. 1100, as ordered reported.
EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS
The testimony provided by the National Park Service at the
July 12, 2007 subcommittee hearing on H.R. 1100 follows:
Statement of Katherine H. Stevenson, Acting Assistant Director,
Business Services, National Park Service, Department of the Interior
Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee, thank you for
the opportunity to appear before you today to present the views
of the Department of the Interior on S. 488 & H.R. 1100, bills
that would expand the boundary of the Carl Sandburg Home
National Historic Site (site) in the State of North Carolina.
S. 488 and H.R. 1100 would authorize the acquisition, from
willing sellers, of interests in 115 acres of land for addition
to the Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site. The bills
would also authorize the use of up to 5 of these 115 acres for
a visitor center and parking facilities.
The Department supports both of these bills, but would like
to work with the committee to amend S. 488 to make it identical
to H.R. 1100. At a hearing on April 17, 2007 in the House of
Representatives, the Department testified in support of H.R.
1100, and then worked with the House subcommittee to make minor
changes to make the bill more consistent with the site's 2003
General Management Plan and other recent boundary expansion
bills. An amended version of H.R. 1100, containing the changes
the department had suggested, passed the House of
Representatives on May 23, 2007.
These bills would authorize acquiring lands or easements
for the park that are estimated to cost between $300,000 and
$2.25 million. Management of these new lands is estimated to
cost less than $10,000 annually. These acquired lands could be
used for a visitor center, estimated to cost about $3 million,
but that project, as well as the costs for land acquisition,
would be subject to the budget prioritization process of the
NPS. Annual operation of a visitor center is expected to cost
$345,000. The costs of operating a shuttle are not known at
this time. No funding has yet been identified for any of these
costs.
Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site currently
includes 264 acres of Connemura Farm, an estate purchased by
Sandburg in 1945 near the pre-Civil War resort town of Flat
Rock, North Carolina. Following Sandburg's death in 1967, his
wife deeded the estate to the Federal government. The National
Historic Site was authorized one year later, in 1968.
Sandburg, though perhaps best known for his poetry
celebrating the lives of common American people, was also a
Pulitzer prize-winning biographer of Abraham Lincoln, a
children's author, and a collector of folk music. Fellow author
H.L. Mencken declared that Sandburg was ``indubitably an
American in every pulse-beat.''
Acquisition of 110 of the 115 acres proposed in S. 488 and
H.R. 1100 would protect the view that Carl Sandburg and his
neighbors enjoyed from Big Glassy Mountain. Big Glassy overlook
is the highest point at the Carl Sandburg Home National
Historic Site and a popular stop for visitors. Sandburg and his
family often visited this granite outcrop to enjoy its stunning
views of surrounding mountains and valleys. The majority of the
overlook is within the authorized park boundary. However, the
overlook precipice as well as the view below it, lies on
private property outside the authorized boundary. Purchasing
conservation easements or fee simple property rights from
willing sellers would protect the overlook and views from the
mountain in perpetuity.
The National Park Service contacted each landowner that
holds an interest in the 110 acres proposed for acquisition
during the planning process for the site's 2003 General
Management Plan. The State of North Carolina purchased 22 acres
within the proposed expansion to protect it until the National
Park Service can acquire it. All of the other owners agreed to
have their parcels included in the map and proposal to expand
the park.
The acquisition of 5 acres for a visitor center and parking
lot would help to solve traffic and safety problems along
Little River Road, the thoroughfare that forms the site's
northern boundary and provides excellent views of the site's
pastures, barns, and Side Lake. When the site's existing
parking area is full, vehicles enter and exit from Little River
Road, searching for an open space. Some visitors park on the
shoulder of Little River Road and walk to the site. The
presence of park vehicles, pedestrians, and speeding traffic on
Little River Road is a hazard to all. The local community has
expressed concern about this issue, but there is no additional
parking available in the community.
To solve these problems, the site's 2003 General Management
Plan proposes acquiring up to 5 acres to build a visitor center
and parking facility. In order to protect the historic
character of the site, the National Park Service would like
this facility to be located outside both the existing boundary
and the 110 acres that are proposed to protect the overlook and
views from Big Glassy Mountain. A more appropriate location
would be near, but not necessarily contiguous with the park's
boundary, perhaps fronting Little River Road or Highway 225.
The Village of Flat Rock, North Carolina supports the proposal
for a visitor center and parking facility.
H.R. 1100 has been amended to allow the National Park
Service to acquire 5 acres ``adjacent to or in the general
vicinity of'' the site's boundary. S. 488 requires that all
lands required be ``contiguous to'' the park's boundary. We
would like to work with the committee to amend S. 488 to make
it consistent with H.R. 1100 and the park's 2003 General
Management Plan.
S. 488 applies boundary expansion criteria from the 1978
National Parks and Recreation Act. In the 29 years since that
Act was signed into law, Congressional committees and the
National Park Service have developed and refined these
criteria. These refined criteria are used in the version of
H.R. 1100 that is being considered by the subcommittee. We
would like to work with the subcommittee to amend S. 488 to
make it identical to H.R. 1100.
Mr. Chairman, this concludes my prepared testimony. I would
be pleased to answer any questions you or any members of the
subcommittee might 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 Act H.R. 1100, as
ordered reported.