[Senate Report 110-299]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 651
110th Congress Report
SENATE
2d Session 110-299
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IDAHO WILDERNESS BOUNDARY MODIFICATION ACT OF 2008
_______
April 10, 2008.--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 S. 1802]
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was
referred the bill (S. 1802) to adjust the boundaries of the
Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness in the State of
Idaho, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon
with an amendment and recommends that the bill, as amended, do
pass.
The amendment is as follows:
Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert in lieu
thereof the following:
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Idaho Wilderness Boundary Modification
Act of 2008''.
SEC. 2. PURPOSES.
The purposes of this Act are--
(1) to adjust the boundaries of the wilderness area; and
(2) to authorize the Secretary to sell the land designated
for removal from the wilderness area due to encroachment.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Land designated for exclusion.--The term ``land
designated for exclusion'' means the parcel of land that is--
(A) comprised of approximately 10.2 acres of land;
(B) generally depicted on the survey plat entitled
``Proposed Boundary Change FCRONRW Sections 15
(unsurveyed) Township 14 North, Range 13 East, B.M.,
Custer County, Idaho'' and dated November 14, 2001; and
(C) more particularly described in the survey plat
and legal description on file in--
(i) the office of the Chief of the Forest
Service, Washington, DC; and
(ii) the office of the Intermountain Regional
Forester, Ogden, Utah.
(2) Land designated for inclusion.--The term ``land
designated for inclusion'' means the parcel of National Forest
System land that is--
(A) comprised of approximately 10.2 acres of land;
(B) located in unsurveyed section 22, T. 14 N., R. 13
E., Boise Meridian, Custer County, Idaho;
(C) generally depicted on the map entitled ``Challis
National Forest, T.14 N., R. 13 E., B.M., Custer
County, Idaho, Proposed Boundary Change FCRONRW'' and
dated September 19, 2007; and
(D) more particularly described on the map and legal
description on file in--
(i) the office of the Chief of the Forest
Service, Washington, DC; and
(ii) the Intermountain Regional Forester,
Ogden, Utah.
(3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of
Agriculture.
(4) Wilderness area.--The term ``wilderness area'' means the
Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness designated by
section 3 of the Central Idaho Wilderness Act of 1980 (16
U.S.C. 1132 note; 94 Stat. 948).
SEC. 4. BOUNDARY ADJUSTMENT.
(a) Adjustment to Wilderness Area.--
(1) Inclusion.--The wilderness area shall include the land
designated for inclusion.
(2) Exclusion.--The wilderness area shall not include the
land designated for exclusion.
(b) Corrections to Legal Descriptions.--The Secretary may make
corrections to the legal descriptions.
SEC. 5. CONVEYANCE OF LAND DESIGNATED FOR EXCLUSION.
(a) In General.--Subject to subsection (b), to resolve the
encroachment on the land designated for exclusion, the Secretary may
sell for consideration in an amount equal to fair market value--
(1) the land designated for exclusion; and
(2) as the Secretary determines to be necessary, not more
than 10 acres of land adjacent to the land designated for
exclusion.
(b) Conditions.--The sale of land under subsection (a) shall be
subject to the conditions that--
(1) the land to be conveyed be appraised in accordance with
the Uniform Appraisal Standards for Federal Land Acquisitions;
(2) the person buying the land shall pay--
(A) the costs associated with appraising and, if the
land needs to be resurveyed, resurveying the land; and
(B) any analyses and closing costs associated with
the conveyance;
(3) for management purposes, the Secretary may reconfigure
the description of the land for sale; and
(4) the owner of the adjacent private land shall have the
first opportunity to buy the land.
(c) Disposition of Proceeds.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary shall deposit the cash
proceeds from a sale of land under subsection (a) in the fund
established under Public Law 90-171 (commonly known as the
``Sisk Act'') (16 U.S.C. 484a).
(2) Availability and use.--Amounts deposited under paragraph
(1)--
(A) shall remain available until expended for the
acquisition of land for National Forest purposes in the
State of Idaho; and
(B) shall not be subject to transfer or reprogramming
for--
(i) wildland fire management; or
(ii) any other emergency purposes.
PURPOSE
The purpose of S. 1802 is to adjust the boundaries of the
Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness in the State of
Idaho.
BACKGROUND AND NEED
The Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness, within the
Salmon-Challis National Forest in Idaho, was designated by
section 3 of the Central Idaho Wilderness Act of 1980 (16
U.S.C. 1132 note).
S. 1802 makes a small modification to the boundary of the
wilderness located around a private ranch. Specifically, the
bill would remove wilderness designation on approximately ten
acres that currently contain a road and a water development.
These improvements pre-dated the wilderness designation. In
addition, S. 1802 adds approximately ten acres of existing
national forest system land to the wilderness.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
S. 1802 was introduced by Senator Craig on July 17, 2007.
The Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests held a hearing on
the bill on September 20, 2007 (S. Hrg. 110-216). The Committee
on Energy and Natural Resources ordered the bill favorably
reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute at its
business meeting on January 30, 2008.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in open
business session on January 30, 2008, by a voice vote of a
quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 1802, if
amended as described herein.
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
During its consideration of S. 1802, the Committee adopted
an amendment in the nature of a substitute. The amendment more
accurately describes the land and clearly provides the
Secretary with authority to sell the land excluded from the
wilderness as well as not more than ten additional acres of
adjoining land.
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS
Section 1 contains the short title.
Section 2 contains the purposes.
Section 3 contains the definitions.
Section 4 adjusts the wilderness area by including the
lands designated for inclusion and excluding the lands
designated for exclusion.
Section 5(a) states that, subject to subsection (b) and in
order to resolve the encroachment on the land designated for
exclusion, the Secretary may sell, for consideration in an
amount equal to fair market value, the land designated for
exclusion as well as not more than ten acres of land adjacent
to the land designated for exclusion.
Subsection (b) sets forth a list of conditions that must be
met in order to complete the sale of land authorized by
subsection (a).
Subsection (c) requires the Secretary to deposit the cash
proceeds from a sale of land under subsection (a) into the fund
established under Public Law 90-171. This subsection also
states that the proceeds shall remain available until expended
for the acquisition of and for National Forest purposes in the
State of Idaho. Finally, the subsection prohibits the proceeds
from being used for wildland fire management or any other
emergency purposes.
COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS
The following estimate of costs of this measure has been
provided by the Congressional Budget Office:
S. 1802--Idaho Wilderness Boundary Modification Act of 2007
S. 1802 would authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to
sell up to 20 acres of Forest Service land in the Frank Church
River of No Return Wilderness in Idaho.
Any costs associated with the sale of the land would be
paid by a private buyer, and the Forest Service would be
authorized to spend any proceeds to purchase other property in
Idaho. Therefore, enacting S. 1802 would have no net effect on
direct spending. The legislation would not affect revenues.
S. 1802 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 Tyler Kruzich.
This estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, 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. 1802. 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. 1802, as ordered reported.
CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING
S. 1802, as 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
Statement of Joel Holtrop, Deputy Chief, National Forest System, U.S.
Forest Service, Department of Agriculture
S. 1802, Idaho Wilderness Boundary Modification Act of 2007
* * * * * * *
Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, I appreciate the
opportunity to appear before you to provide the Department's
views on the bills which are on the agenda today.
S. 1802, Idaho Wilderness Boundary Modification Act of 2007
This bill would adjust the boundaries of the Frank Church
River of No Return Wilderness and provide authorization for a
land ownership adjustment to resolve conflicts related to
unauthorized improvements.
The Department would support the bill if amended to correct
the survey description and provide for a more appropriate
manner in which to resolve the associated land issues.
The Diamond D Ranch consists of three separate parcels of
private land located in the Challis National Forest and
surrounded by the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness
near Stanley, Idaho. In 2001, a boundary survey identified
several unauthorized improvements associated with the ranch on
National Forest System lands, including a portion of a water
diversion and transmission pipeline in the designated
wilderness area. Most of the unauthorized improvements, which
also include fences, roads, and borrow pits, predate wilderness
designation. The ranch owner has offered to enter into
negotiations with the Forest Service to effect an exchange of
the lands containing unauthorized improvements for other
interests that could be more desirable for National Forest
management.
The wilderness configuration in this vicinity is an
approximately 10.2 acre triangular shaped area between two
private parcels. Due to the adjacency of private lands and the
unauthorized improvements, this area lacks the characteristics
normally associated with designated wilderness. The bill would
retract the wilderness boundary to exclude the 10.2 acres and
expand the wilderness boundary to add approximately the same
acreage to the wilderness in a nearby location. This would
adjust the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness with no
net loss of designated wilderness, while improving its overall
wilderness characteristics.
In addition, through a waiver of qualifying criteria, the
bill would give the Secretary the discretion to use the Small
Tracts Act (P.L. 97-465) in order for the Forest Service to
address the unauthorized improvements.
The Department supports the bill's goals of improving
wilderness characteristics while resolving longstanding land
management issues. However, as written, the bill contains
technical errors in the survey description of the lands
proposed to be excluded and included in the wilderness. It also
contains a technical error in the description of the lands that
would be subject to the waiver of the Small Tracts Act acreage
requirement. In addition, the Department would prefer to use a
different land adjustment authority than the Small Tracts Act,
which is not appropriate to this situation.
The Department would like to work with the bill's sponsor
and the committee to make these technical corrections and
provide for a more appropriate land adjustment authority. We
will support the bill with these amendments and appreciate the
opportunity to enhance the Frank Church River of No Return
Wilderness.
* * * * * * *
Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, this concludes
my testimony. I am happy to answer any questions you may have
at this time.
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. 1802, as
ordered reported.