[Senate Report 110-391]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 823
110th Congress Report
SENATE
2d Session 110-391
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WILD MONONGAHELA ACT: A NATIONAL LEGACY FOR WEST VIRGINIA'S SPECIAL
PLACES
_______
June 16, 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 H.R. 5151]
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was
referred the Act (H.R. 5151) to designate as wilderness
additional National Forest System lands in the Monongahela
National Forest in the State of West Virginia, and for other
purposes, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon
with amendments and recommends that the Act, as amended, do
pass.
The amendments are as follows:
1. On page 6, strike lines 10 through 12 and insert the
following: ``1131 et seq.).''
2. On page 6, line 15, insert ``(a) In General.--'' before
``The boundary''.
3. On page 6, between lines 23 and 24, insert the
following:
(b) Land and Water Conservation Fund.--For the purposes of
section 7 of the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965
(16 U.S.C. 460l-9), the boundaries of the Monongahela National
Forest, as confirmed by subsection (a), shall be considered to
be the boundaries of the Monongahela National Forest as of
January 1, 1965.
PURPOSE
The purpose of H.R. 5151 is to designate as wilderness
additional National Forest System land in the Monongahela
National Forest in the State of West Virginia, to adjust
certain boundaries, and to enhance non-motorized recreational
trail opportunities.
BACKGROUND AND NEED
The Monongahela National Forest is composed of over 919,000
acres of Federal land in 10 counties located in the eastern
portion of West Virginia. The forest hosts approximately three
million visitors annually. Currently, the forest has five
wilderness areas comprising 78,041 acres: Otter Creek, Dolly
Sods, Laurel Fork North, and Laurel Fork, and the Cranberry
Wilderness. These wilderness areas range in elevation from just
under 2,000 feet to over 4,000 feet, and they include rare
ecosystems and habitat for threatened and endangered species.
The Monongahela National Forest revised its land and
resource management plan in 2006 and, in the process,
inventoried and evaluated 18 roadless areas for their
wilderness potential. As a result, the National Forest
recommended four areas representing nearly 27,700 acres for
wilderness study and protection, including Cheat Mountain in
Randolph County, an expansion of the Cranberry Wilderness in
Webster and Pocahontas Counties, an expansion of the Otter
Creek Wilderness in Tucker County, and Roaring Plains West in
Pendleton and Randolph Counties. In addition, the Forest
Service determined that three areas (Big Draft in Greenbrier
County, an expansion of the Dolly Sods Wilderness in Tucker
County, and Spice Run in Greenbrier and Pocahontas Counties)
were eligible for wilderness designation, but it instead
designated all three areas as ``semiprimitive nonmotorized
areas'' in order to permit certain mechanized activities, while
at the same time protecting their roadless characteristics.
H.R. 5151 would permanently protect most of these areas as
wilderness, including two of the three areas recommended for
wilderness designation and the four areas that were found to
have wilderness characteristics, but designated as
``semiprimitive nonmotorized areas'' in the 2006 forest plan.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
H.R. 5151 was introduced on January 29, 2008, by
Representative Rahall. A hearing was held on the bill on
February 26, 2008, and it was ordered reported with an
amendment by the Natural Resources Committee on April 2, 2008.
The House of Representatives passed H.R. 5151, as amended, on
April 22, 2008, by a vote of 368-17.
Senators Byrd and Rockefeller introduced a similar bill, S.
2581, on January 30, 2008. The Subcommittee on Public Lands and
Forests held a hearing on that bill on April 15, 2008.
At its business meeting on May 7, 2008, the Committee on
Energy and Natural Resources ordered H.R. 5151 favorably
reported, with an amendment.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in an
open business session on May 7, 2008, by voice vote of a quorum
present, recommends that the Senate pass H.R. 5151, if amended
as described herein.
COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS
The Committee recommends three amendments. The first
removes unnecessary language regarding the effective date of
the Wilderness Act. The second adds a heading. The third adds
language clarifying that the Land and Water Conservation Fund
may be used to acquire outstanding interests in the land
included in the confirmed boundaries of the Monongahela
National Forest.
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS
Section 1 contains the short title.
Section 2(a) designates approximately 37,771 acres of
National Forest System land within the Monongahela National
Forest, as follows:
Paragraph (1) designates approximately 5,144 acres to be
known as the ``Big Draft Wilderness'', as generally depicted on
the referenced map;
Paragraph (2) designates approximately 11,951 acres as an
addition to the Cranberry Wilderness designated by section 1(1)
of Public Law 97-466, as generally depicted on the referenced
map;
Paragraph (3) designates approximately 7,156 acres as an
addition to the Dolly Sods Wilderness designated by section
3(a)(13) of Public Law 93-622, as generally depicted on the
referenced map;
Paragraph (4) designates approximately 698 acres as an
addition to the Otter Creek Wilderness designated by section
3(a)(14) of Public Law 93-622, as generally depicted on the
referenced map;
Paragraph (5) designates approximately 6,792 acres to be
known as the ``Roaring Plains West Wilderness'', as generally
depicted on the referenced map; and
Paragraph (6) designates approximately 6,030 acres to be
known as the ``Spice Run Wilderness'', as generally depicted on
the referenced map.
Subsection (b)(1) directs the Chief of the Forest Service
to file a map and legal description of each wilderness area
designated or expanded by subsection (a) with the relevant
congressional committees and to keep them on file and available
to the public.
Paragraph (2) states that the maps and legal descriptions
shall have the same force and effect as if included in this
Act, except that the Secretary may correct clerical and
typographical errors in the maps and legal descriptions.
Subsection (c) states that the designated wilderness areas
shall be administered in accordance with the Wilderness Act,
subject to valid existing rights. Subsection (c) also clarifies
that the Secretary may continue to authorize a running race in
the vicinity of the referenced wilderness areas.
Subsection (d) provides that, with respect to the land
designated as wilderness by subsection (a), any reference in
the Wilderness Act to the effective date of the Wilderness Act
shall be deemed to be the date of enactment of this Act.
Subsection (e) states that nothing in this Act affects the
jurisdiction or responsibility of the State of West Virginia
with respect to wildlife and fish, as provided by section
4(d)(7) of the Wilderness Act.
Section 3 adjusts the boundary of the Laurel Fork South
Wilderness to exclude two parcels of land which contain
existing easements for access to private property.
Section 4(a) confirms that the boundaries of the
Monongahela National Forest include certain tracts of land that
have been acquired by the Forest Service, as generally depicted
on the referenced map.
Subsection (b) clarifies that the Land and Water
Conservation Fund may be used to acquire outstanding interests
in the land included in the confirmed boundaries of the
Monongahela National Forest.
Section 5 requires the Secretary of Agriculture to develop
a plan to provide for enhanced hiking, bicycling, and
equestrian trail opportunities on non-wilderness lands in the
Monongahela National Forest. The Secretary of Agriculture is
directed to submit a report to Congress on the implementation
of the plan not later than two years after the date of the
enactment of this Act.
COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS
The following estimate of costs of this measure has been
provided by the Congressional Budget Office:
H.R. 5151--Wild Monongahela Act: A National Legacy for West Virginia's
Special Places
H.R. 5151 would designate approximately 38,000 acres of the
Monongahela National Forest in West Virginia as wilderness. The
act also would adjust the boundary of the forest and require
the Secretary of Agriculture to develop a plan to enhance
trails within the forest.
Assuming the availability of appropriated funds, CBO
estimates that implementing the legislation would cost $1.4
million over the 2009-2013 period. The funds would be used to
survey and mark the wilderness area as well as to develop the
trail plan. Enacting this legislation would have no net impact
on direct spending and would not affect revenues.
H.R. 5151 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.
On April 15, 2008, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for H.R.
5151 as ordered reported by the House Committee on Natural
Resources on April 2, 2008. The two versions of the legislation
are similar, and the estimated costs of enacting the
legislation are identical.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Tyler Kruzich.
The estimate was approved by Peter H. Fontaine, 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. 5151.
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. 5151.
CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING
H.R. 5151 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
The views of the Administration were included in testimony
received by the Committee at a hearing on S. 2581 (which is
identical to H.R. 5151, as introduced) on April 15, 2008.
Statement of Joel Holtrop, Deputy Chief, National Forest System, Forest
Service, Department of Agriculture
S. 2581 would designate about 47,128 acres of the
Monongahela National Forest as wilderness, adding to three
existing wilderness areas and designating four new ones. The
Department supports designation of Cheat Mountain, Cranberry
Expansion, Dry Fork Expansion, and Roaring Plains West as
wilderness. For all four areas, wilderness designation would be
consistent with recommendations by the Monongahela National
Forest in its 2006 forest plan revision.
We do not object to wilderness designation for the other
three areas proposed by the bill. In the environmental impact
statement that accompanied the 2006 forest plan revision, the
Monongahela National Forest determined that Big Draft, the
Dolly Sods Expansion, and Spice Run are all available for
wilderness designation. The Monongahela National Forest
designated all three areas as ``semiprimitive nonmotorized'' in
order to help maintain their roadless attributes over time
while still permitting other established uses.
The Monongahela National Forest has five existing
wilderness areas, all of which offer outstanding wilderness
experiences. I have personally visited some of the seven areas
proposed in this bill, and I believe that all seven areas have
outstanding wilderness attributes. All are rugged forested land
minimally affected by outside forces, with natural processes
operating and vestiges of human impacts (such as old roads and
clearcuts) rapidly healing over. Ranging in elevation from just
under 2,000 feet to over 4,000 feet, these landscapes harbor
rare ecosystems (such as high-elevation red spruce) and habitat
for federally listed species.
That is why the Monongahela National Forest recommended
four of the seven areas for wilderness study in its revised
forest plan in 2006: Cheat Mountain, Cranberry Expansion, Dry
Fork Expansion, and Roaring Plains West. These units represent
nearly 27,700 acres recommended for wilderness study. The
Department supports their inclusion in this bill.
In its forest plan revision, after consulting with the
public, the Monongahela National Forest decided not to include
Big Draft, the Dolly Sods Expansion, and Spice Run among the
areas recommended for wilderness. Instead, we designated all
three as semiprimitive nonmotorized areas, one of the most
restrictive allocations that the Forest Service can give. This
management prescription protects their naturalness while
permitting such popular and relatively low-impact uses as
mountain biking. It also allows the manipulation of vegetation
to create wildlife openings.
However, we recognize the wilderness eligibility of all
three areas, and their designation as wilderness would be
consistent with values that the Monongahela National Forest's
revised forest plan is designed to protect. In other locations,
the Monongahela National Forest maintains opportunities for
mountain biking and for manipulating vegetation to improve
wildlife habitat. Therefore, the Department would not object to
including Big Draft, the Dolly Sods Expansion, and Spice Run in
this bill if boundary adjustments and other issues are
addressed.
If all seven areas are designated as wilderness, we would
suggest adjusting some of the proposed boundaries to avoid
conflicts and make the wilderness areas more manageable. Some
proposed boundaries appear to be based on the boundaries of the
roadless areas analyzed during the 2006 forest plan revision.
Those roadless area boundaries were not intended to define
wilderness boundaries. Adjustments should be made to account
for mapping errors; to provide access to state and private
land; to exclude developed sites and managed wildlife openings;
to add offsets for powerlines and other features inconsistent
with wilderness; and to align the boundaries with existing
wilderness boundaries.
The largest boundary question regards the southwestern
corner of the proposed Spice Run unit, an area of 974 acres.
This area lies outside the area that the Monongahela National
Forest evaluated for wilderness in its 2006 forest plan because
it did not meet the criteria for roadless areas. Should it
become designated wilderness, motorized access to three
adjacent parcels of private land could become an issue.
We would like to work with the bill's sponsors and the
subcommittee to adjust the boundaries to accommodate these and
other concerns. The Forest Service has prepared a set of
proposed boundary adjustments, taking care to ensure that our
proposed adjustments would not detract from the overall
wilderness legislation. We would welcome the opportunity to
provide this information to the subcommittee.
Removing most of the structures incompatible with
wilderness would not be necessary if our proposed boundary
adjustments were made. Even with the adjustments, however, a
hiking shelter and about 9 miles of road would remain within
the wilderness boundaries. The shelter would likely be allowed
to deteriorate and then be removed. Unless converted to trails,
the roads (currently closed to vehicular traffic) would require
decommissioning to protect water quality and other natural
resource values. The Monongahela National Forest would conduct
an analysis to determine the appropriate management actions and
then make the investments needed, subject to available
appropriations, to remove culverts, construct trail, or contour
the land to reduce erosion.
We strongly support the spirit of this legislation, and we
confirm that all seven areas proposed for wilderness
designation meet the criteria for wilderness. Working with the
subcommittee, we are confident that we can remedy boundary
deficiencies and establish final wilderness boundaries that are
sound and manageable.
The House Committee on Natural Resources approved an
Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute to H.R. 5151. This
amendment includes updated acreage figures resulting from
boundary adjustments to the Big Draft Wilderness, the Cranberry
Expansion, the Dolly Sods Expansion, the Otter Creek Expansion
Proposed Wilderness, the Roaring Plains West Wilderness, and
the Spice Run Wilderness. These adjustments address concerns
raised by the Department in our previous testimony, and we
support them.
H.R. 5151, as amended, allows for the continuation of a
competitive running event in the vicinity of the Dolly Sods
Wilderness and the Roaring Plains West Wilderness. Forest
Service policy does not permit competitive events in
wilderness. Our intent would be to work with the sponsors to
find a suitable alternative for the competitive event.
Section 3 was added to H.R. 5151 to adjust the boundary to
the Laurel Fork South Wilderness by 123 acres. Section 4 was
added to confirm that the Monongahela National Forest boundary
includes recently acquired tracts of land. The Department
supports these changes to the bill. Section 4 should be amended
to include reference to the Land and Water Conservation Fund
Act (LWCFA) because expenditures of LWCFA funds are restricted
to forest boundaries as they existed on the original date of
the Act.
* * * * * * *
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. 5151 as
ordered reported.