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111th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session 111-434
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ALPINE LAKES WILDERNESS ADDITIONS AND PRATT AND MIDDLE FORK SNOQUALMIE
RIVERS PROTECTION ACT
_______
March 11, 2010.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Rahall, from the Committee on Natural Resources, submitted the
following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 1769]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred
the bill (H.R. 1769) to expand the Alpine Lakes Wilderness in
the State of Washington, to designate the Middle Fork
Snoqualmie River and Pratt River as wild and scenic rivers, and
for other purposes, having considered the same, report
favorably thereon with an amendment and recommend that the bill
as amended do pass.
The amendment is as follows:
Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the
following:
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Alpine Lakes Wilderness Additions and
Pratt and Middle Fork Snoqualmie Rivers Protection Act''.
SEC. 2. EXPANSION OF ALPINE LAKES WILDERNESS.
(a) In General.--There is designated as wilderness and as a component
of the National Wilderness Preservation System certain Federal land in
the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest in the State of Washington
comprising approximately 22,173 acres that is within the Proposed
Alpine Lakes Wilderness Additions Boundary, as generally depicted on
the map entitled ``Proposed Alpine Lakes Wilderness Additions'' and
dated December 3, 2009, which is incorporated in and shall be
considered to be a part of the Alpine Lakes Wilderness.
(b) Administration.--
(1) Management.--Subject to valid existing rights, the land
designated as wilderness by subsection (a) shall be
administered by the Secretary of Agriculture (referred to in
this section as the ``Secretary''), in accordance with the
Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.), except that any
reference in that Act to the effective date of that Act shall
be considered to be a reference to the date of enactment of
this Act.
(2) Map and description.--
(A) In general.--As soon as practicable after the
date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall file
a map and a legal description of the land designated as
wilderness by subsection (a) with--
(i) the Committee on Natural Resources of the
House of Representatives; and
(ii) the Committee on Energy and Natural
Resources of the Senate.
(B) Force of law.--A map and legal description filed
under subparagraph (A) shall have the same force and
effect as if included in this Act, except that the
Secretary may correct minor errors in the map and legal
description.
(C) Public availability.--The map and legal
description filed under subparagraph (A) shall be filed
and made available for public inspection in the
appropriate office of the Forest Service.
(c) Incorporation of Acquired Land and Interests in Land.--Any land
or interests in land within the Proposed Alpine Lakes Wilderness
Additions Boundary, as generally depicted on the map entitled
``Proposed Alpine Lakes Wilderness Additions'' and dated December 3,
2009, that is acquired by the United States shall--
(1) become part of the wilderness area; and
(2) be managed in accordance with subsection (b)(1).
SEC. 3. WILD AND SCENIC RIVER DESIGNATIONS.
Section 3(a) of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (16 U.S.C. 1274(a)) is
amended by adding at the end the following:
``(__) Middle Fork Snoqualmie, Washington.--The 27.4-mile segment
from the headwaters of the Middle Fork Snoqualmie River near La Bohn
Gap in NE \1/4\ sec. 20, T. 24 N., R. 13 E., to the northern boundary
of sec. 11, T. 23 N., R. 9 E., to be administered by the Secretary of
Agriculture in the following classifications:
``(A) The approximately 6.4-mile segment from the headwaters
of the Middle Fork Snoqualmie River near La Bohn Gap in NE \1/
4\ sec. 20, T. 24 N., R. 13 E., to the west section line of
sec. 3, T. 23 N., R. 12 E., as a wild river.
``(B) The approximately 21-mile segment from the west section
line of sec. 3, T. 23 N., R. 12 E., to the northern boundary of
sec. 11, T. 23 N., R. 9 E., as a scenic river.
``(__) Pratt River, Washington.--The entirety of the Pratt River in
the State of Washington, located in the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National
Forest, to be administered by the Secretary of Agriculture as a wild
river.''.
Purpose of the Bill
The purpose of H.R. 1769 is to expand the Alpine Lakes
Wilderness in the State of Washington, to designate the Middle
Fork Snoqualmie River and Pratt River as wild and scenic
rivers, and for other purposes.
Background and Need for Legislation
The Alpine Lakes Wilderness was originally designated by
Congress in 1976. It sits 45 minutes east of downtown Seattle
and has become one of the most visited wilderness areas in the
country. The proposed wilderness additions, which total
approximately 22,000 acres, are low elevation lands that
provide important habitat for wildlife during times of the year
when high elevation lands are covered by snow. Elk, deer,
cougars, and bobcats all live in the mountain valleys that
comprise the wilderness additions proposed by H.R. 1769.
The bill would also designate 27.4 miles of the Middle Fork
Snoqualmie River and the entire Pratt River as wild and scenic
rivers. In 1990, the U.S. Forest Service recommended these
rivers for designation because of their outstanding recreation,
fisheries, wildlife, and ecological values. The Pratt River is
a major tributary of the Middle Fork Snoqualmie River, and both
rivers are a source of clean water for the fisheries of the
Snohomish River system.
Committee Action
H.R. 1769 was introduced on March 26, 2009 by
Representative Dave Reichert (R-WA). The bill was referred to
the Committee on Natural Resources, and within the Committee to
the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands.
On November 5, 2009, the Subcommittee held a hearing on the
bill, during which a representative of the Forest Service
testified that the Administration is in favor of the bill with
some technical changes regarding two trails that impact the
proposed wilderness additions.
On February 24, 2010, the Subcommittee was discharged from
further consideration of H.R. 1769 and the full Natural
Resources Committee met to consider the bill. Subcommittee
Chairman Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) offered an amendment in the
nature of a substitute to address the boundary issues raised by
the Forest Service. The amendment was adopted by voice vote.
The bill, as amended, was then ordered favorably reported to
the House of Representatives by voice vote.
Committee Oversight Findings and Recommendations
Regarding clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the
Committee on Natural Resources' oversight findings and
recommendations are reflected in the body of this report.
Constitutional Authority Statement
Article I, section 8 and Article IV, section 3 of the
Constitution of the United States grants Congress the authority
to enact this bill.
Compliance With House Rule XIII
1. Cost of Legislation. Clause 3(d)(2) of rule XIII of the
Rules of the House of Representatives requires an estimate and
a comparison by the Committee of the costs which would be
incurred in carrying out this bill. However, clause 3(d)(3)(B)
of that rule provides that this requirement does not apply when
the Committee has included in its report a timely submitted
cost estimate of the bill prepared by the Director of the
Congressional Budget Office under section 402 of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974.
2. Congressional Budget Act. As required by clause 3(c)(2)
of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and
section 308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, this
bill does not contain any new budget authority, spending
authority, credit authority, or an increase or decrease in
revenues or tax expenditures.
3. General Performance Goals and Objectives. As required by
clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, the general performance goal or
objective of this bill is to expand the Alpine Lakes Wilderness
in the State of Washington, to designate the Middle Fork
Snoqualmie River and Pratt River as wild and scenic rivers, and
for other purposes.
4. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate. Under clause
3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the rules of the House of
Representatives and section 403 of the Congressional Budget Act
of 1974, the Committee has received the following cost estimate
for this bill from the Director of the Congressional Budget
Office:
H.R. 1769--Alpine Lakes Wilderness Additions and Pratt and Middle Fork
Snoqualmie Rivers Protection Act
H.R. 1769 would add more than 22,000 acres of public land
in the state of Washington to the Alpine Lakes Wilderness. The
bill also would designate about 27 miles of waterways in the
area as wild or scenic rivers. Based on information provided by
the Forest Service, which administers most of the affected
land, CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 1769 would have no
significant effect on the federal budget. Enacting the
legislation would not affect revenues or direct spending;
therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures would not apply.
The acreage and waterways to be added by the legislation to
the National Wilderness Preservation System and the Wild and
Scenic Rivers System are currently administered by the Forest
Service or owned by the state. CBO estimates that no additional
resources would be required to manage the affected areas as a
result of the new designations. We expect that any costs to
revise brochures, maps, and signs would be minimal because most
such revisions would take place in conjunction with scheduled
reprinting and routine maintenance.
Finally, we estimate that enacting the legislation would
have no effect on offsetting receipts because the affected
lands, which are already managed for conservation purposes,
currently produce no income, and are not expected to in the
future.
The bill 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 January 21, 2010, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for S.
721, the Alpine Lakes Wilderness Additions and Pratt and Middle
Fork Snoqualmie Rivers Protection Act as ordered reported by
the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources on
December 16, 2009. The two versions of the legislation are
nearly identical, and the estimated costs are the same.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Deborah Reis.
The estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant
Director for Budget Analysis.
Compliance With Public Law 104-4
This bill contains no unfunded mandates.
Earmark Statement
H.R. 1769 does not contain any congressional earmarks,
limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined in
clause 9 of rule XXI.
Preemption of State, Local or Tribal Law
This bill is not intended to preempt any State, local or
tribal law.
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported
In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (new matter is
printed in italic and existing law in which no change is
proposed is shown in roman):
WILD AND SCENIC RIVERS ACT
* * * * * * *
Sec. 3. (a) The following rivers and the land adjacent
thereto are hereby designated as components of the national
wild and scenic rivers system:
(1) * * *
* * * * * * *
(__) Middle Fork Snoqualmie, Washington.--The 27.4-mile
segment from the headwaters of the Middle Fork Snoqualmie River
near La Bohn Gap in NE \1/4\ sec. 20, T. 24 N., R. 13 E., to
the northern boundary of sec. 11, T. 23 N., R. 9 E., to be
administered by the Secretary of Agriculture in the following
classifications:
(A) The approximately 6.4-mile segment from the
headwaters of the Middle Fork Snoqualmie River near La
Bohn Gap in NE \1/4\ sec. 20, T. 24 N., R. 13 E., to
the west section line of sec. 3, T. 23 N., R. 12 E., as
a wild river.
(B) The approximately 21-mile segment from the west
section line of sec. 3, T. 23 N., R. 12 E., to the
northern boundary of sec. 11, T. 23 N., R. 9 E., as a
scenic river.
(__) Pratt River, Washington.--The entirety of the Pratt
River in the State of Washington, located in the Mount Baker-
Snoqualmie National Forest, to be administered by the Secretary
of Agriculture as a wild river.
* * * * * * *
