STATEMENT OF KATHERINE H. STEVENSON, ACTING ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, BUSINESS
SERVICES, NATIONAL PARK SERVICE, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, BEFORE
THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON NATIONAL PARKS OF THE SENATE COMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND
NATURAL RESOURCES, CONCERNING S. 1449, TO ESTABLISH THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN
SCIENCE COLLECTIONS CENTER TO ASSIST IN PRESERVING THE ARCHEOLOGICAL,
ANTHROPOLOGICAL, PALEONTOLOGICAL, ZOOLOGICAL, AND GEOLOGICAL ARTIFACTS
AND ARCHIVAL DOCUMENTATION FROM THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN REGION THROUGH THE
CONSTRUCTION OF AN ON-SITE, SECURE COLLECTIONS FACILITY FOR THE DENVER
MUSEUM OF NATURE AND SCIENCE IN DENVER, COLORADO.

# NOVEMBER 8, 2007

Mr. Chairman, thank you for the opportunity to present the views of the
Department of the Interior on S. 1449, a bill to establish the Rocky
Mountain Science Collections Center to assist in preserving the
archeological, anthropological, paleontological, zoological, and
geological artifacts and archival documentation from the Rocky Mountain
region through the construction of an on-site, secure collections
facility for the Denver Museum of Nature and Science in Denver,
Colorado.

The Department opposes S. 1449. Our opposition does not detract from the
significance and importance of the artifacts and documents currently
being housed at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science (museum). The
museum is a place of learning and a keeper of important collections that
showcase many of the unique features of the Rocky Mountain region. We
encourage the museum to continue to seek other funding and solutions for
the preservation and protection of the collections in their care
including working with existing programs managed by all of the federal
agencies with collections stored at the museum.

S. 1449 would authorize the Secretary of the Interior, subject to the
availability of appropriations, to award as much as \$15 million in
grant monies, identified as the federal share, to the museum to pay for
the cost of constructing and furnishing one or more new facilities. The
bill states the museum would, as a condition of receiving this
assistance, match with cash, in-kind donations, or services, any amount
provided to the museum under this Act.

We appreciate the interest the museum has in providing the highest level
of care to the objects in its collection. However, we believe the use of
limited National Park Service (NPS) appropriations to fund the design,
construction, and operation of non-NPS projects of this type is
inappropriate.

Since the mid-1990's, legislation has been passed and signed into law
that authorized several hundreds of millions of dollars in grants to be
passed through the NPS budget for non-Park System projects. Many of
these projects involved support for museums and libraries, similar to
what is proposed in S. 1449. Each time this is done, it reduces the
availability of NPS's limited amount of discretionary funds to address
the needs of our national parks and other important national priorities.
We believe funds are more appropriately directed at this time to
reducing the long list of projects and needs that have been identified
in our national parks.

The museum contains more than 1,000,000 artifacts and documents. Like
many western museums, a large proportion of the collection was recovered
from federal lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management, the Bureau
of Reclamation, the National Park Service, the United States Fish and
Wildlife Service, the U.S. Forest Service, and the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers. This impressive collection assists researchers and anybody
interested in finding out more about the West, as do many other similar
museums.

However, the financial implications of the bill on national parks and
park programs at a time when all federal agencies must work harder to be
responsible stewards of the resources of American taxpayers causes us to
oppose S. 1449. The Department is willing to work with all of the
involved agencies and the museum to thoroughly assess all possible
alternatives for providing the highest level of care to the objects
currently housed at the museum, including, if necessary, the
transferring of collections to federal repositories.

This completes my formal remarks. I would be happy to answer any
questions you or other members of the Subcommittee may have.