79–010

Calendar No. 752

106TH CONGRESS REPORT

2d Session " ! SENATE 106–374

EFFIGY MOUNDS NATIONAL MONUMENT ADDITIONS ACT

AUGUST 25, 2000.—Ordered to be printed

Filed under authority of Senate of July 26, 2000

Mr. MURKOWSKI, from the Committee on Energy and Natural

Resources, submitted the following

REPORT

[To accompany S. 1643]

The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was

referred the bill (S. 1643) to authorize the addition of certain parcels to the Effigy Mounds National Monument, Iowa, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon with amendments and

recommends that the bill, as amended, do pass.

The amendments are as follows:

1. On page 3, line 2, strike ‘‘approximately 15 acres’’ and insert

‘‘approximately 50 acres’’.

2. On page 3, at the end of line 21, add the following: ‘‘Any parcel

included within the boundary pursuant to this subsection shall be

administered by the Secretary as part of the national monument.’’.

3. On page 4, line 3, strike ‘‘$750,000’’ and insert ‘‘$1,000,000’’.

PURPOSE OF THE MEASURE

The purpose of S. 1643 is to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to acquire approximately 1,100 acres of land on five parcels

abutting Effigy Mounds National Monument, and to direct the Secretary to modify the boundaries of the site to include the acquired

lands.

BACKGROUND AND NEED

Effigy Mounds National Monument, located in the State of Iowa,

was established by presidential proclamation in 1949, and currently includes 1,481 acres in three units. The site preserves outstanding examples of a significant phase of the prehistoric AmerVerDate 11-MAY-2000 19:56 Aug 28, 2000 Jkt 079010 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\SR374.XXX pfrm01 PsN: SR374
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ican Indian mound building culture, and protects wildlife and scenic and other natural values of the area.

During the early 1990’s the planning process for the monument’s

General Management Plan considered several tracts of land adjacent to the site for inclusion within the boundary. Although the

public favored acquisition of the lands, the NPS at the time determined that the properties were not essential to preserve and interpret, and were not likely to be under severe development pressure.

In the 1999 amendment to the General Management Plan, the NPS

reassessed its view in light of new studies that shed light on the

significance of the resources located on the adjacent lands, recent

economic development trends in northeastern Iowa, and the failure

of efforts by other parties to secure the lands for long-term preservation.

The 1,054 acre Ferguson/Kistler tract is the largest of the five

properties and contains a number of prehistoric mounds, archeological sites, and historical sites, as well as a variety of wildlife, including State-listed threatened and endangered species. In order to

prevent the tract from being lost to development, the Iowa Natural

Heritage Foundation has signed a contract to purchase the land

with the intent to sell it to the National Park Service. Of the remaining 80 acres on the other four tracts, the State of Iowa owns

30 acres, and 50 acres are privately owned.

S. 1643 authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to acquire approximately 1,100 acres of land of five parcels abutting Effigy

Mounds National Monument, and directs the Secretary to modify

the boundaries of the site to include the acquired lands. The measure authorizes the appropriation of $1,000,000.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

S. 1643 was introduced by Senators Grassley and Harkin on September 27, 1999. A hearing was held before the Subcommittee on

National Parks, Historic Preservation and Recreation on June 22,

2000. At the business meeting on July 13, 2000, the Committee on

Energy and Natural Resources ordered S. 1643 favorably reported,

as amended.

COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in open business session on July 13, 2000, by a majority vote of a quorum

present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 1643, if amended as

described herein.

COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS

During the consideration of S. 1643, the Committee adopted

three amendments. The first corrects an error concerning the size

of one of the tracts of land. The second directs the Secretary of the

Interior to administer the acquired parcels as part of the monument. The third increases the authorization of appropriations from

$750,000 to $1 million.

SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Section 1 designates the bill’s short title as ‘‘Effigy Mounds National Monument Additions Act’’.

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Section 2 defines terms used in the Act.

Section 3 authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to acquire, from

willing sellers only, five specific parcels of land as described in subsection (b). The secretary is authorized to modify the boundary of

Effigy Mounds National Monument to include each parcel once it

is acquired. There is authorized to be appropriated $1,000,000 to

carry out the purposes of the legislation.

COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

The following estimate of the cost of this measure has been provided by the Congressional Budget Office:

U.S. CONGRESS,

CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE,

Washington, DC, July 19, 2000.

Hon. FRANK H. MURKOWSKI, 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 S.1643, the Effigy Mounds National Monument Additions Act.

Iif you wish further details on this estimate, we will be pleased

to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Deborah Reis.

Sincerely,

BARRY B. ANDERSON

(For Dan L. Crippen, Director).

Enclosure.

S. 1643—Effigy Mounds National Monument Additions Act

S. 1643 would authorize the Secretary of the Interior to purchase

five parcels of land totaling about 1,130 acres to be added to the

Effigy Mounds National Monument in Iowa. For this purpose, the

bill would authorize the appropriation of $1 million.

Assumng appropriation of the necessary amounts and based on

information provided by the National Park Service, CBO estimates

that implementing S. 1643 would cost the federal government

about $2 million over the next five years. Of this amount, $1 million would be used to purchase the five parcels authorized for inclusion in the monument’s boundaries and $0.5 million would be

used to construct a visitor contact station on the largest parcel, the

Ferguson/Kistler tract. Finally, annual costs to operate the monument would increase by about $250,000 as a result of the bill.

S. 1643 would not affect direct spending or receipts; therefore,

pay-as-you-go procedures would not apply. The bill 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.

The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Deborah Reis. The 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

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of the regulatory impact which would be incurred in carrying out

S. 1643. 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. 1643, as ordered reported.

EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS

On June 23, 2000, the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources requested legislative reports from the Department of the

Interior and the Office of Management and Budget setting forth

Executive agency recommendations on S. 1643. These reports had

not been received at the time the report on S. 1643 was filed. When

the reports become available, the Chairman will request that they

be printed in the Congressional Record for the advice of the Senate.

The testimony provided by the National Park Service at the Subcommittee hearing follows:

STATEMENT OF STEPHEN SAUNDERS, DEPUTY ASSISTANT

SECRETARY FOR FISH, WILDLIFE AND PARKS, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Mr. Chairman, thank you for the opportunity to appear

before the subcommittee to present the views of the Department of the Interior on S. 1643, a bill to authorize the

addition of certain parcels to the Effigy Mounds National

Monument, Iowa.

S. 1643 would authorize the Secretary of the Interior to

acquire approximately 1,100 acres on five tracts of land

abutting Effigy Mounds National Monument. The Department of the Interior supports enactment of this legislation

with amendments to correct the size of the Riverfront tract

from 15 acres to 50 acres and to increase the authorization

of appropriations from $750,000 to $1 million. This increase would ensure sufficient funds are authorized for the

purchase of all of the tracts in the long term.

This position is consistent with the park’s August 1999

general management plan (GMP) amendment and environmental assessment (EA) and a June 1999 boundary review. The largest tract, the approximately 1,054-acre Ferguson/Kistler property, has been in the State forest reserve

program for the past 20 years and therefore has not been

on the county tax rolls. The Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation has recently signed a contract to purchase this land

for approximately $1.2 million with the intent to sell this

property to the National Park Service for $750,000. Of the

remaining 80 acres on the other four tracts, the State of

Iowa owns 30 acres and 50 acres are privately owned.

Effigy Mounds National Monument was established by

presidential proclamation in 1949. It was established to

preserve a representative and outstanding example of a

significant phase of the prehistoric American Indian

mound building culture, to protect wildlife, scenic and

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other natural values of the area and to provide for scientific study of its features.

Indian burial mounds are found in a large part of the

United states; however, effigy mounds are found only in a

relatively small area in northeastern Iowa, southeastern

Minnesota, and eastern Wisconsin. Effigy Mounds National Monument includes 1,481 acres in three units; the

north and south units which overlook the Mississippi

River, and the Sny Magill unit, which lies on the river bottom land. These three areas preserve over 200 mound sites

and represent three known mound building cultures.

There are four distinct mound types including outstanding

examples of effigy mounds, or mounds in the shape of

birds and bears. The monument’s ‘‘Marching Bears Mound

Group’’ is one of the finest in the country and the Sny

Magill contains the largest extant concentration of Indian

mounds (about 100) in the United States. The mounds are

a legacy of the belief systems and practices of prehistoric,

indigenous peoples.

The landscape of the monument reveals evidence of a

continuum of cultures and their relationships to the environment over a span of at least 2,500 years. The monument’s varied landforms and habitats, characteristic of the

unglaciated ‘‘driftless zone,’’ provide exceptional diversity

of plant and animal species. These natural resources are

important both for understanding past lifeways that depended on them and monitoring the health of present ecosystems.

During the planning process for the GMP in the early

1990s, several tracts of land adjacent to the monument

were considered for inclusion within the boundary. Public

response from organizations such as the Allamakee County

Tourism and Economic Development Commission and the

Audubon Society favored the acquisition of these tracts.

However, at that time it was decided that the properties

were not essential to preserve and interpret, were not likely to be under severe development pressure in the next ten

years, and could be preserved through other means. Today,

ten years later, the NPS has reassessed this view in light

of studies assessing the significance of resources on these

lands, recent economic development trends in northeast

Iowa, and the failure of serious efforts by other parties to

secure important parcels for long-term preservation.

The 1,054 acre Ferguson/Kistler tract, which is adjacent

to the park, is a key property. This land contains a number of prehistoric mounds; two bear effigy mounds in very

good condition which have a rare orientation of the bears,

which are lying on their left side; Iowa state recorded archaeological sites; historical sites including potential village sites; rock shelters and the Jefferson Davis Sawmill.

Natural resources present include river otters and jeweled

shooting stars, both on Iowa’s threatened species list, and

red-shoulder hawks, which is on the state endangered list.

To prevent this tract from being lost for use of forest resources, second-home development, or new agri-industrial

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facilities, which are intensifying in northeast Iowa, the

Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation has signed a contract

for this property.

Management objectives for Effigy Mounds National

Monument emphasize preservation of the cultural and natural resources, and the historic scene of the monument. In

the GMP amendment and EA are plans that address the

visitor use, interpretation and development of each unit of

the park. Ultimately, the Ferguson/Kistler tract will have

appropriate provisions for visitor access to the tract, including trails leading to the effigy mounds. With cooperative efforts among public land managers and local jurisdictions, this area could provide recreational trails and new

canoeing, camping, birding and wildlife viewing opportunities. A small increase in base funding (less than $250,000)

would be needed to provide maintenance, interpretive, resources protection and resource management services for

the acquired areas. National Park Service funds for land

acquisition would be subject to the availability of appropriations and National Park Service priorities.

As seen from the blufftop viewpoints, the panorama of

the undeveloped Ferguson/Kistler property appears to be a

seamless extension of the cultural and natural landscape

represented within the monument. Both the resources and

the viewshed are significant to the mission and purpose of

Effigy Mounds National Monument and this property will

help ensure that the visual and historical integrity of the

site is maintained. Also, this acquisition, which is one of

the largest remaining blocks of unbroken forest in Northeast Iowa, will connect Effigy Mounds National Monument

with Yellow River State Forest, with over 4,000 acres and

7.8 river miles of the Yellow River in public trust. This

linkage would enable the public to enjoy recreation opportunities not available within the monument while protecting ecosystems with endangered and threatened species, cultural landscapes and a viewshed critical to the

monument.

This concludes my testimony. I would be happy to answer any questions that you or members of the subcommittee may 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 bill S. 1643, as ordered reported.

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