II 

Calendar No. 735

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 1964

[Report No. 108–376] 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

NOVEMBER 22, 2003

Received 

DECEMBER 9, 2003

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

SEPTEMBER 28, 2004

Reported by Mr. DOMENICI, with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

AN ACT

To assist the States of Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, 

and Pennsylvania in conserving priority lands and natural resources in the Highlands region, and for other 

purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Highlands Conserva5 tion Act’’. 
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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds the following—

3 (1) The Highlands region is a physiographic 

4 province that encompasses more than 2,000,000 

5 acres extending from eastern Pennsylvania through 

6 the States of New Jersey and New York to north7 western Connecticut. 

8 (2) The Highlands region is an environmentally 

9 unique area that—

10 (A) provides clean drinking water to over 

11 15,000,000 people in metropolitan areas in the 

12 States of Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, 

13 and Pennsylvania; 

14 (B) provides critical wildlife habitat, in15 cluding habitat for 247 threatened and endan16 gered species; 

17 (C) maintains an important historic con18 nection to early Native American culture, colo19 nial settlement, the American Revolution, and 

20 the Civil War; 

21 (D) contains recreational resources for 14 

22 million visitors annually; 

23 (E) provides other significant ecological, 

24 natural, tourism, recreational, educational, and 

25 economic benefits; and 
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1 (F) provides homeownership opportunities 

2 and access to affordable housing that is safe, 

3 clean, and healthy. 

4 (3) An estimated 1 in 12 citizens of the United 

5 States live within a 2-hour drive of the Highlands 

6 region. 

7 (4) More than 1,400,000 residents live in the 

8 Highlands region. 

9 (5) The Highlands region forms a greenbelt ad10 jacent to the Philadelphia-New York City-Hartford 

11 urban corridor that offers the opportunity to pre12 serve water, forest and agricultural resources, wild13 life habitat, recreational areas, and historic sites, 

14 while encouraging sustainable economic growth and 

15 development in a fiscally and environmentally sound 

16 manner. 

17 (6) Continued population growth and land use 

18 patterns in the Highlands region—

19 (A) reduce the availability and quality of 

20 water; 

21 (B) reduce air quality; 

22 (C) fragment the forests; 

23 (D) destroy critical migration corridors 

24 and forest habitat; and 
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1 (E) result in the loss of recreational oppor2 tunities and scenic, historic, and cultural re3 sources. 

4 (7) The water, forest, wildlife, recreational, ag5 ricultural, and cultural resources of the Highlands 

6 region, in combination with the proximity of the 

7 Highlands region to the largest metropolitan areas 

8 in the United States, make the Highlands region na9 tionally significant. 

10 (8) The national significance of the Highlands 

11 region has been documented in—

12 (A) the New York-New Jersey Highlands 

13 Regional Study conducted by the Forest Service 

14 in 1990; 

15 (B) the New York-New Jersey Highlands 

16 Regional Study: 2002 Update conducted by the 

17 Forest Service; 

18 (C) the bi-State Skylands Greenway Task 

19 Force Report; 

20 (D) the New Jersey State Development 

21 and Redevelopment Plan; 

22 (E) the New York State Open Space Con23 servation Plan; 

24 (F) the Connecticut Green Plan: Open 

25 Space Acquisition FY 2001–2006; 
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1 (G) the open space plans of the State of 

2 Pennsylvania; and 

3 (H) other open space conservation plans 

4 for States in the Highlands region. 

5 (9) The Highlands region includes or is adja6 cent to numerous parcels of land owned by the Fed7 eral Government or federally designated areas that 

8 protect, conserve, or restore resources of the High9 lands region, including—

10 (A) the Wallkill River National Wildlife 

11 Refuge; 

12 (B) the Shawanagunk Grasslands Wildlife 

13 Refuge; 

14 (C) the Morristown National Historical 

15 Park; 

16 (D) the Delaware and Lehigh Canal Cor17 ridors; 

18 (E) the Hudson River Valley National 

19 Heritage Area; 

20 (F) the Delaware River Basin; 

21 (G) the Delaware Water Gap National 

22 Recreation Area; 

23 (H) the Upper Delaware Scenic and Rec24 reational River; 

25 (I) the Appalachian National Scenic Trail; 
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1 (J) the United States Military Academy at 

2 West Point, New York; 

3 (K) the Highlands National Millenium 

4 Trail; 

5 (L) the Great Swamp National Wildlife 

6 Refuge; 

7 (M) the proposed Crossroads of the Revo8 lution National Heritage Area; 

9 (N) the proposed Musconetcong National 

10 Scenic and Recreational River in New Jersey; 

11 and 

12 (O) the Farmington River Wild and Scenic 

13 Area in Connecticut. 

14 (10) It is in the interest of the United States 

15 to protect, conserve, and restore the resources of the 

16 Highlands region for the residents of, and visitors 

17 to, the Highlands region. 

18 (11) The States of Connecticut, New Jersey, 

19 New York, and Pennsylvania, and units of local gov20 ernment in the Highlands region have the primary 

21 responsibility for protecting, conserving, preserving, 

22 restoring and promoting the resources of the High23 lands region. 

24 (12) Because of the longstanding Federal prac25 tice of assisting States in creating, protecting, con-
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1 serving, and restoring areas of significant natural 

2 and cultural importance, and the national signifi3 cance of the Highlands region, the Federal Govern4 ment should, in partnership with the Highlands 

5 States and units of local government in the High6 lands region, protect, restore, and preserve the 

7 water, forest, agricultural, wildlife, recreational and 

8 cultural resources of the Highlands region. 

9 SEC. 3. PURPOSES. 

10 The purposes of this Act are as follows: 

11 (1) To recognize the importance of the water, 

12 forest, agricultural, wildlife, recreational and cultural 

13 resources of the Highlands, and the national signifi14 cance of the Highlands region to the United States. 

15 (2) To authorize the Secretary of the Interior 

16 to work in partnership with the Secretary of Agri17 culture to provide financial assistance to the High18 lands States to preserve and protect high priority 

19 conservation lands in the Highlands region. 

20 (3) To continue the ongoing Forest Service pro21 grams in the Highlands region to assist the High22 lands States, local units of government and private 

23 forest and farm landowners in the conservation of 

24 lands and natural resources in the Highlands region. 
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1 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 

3 (1) HIGHLANDS REGION.—The term ‘‘High4 lands region’’ means the physiographic province, de5 fined by the Reading Prong and ecologically similar 

6 adjacent upland areas, that encompasses more than 

7 2,000,000 acres extending from eastern Pennsyl8 vania through the States of New Jersey and New 

9 York to northwestern Connecticut. 

10 (2) HIGHLANDS STATE.—The term ‘‘Highlands 

11 State’’ means—

12 (A) the State of Connecticut; 

13 (B) the State of New Jersey; 

14 (C) the State of New York; 

15 (D) the State of Pennsylvania; and 

16 (E) any agency or department of any 

17 Highlands State. 

18 (3) LAND CONSERVATION PARTNERSHIP

19 PROJECT.—The term ‘‘land conservation partnership 

20 project’’ means a land conservation project located 

21 within the Highlands region identified as having 

22 high conservation value by the Forest Service in 

23 which a non-Federal entity acquires land or an in24 terest in land from a willing seller for the purpose 

25 of permanently protecting, conserving, or preserving 
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1 the land through a partnership with the Federal 

2 Government. 

3 (4) NON-FEDERAL ENTITY.—The term ‘‘non4 Federal entity’’ means any Highlands State, or any 

5 agency or department of any Highlands State with 

6 authority to own and manage land for conservation 

7 purposes, including the Palisades Interstate Park 

8 Commission. 

9 (5) STUDY.—The term ‘‘study’’ means the New 

10 York-New Jersey Highlands Regional Study con11 ducted by the Forest Service in 1990. 

12 (6) UPDATE.—The term ‘‘update’’ means the 

13 New York-New Jersey Highlands Regional Study: 

14 2002 Update conducted by the Forest Service. 

15 SEC. 5. LAND CONSERVATION PARTNERSHIP PROJECTS IN 

16 THE HIGHLANDS REGION. 

17 (a) SUBMISSION OF PROPOSED PROJECTS.—Annu18 ally, the Governors of the Highlands States, with input 

19 from pertinent units of local government and the public, 

20 may jointly identify land conservation partnership projects 

21 in the Highlands region that shall be proposed for Federal 

22 financial assistance and submit a list of those projects to 

23 the Secretary of the Interior. 

24 (b) CONSIDERATION OF PROJECTS.—The Secretary 

25 of the Interior, in consultation with the Secretary of Agri-
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1 culture, shall annually submit to Congress a list of those 

2 land conservation partnership projects submitted under 

3 subsection (a) that are eligible to receive financial assist4 ance under this section. 

5 (c) ELIGIBILITY CONDITIONS.—To be eligible for fi6 nancial assistance under this section for a land conserva7 tion partnership project, a non-Federal entity shall enter 

8 into an agreement with the Secretary of the Interior 

9 that—

10 (1) identifies the non-Federal entity that shall 

11 own or hold and manage the land or interest in land; 

12 (2) identifies the source of funds to provide the 

13 non-Federal share required under subsection (d); 

14 (3) describes the management objectives for the 

15 land that will assure permanent protection and use 

16 of the land for the purpose for which the assistance 

17 will be provided; 

18 (4) provides that, if the non-Federal entity con19 verts, uses, or disposes of the land conservation 

20 partnership project for a purpose inconsistent with 

21 the purpose for which the assistance was provided, 

22 as determined by the Secretary of the Interior, the 

23 United States may seek specific performance of the 

24 conditions of financial assistance in accordance with 

25 paragraph (3) in Federal court and shall be entitled 
11

•HR 1964 RS 

1 to reimbursement from the non-Federal entity in an 

2 amount that is, as determined at the time of conver3 sion, use, or disposal, the greater of—

4 (A) the total amount of the financial as5 sistance provided for the project by the Federal 

6 Government under this section; or 

7 (B) the amount by which the financial as8 sistance increased the value of the land or in9 terest in land; and 

10 (5) provides that land conservation partnership 

11 projects will be consistent with areas identified as 

12 having high conservation value in the following: 

13 (A) Important Areas portion of the Forest 

14 Service study. 

15 (B) Conservation Focal Areas portion of 

16 the Forest Service update. 

17 (C) Conservation Priorities portion of the 

18 update. 

19 (D) Lands identified as having higher or 

20 highest resource value in the Conservation Val21 ues Assessment portion of the update. 

22 (d) NON-FEDERAL SHARE REQUIREMENT.—The 

23 Federal share of the cost of carrying out a land conserva24 tion partnership project under this section shall not exceed 
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1 50 percent of the total cost of the land conservation part2 nership project. 

3 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

4 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of the Inte5 rior from the general funds of the Treasury or the Land 

6 and Water Conservation Fund to carry out this section 

7 $10,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2005 through 

8 2014. Amounts appropriated pursuant to this authoriza9 tion of appropriations shall remain available until ex10 pended. 

11 SEC. 6. FOREST SERVICE AND USDA PROGRAMS IN THE 

12 HIGHLANDS REGION. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—In order to meet the land resource 

14 goals of, and the scientific and conservation challenges 

15 identified in, the study, update, and any future study that 

16 the Forest Service may undertake in the Highlands region, 

17 the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Chief of 

18 the Forest Service and in consultation with the Chief of 

19 the National Resources Conservation Service, shall con20 tinue to assist the Highlands States, local units of govern21 ment, and private forest and farm landowners in the con22 servation of lands and natural resources in the Highlands 

23 region. 

24 (b) DUTIES.—The Forest Service shall—
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1 (1) in consultation with the Highlands States, 

2 undertake other studies and research as appropriate 

3 in the Highlands region consistent with the purposes 

4 of this Act; 

5 (2) communicate the findings of the study and 

6 update and maintain a public dialogue regarding im7 plementation of the study and update; and 

8 (3) assist the Highland States, local units of 

9 government, individual landowners, and private or10 ganizations in identifying and using Forest Service 

11 and other technical and financial assistance pro12 grams of the Department of Agriculture. 

13 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

14 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Agri15 culture to carry out this section $1,000,000 for each of 

16 the fiscal years 2005 through 2014. 

17 SEC. 7. PRIVATE PROPERTY PROTECTION AND LACK OF 

18 REGULATORY EFFECT. 

19 (a) ACCESS TO PRIVATE PROPERTY.—Nothing in 

20 this Act shall be construed to—

21 (1) require any private property owner to per22 mit public access (including Federal, State, or local 

23 government access) to such private property; and 
14

•HR 1964 RS 

1 (2) modify any provision of Federal, State, or 

2 local law with regard to public access to or use of 

3 private lands. 

4 (b) LIABILITY.—Nothing in this Act shall be con5 strued to create any liability, or to have any effect on any 

6 liability under any other law, of any private property 

7 owner with respect to any persons injured on such private 

8 property. 

9 (c) RECOGNITION OF AUTHORITY TO CONTROL LAND

10 USE.—Nothing in this Act shall be construed to modify 

11 any authority of Federal, State, or local governments to 

12 regulate land use. 

13 (d) PARTICIPATION OF PRIVATE PROPERTY OWN14 ERS.—Nothing in this Act shall be construed to require 

15 the owner of any private property located in the Highlands 

16 region to participate in the land conservation, financial, 

17 or technical assistance or any other programs established 

18 under this Act. 

19 (e) PURCHASE OF LANDS OR INTERESTS IN LANDS

20 FROM WILLING SELLERS ONLY.—Funds appropriated to 

21 carry out this Act shall be used to purchase lands or inter22 ests in lands only from willing sellers.

23 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

24 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Highlands Conservation 

25 Act’’. 
15

•HR 1964 RS 

1 SEC. 2. PURPOSES. 

2 The purposes of this Act are—

3 (1) to recognize the importance of the water, for4 est, agricultural, wildlife, recreational, and cultural 

5 resources of the Highlands region, and the national 

6 significance of the Highlands region to the United 

7 States; 

8 (2) to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to 

9 work in partnership with the Secretary of Agriculture 

10 to provide financial assistance to the Highlands 

11 States to preserve and protect high priority conserva12 tion land in the Highlands region; and 

13 (3) to continue the ongoing Forest Service pro14 grams in the Highlands region to assist the High15 lands States, local units of government, and private 

16 forest and farm landowners in the conservation of 

17 land and natural resources in the Highlands region. 

18 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

19 In this Act: 

20 (1) HIGHLANDS REGION.—The term ‘‘Highlands 

21 region’’ means the area depicted on the map entitled 

22 ‘‘The Highlands Region’’, dated June 2004, including 

23 the list of municipalities included in the Highlands 

24 region, and maintained in the headquarters of the 

25 Forest Service in Washington, District of Columbia. 
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1 (2) HIGHLANDS STATE.—The term ‘‘Highlands 

2 State’’ means—

3 (A) the State of Connecticut; 

4 (B) the State of New Jersey; 

5 (C) the State of New York; and 

6 (D) the State of Pennsylvania. 

7 (3) LAND CONSERVATION PARTNERSHIP

8 PROJECT.—The term ‘‘land conservation partnership 

9 project’’ means a land conservation project—

10 (A) located in the Highlands region; 

11 (B) identified by the Forest Service in the 

12 Study, the Update, or any subsequent Pennsyl13 vania and Connecticut Update as having high 

14 conservation value; and 

15 (C) in which a non-Federal entity acquires 

16 land or an interest in land from a willing seller 

17 to permanently protect, conserve, or preserve the 

18 land through a partnership with the Federal 

19 Government. 

20 (4) NON-FEDERAL ENTITY.—The term ‘‘non-Fed21 eral entity’’ means—

22 (A) any Highlands State; or 

23 (B) any agency or department of any High24 lands State with authority to own and manage 
17

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1 land for conservation purposes, including the 

2 Palisades Interstate Park Commission. 

3 (5) STUDY.—The term ‘‘Study’’ means the New 

4 York-New Jersey Highlands Regional Study con5 ducted by the Forest Service in 1990. 

6 (6) UPDATE.—The term ‘‘Update’’ means the 

7 New York-New Jersey Highlands Regional Study: 

8 2002 Update conducted by the Forest Service. 

9 (7) PENNSYLVANIA AND CONNECTICUT UP10 DATE.—The term ‘‘Pennsylvania and Connecticut 

11 Update’’ means a report to be completed by the Forest 

12 Service that identifies areas having high conservation 

13 values in the States of Connecticut and Pennsylvania 

14 in a manner similar to that utilized in the Study 

15 and Update. 

16 SEC. 4. LAND CONSERVATION PARTNERSHIP PROJECTS IN 

17 THE HIGHLANDS REGION. 

18 (a) SUBMISSION OF PROPOSED PROJECTS.—Each 

19 year, the governors of the Highlands States, with input 

20 from pertinent units of local government and the public, 

21 may—

22 (1) jointly identify land conservation partner23 ship projects in the Highlands region from land iden24 tified as having high conservation values in the 

25 Study, the Update, or the Pennsylvania and Con-
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1 necticut Update that shall be proposed for Federal fi2 nancial assistance; and 

3 (2) submit a list of those projects to the Sec4 retary of the Interior. 

5 (b) CONSIDERATION OF PROJECTS.—Each year, the 

6 Secretary of the Interior, in consultation with the Secretary 

7 of Agriculture, shall submit to Congress a list of the land 

8 conservation partnership projects submitted under sub9 section (a)(2) that are eligible to receive financial assistance 

10 under this section. 

11 (c) ELIGIBILITY CONDITIONS.—To be eligible for fi12 nancial assistance under this section for a land conserva13 tion partnership project, a non-Federal entity shall enter 

14 into an agreement with the Secretary of the Interior that—

15 (1) identifies the non-Federal entity that shall 

16 own or hold and manage the land or interest in land; 

17 (2) identifies the source of funds to provide the 

18 non-Federal share under subsection (d); 

19 (3) describes the management objectives for the 

20 land that will ensure permanent protection and use 

21 of the land for the purpose for which the assistance 

22 will be provided;

23 (4) provides that, if the non-Federal entity con24 verts, uses, or disposes of the land conservation part25 nership project for a purpose inconsistent with the 
19

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1 purpose for which the assistance was provided, as de2 termined by the Secretary of the Interior, the United 

3 States—

4 (A) may seek specific performance of the 

5 conditions of financial assistance in accordance 

6 with paragraph (3) in Federal court; and 

7 (B) shall be entitled to reimbursement from 

8 the non-Federal entity in an amount that is, as 

9 determined at the time of conversion, use, or dis10 posal, the greater of—

11 (i) the total amount of the financial 

12 assistance provided for the project by the 

13 Federal Government under this section; or 

14 (ii) the amount by which the financial 

15 assistance increased the value of the land or 

16 interest in land; and 

17 (5) provides that land conservation partnership 

18 projects will be consistent with areas identified as 

19 having high conservation value in—

20 (A) the Important Areas portion of the 

21 Study; 

22 (B) the Conservation Focal Areas portion of 

23 the Update; 

24 (C) the Conservation Priorities portion of 

25 the Update; 
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1 (D) land identified as having higher or 

2 highest resource value in the Conservation Values 

3 Assessment portion of the Update; and 

4 (E) land identified as having high conserva5 tion value in the Pennsylvania and Connecticut 

6 Update. 

7 (d) NON-FEDERAL SHARE REQUIREMENT.—The Fed8 eral share of the cost of carrying out a land conservation 

9 partnership project under this section shall not exceed 50 

10 percent of the total cost of the land conservation partnership 

11 project. 

12 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

13 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of the Inte14 rior $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2005 through 2014, 

15 to remain available until expended. 

16 SEC. 5. FOREST SERVICE AND USDA PROGRAMS IN THE 

17 HIGHLANDS REGION. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—To meet the land resource goals of, 

19 and the scientific and conservation challenges identified in, 

20 the Study, Update, and any future study that the Forest 

21 Service may undertake in the Highlands region, the Sec22 retary of Agriculture, acting through the Chief of the Forest 

23 Service and in consultation with the Chief of the National 

24 Resources Conservation Service, shall continue to assist the 

25 Highlands States, local units of government, and private 
21

•HR 1964 RS 

1 forest and farm landowners in the conservation of land and 

2 natural resources in the Highlands region. 

3 (b) DUTIES.—The Forest Service shall—

4 (1) in consultation with the Highlands States, 

5 undertake other studies and research in the Highlands 

6 region consistent with the purposes of this Act, in7 cluding a Pennsylvania and Connecticut Update; 

8 (2) communicate the findings of the Study and 

9 Update and maintain a public dialogue regarding 

10 implementation of the Study and Update; and 

11 (3) assist the Highland States, local units of gov12 ernment, individual landowners, and private organi13 zations in identifying and using Forest Service and 

14 other technical and financial assistance programs of 

15 the Department of Agriculture. 

16 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

17 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Agri18 culture to carry out this section $1,000,000 for each of fiscal 

19 years 2005 through 2014. 

20 SEC. 6. PRIVATE PROPERTY PROTECTION AND LACK OF 

21 REGULATORY EFFECT. 

22 (a) ACCESS TO PRIVATE PROPERTY.—Nothing in this 

23 Act—
22

•HR 1964 RS 

1 (1) requires a private property owner to permit 

2 public access (including Federal, State, or local gov3 ernment access) to private property; or 

4 (2) modifies any provision of Federal, State, or 

5 local law with regard to public access to, or use of, 

6 private land. 

7 (b) LIABILITY.—Nothing in this Act creates any liabil8 ity, or has any effect on liability under any other law, of 

9 a private property owner with respect to any persons in10 jured on the private property. 

11 (c) RECOGNITION OF AUTHORITY TO CONTROL LAND

12 USE.—Nothing in this Act modifies any authority of Fed13 eral, State, or local governments to regulate land use. 

14 (d) PARTICIPATION OF PRIVATE PROPERTY OWN15 ERS.—Nothing in this Act requires the owner of any private 

16 property located in the Highlands region to participate in 

17 the land conservation, financial, or technical assistance or 

18 any other programs established under this Act. 

19 (e) PURCHASE OF LAND OR INTERESTS IN LAND FROM

20 WILLING SELLERS ONLY.—Funds appropriated to carry 

21 out this Act shall be used to purchase land or interests in 

22 land only from willing sellers.

Calendar No. 735

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 1964

[Report No. 108–376] 

AN ACT

To assist the States of Connecticut, New Jersey, 

lands region, and for other purposes. ority lands and natural resources in the HighNew York, and Pennsylvania in conserving priSEPTEMBER 28, 2004

Reported with an amendment