II 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1964

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 

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,
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Highlands Conserva3 tion Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

5 Congress finds the following—

6 (1) The Highlands region is a physiographic 

7 province that encompasses more than 2,000,000 

8 acres extending from eastern Pennsylvania through 

9 the States of New Jersey and New York to north10 western Connecticut. 

11 (2) The Highlands region is an environmentally 

12 unique area that—

13 (A) provides clean drinking water to over 

14 15,000,000 people in metropolitan areas in the 

15 States of Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, 

16 and Pennsylvania; 

17 (B) provides critical wildlife habitat, in18 cluding habitat for 247 threatened and endan19 gered species; 

20 (C) maintains an important historic con21 nection to early Native American culture, colo22 nial settlement, the American Revolution, and 

23 the Civil War; 

24 (D) contains recreational resources for 14 

25 million visitors annually; 
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1 (E) provides other significant ecological, 

2 natural, tourism, recreational, educational, and 

3 economic benefits; and 

4 (F) provides homeownership opportunities 

5 and access to affordable housing that is safe, 

6 clean, and healthy. 

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

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

9 region. 

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

11 Highlands region. 

12 (5) The Highlands region forms a greenbelt ad13 jacent to the Philadelphia-New York City-Hartford 

14 urban corridor that offers the opportunity to pre15 serve water, forest and agricultural resources, wild16 life habitat, recreational areas, and historic sites, 

17 while encouraging sustainable economic growth and 

18 development in a fiscally and environmentally sound 

19 manner. 

20 (6) Continued population growth and land use 

21 patterns in the Highlands region—

22 (A) reduce the availability and quality of 

23 water; 

24 (B) reduce air quality; 

25 (C) fragment the forests; 
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1 (D) destroy critical migration corridors 

2 and forest habitat; and 

3 (E) result in the loss of recreational oppor4 tunities and scenic, historic, and cultural re5 sources. 

6 (7) The water, forest, wildlife, recreational, ag7 ricultural, and cultural resources of the Highlands 

8 region, in combination with the proximity of the 

9 Highlands region to the largest metropolitan areas 

10 in the United States, make the Highlands region na11 tionally significant. 

12 (8) The national significance of the Highlands 

13 region has been documented in—

14 (A) the New York-New Jersey Highlands 

15 Regional Study conducted by the Forest Service 

16 in 1990; 

17 (B) the New York-New Jersey Highlands 

18 Regional Study: 2002 Update conducted by the 

19 Forest Service; 

20 (C) the bi-State Skylands Greenway Task 

21 Force Report; 

22 (D) the New Jersey State Development 

23 and Redevelopment Plan; 

24 (E) the New York State Open Space Con25 servation Plan; 
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1 (F) the Connecticut Green Plan: Open 

2 Space Acquisition FY 2001–2006; 

3 (G) the open space plans of the State of 

4 Pennsylvania; and 

5 (H) other open space conservation plans 

6 for States in the Highlands region. 

7 (9) The Highlands region includes or is adja8 cent to numerous parcels of land owned by the Fed9 eral Government or federally designated areas that 

10 protect, conserve, or restore resources of the High11 lands region, including—

12 (A) the Wallkill River National Wildlife 

13 Refuge; 

14 (B) the Shawanagunk Grasslands Wildlife 

15 Refuge; 

16 (C) the Morristown National Historical 

17 Park; 

18 (D) the Delaware and Lehigh Canal Cor19 ridors; 

20 (E) the Hudson River Valley National 

21 Heritage Area; 

22 (F) the Delaware River Basin; 

23 (G) the Delaware Water Gap National 

24 Recreation Area; 
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1 (H) the Upper Delaware Scenic and Rec2 reational River; 

3 (I) the Appalachian National Scenic Trail; 

4 (J) the United States Military Academy at 

5 West Point, New York; 

6 (K) the Highlands National Millenium 

7 Trail; 

8 (L) the Great Swamp National Wildlife 

9 Refuge; 

10 (M) the proposed Crossroads of the Revo11 lution National Heritage Area; 

12 (N) the proposed Musconetcong National 

13 Scenic and Recreational River in New Jersey; 

14 and 

15 (O) the Farmington River Wild and Scenic 

16 Area in Connecticut. 

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

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

19 Highlands region for the residents of, and visitors 

20 to, the Highlands region. 

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

22 New York, and Pennsylvania, and units of local gov23 ernment in the Highlands region have the primary 

24 responsibility for protecting, conserving, preserving, 
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1 restoring and promoting the resources of the High2 lands region. 

3 (12) Because of the longstanding Federal prac4 tice of assisting States in creating, protecting, con5 serving, and restoring areas of significant natural 

6 and cultural importance, and the national signifi7 cance of the Highlands region, the Federal Govern8 ment should, in partnership with the Highlands 

9 States and units of local government in the High10 lands region, protect, restore, and preserve the 

11 water, forest, agricultural, wildlife, recreational and 

12 cultural resources of the Highlands region. 

13 SEC. 3. PURPOSES. 

14 The purposes of this Act are as follows: 

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

16 forest, agricultural, wildlife, recreational and cultural 

17 resources of the Highlands, and the national signifi18 cance of the Highlands region to the United States. 

19 (2) To authorize the Secretary of the Interior 

20 to work in partnership with the Secretary of Agri21 culture to provide financial assistance to the High22 lands States to preserve and protect high priority 

23 conservation lands in the Highlands region. 

24 (3) To continue the ongoing Forest Service pro25 grams in the Highlands region to assist the High-
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1 lands States, local units of government and private 

2 forest and farm landowners in the conservation of 

3 lands and natural resources in the Highlands region. 

4 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 

5 In this Act: 

6 (1) HIGHLANDS REGION.—The term ‘‘High7 lands region’’ means the physiographic province, de8 fined by the Reading Prong and ecologically similar 

9 adjacent upland areas, that encompasses more than 

10 2,000,000 acres extending from eastern Pennsyl11 vania through the States of New Jersey and New 

12 York to northwestern Connecticut. 

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

14 State’’ means—

15 (A) the State of Connecticut; 

16 (B) the State of New Jersey; 

17 (C) the State of New York; 

18 (D) the State of Pennsylvania; and 

19 (E) any agency or department of any 

20 Highlands State. 

21 (3) LAND CONSERVATION PARTNERSHIP

22 PROJECT.—The term ‘‘land conservation partnership 

23 project’’ means a land conservation project located 

24 within the Highlands region identified as having 

25 high conservation value by the Forest Service in 
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1 which a non-Federal entity acquires land or an in2 terest in land from a willing seller for the purpose 

3 of permanently protecting, conserving, or preserving 

4 the land through a partnership with the Federal 

5 Government. 

6 (4) NON-FEDERAL ENTITY.—The term ‘‘non7 Federal entity’’ means any Highlands State, or any 

8 agency or department of any Highlands State with 

9 authority to own and manage land for conservation 

10 purposes, including the Palisades Interstate Park 

11 Commission. 

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

13 York-New Jersey Highlands Regional Study con14 ducted by the Forest Service in 1990. 

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

16 New York-New Jersey Highlands Regional Study: 

17 2002 Update conducted by the Forest Service. 

18 SEC. 5. LAND CONSERVATION PARTNERSHIP PROJECTS IN 

19 THE HIGHLANDS REGION. 

20 (a) SUBMISSION OF PROPOSED PROJECTS.—Annu21 ally, the Governors of the Highlands States, with input 

22 from pertinent units of local government and the public, 

23 may jointly identify land conservation partnership projects 

24 in the Highlands region that shall be proposed for Federal 
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1 financial assistance and submit a list of those projects to 

2 the Secretary of the Interior. 

3 (b) CONSIDERATION OF PROJECTS.—The Secretary 

4 of the Interior, in consultation with the Secretary of Agri5 culture, shall annually submit to Congress a list of those 

6 land conservation partnership projects submitted under 

7 subsection (a) that are eligible to receive financial assist8 ance under this section. 

9 (c) ELIGIBILITY CONDITIONS.—To be eligible for fi10 nancial assistance under this section for a land conserva11 tion partnership project, a non-Federal entity shall enter 

12 into an agreement with the Secretary of the Interior 

13 that—

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

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

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

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

18 (3) describes the management objectives for the 

19 land that will assure permanent protection and use 

20 of the land for the purpose for which the assistance 

21 will be provided; 

22 (4) provides that, if the non-Federal entity con23 verts, uses, or disposes of the land conservation 

24 partnership project for a purpose inconsistent with 

25 the purpose for which the assistance was provided, 
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1 as determined by the Secretary of the Interior, the 

2 United States may seek specific performance of the 

3 conditions of financial assistance in accordance with 

4 paragraph (3) in Federal court and shall be entitled 

5 to reimbursement from the non-Federal entity in an 

6 amount that is, as determined at the time of conver7 sion, use, or disposal, the greater of—

8 (A) the total amount of the financial as9 sistance provided for the project by the Federal 

10 Government under this section; or 

11 (B) the amount by which the financial as12 sistance increased the value of the land or in13 terest in land; and 

14 (5) provides that land conservation partnership 

15 projects will be consistent with areas identified as 

16 having high conservation value in the following: 

17 (A) Important Areas portion of the Forest 

18 Service study. 

19 (B) Conservation Focal Areas portion of 

20 the Forest Service update. 

21 (C) Conservation Priorities portion of the 

22 update. 

23 (D) Lands identified as having higher or 

24 highest resource value in the Conservation Val25 ues Assessment portion of the update. 
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1 (d) NON-FEDERAL SHARE REQUIREMENT.—The 

2 Federal share of the cost of carrying out a land conserva3 tion partnership project under this section shall not exceed 

4 50 percent of the total cost of the land conservation part5 nership project. 

6 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

7 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of the Inte8 rior from the general funds of the Treasury or the Land 

9 and Water Conservation Fund to carry out this section 

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

11 2014. Amounts appropriated pursuant to this authoriza12 tion of appropriations shall remain available until ex13 pended. 

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

15 HIGHLANDS REGION. 

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

17 goals of, and the scientific and conservation challenges 

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

19 the Forest Service may undertake in the Highlands region, 

20 the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Chief of 

21 the Forest Service and in consultation with the Chief of 

22 the National Resources Conservation Service, shall con23 tinue to assist the Highlands States, local units of govern24 ment, and private forest and farm landowners in the con-
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1 servation of lands and natural resources in the Highlands 

2 region. 

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

4 (1) in consultation with the Highlands States, 

5 undertake other studies and research as appropriate 

6 in the Highlands region consistent with the purposes 

7 of this Act; 

8 (2) communicate the findings of the study and 

9 update and maintain a public dialogue regarding im10 plementation of the study and update; and 

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

12 government, individual landowners, and private or13 ganizations in identifying and using Forest Service 

14 and other technical and financial assistance pro15 grams of 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 

19 the fiscal years 2005 through 2014. 

20 SEC. 7. PRIVATE PROPERTY PROTECTION AND LACK OF 

21 REGULATORY EFFECT. 

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

23 this Act shall be construed to—
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1 (1) require any private property owner to per2 mit public access (including Federal, State, or local 

3 government access) to such private property; and 

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

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

6 private lands. 

7 (b) LIABILITY.—Nothing in this Act shall be con8 strued to create any liability, or to have any effect on any 

9 liability under any other law, of any private property 

10 owner with respect to any persons injured on such private 

11 property. 

12 (c) RECOGNITION OF AUTHORITY TO CONTROL LAND

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

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

15 regulate land use. 

16 (d) PARTICIPATION OF PRIVATE PROPERTY OWN17 ERS.—Nothing in this Act shall be construed to require 

18 the owner of any private property located in the Highlands 

19 region to participate in the land conservation, financial, 

20 or technical assistance or any other programs established 

21 under this Act. 

22 (e) PURCHASE OF LANDS OR INTERESTS IN LANDS

23 FROM WILLING SELLERS ONLY.—Funds appropriated to 
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1 carry out this Act shall be used to purchase lands or inter2 ests in lands only from willing sellers.

Passed the House of Representatives November 21, 

2003. 

Attest: JEFF TRANDAHL, 

Clerk.