59–010 

Calendar No. 378 

110TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! SENATE 1st Session 110–180 

CARL SANDBURG HOME NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE 

BOUNDARY REVISION ACT OF 2007 

SEPTEMBER 17, 2007.—Ordered to be printed 

Mr. BINGAMAN, from the Committee on Energy and Natural 

Resources, submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany H.R. 1100] 

The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 

referred the Act (H.R. 1100) to revise the boundary of the Carl 

Sandburg Home National Historic Site in the State of North Carolina, and for other purposes, having considered the same, reports 

favorably thereon without amendment and recommends that the 

Act do pass. 

PURPOSE

The purpose of H.R. 1100 is to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to acquire up to 115 acres of land for addition to the Carl 

Sandburg Home National Historic Site in Flat Rock, North Carolina. 

BACKGROUND AND NEED

Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site in Flat Rock, North 

Carolina, commemorates the life and legacy of Carl Sandburg, and 

his significance as an American poet, writer, and historian. The 

Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site preserves and interprets the farm, Connemara, where Sandburg and his family lived 

for the last 22 years of his life, until his death in 1967. The National Historic Site was established as a unit of the National Park 

System in 1968. 

The National Historic Site’s enabling legislation authorized the 

purchase of 248 acres. A boundary expansion was authorized in 

1980 to accept 16 acres of land donated by the North Carolina Nature Conservancy. 


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The park’s 2003 General Management Plan (GMP) identified and 

evaluated boundary adjustments that may be necessary or desirable in order to carry out the purposes of the historic site. The preferred alternative from the GMP recommended a boundary addition of 115 acres, of which not more than 5 acres are for the construction of a new visitor center and parking lot. Congressional authorization is required to expand the boundary of the historic site. 

H.R. 1100 authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to acquire up 

to 115 acres of lands or interests therein from willing sellers by donation, or purchase with donated or appropriated funds for addition to the National Historic Site. 

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

H.R. 1100, sponsored by Representative Shuler and others, 

passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 268–150 on May 

23, 2007. A Senate companion measure, S. 488, was introduced by 

Senators Dole and Burr on February 5, 2007. The Subcommittee on 

National Parks held a hearing on S. 488 and H.R. 1100 on July 12, 

2007. 

At its business meeting on July 25, 2007, the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources ordered H.R. 1100 favorably reported 

without amendment. 

COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in open business session on July 25, 2007, by a voice vote of a quorum present, 

recommends that the Senate pass H.R. 1100. 

SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Section 1 entitles the bill the ‘‘Carl Sandburg Home National 

Historic Site Boundary Revision Act of 2007.’’

Section 2 defines key terms used in the Act. 

Section 3(a) authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to acquire up 

to 110 acres from lands identified on the referenced map for addition to the National Historic Site. The lands, or interests therein, 

may be acquired by donation, purchase from willing sellers or by 

exchange. 

Subsection (b) authorizes the Secretary to acquire up to 5 acres 

of land for the development of a visitor center and visitor parking 

area near the National Historic Site. 

Subsection (c) provides that upon acquiring any lands or interests therein, the Secretary shall revise the boundary of the National Historic Site to reflect the acquisition. 

Subsection (d) requires that the park boundary map be on file 

and available for public inspection in appropriate offices of the National Park Service. 

Subsection (e) states that lands added to the National Historic 

Site shall be administered in accordance with applicable laws and 

regulations. 

COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

The following estimate of costs of this measure has been provided 

by the Congressional Budget Office: 


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JULY 30, 2007. 

Hon. JEFF BINGAMAN, 

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 H.R. 1100, the Carl Sandburg 

Home National Historic Site Boundary Revision Act of 2007. 

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

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

Sincerely, 

PETER R. ORSZAG. 

Enclosure. 

H.R. 1100—Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site Boundary 

Revision Act of 2007 

H.R. 1100 would authorize the National Park Service (NPS) to 

acquire 115 acres to be added to the boundary of the Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site in North Carolina. Under the 

act, the NPS could acquire that acreage, or lesser property interests such as easements, by purchase, donation, or exchange. 

Assuming appropriation of the necessary amounts, CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 1100 would cost $7 million over the 

next several years. We estimate that about half of that amount 

would be used by the NPS to acquire about 115 acres of land near 

the existing historic site. (Such costs could be lower if the NPS can 

acquire easements for some of the acreage.) The remaining funds 

would be used to construct and equip a visitor center and related 

facilities near the site. We estimate that costs to manage the additional acreage and operate new visitor facilities would be less than 

$500,000 a year, assuming the availability of appropriated funds. 

This estimate is based on information provided by the NPS. Enacting H.R. 1100 would have no effect on direct spending or revenues. 

H.R. 1100 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. 

On May 11, 2007, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for H.R. 1100 

as ordered reported by the House Committee on Natural Resources 

on May 2, 2007. The two versions of the legislation are identical, 

as are the CBO cost estimates. 

The CBO staff contacts for this estimate are Deborah Reis and 

David Reynolds. This 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 

of the regulatory impact which would be incurred in carrying out 

H.R. 1100. The Act 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. 


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Little, if any, additional paperwork would result from the enactment of H.R. 1100, as ordered reported. 

EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS

The testimony provided by the National Park Service at the July 

12, 2007 subcommittee hearing on H.R. 1100 follows: 

STATEMENT OF KATHERINE H. STEVENSON, ACTING ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, BUSINESS SERVICES, NATIONAL PARK

SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee, thank 

you for the opportunity to appear before you today to 

present the views of the Department of the Interior on S. 

488 & H.R. 1100, bills that would expand the boundary of 

the Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site (site) in 

the State of North Carolina. 

S. 488 and H.R. 1100 would authorize the acquisition, 

from willing sellers, of interests in 115 acres of land for addition to the Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site. 

The bills would also authorize the use of up to 5 of these 

115 acres for a visitor center and parking facilities. 

The Department supports both of these bills, but would 

like to work with the committee to amend S. 488 to make 

it identical to H.R. 1100. At a hearing on April 17, 2007 

in the House of Representatives, the Department testified 

in support of H.R. 1100, and then worked with the House 

subcommittee to make minor changes to make the bill 

more consistent with the site’s 2003 General Management 

Plan and other recent boundary expansion bills. An 

amended version of H.R. 1100, containing the changes the 

department had suggested, passed the House of Representatives on May 23, 2007. 

These bills would authorize acquiring lands or easements for the park that are estimated to cost between 

$300,000 and $2.25 million. Management of these new 

lands is estimated to cost less than $10,000 annually. 

These acquired lands could be used for a visitor center, estimated to cost about $3 million, but that project, as well 

as the costs for land acquisition, would be subject to the 

budget prioritization process of the NPS. Annual operation 

of a visitor center is expected to cost $345,000. The costs 

of operating a shuttle are not known at this time. No funding has yet been identified for any of these costs. 

Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site currently includes 264 acres of Connemura Farm, an estate purchased 

by Sandburg in 1945 near the pre-Civil War resort town 

of Flat Rock, North Carolina. Following Sandburg’s death 

in 1967, his wife deeded the estate to the Federal government. The National Historic Site was authorized one year 

later, in 1968. 

Sandburg, though perhaps best known for his poetry 

celebrating the lives of common American people, was also 

a Pulitzer prize-winning biographer of Abraham Lincoln, a 

children’s author, and a collector of folk music. Fellow auVerDate Aug 31 2005 04:23 Sep 21, 2007 Jkt 059010 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6969 E:\HR\OC\SR180.XXX SR180

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thor H.L. Mencken declared that Sandburg was ‘‘indubitably an American in every pulse-beat.’’

Acquisition of 110 of the 115 acres proposed in S. 488 

and H.R. 1100 would protect the view that Carl Sandburg 

and his neighbors enjoyed from Big Glassy Mountain. Big 

Glassy overlook is the highest point at the Carl Sandburg 

Home National Historic Site and a popular stop for visitors. Sandburg and his family often visited this granite 

outcrop to enjoy its stunning views of surrounding mountains and valleys. The majority of the overlook is within 

the authorized park boundary. However, the overlook precipice as well as the view below it, lies on private property 

outside the authorized boundary. Purchasing conservation 

easements or fee simple property rights from willing sellers would protect the overlook and views from the mountain in perpetuity. 

The National Park Service contacted each landowner 

that holds an interest in the 110 acres proposed for acquisition during the planning process for the site’s 2003 General Management Plan. The State of North Carolina purchased 22 acres within the proposed expansion to protect 

it until the National Park Service can acquire it. All of the 

other owners agreed to have their parcels included in the 

map and proposal to expand the park. 

The acquisition of 5 acres for a visitor center and parking lot would help to solve traffic and safety problems 

along Little River Road, the thoroughfare that forms the 

site’s northern boundary and provides excellent views of 

the site’s pastures, barns, and Side Lake. When the site’s 

existing parking area is full, vehicles enter and exit from 

Little River Road, searching for an open space. Some visitors park on the shoulder of Little River Road and walk to 

the site. The presence of park vehicles, pedestrians, and 

speeding traffic on Little River Road is a hazard to all. The 

local community has expressed concern about this issue, 

but there is no additional parking available in the community. 

To solve these problems, the site’s 2003 General Management Plan proposes acquiring up to 5 acres to build a 

visitor center and parking facility. In order to protect the 

historic character of the site, the National Park Service 

would like this facility to be located outside both the existing boundary and the 110 acres that are proposed to protect the overlook and views from Big Glassy Mountain. A 

more appropriate location would be near, but not necessarily contiguous with the park’s boundary, perhaps 

fronting Little River Road or Highway 225. The Village of 

Flat Rock, North Carolina supports the proposal for a visitor center and parking facility. 

H.R. 1100 has been amended to allow the National Park 

Service to acquire 5 acres ‘‘adjacent to or in the general vicinity of’’ the site’s boundary. S. 488 requires that all lands 

required be ‘‘contiguous to’’ the park’s boundary. We would 

like to work with the committee to amend S. 488 to make 


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it consistent with H.R. 1100 and the park’s 2003 General 

Management Plan. 

S. 488 applies boundary expansion criteria from the 

1978 National Parks and Recreation Act. In the 29 years 

since that Act was signed into law, Congressional committees and the National Park Service have developed and refined these criteria. These refined criteria are used in the 

version of H.R. 1100 that is being considered by the subcommittee. We would like to work with the subcommittee 

to amend S. 488 to make it identical to H.R. 1100. 

Mr. Chairman, this concludes my prepared testimony. I 

would be pleased to answer any questions you or any 

members of the subcommittee might 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 Act H.R. 1100, as ordered reported. 

Æ 


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