89–010 

Calendar No. 299 

111TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! SENATE 2d Session 111–149 

WACO MAMMOTH NATIONAL MONUMENT 

ESTABLISHMENT ACT 

MARCH 2, 2010.—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. 1376] 

The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 

referred the Act (H.R. 1376) to establish the Waco Mammoth National Monument in the State of Texas, 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. 1376 is to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to establish the Waco Mammoth National Monument in the 

State of Texas as a unit of the National Park System. 

BACKGROUND AND NEED

Public Law 107–341, enacted in 2002, directed the Secretary of 

the Interior to conduct a special resource study to determine the 

national significance, suitability, and feasibility of designating the 

Waco Mammoth Site as a unit of the National Park System. The 

Waco Mammoth Site is located near the confluence of the Brazos 

River and the Bosque River in Central Texas, near the City of 

Waco. The Mammoth Site includes over 109 combined acres owned 

by the City of Waco and Baylor University. 

Baylor University has been studying the site since 1978 and has 

uncovered the bones of Columbian mammoths ranging from 3 to 55 

years of age, which appear to have died around 68,000 years ago. 

The Waco Mammoth Site holds the biggest concentration of 

mammoths in North America and has allowed scientists to study 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with REPORTS
2 

and better understand the life history of an extinct species. The 

discoveries have received international attention. 

After completion of the study, the National Park Service found 

that the Waco site met all the criteria for designation as a unit of 

the National Park System, and proposed that the site be managed 

by the Park Service in partnership with the City of Waco and 

Baylor University. 

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

H.R. 1376, sponsored by Representative Chet Edwards, was reported by the Committee on Natural Resources on June 24, 2009 

(H. Rept. 111–229), and passed the House of Representatives on 

July 9, 2009, by voice vote. 

Companion legislation, S. 625, was introduced in the Senate by 

Senators Cornyn and Hutchison on March 17, 2009. The Subcommittee on National Parks held a hearing on S. 625 on July 15, 

2009. (S. Hrg. 111–92). At its business meeting on December 16, 

2009, the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources ordered 

H.R. 1376 to be reported favorably without amendment. 

COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in 

open business session on December 16, 2009, by a voice vote of a 

quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass H.R. 1376. 

SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Section 1 contains the short title for the bill, the ‘‘Waco Mammoth National Monument Establishment Act of 2009’’. 

Section 2 contains Congressional findings. 

Section 3 defines key terms used in the legislation. 

Section 4 establishes the Waco Mammoth National Monument in 

the State of Texas as a unit of the National Park System as depicted on the map. 

Section 5 directs the Secretary of the Interior to administer the 

monument in accordance with all laws applicable to the National 

Park System, including the National Park System Organic Act (16 

U.S.C. 1–4). 

Subsection (b) authorizes the Secretary to enter into cooperative 

agreements for the management of the national monument with 

Baylor University and the City of Waco, pursuant to the National 

Park Service General Authorities Act (16 U.S.C. 1a–2(1)). 

Section 6 authorizes the Secretary to acquire from willing sellers 

lands, or interests in lands, within the proposed boundary of the 

national monument necessary for effective management. 

Section 7 authorizes the Secretary, subject to the appropriation 

of necessary funds, to construct essential administrative or visitor 

use facilities on non-Federal lands within the national monument. 

Further, the Secretary may use donated funds, property, and services to carry out construction of facilities on nonfederal lands. 

Section 8 states that not later than three years after the date of 

which funds are made available to carry out this Act, the Secretary, in consultation with Baylor University and City of Waco, 

shall prepare a management plan for the national monument. 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with REPORTS
3 

COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

The following estimate of costs of this measure has been provided 

by the Congressional Budget Office. 

H.R. 1376—Waco Mammoth National Monument Establishment Act 

of 2009 

H.R. 1376 would establish the Waco Mammoth National Monument in Texas. The cost to develop and manage the new monument 

would be shared by the National Park Service (NPS) and local 

partners, such as the city of Waco and Baylor University, under cooperative agreements. The legislation would authorize the NPS to 

both acquire land for the monument and construct facilities on nonfederal lands within the monument’s boundaries. Finally, the act 

would require the NPS to prepare a management plan for the 

monument within three years of receiving funding for that purpose. 

Based on information provided by the NPS and assuming the 

availability of appropriated funds, CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 1376 would cost about $1 million over the next three 

years and about $400,000 a year thereafter. The $1 million would 

be used to develop a management plan for the site and construct 

exhibits and interpretive facilities. Beginning in 2013, $400,000 

would be needed for the federal share of annual operating costs. 

For this estimate, CBO assumes that about 5 acres of land 

owned by Waco or Baylor University would be donated to the NPS 

within the next three years; the rest of the approximately 110-acre 

site would remain in nonfederal ownership. We further assume 

that other costs to develop visitor facilities within the monument— 

an estimated $8 million—would be borne by the city or other nonfederal participants. If, alternatively, the NPS needed to acquire 

more land for the monument or bear more of the costs of financing 

new facilities, federal costs would be higher than $1 million (assuming appropriation of the necessary amounts). 

H.R. 1376 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would 

impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments. 

On July 16, 2009, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for H.R. 

1376, as ordered reported by the House Committee on Natural Resources on July 9, 2009. The two versions of the legislation are 

similar, and our cost estimates are the same. 

The CBO staff contacts for this estimate are Deborah Reis and 

Daniel Hoople. The estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, 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. 1376. 

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. 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with REPORTS
4 

Little, if any, additional paperwork would result from the enactment of H.R. 1376. 

CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING

H.R. 1376, as ordered reported, does not contain any congressionally directed spending items, limited tax benefits, or limited tariff 

benefits as defined in rule XLIV of the Standing Rules of the Senate. 

EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS

The testimony provided by the Department of the Interior was 

included in testimony received by the Committee at a hearing on 

S. 625, on July 15, 2009. 

STATEMENT OF KATHERINE H. STEVENSON, ACTING DEPUTY

DIRECTOR—SUPPORT SERVICES, NATIONAL PARK SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Mr. Chairman and members of the subcommittee, thank 

you for the opportunity to present the views of the Department of the Interior on S. 625, a bill to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to establish the Waco Mammoth National Monument in the State of Texas. 

The Department supports S. 625, with an amendment to 

provide the map reference in the bill. The Department testified in support of H.R. 1376, a similar bill, on April 23, 

2009, before the House Subcommittee on National Parks, 

Forests and Public Lands. 

S. 625 would establish a new unit of the National Park 

System, the Waco Mammoth National Monument (monument), near the city of Waco, Texas. The bill directs the 

Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) to administer the 

monument in accordance with the laws applicable to the 

National Park System and to enter into cooperative agreements with Baylor University and the City of Waco to 

manage the monument. The bill also authorizes the Secretary to acquire land for the monument from willing sellers with donated or appropriated funds, transfer from another federal agency, or exchange. Lands owned by the 

State of Texas, or its political subdivisions, may only be acquired by donation or exchange. Finally, the Secretary is 

authorized to construct facilities on non-federal land within the boundaries of the monument and to complete a General Management Plan for the monument within three 

years after funds are made available. 

The National Park Service (NPS) was directed to complete a Special Resource Study (SRS) of the Waco Mammoth site by Public Law 107–341. This study evaluated a 

109-acre site owned by the City of Waco and Baylor University and found that the site meets all the criteria for 

designation as a unit of the National Park System. 

The Waco Mammoth Site area is located approximately 

4.5 miles north of the center of Waco, near the confluence 

of the Brazos and the Bosque rivers. Baylor University has 

been investigating the site since 1978 after hearing about 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with REPORTS
5 

bones emerging from eroding creek banks that led to the 

uncovering of portions of five mammoths. Since then several additional mammoth remains have been uncovered— 

making this the largest known concentration of mammoths 

dying from the same event. 

The discoveries have received international attention 

and many of the remains have been excavated and are in 

storage or still being researched. The SRS determined that 

the combination of both in situ articulated skeletal remains and the excavated specimens from the site represents the nation’s first and only recorded nursery herd 

of Pleistocene mammoths. The resource possesses exceptional interpretive value and superlative opportunities for 

visitor enjoyment and scientific study. 

From the time the site was discovered until the present, 

the University and the City have managed the site responsibly. The SRS examined a range of proposed options for 

the NPS involvement at the site. We believe that NPS 

joining in partnership with the city of Waco, Baylor University, and others would offer the most effective and costefficient management of this unique resource. 

If established based upon the management alternative 

recommended in the SRS, we estimate that the costs to 

create the monument would include $8.1 million from the 

identified partners to develop the facilities at the monument with the NPS providing an additional $600,000 for 

enhanced interpretive media. Total operational costs are 

estimated to be $645,000 with the NPS contributing approximately $345,000 for NPS staffing of four full-time 

equivalent positions and associated supplies, materials, 

and equipment. All funds are subject to NPS priorities and 

the availability of appropriations. 

We recommend that Section 3 of S. 625 be amended to 

include the map reference for the monument. The map 

title is ‘‘Proposed Boundary Waco-Mammoth National 

Monument’’, the map number is ‘‘T21/80,000’’, and the date 

is ‘‘April 2009’’. 

Mr. Chairman, that concludes my statement. I would be 

happy to answer any questions that you or other 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 Act H.R. 1376, as ordered reported. 

fi 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with REPORTS