89–006 

111TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 2d Session 111–434 

ALPINE LAKES WILDERNESS ADDITIONS AND PRATT AND 

MIDDLE FORK SNOQUALMIE RIVERS PROTECTION ACT 

MARCH 11, 2010.—Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State 

of the Union and ordered to be printed 

Mr. RAHALL, from the Committee on Natural Resources, 

submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany H.R. 1769] 

[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office] 

The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred the 

bill (H.R. 1769) to expand the Alpine Lakes Wilderness in the State 

of Washington, to designate the Middle Fork Snoqualmie River and 

Pratt River as wild and scenic rivers, and for other purposes, having considered the same, report favorably thereon with an amendment and recommend that the bill as amended do pass. 

The amendment is as follows: 

Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the following: 

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Alpine Lakes Wilderness Additions and Pratt and 

Middle Fork Snoqualmie Rivers Protection Act’’. 

SEC. 2. EXPANSION OF ALPINE LAKES WILDERNESS. 

(a) IN GENERAL.—There is designated as wilderness and as a component of the 

National Wilderness Preservation System certain Federal land in the Mount BakerSnoqualmie National Forest in the State of Washington comprising approximately 

22,173 acres that is within the Proposed Alpine Lakes Wilderness Additions Boundary, as generally depicted on the map entitled ‘‘Proposed Alpine Lakes Wilderness 

Additions’’ and dated December 3, 2009, which is incorporated in and shall be considered to be a part of the Alpine Lakes Wilderness. 

(b) ADMINISTRATION.— 

(1) MANAGEMENT.—Subject to valid existing rights, the land designated as 

wilderness by subsection (a) shall be administered by the Secretary of Agriculture (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Secretary’’), in accordance with the 

Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.), except that any reference in that Act 

to the effective date of that Act shall be considered to be a reference to the date 

of enactment of this Act. 

(2) MAP AND DESCRIPTION.— 


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(A) IN GENERAL.—As soon as practicable after the date of enactment of 

this Act, the Secretary shall file a map and a legal description of the land 

designated as wilderness by subsection (a) with— 

(i) the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives; and 

(ii) the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate. 

(B) FORCE OF LAW.—A map and legal description filed under subparagraph (A) shall have the same force and effect as if included in this Act, 

except that the Secretary may correct minor errors in the map and legal 

description. 

(C) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The map and legal description filed under subparagraph (A) shall be filed and made available for public inspection in the 

appropriate office of the Forest Service. 

(c) INCORPORATION OF ACQUIRED LAND AND INTERESTS IN LAND.—Any land or interests in land within the Proposed Alpine Lakes Wilderness Additions Boundary, 

as generally depicted on the map entitled ‘‘Proposed Alpine Lakes Wilderness Additions’’ and dated December 3, 2009, that is acquired by the United States shall— 

(1) become part of the wilderness area; and 

(2) be managed in accordance with subsection (b)(1). 

SEC. 3. WILD AND SCENIC RIVER DESIGNATIONS. 

Section 3(a) of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (16 U.S.C. 1274(a)) is amended by 

adding at the end the following: 

‘‘(ll) MIDDLE FORK SNOQUALMIE, WASHINGTON.—The 27.4-mile segment from 

the headwaters of the Middle Fork Snoqualmie River near La Bohn Gap in NE 1⁄4

sec. 20, T. 24 N., R. 13 E., to the northern boundary of sec. 11, T. 23 N., R. 9 E., 

to be administered by the Secretary of Agriculture in the following classifications: 

‘‘(A) The approximately 6.4-mile segment from the headwaters of the Middle 

Fork Snoqualmie River near La Bohn Gap in NE 1⁄4 sec. 20, T. 24 N., R. 13 

E., to the west section line of sec. 3, T. 23 N., R. 12 E., as a wild river. 

‘‘(B) The approximately 21-mile segment from the west section line of sec. 3, 

T. 23 N., R. 12 E., to the northern boundary of sec. 11, T. 23 N., R. 9 E., as 

a scenic river. 

‘‘(ll) PRATT RIVER, WASHINGTON.—The entirety of the Pratt River in the State 

of Washington, located in the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, to be administered by the Secretary of Agriculture as a wild river.’’. 

PURPOSE OF THE BILL

The purpose of H.R. 1769 is to expand the Alpine Lakes Wilderness in the State of Washington, to designate the Middle Fork 

Snoqualmie River and Pratt River as wild and scenic rivers, and 

for other purposes. 

BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

The Alpine Lakes Wilderness was originally designated by Congress in 1976. It sits 45 minutes east of downtown Seattle and has 

become one of the most visited wilderness areas in the country. The 

proposed wilderness additions, which total approximately 22,000 

acres, are low elevation lands that provide important habitat for 

wildlife during times of the year when high elevation lands are covered by snow. Elk, deer, cougars, and bobcats all live in the mountain valleys that comprise the wilderness additions proposed by 

H.R. 1769. 

The bill would also designate 27.4 miles of the Middle Fork 

Snoqualmie River and the entire Pratt River as wild and scenic rivers. In 1990, the U.S. Forest Service recommended these rivers for 

designation because of their outstanding recreation, fisheries, wildlife, and ecological values. The Pratt River is a major tributary of 

the Middle Fork Snoqualmie River, and both rivers are a source of 

clean water for the fisheries of the Snohomish River system. 


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COMMITTEE ACTION

H.R. 1769 was introduced on March 26, 2009 by Representative 

Dave Reichert (R–WA). The bill was referred to the Committee on 

Natural Resources, and within the Committee to the Subcommittee 

on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands. On November 5, 

2009, the Subcommittee held a hearing on the bill, during which 

a representative of the Forest Service testified that the Administration is in favor of the bill with some technical changes regarding 

two trails that impact the proposed wilderness additions. 

On February 24, 2010, the Subcommittee was discharged from 

further consideration of H.R. 1769 and the full Natural Resources 

Committee met to consider the bill. Subcommittee Chairman Rau ́l 

Grijalva (D–AZ) offered an amendment in the nature of a substitute to address the boundary issues raised by the Forest Service. 

The amendment was adopted by voice vote. The bill, as amended, 

was then ordered favorably reported to the House of Representatives by voice vote. 

COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Regarding clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII 

of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the Committee on 

Natural Resources’ oversight findings and recommendations are reflected in the body of this report. 

CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY STATEMENT

Article I, section 8 and Article IV, section 3 of the Constitution 

of the United States grants Congress the authority to enact this 

bill. 

COMPLIANCE WITH HOUSE RULE XIII 

1. Cost of Legislation. Clause 3(d)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of 

the House of Representatives requires an estimate and a comparison by the Committee of the costs which would be incurred in carrying out this bill. However, clause 3(d)(3)(B) of that rule provides 

that this requirement does not apply when the Committee has included in its report a timely submitted cost estimate of the bill prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget Office under section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974. 

2. Congressional Budget Act. As required by clause 3(c)(2) of rule 

XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and section 

308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, this bill does not 

contain any new budget authority, spending authority, credit authority, or an increase or decrease in revenues or tax expenditures. 

3. General Performance Goals and Objectives. As required by 

clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, the general performance goal or objective 

of this bill is to expand the Alpine Lakes Wilderness in the State 

of Washington, to designate the Middle Fork Snoqualmie River and 

Pratt River as wild and scenic rivers, and for other purposes. 

4. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate. Under clause 

3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the rules of the House of Representatives and 

section 403 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee has received the following cost estimate for this bill from the 

Director of the Congressional Budget Office: 


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H.R. 1769—Alpine Lakes Wilderness Additions and Pratt and Middle Fork Snoqualmie Rivers Protection Act 

H.R. 1769 would add more than 22,000 acres of public land in 

the state of Washington to the Alpine Lakes Wilderness. The bill 

also would designate about 27 miles of waterways in the area as 

wild or scenic rivers. Based on information provided by the Forest 

Service, which administers most of the affected land, CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 1769 would have no significant effect on the federal budget. Enacting the legislation would not affect 

revenues or direct spending; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures 

would not apply. 

The acreage and waterways to be added by the legislation to the 

National Wilderness Preservation System and the Wild and Scenic 

Rivers System are currently administered by the Forest Service or 

owned by the state. CBO estimates that no additional resources 

would be required to manage the affected areas as a result of the 

new designations. We expect that any costs to revise brochures, 

maps, and signs would be minimal because most such revisions 

would take place in conjunction with scheduled reprinting and routine maintenance. 

Finally, we estimate that enacting the legislation would have no 

effect on offsetting receipts because the affected lands, which are 

already managed for conservation purposes, currently produce no 

income, and are not expected to in the future. 

The bill 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 January 21, 2010, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for S. 

721, the Alpine Lakes Wilderness Additions and Pratt and Middle 

Fork Snoqualmie Rivers Protection Act as ordered reported by the 

Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources on December 

16, 2009. The two versions of the legislation are nearly identical, 

and the estimated costs are the same. 

The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Deborah Reis. The estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant Director 

for Budget Analysis. 

COMPLIANCE WITH PUBLIC LAW 104–4 

This bill contains no unfunded mandates. 

EARMARK STATEMENT

H.R. 1769 does not contain any congressional earmarks, limited 

tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined in clause 9 of rule 

XXI. 

PREEMPTION OF STATE, LOCAL OR TRIBAL LAW

This bill is not intended to preempt any State, local or tribal law. 

CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED

In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 

House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by the bill, 

as reported, are shown as follows (new matter is printed in italic 


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and existing law in which no change is proposed is shown in 

roman): 

WILD AND SCENIC RIVERS ACT 

* * * * * * * 

SEC. 3. (a) The following rivers and the land adjacent thereto are 

hereby designated as components of the national wild and scenic 

rivers system: 

(1) * * * 

* * * * * * * 

(ll) MIDDLE FORK SNOQUALMIE, WASHINGTON.—The 27.4-mile 

segment from the headwaters of the Middle Fork Snoqualmie River 

near La Bohn Gap in NE 1⁄4 sec. 20, T. 24 N., R. 13 E., to the northern boundary of sec. 11, T. 23 N., R. 9 E., to be administered by 

the Secretary of Agriculture in the following classifications: 

(A) The approximately 6.4-mile segment from the headwaters 

of the Middle Fork Snoqualmie River near La Bohn Gap in NE 

1⁄4 sec. 20, T. 24 N., R. 13 E., to the west section line of sec. 

3, T. 23 N., R. 12 E., as a wild river. 

(B) The approximately 21-mile segment from the west section 

line of sec. 3, T. 23 N., R. 12 E., to the northern boundary of 

sec. 11, T. 23 N., R. 9 E., as a scenic river. 

(ll) PRATT RIVER, WASHINGTON.—The entirety of the Pratt 

River in the State of Washington, located in the Mount BakerSnoqualmie National Forest, to be administered by the Secretary of 

Agriculture as a wild river. 

* * * * * * * 

Æ 


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