29–006 

108TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 2d Session 108–644 

CRAIG RECREATION LAND PURCHASE ACT 

SEPTEMBER 7, 2004.—Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State 

of the Union and ordered to be printed 

Mr. POMBO, from the Committee on Resources, 

submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany H.R. 3427] 

[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office] 

The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill 

(H.R. 3427) to authorize a land conveyance between the United 

States and the City of Craig, Alaska, 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. 

(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Craig Recreation Land Purchase 

Act’’. 

(b) DEFINITIONS.—For the purposes of this Act, the following definitions apply: 

(1) CITY.—The term ‘‘City’’ means the City of Craig, Alaska. 

(2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary of Agriculture. 

SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION FOR CONVEYANCE. 

(a) IN GENERAL.—If the City tenders all right, title, and interest of the City in 

and to the land described in subsection (b) to the Secretary not later than 6 months 

after the date the City receives the results of the appraisal conducted pursuant to 

section 4, the Secretary shall accept such tender. 

(b) LAND DESCRIPTION.—The land referred to in subsection (a) is as follows: 

(1) The municipal land identified on the map entitled ‘‘Informational Map, 

Sunnahae Trail and Recreation Parcel and Craig Cannery Property’’ and dated 

August 2003. 

(2) Lots 1 and 1A, Block 11–A, as identified on the City of Craig Subdivision 

Plat, Craig Tideland Addition, Patent # 155 (Inst. 69–982, Ketchikan Recording 

Office), dated April 21, 2004, consisting of approximately 22,353 square feet of 

land. 

(3) The portion of Beach Road eastward of a projected line between the southwest corner of lot 1, Block 11, USS 1430 and the northwest corner of lot 1, 

Block 11–A, as identified on the City of Craig Subdivision Plat, Craig Tideland 

Addition, Patent # 155 (Inst. 69–982, Ketchikan Recording Office), dated April 

21, 2004, consisting of approximately 4,700 square feet of land. 

2 

SEC. 3. ACQUISITION OF LAND BY THE CITY OF CRAIG. 

(a) USE OF FUNDS FOR LAND ACQUISITION.—Funds received by the City under section 2 shall be used by the City for the purchase of the land shown on the map 

entitled ‘‘Wards Cove Property,’’ dated March 24, 1969. 

(b) COST OF LAND; EQUALIZATION OF VALUE.—The purchase of land by the City 

under subsection (a) shall be for an amount equal to the appraised value of the 

lands conveyed to the Secretary by the City, except that the Secretary and the City 

may equalize the values by adjusting acreage or by payments not to exceed 

$100,000. 

SEC. 4. APPRAISAL. 

Prior to any conveyance under this Act, the Secretary shall— 

(1) conduct an appraisal of the land identified for conveyance by the City, in 

accordance with and conforming to the most current versions of the Uniform 

Appraisal Standards for Federal Land Acquisitions, Uniform Standards of Professional Practice, and U.S. Forest Service Appraisal Directives; and 

(2) notify the City of the results of the appraisal. 

SEC. 5. MANAGEMENT OF CONVEYED LAND. 

Land received by the Secretary pursuant to this Act shall be— 

(1) included in the Tongass National Forest; and 

(2) managed in accordance with the laws, regulations, and forest plan applicable to the Tongass National Forest. 

SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION. 

There are authorized to be appropriated— 

(1) to the Forest Service for the reconstruction of the Sunnahae Trail 

$250,000; and 

(2) such other sums as are necessary to carry out this Act. 

PURPOSE OF THE BILL

The purpose of H.R. 3427 is to authorize a land conveyance between the United States and the City of Craig, Alaska, and for 

other purposes. 

BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

H.R. 3427 authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to acquire approximately 350 acres of land from the City of Craig, Alaska for addition to the Tongass National Forest. The land in question is 

known as the ‘‘Sunnahae Trail and Recreation Parcel’’ and consists 

of a recreational trail, trailhead, and mountaintop property. The 

City will then use the proceeds from the sale of the Sunnahae Trail 

and Recreation Parcel to acquire approximately 10 acres in downtown Craig, known as the ‘‘Craig Cannery Property’’ from the 

Wards Cove Packing Company. The City plans to use the property 

to expand its harbor and for commercial development. 

The City of Craig is located on Prince of Wales Island in southeastern Alaska. The economy of Prince of Wales Island has suffered 

in recent years with the loss of jobs in the timber industry. Unemployment in the area has reached seasonal highs of between 19 and 

25 percent in the past decade. 

Enactment of H.R. 3427 will enable the U.S. Forest Service to acquire a recreational trail and two lots adjacent to their administrative site in Craig and, at the same time, help the City of Craig acquire a valuable industrial site for commercial redevelopment. The 

entire transaction will be subject to federal appraisal standards, 

will take place only on a willing-seller basis, and will be subject to 

the availability of appropriated funds. 

It is important to note that the bill does not include language authorizing the Secretary to pay the City of Craig the appraised value 

of the City’s land. Though this authority has been assumed, suffiVerDate Aug 04 2004 04:46 Sep 09, 2004 Jkt 029006 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\HR644.XXX HR644
3 

cient language would likely need to be added in preparation for the 

House floor. 

COMMITTEE ACTION

H.R. 3427 was introduced on October 30, 2003, by Congressman 

Don Young (R–AK). The bill was referred to the Committee on Resources, and within the Committee to the Subcommittee on Forests 

and Forest Health. On June 17, 2004, the Subcommittee held a 

hearing on the bill. On July 14, 2004, the Full Resources Committee met to consider the bill. The Subcommittee was discharged 

from further consideration of the bill by unanimous consent. Congressman Young offered an amendment to in the nature of a substitute. The amendment added two additional parcels of private 

land to be conveyed to the Forest Service as requested by the Forest Service. It was adopted by unanimous consent with the understanding the bill may need further amendments in preparation for 

the House floor. The bill as amended was then ordered favorably 

reported to the House of Representatives by unanimous consent. 

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 Resources’ oversight findings and recommendations are reflected in 

the body of this report. 

CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY STATEMENT

Article I, section 8 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, as ordered reported, is to authorize a land conveyance 

between the United States and the City of Craig, Alaska, 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: 

4 

H.R. 3427—Craig Recreation Land Purchase Act 

H.R. 3427 would authorize the appropriation of amounts necessary for the Secretary of Agriculture to purchase roughly 350 

acres of land from the city of Craig, Alaska, for inclusion in the 

Tongass National Forest. The bill also would authorize the Secretary to make an additional payment to the city of up to $100,000 

if proceeds from the sale of its land to the federal government are 

insufficient to pay for the city’s cost to acquire certain other private 

land. In addition, the bill would authorize the appropriation of 

$250,000 for the Forest Service to reconstruct a trail through the 

acquired land. 

Based on information from the Forest Service about the value of 

municipal and private land involved in the proposed transactions, 

CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 3427 would cost $1.1 million in 2005, assuming the availability of appropriated funds. That 

amount includes a total of $850,000 in payments to the city of 

Craig—$750,000 for the cost of acquiring the city’s land and 

$100,000 for the additional payment authorized by the bill. Our estimate of spending also includes $250,000 to reconstruct the 

Sunnahae Trail. 

H.R. 3427 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. The purchase 

authorized by this bill would be voluntary on the part of the city, 

as would be any associated expenses. 

On May 5, 2004, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for S. 1778, 

similar legislation, as ordered reported by the Senate Committee 

on Energy and Natural Resources on April 28, 2004. Our estimates 

of the cost of acquiring land from the city of Craig and reconstructing the Sunnahae Trail are the same under both bills. Because H.R. 3427 would authorize an additional payment to the city, 

our estimate of total spending under that bill is $100,000 more 

than our estimate of spending under S. 1778. 

The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Megan Carroll. This 

estimate was approved by Peter H. Fontaine, Deputy Assistant Director for Budget Analysis. 

COMPLIANCE WITH PUBLIC LAW 104–4

This bill contains no unfunded mandates. 

PREEMPTION OF STATE, LOCAL OR TRIBAL LAW. 

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

CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

If enacted, this bill would make no changes in existing law. 

Æ