69–010 

Calendar No. 51 

115TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! SENATE 1st Session 115–37 

FORT SCOTT NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE BOUNDARY 

MODIFICATION ACT 

MAY 3, 2017.—Ordered to be printed 

Ms. MURKOWSKI, from the Committee on Energy and Natural 

Resources, submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany S. 189] 

[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office] 

The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 

referred the bill (S. 189) to modify the boundary of the Fort Scott 

National Historic Site in the State of Kansas, and for other purposes, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon with 

an amendment in the nature of a substitute and recommends that 

the bill, as amended, do pass. 

The amendment is as follows: 

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Fort Scott National Historic Site Boundary Modification Act’’. 

SEC. 2. FORT SCOTT NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE. 

(a) IN GENERAL.—Public Law 95–484 (92 Stat. 1610) is amended— 

(1) in the first section— 

(A) by inserting ‘‘, by purchase with appropriated funds, or by exchange’’ 

after ‘‘donation’’; and 

(B) by striking the proviso; and 

(2) in section 2— 

(A) by striking ‘‘sec. 2. When’’ and inserting the following: 

‘‘SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT. 

‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—When’’; and 

(B) by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘(b) BOUNDARY MODIFICATION.—The boundary of the Fort Scott National Historic 

Site established under subsection (a) is modified as generally depicted on the map 

referred to as ‘Fort Scott National Historic Site Proposed Boundary Modification’, 

numbered 471/80,057, and dated February 2016.’’. 

(b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There are authorized to be appropriated 

such sums as are necessary to carry out the amendments made by subsection (a). 


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PURPOSE

The purpose of S. 189 is to modify the boundary of the Fort Scott 

National Historic Site in the State of Kansas. 

BACKGROUND AND NEED

Fort Scott was established by the U.S. Army in 1842. Today it 

is an integral part of Kansas’ and the nation’s history as a contributing factor to the ‘‘Bleeding Kansas’’ slavery fights, the Civil War, 

railroad expansion, and the westward settlement of the United 

States. 

S. 189 would modify the site’s boundaries to include four individual tracts—three to be acquired through future purchase and 

one through donation to the National Park Service. The private 

landowners whose land would be included in the boundary modification are fully supportive of the proposed boundary expansion. 

The parcels would afford much needed improvements for the historic site, including the addition of an appropriate maintenance facility and emergency shelter for providing public and employee 

safety in the event of natural disasters. The modifications also 

would allow for direct access and egress for employees and visitors 

to the highway, enrich the quality of visitors’ experiences through 

an efficient visitor contact station, and allow for the care of the Lunette Blair Civil War Block House, which is the sole remaining 

Civil War-era structure of the four original lunette fortifications in 

Fort Scott. 

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

Senator Moran introduced S. 189 on January 23, 2017. 

In the 114th Congress, Senator Moran introduced a similar 

measure, S. 2087, on September 28, 2015. The Subcommittee on 

National Parks held a hearing on the bill on June 15, 2016. The 

Committee on Energy and Natural Resources met in open business 

session on July 13, 2016, and ordered S. 2087 favorably reported 

as amended. 

In the 115th Congress, a related bill, H.R. 1541, was introduced 

in the House of Representatives by Representative Jenkins on 

March 15, 2017. 

The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources met in open 

business session on March 30, 2017, and ordered S. 189 favorably 

reported as amended. 

COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in an 

open business session on March 30, 2017, by a majority voice vote 

of a quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 189, if 

amended as described herein. 

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT

During its consideration of S. 189, the Committee adopted an 

amendment in the nature of a substitute to conform the language 

with S. 2087, the version reported by the Committee in the 114th 

Congress, and to authorize acquisition of the parcels by exchange. 


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The amendment is further described in the section-by-section analysis. 

SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Section 1. Short title 

Section 1 provides the short title. 

Section 2. Fort Scott National Historic Site 

Section 2 authorizes the acquisition of lands within the boundary 

of the Fort Scott National Historic Site by purchase with appropriated funds, donation, or exchange. Additionally, section 2 modifies the boundary of the Fort Scott National Historic Site in accordance with the referenced map and authorizes such sums as may be 

necessary to acquire the needed land. 

COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

The following estimate of the costs of this measure has been provided by the Congressional Budget Office: 

S. 189 would authorize the National Park Service (NPS) to acquire the Civil War-era structure known as the ‘‘Lunette Blair’’ 

blockhouse and to incorporate the structure into the Fort Scott National Historic Site in Bourbon County, Kansas. The bill also would 

authorize the NPS to acquire, by purchase using appropriated 

funds or by a land exchange, approximately 4 acres of private land, 

including facilities, adjacent to the historic site and would modify 

the boundary of the site to include those properties. (Under current 

law, the NPS may only acquire such properties by donation.) 

Based on an analysis of information provided by the NPS, CBO 

expects that the agency would likely acquire the blockhouse by donation and that the 4 acres of property would cost about $600,000. 

Once acquired, the NPS would incur costs to repair and maintain 

the properties and associated facilities. Based on information provided by the NPS about the costs for operating venues of comparable size, CBO estimates that the agency would spend about 

$250,000 annually on maintenance and operating costs for the site. 

In total, CBO estimates that implementing the legislation would 

cost about $2 million over the 2018–2022 period and an additional 

$250,000 annually thereafter; that spending would be subject to 

the availability of appropriated funds. 

Enacting S. 189 would not affect direct spending or revenues; 

therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply. CBO estimates 

that enacting S. 189 would not increase net direct spending or onbudget deficits in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2028. 

S. 189 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 CBO staff contact for this estimate is Jon Sperl. The estimate was approved by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy Assistant Director for Budget Analysis. 


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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 

S. 189. 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. 

Little, if any, additional paperwork would result from the enactment of S. 189, as ordered reported. 

CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING

S. 189, 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

Because S. 189 is similar to legislation considered by the Committee in the 114th Congress, the Committee did not request Executive Agency views. The testimony provided by the Department of 

the Interior at a hearing before the Subcommittee on National 

Parks on June 15, 2016, follows: 

STATEMENT OF DR. STEPHANIE TOOTHMAN, ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR CULTURAL RESOURCES, PARTNERSHIPS, AND

SCIENCE, NATIONAL PARK SERVICE, U.S. 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. 2087, a bill to modify the boundary of Fort Scott National Historic Site in the State of 

Kansas, and for other purposes. 

The Department supports S. 2087 with a proposed 

amendment to substitute an updated map. 

This bill would amend P.L. 95–484, the establishing legislation for Fort Scott, to modify the boundary to include 

four parcels totaling approximately 3.81 acres of land and 

to authorize the Secretary to acquire properties by purchase with appropriated funds as well as donation. 

Fort Scott was designated a National Historic Landmark 

in 1964. On October 19, 1972, Fort Scott was authorized 

as a unit of the National Park Service ‘‘to commemorate 

the significant role played by Fort Scott in the opening of 

the West, as well as the Civil War and strife in the State 

of Kansas that preceded it.’’ The historic site is currently 

16.69 acres, but it does not include four significant parcels 

adjacent to or on or near the boundary of the park. The 

four properties are identified as the Westar property, the 

Cummings property, the Chamber of Commerce property, 

and the Lunette Blair Blockhouse. 

The Westar property is 2.87 acres located adjacent to the 

western boundary of the park where the first civilian merVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:32 May 05, 2017 Jkt 069010 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6969 E:\HR\OC\SR037.XXX SR037

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chants in the area sold supplies to soldiers, Indians, 

tradespeople, travelers, and farmers. The Westar property 

also includes part of the historical landscape associated 

with the Civil War, including entrenchments and fortification structures that surrounded the fort. It is also the site 

associated with two of the earliest African-American neighborhoods in Fort Scott, both during and after the Civil 

War. These African-American families and refugees escaped from Indian Territory and followed the Union Army 

to Fort Scott. They rented or owned houses on the presentday Westar property, one of which was occupied by an African-American Civil War veteran with the 2nd Kansas 

Colored Infantry who lived on his property until the 1920s. 

The Westar property includes an 18,940 square-foot 

brick structure of various elevations and storage spaces. 

The building has administrative and visitor services potential and could be utilized as an educational, orientation 

center or as exhibit/museum space that is accessible since 

this would be the only on-grade building in the boundary. 

Additionally, this brick building could improve public safety since it would be the only appropriate space in the park 

for providing visitor and employee safety in the event of a 

natural disaster such as a tornado or a severe thunderstorm. 

The Lunette Blair Blockhouse is located near the park 

boundary. It is the last remaining Civil War-era military 

structure, built to defend the town of Fort Scott and its robust military supply depot from Confederate attack. For 

more than 50 years, the blockhouse has been maintained 

and preserved through a public-private partnership between the City of Fort Scott and local individuals and organizations. The president of the organization approached 

the park to donate the property because the members were 

no longer physically or financially able to continue their 

preservation efforts. No other organization has shown interest in preserving the Blockhouse. Without regular maintenance, this structure will continue to deteriorate and the 

opportunity for visitors to experience the epic stories of 

those who fought for freedom and the Union from 1861 to 

1865 will be lost. 

The Cummings property is 0.73 acres adjacent to the 

park’s eastern boundary and separates the historic site 

from U.S. Highway 69. This parcel would provide visitors 

with more direct access to the park. The owners have expressed interest in selling their property. The site includes 

a 13,159 square-foot building on the property suitable for 

administrative purposes. 

The Chamber of Commerce property consists of 0.24 

acres adjacent to the park’s eastern boundary. The site 

currently houses the chamber offices. The building is bordered by the park on three sides, and including this property would allow for a continuous boundary. The Chamber 

of Commerce would continue the use of this building for 

the foreseeable future. 


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The estimated cost of acquisition for the Cummings property is approximately $147,500 and the estimated cost 

for acquisition of the Westar Property is $350,000. The Lunette Blair Blockhouse would be acquired through donation. The additional facilities and properties will increase 

park operational and maintenance costs, but the amount 

will depend on the number of facilities acquired and their 

condition. Additional funds for maintenance, repairs and 

capital improvements would be awarded through the NPS 

competitive process, subject to service-wide priorities and 

the availability of appropriations. 

Support for the boundary modification has been expressed by various community organizations and community members, including the City of Fort Scott, the Bourbon County Economic Development Association, the Bourbon County Commissioners, the Bourbon County Riverfront Authority, the Bourbon County Chamber of Commerce, and the Friends of Fort Scott NHS, Inc. 

The Department requests an amendment to substitute 

an updated map. The map referenced in the bill includes 

a parcel we do not want be included in the expansion. 

Mr. Chairman, this concludes my testimony. I would be 

happy to answer any questions 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, changes in existing law made by the original 

bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law proposed to be 

omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new matter is printed in 

italic, existing law in which no change is proposed is shown in 

roman): 

PUBLIC LAW 95–484 

* * * * * * * 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 

United States of America in Congress assembled, That, in order to 

commemorate the significant role played by Fort Scott in the opening of the West, as well as the Civil War and the strife in the State 

of Kansas that preceded it, the Secretary of the Interior may acquire by donation, by purchase with appropriated funds, or by exchange the land and interests in land, together with buildings and 

improvements thereon, known as Fort Scott, located in the city of 

Fort Scott, Bourbon County, Kansasø: Provided, that the buildings 

so acquired shall not include the structure known as ‘‘Lunette 

Blair’’¿. 

øSEC. 2. When¿ SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT. 

(a) IN GENERAL.—When the site of Fort Scott has been acquired 

by the United States as provided in section 1 of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior shall establish such area as the Fort Scott 

National Historic Site, by publication of notice and boundary map 

thereof in the Federal Register. 

(b) BOUNDARY MODIFICATION.—The boundary of the Fort Scott 

National Historic Site established under subsection (a) is modified 


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as generally depicted on the map referred to as ‘‘Fort Scott National 

Historic Site Proposed Boundary Modification’’, numbered 471/ 

80,057, and dated February 2016. 

* * * * * * * 

Æ 


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