59–010 

Calendar No. 584 

114TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! SENATE 2d Session 114–312 

JOHN MUIR NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE EXPANSION ACT 

AUGUST 30, 2016.—Ordered to be printed 

Filed, under authority of the order of the Senate of July 14, 2016 

Ms. MURKOWSKI, from the Committee on Energy and Natural 

Resources, submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany H.R. 1289] 

The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 

referred the bill (H.R. 1289) to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to acquire approximately 44 acres of land in Martinez, California, and for other purposes, having considered the same, reports 

favorably thereon without amendment and recommends that the 

bill do pass. 

PURPOSE

The purpose of H.R. 1289 is to acquire approximately 44 acres 

of land in Martinez, California. 

BACKGROUND AND NEED

The John Muir National Historic Site was established by Congress in 1964 (Public Law 88–547) and is located in the San Francisco Bay Area, in Martinez, California. The historic site preserves 

the 14-room Italianate Victorian mansion where the naturalist and 

writer John Muir lived, as well as a nearby 325-acre tract of native 

oak woodlands and grasslands historically owned by the Muir family. 

The legislation would authorize the Department of the Interior 

to acquire by donation approximately 44 acres for inclusion in the 

John Muir National Historic Site. The 44 acres includes adjacent 

lands from John Swett’s historic estate, who was also a farmer, 

friend, and neighbor of John Muir in the Alhambra Valley hills. Securing this property would benefit the Muir site as it will help proVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:26 Sep 01, 2016 Jkt 059010 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\SR312.XXX SR312

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tect habitat for a number of rare species, and provide improved access to the site from the Bay Ridge Trail. 

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

In the 113th Congress, Representative Miller introduced similar 

legislation to H.R. 1289, H.R. 5699, the John Muir National Historic Site Expansion Act, on November 13, 2014. The bill was reported with an amendment by the Committee on Natural Resources (H. Rept. 113–652) on December 9, 2014, and passed the 

House of Representatives on a vote of 361–39 on December 11, 

2014. 

In the 114th Congress, Representative DeSaulnier introduced 

H.R. 1289 on March 4, 2015. The bill was reported with an amendment by the Committee on Natural Resources (H. Rept. 114–213) 

on July 21, 2015, and passed the House of Representatives on a 

voice vote on September 16, 2015. 

Senators Boxer and Feinstein introduced similar legislation, S. 

651, on March 4, 2015. The Subcommittee on National Parks held 

a hearing on H.R. 1289 and S. 651 on March 17, 2016. 

The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources met in open 

business session on July 13, 2016, and ordered H.R. 1289 favorably 

reported. 

COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in 

open business session on July 13, 2016, by a majority voice vote of 

a quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass H.R. 1289. 

SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Section 1. Short title 

Section 1 provides a short title. 

Section 2. John Muir National Historic Site Land Acquisition 

Section 2(a) authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to acquire by 

donation the land, and interests in such land, identified on the map 

entitled ‘‘John Muir National Historic Site Proposed Boundary Expansion,’’ numbered 426/127150 and dated November 2014. 

Subsection (b) permits the Secretary to adjust the boundaries of 

the John Muir Historic Site in Martinez, California, to include the 

land identified on the map. 

Subsection (c) directs that the acquired land and interests in the 

land be administered as part of the John Muir National Historic 

Site established by Public Law 88–547. 

COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

The following estimate of costs of this measure has been provided 

by the Congressional Budget Office: 


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U.S. CONGRESS, CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE, Washington, DC, August 8, 2016. 

Hon. LISA MURKOWSKI, 

Chairman, Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, 

U.S. Senate, Washington, DC. 

DEAR MADAM CHAIRMAN: The Congressional Budget Office has 

prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 1289, the John Muir 

National Historic Site Expansion Act. 

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

to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Jon Sperl. 

Sincerely, 

MARK P. HADLEY

(For Keith Hall). 

Enclosure. 

H.R. 1289—John Muir National Historic Site Expansion Act 

H.R. 1289 would expand and adjust the boundary of the John 

Muir National Historic Site in California to include approximately 

44 acres of donated land. The bill stipulates that the land would 

be donated voluntarily by the Muir Heritage Land Trust and would 

be administered as part of the historic site. 

Based on an analysis of information provided by the National 

Park Service (NPS), CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 1289 

would not have a significant impact on the federal budget. Under 

the legislation, the additional acres could only be acquired through 

donation. We estimate that annual costs to operate and maintain 

the new properties would be minimal because NPS does not anticipate the need for additional resources or expenditures to manage 

the property once it is acquired. Enacting H.R. 1289 would not affect direct spending or revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply. CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 1289 would 

not increase net direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the 

four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2027. 

H.R. 1289 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would 

not affect the budgets of state, local, or tribal governments. 

On June 22, 2015, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for H.R. 

1289, as ordered reported by the House Natural Resources Committee on June 11, 2015. The two versions of the legislation and 

CBO’s estimate of their budgetary effects are the same. 

The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Jon Sperl. The estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, 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. 1289. 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. 


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Little, if any, additional paperwork would result from the enactment of H.R. 1289, as ordered reported. 

CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING

H.R. 1289, 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 National Park Service at the 

March 17, 2016, Subcommittee on National Parks hearing on H.R. 

1289 follows: 

STATEMENT OF PEGGY O’DELL, DEPUTY DIRECTOR FOR OPERATIONS, 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. 651 and H.R. 1289, bills to adjust the boundary of John Muir National Historic Site to 

accept a land donation, and for other purposes. 

The Department strongly supports this legislation to adjust the boundary of John Muir National Historic Site 

(park) by 44 acres, but we recommend the committee conform the language of S. 651 to that of H.R. 1289 for the 

reasons described below. The boundary adjustment would 

help the National Park Service (NPS) protect the southern 

boundary from potential development and also help to preserve the scenic and biological resources of this property. 

The proposed boundary modification includes 44 acres of 

land acquired by the John Muir Land Trust (formerly the 

Muir Heritage Lands Trust) adjacent to the southern 

boundary of the park. The John Muir Land Trust (Trust), 

a local land trust preserving open space in Contra Costa 

County, acquired the property in May 2015. The Trust 

pursued the acquisition for a number of years in an attempt to prevent development adjacent to the park’s south 

boundary, with the intent of donating the land to the NPS 

to become part of the park. S. 651 requires that the Trust 

acquire the land by August 31, 2015, while H.R. 1289 has 

no similar language. We prefer the House language because the Trust has already acquired the land. 

The parcel was originally part of the John Swett Ranch, 

a neighbor and friend of John Muir, and there are no 

structures present on the property. The property is critical 

habitat for the Alameda whipsnake, federally listed as 

threatened. This acquisition would open up the area to recreational uses that are currently inaccessible to the public, 

but compatible with the protection and preservation of the 

plant communities and critical species habitat. There are 

existing unimproved roads on the site, which connect to 

the exiting trail access in the park and would require little 

if any improvements for immediate use. 


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The boundary modification is supported by the City of 

Martinez. It is not anticipated that any facilities would be 

proposed for the 44-acre parcel due to its current undeveloped and undisturbed condition. Therefore, there would be 

minimal cost associated with the long-term operation and 

maintenance of the property, which would be easily absorbed into the current operations of the park. The property is being donated, so acquisition costs are not an issue. 

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, the Committee notes that no changes in existing law are made by the bill as ordered reported. 

Æ 


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