99–006

107TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 2d Session 107–409

CARIBBEAN NATIONAL FOREST WILDERNESS ACT OF 2002

APRIL 16, 2002.—Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of

the Union and ordered to be printed

Mr. HANSEN, from the Committee on Resources,

submitted the following

R E P O R T

together with

ADDITIONAL VIEWS

[To accompany H.R. 3955]

[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill

(H.R. 3955) to designate certain National Forest System lands in

the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico as components of the National

Wilderness Preservation System, 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 ‘‘Caribbean National Forest Wilderness Act of 2002’’.

SEC. 2. WILDERNESS DESIGNATION, CARIBBEAN NATIONAL FOREST, PUERTO RICO.

(a) EL TORO WILDERNESS.—In furtherance of the purposes of the Wilderness Act

(16 U.S.C. 113 et seq.), the approximately 10,000 acres of land in the Caribbean National Forest/Luquillo Experimental Forest in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico

that were proposed for wilderness classification in the revised land and resource

management plan for the Caribbean National Forest/Luquillo Experimental Forest,

approved April 17, 1997, are hereby designated as wilderness and, therefore, as a

component of the National Wilderness Preservation System. The designated lands

shall be known as the El Toro Wilderness.

(b) WILDERNESS BOUNDARIES.—The El Toro Wilderness shall consist of those

lands that were proposed for wilderness classification in the management plan referred to in subsection (a), except that the Secretary of Agriculture shall locate the

boundaries of the wilderness area so that existing municipal water intakes will not

be within the wilderness boundaries and the boundaries shall be located at least

600 feet west of Highway PR 191 from Kilometer 6.5 to Kilometer 12.0.

(c) MAP AND DESCRIPTION.—

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(1) PREPARATION AND SUBMISSION.—As soon as practicable after the date of

the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture shall prepare a map and

a boundary description of the El Toro Wilderness and submit the map and

boundary description to the Committee on Resources of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate. The

map and boundary description shall be on file and available for public inspection in the office of the Chief of the Forest Service.

(2) TREATMENT.—The map and boundary description prepared under paragraph (1) shall have the same force and effect as if included in this Act. The

Secretary may correct clerical and typographical errors in the map and description.

(d) ADMINISTRATION.—Subject to valid existing rights, the Secretary of Agriculture

shall administer the El Toro Wilderness in accordance with the Wilderness Act (16

U.S.C. 1131 et seq.) and this Act. With respect to the El Toro Wilderness, any reference in the Wilderness Act to the effective date of the Wilderness Act shall be

deemed to be a reference to the date of the enactment of this Act.

(e) SPECIAL MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS.—Designation of the El Toro Wilderness, and the applicability of the Wilderness Act to the wilderness area, shall not

be construed to prevent any of the following activities, subject to such conditions as

the Secretary of Agriculture considers desirable, within the boundaries of the wilderness area:

(1) Installation and maintenance of hydrologic, meteorological, climatological,

or atmospheric data collection and transmission facilities, or any combination

of such facilities, when the Secretary determines that—

(A) such facilities are essential to the scientific research purposes of the

Luquillo Experimental Forest; and

(B) the scale and scope of the facility development are not detrimental to

the wilderness characteristics of the wilderness area.

(2) Construction and maintenance of nesting structures, observation blinds,

and population monitoring platforms for threatened and endangered species.

(3) Construction and maintenance of trails to such facilities as necessary for

research purposes and for the recovery of threatened and endangered species.

PURPOSE OF THE BILL

The purpose of H.R. 3955 is to designate certain National Forest

System lands in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico as components

of the National Wilderness Preservation System, and for other purposes.

BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

H.R. 3955, the Caribbean National Forest Wilderness Act of

2002, would designate approximately 10,000 acres of land in the

Caribbean National Forest/Luquillo Experimental Forest (CNF/

LEF) in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico as a federally designated wilderness area to be known as the ‘‘El Toro Wilderness.’’

Lands designated under this act are some of the most pristine

lands of the CNF, and include habitat of rare wildlife species such

as the Puerto Rican Parrot, Puerto Rican Boa, the Puerto Rican

Sharp-shinned Hawk, and the Puerto Rican Broad-winged Hawk.

Several species of bats are common to the area, and 77 species of

birds are present. Snails, crabs, fresh water shrimp and 7 species

of fish are found in the streams. Vegetation is made up of a dense,

mixed evergreen forest of over 200 native tree species.

Views over the forest present a mosaic of emerald colors and

crowned tree shapes, and 3 major rivers descend over spectacular

falls and through jagged canyons. The CNF is the only tropical rain

forest within the U.S. National Forest System. The average rainfall

ranges from 225 cm at low elevations to 460 cm at elevations 1000

meters above sea level.

These lands were originally proclaimed as a forest reserve while

under Spanish rule in 1876, and surrounding acreage was subseVerDate 11-MAY-2000 06:56 Apr 17, 2002 Jkt 099006 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\HR409.XXX pfrm02 PsN: HR409
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quently added to these so called ‘‘Crown Lands’’ by the Forest Service starting in 1931. These lands were proposed for Wilderness

classification in the revised land and resource management plan

for the CNF approved by the U.S. Forest Service on April 17, 1997.

H.R. 3955 authorizes non-conforming uses within the proposed

wilderness area, including the construction of facilities for wildlife

recovery, viewing and other related purposes. Within its boundaries are five miles of administrative trails and six miles of unpaved recreational trails including the El Toro National Trail and

the Trade Winds National Trail.

COMMITTEE ACTION

H.R. 3955 was introduced on March 13, 2002 by Congressman

Anı ́bal Acevedo-Vila ́ (D–PR), and was referred to the Committee on

Resources. On March 15, 2002, the bill was referred within the

Committee to the Subcommittee on Forests and Forest Health. On

March 20, 2002, the Full Committee met to mark up the bill, and

the Subcommittee was discharged from further consideration of the

bill by unanimous consent. An amendment was offered by Mr.

Acevedo-Vila ́ to clarify the facilities which may be installed within

the wilderness area, which was agreed to by unanimous consent.

No further amendments were offered and 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 and Article IV, section 3 of the Constitution

of the United States grant 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. This bill does not

authorize funding and therefore, clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII of the

Rules of the House of Representatives does not apply.

4. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate. Under clause

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

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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:

U.S. CONGRESS, CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE, Washington, DC, April 3, 2002.

Hon. JAMES V. HANSEN,

Chairman, Committee on Resources,

House of Representatives, Washington, DC.

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: The Congressional Budget Office has prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 3955, the Caribbean National Forest Wilderness Act of 2002.

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

to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Megan Carroll.

Sincerely,

BARRY B. ANDERSON

(For Dan L. Crippen, Director).

Enclosure.

H.R. 3955—Caribbean National Forest Wilderness Act of 2002

CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 3955 would have no significant impact on the federal budget. The bill would not affect direct

spending or receipts; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures would not

apply. H.R. 3955 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector

mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and

would have no significant impact on the budgets of state, local, or

tribal governments.

H.R. 3955 would designate as wilderness approximately 10,000

acres of lands within the Caribbean National Forest/Luquillo Experimental Forest, located in Puerto Rico. Based on information

from the Forest Service, CBO estimates that the agency’s costs to

manage lands within the proposed wilderness would increase by

about $35,000 a year, assuming appropriation of the necessary

amounts. According to the agency, the affected lands currently generate no receipts, and the agency does not expect the lands to generate significant receipts over the next 10 years; hence, we estimate that designating those lands as wilderness would not affect

offsetting receipts.

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.

(5)

ADDITIONAL VIEWS OF CONGRESSMAN ANI ́BAL ACEVEDOVILA ́

I first want to thank Chairman James Hansen, Ranking Member

Nick Rahall, Subcommittee Chairman Scott McInnis and Subcommittee Ranking Member Jay Inslee, and all of my colleagues

who have cosponsored this legislation. The Caribbean National Forest Wilderness Act of 2002 (H.R. 3955) designates 10,000 acres of

land in the Caribbean National Forest/Luquillo Experimental Forest (CNF/LEF) in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. These lands

were proposed for Wilderness classification in the revised land and

resource management plan for the CNF/LEF, approved April 17,

1997. The designated lands shall be known as El Toro Wilderness.

The 10,000 acres of land to be designated ‘‘El Toro Wilderness’’

under this act make up some of the most pristine lands of the Caribbean National Forest (CNF), lands that are steeped in history.

These lands were proclaimed as a forest reserve under Spain in

1876, and surrounding acreage was subsequently added to these so

called ‘‘Crown Lands’’ by the Forest Service starting in 1931.

I introduced this legislation to forever protect these lands for

generations to come. I have received unanimous local support for

this proposal and ask my colleagues on the Committee to support

the bill.

The lands have been considered for wilderness in the past, but

unfortunately no congressional designation has resulted. In 1966,

the Forest Service proposed 6,200-acre wilderness within an inventory area of 8,500 acres. In 1979, a 9,700-acre area was recommended for wilderness designation under the Forest Service

RARE II process. In 1986, 5,300 acres were recommended for wilderness further study and designation. All such recommendations

involved lands within the proposed El Toro Wilderness.

The El Toro Wilderness area is located in the western half of the

CNF. El Toro peak, the highest point in the CNF, is within these

lands. The CNF is the only tropical rain forest within the U.S. National Forest System. The average rainfall ranges from 225 cm at

low elevations to 460 cm at elevations 1000 meters above sea level.

Visitors cherish the solitude and serenity of these lands. The

area offers adventure and opportunity to be amongst nature in a

rare and beautiful state. Most of the area offers a high degree of

solitude to the visitor. The natural integrity of these areas is very

high. The scenery is spectacular and the grandeur of tropical vegetation can be appreciated from peaks both within and outside the

area.

There are endangered and rare plant species in the area, as well

as endangered wildlife including the Puerto Rican Parrot, Puerto

Rican Boa, the Puerto Rican Sharpshinned Hawk, and the Puerto

Rican Broad-winged Hawk. The parrot occurs nowhere else in the

world but in the forest, and nests in the area.

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Enactment of this legislation will help secure and protect this

wilderness area for nearly 4 million Puerto Ricans and the hundreds of thousands of tourists who visit Puerto Rico annually. Furthermore, wilderness designation in CNF would create the only

tropical forest wilderness in the U.S. National Forest System, and

would be the only U.S. wilderness outside Hawaii that encompasses a tropical forest ecosystem.

I greatly appreciate the support given to this legislation by the

Resources Committee leadership and staff. The enactment of the

Caribbean National Forest Wilderness Act of 2002 will protect the

cherished lands known as El Toro Wilderness for generations to

come.

ANI ́BAL ACEVEDO-VILA ́.

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