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[Senate Report 109-241]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]

                                                       Calendar No. 403
109th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE
 2d Session                                                     109-241

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  STUDYING CASTLE NUGENT FARMS FOR POTENTIAL ADDITION TO THE NATIONAL 
                              PARK SYSTEM

                                _______
                                

                 April 20, 2006.--Ordered to be printed

   Filed, under authority of the order of the Senate of April 7, 2006

                                _______
                                

   Mr. Domenici, from the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 318]

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 
referred the Act (H.R. 318) to authorize the Secretary of the 
Interior to study the suitability and feasibility of 
designating Castle Nugent Farms located on St. Croix, Virgin 
Islands, as a unit of the National Park System, and for other 
purposes, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon 
without amendment and recommends that the Act do pass.

                         PURPOSE OF THE MEASURE

    The purpose of H.R. 318 is to authorize the Secretary of 
the Interior to study the suitability and feasibility of 
designating Castle Nugent Farms, located on St. Croix, Virgin 
Islands, as a unit of the National Park System.

                          BACKGROUND AND NEED

    Castle Nugent Farms is located on the arid southeast coast 
of St. Croix. At 1,400-acres, the Farm is believed to be the 
largest remaining parcel of privately-held land on the island.
    Historians believe that the buildings and historic objects 
at Castle Nugent tell much of the history of the island and of 
the Caribbean as a whole. The ``great house'' on the property 
is believed to have been built during the 1730s, when the farm 
was a thriving cotton plantation. Remains of slave quarters are 
thought to tell the story of forced labor. Remains of a sugar 
mill might tell the story of 18th and 19th century sugar, 
molasses, and rum production and export. Potsherds at the site 
might be pre-Columbian in origin. The study proposed by this 
bill would determine the significance of these cultural 
resources.
    Castle Nugent Farms continues today as a working farm and 
guest house. Since the 1950s, the farm has been known for the 
Senepol breed of cattle. The Senepol breed was developed on St. 
Croix and is adapted to the dry climate and poor forage that 
characterize the island. The ``great house'' is rented out to 
visitors interested in staying at the ranch.
    Caroline Gaspari owns Castle Nugent Farms and is supportive 
of this study.

                          LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

    H.R. 318 was introduced by Delegate Christensen on January 
25, 2005. The bill passed the House of Representatives on 
November 15, 2005 on a voice vote. The Subcommittee on National 
Parks held a hearing on H.R. 318 on February 16, 2006. At its 
business meeting on March 8, 2006, the Committee on Energy and 
Natural Resources ordered H.R. 318 favorably reported.
    A similar bill, H.R. 2663, was introduced by Ms. 
Christensen in the 108th Congress.

                        COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in open 
business session on March 8, 2006, by unanimous voice vote of a 
quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass H.R. 318, as 
described herein.

                      SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

    Section 1(a) contains congressional findings.
    Subsection (b) directs the Secretary of the Interior to 
study the feasibility of designating Castle Nugent Farms as a 
unit of the National Park System.
    Subsection (c) directs the Secretary to conduct the study 
in accordance with Public Law 91-383. This law defines criteria 
for additions to the National Park System and directs the 
Secretary to complete the study no later than 3 years after 
funds are made available.

                   COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

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

H.R. 318--An act to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to study 
        the suitability and feasibility of designating Castle Nugent 
        Farms located on St. Croix, Virgin Islands, as a unit of the 
        National Park System, and for other purposes

    H.R. 318 would direct the Department of the Interior to 
study the feasibility and suitability of designating the 
approximately 1,400-acre site of Castle Nugent Farms on St. 
Croix as a unit of the National Park System. The department 
would be required to report its findings and recommendations 
within three years of receiving funds for the study.
    Assuming the availability of appropriated funds, CBO 
estimates that implementing H.R. 318 would cost the federal 
government about $300,000 over the next three years to complete 
the required study and report. Enacting the legislation would 
not affect direct spending or revenues.
    H.R. 318 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 Matthew 
Pickford. The estimate was approved by Peter H. Fontaine, 
Deputy 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. 318. 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 H.R. 318, as ordered reported.

                        EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS

    The views of the Administration on H.R. 318 were included 
in testimony received by the Committee at a hearing on the bill 
on February 16, 2006. This testimony follows:

   Statement of John Parsons, Associate Regional Director, National 
   Capital Region, National Park Service, Department of the Interior

    Mr. Chairman, thank you for the opportunity to present the 
views of the Department of the Interior on H.R. 318, a bill to 
authorize the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) to study 
the suitability and feasibility of designating Castle Nugent 
Farms on St. Croix, Virgin Islands, as a unit of the National 
Park System.
    The Department does not oppose H.R. 318, if amended as 
described in this testimony. This study would provide an 
opportunity to determine the appropriate way to preserve and 
interpret resources associated with the plantation period in 
the Virgin Islands. The National Park Service (NPS) currently 
manages three units on the island of St. Croix--Christiansted 
National Historic Site, Buck Island Reef National Monument, and 
Salt River Bay National Historical Park and Ecological 
Preserve. In a time of tight budgets and a refocusing on the 
core mission of the National Park Service (NPS), we believe 
that funding should be directed first toward completing the 25 
previously authorized studies.
    In light of the President's commitment to devote more 
resources to maintaining existing units of the National Park 
System, we have made an effort to curtail taking on new 
responsibilities. For this reason, we believe any study should 
evaluate all alternatives for preservation and interpretation, 
including what role, if any, might best be played by the NPS or 
other partners. We recommend that H.R. 318 be amended to 
specify that the study explore all options. Our proposed 
amendment is attached to this testimony.
    The NPS is in various stages of progress on 25 studies 
previously authorized by Congress, 17 of which are being funded 
through the special resource study budget. We transmitted three 
studies in FY 2005, and there are seven studies in the 
transmittal process. Our highest priority is to complete these 
pending studies, though we expect to start newly authorized 
studies as soon as funds are made available. We estimate that 
the costs of completing this study will be approximately 
$250,000 to $350,000.
    H.R. 318 would direct the Secretary to carry out a study of 
the Castle Nugent Farms, which consists of approximately 1,400-
acres located on the arid southeastern shore of St. Croix. The 
property is believed to be the largest parcel of privately held 
land in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
    The farm's rolling terrain consists of a mixture of dry 
forest, native vegetation, and rangeland that slopes down from 
an elevation of 750 feet to the sea, fronting on a coastline 
that includes cobble beaches. One of the largest and healthiest 
fringing coral reef systems in the Virgin Islands extends only 
a few hundred feet offshore. The property also provides nesting 
areas for sea turtles, blackcrowned night herons, and a host of 
other migrating and resident birds.
    Castle Nugent Farms has a long and diverse history of 
farming dating back to the 1730s when the property was first 
established as a cotton and sugar plantation after the Danish 
West Indies Company purchased St. Croix from France. For many 
years, sugar cane, indigo, and cotton were the main crops.
    After Emancipation in 1848, the plantation began breeding 
N'Dama cattle, which had earlier been brought to St. Croix from 
Africa. This breed was a prominent part of the farm's 
operations until the 1960s when attention shifted towards 
raising an N'Dama cross breed of cattle known as Senepol. 
Introduced to Castle Nugent Farms in 1957 the Senepol breed has 
been able to flourish due to its tolerance to tropical, dry 
climates and its ability to survive in near-desert conditions, 
thus making the cattle an ideal match for St. Croix' climate. 
Today, the farm is well-known for its production of high 
quality Senepol beef, which is both consumed locally and 
exported to world markets.
    Castle Nugent Farms contains a cluster of buildings from 
the colonial plantation era including a great house that dates 
from the plantation's establishment, a converted chapel, the 
remains of a sugar mill, slave quarters, and a converted cotton 
storage shed. The buildings are situated in close proximity to 
each other on a hill with views towards the Caribbean Sea. The 
current owner lives on-site and also operates the buildings and 
grounds as a bed and breakfast. According to the owner, other 
cultural resources on the grounds include recent discoveries of 
pottery shards and other artifacts left over from either slave 
shanties or Arawak Indian campsites.
    If authorized by Congress, and if funds are made available, 
a study would be able to determine if the resources present at 
Castle Nugent Farms are nationally significant, if the site 
would be a suitable and feasible addition to the National Park 
System, whether direct NPS management or alternative protection 
by other public agencies or the private sector is appropriate 
for the site, and what management alternative would be most 
effective and efficient in protecting the resources and 
allowing for public enjoyment of the site.
    That concludes my testimony. I would be happy to answer any 
questions you or other members of the subcommittee may have.

        PROPOSED AMENDMENTS--H.R. 318, CASTLE NUGENT FARMS STUDY

    Insert a new subsection (c) as follows and redesignate the 
existing subsection (c) as subsection (d).
    ``(c) Management Alternatives.--In completing the study 
authorized in subsection (b), the Secretary shall examine 
whether the National Park Service, the territorial government, 
or other public or private groups will be the most appropriate 
entity to provide for the management and preservation of Castle 
Nugent Farms.''

                        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 Act H.R. 318, as 
ordered reported.

                                  
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