49–006 

109TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 2d Session 109–586 

TO DIRECT THE SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR TO ESTABLISH A DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM TO FACILITATE LANDSCAPE RESTORATION PROGRAMS WITHIN CERTAIN UNITS OF THE NATIONAL PARK SYSTEM ESTABLISHED BY LAW TO PRESERVE AND INTERPRET RESOURCES ASSOCIATED WITH AMERICAN HISTORY, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES 

JULY 20, 2006.—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. 5411] 

[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office] 

The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill 

(H.R. 5411) to direct the Secretary of the Interior to establish a 

demonstration program to facilitate landscape restoration programs 

within certain units of the National Park System established by 

law to preserve and interpret resources associated with American 

history, and for other purposes, having considered the same, report 

favorably thereon without amendment and recommend that the bill 

do pass. 

PURPOSE OF THE BILL

The purpose of H.R. 5411 is to direct the Secretary of the Interior 

to establish a demonstration program to facilitate landscape restoration programs within certain units of the National Park System 

established by law to preserve and interpret resources associated 

with American history, and for other purposes. 

BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

Over 130 units of the National Park System are represented by 

National Battlefields, National Battlefields Parks and Sites, National Military Parks and National Historical Parks and Sites, such 

as Pea Ridge National Military Park and Wilson’s Creek National 

Battlefield. As directed by Congress, the National Parks Service 

(NPS) is to preserve many of these sites as they appeared at the 

time of a battle or historic moment in our Nation’s history. Part of 

the landscape restoration program for these park units requires 


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NPS personnel from time to time to remove trees as well as other 

flora from a unit to maintain its historic landscape or to reduce the 

hazardous fuel load. Currently, the National Park Service Organic 

Act (16 U.S.C. 3) authorizes the Secretary of the Interior, ‘‘upon 

terms and conditions to be fixed by him, to sell or dispose of timber 

in those cases where in his judgment the cutting of such timber is 

required in order to control the attacks of insects or diseases or 

otherwise conserve the scenery or the natural or historic objects in 

any such park, monument, or reservation.’’ Prior to restoring any 

landscape, park superintendents are required to comply with all 

National Environmental Protection Act requirements and may 

have to be issued a Special Use Permit from NPS headquarters. 

Should any park unit remove timber and sell it, all proceeds from 

the sale must be forwarded to the General Treasury. According to 

the NPS, the following are the receipts for the last six years for the 

sale of timber: Fiscal Year (FY) 2000, $24,932; FY 2001, $8,252; FY 

2002, $4,410; FY 2003, $12,207; FY 2004, $3,403; FY 2005, $5,957 

($59,161 total). 

H.R. 4612 would establish a four-year demonstration program involving 24 National Battlefields, Battlefield Parks, Military Parks 

and Battlefield Sites to provide that receipts from any timber sales 

will be retained for expenditure within the unit from which the 

timber is removed as part of any approved plan for the restoration 

or protection of park resources or values. The bill specifies that any 

retained funds must be used in direct connection with landscape 

restoration and directs the Secretary of the Interior to submit a report to the Committee on Resources establishing a time line for 

landscape restoration work in all 24 units. 

COMMITTEE ACTION

H.R. 5411 was introduced on May 17, 2006, by Congressman 

Stevan Pearce (R-NM) following a December 19, 2005, field hearing 

of the Subcommittee on National Parks at Pea Ridge National Military Park on landscape restoration programs within the National 

Park System. The bill was referred to the Committee on Resources, 

and within the Committee to the Subcommittee on National Parks. 

On June 21, 2006, the Full Resources Committee met to consider 

the bill, at which time the Subcommittee on National Parks was 

discharged from further consideration of the bill by unanimous consent. No amendments were offered and the bill was ordered favorably reported to the House of Representatives by unanimous consent. 

CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY STATEMENT

Article IV, section 3, clause 2 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 preVerDate Aug 31 2005 22:31 Jul 21, 2006 Jkt 049006 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\HR586.XXX HR586

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pared 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, credit authority, or an increase 

or decrease in revenues or tax expenditures. According to the Congressional Budget Office, enactment of this bill would increase direct spending ‘‘by negligible amounts’’ over the 2007–2011 time period. 

3. General Performance Goals and Objectives. As required by 

clause 3(c)(4) rule XIII, the general performance goal or objective 

of this bill is to direct the Secretary of the Interior to establish a 

demonstration program to facilitate landscape restoration programs 

within certain units of the National Park System established to 

preserve and interpret resources associated with American history. 

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: 

H.R. 5411—A bill to direct the Secretary of the Interior to establish 

a demonstration program to facilitate landscape restoration 

programs within certain units of the National Park System established by law to preserve and interpret resources associated 

with American history 

H.R. 5411 would direct the National Park Service (NPS) to implement a demonstration program for landscape restoration and 

other projects at national battlefields. CBO estimates that enacting 

H.R. 5411 would increase direct spending by negligible amounts 

over the 2007–2011 period. 

Under H.R. 5411, the NPS would carry out projects such as landscape restoration at 24 national battlefields or similar sites using 

receipts earned from sales of timber at those park units. Sales receipts used for such projects would be available without further appropriation. Authority to retain and spend timber receipts at battlefield units would expire after four years. 

Based on recent timber receipts at the affected park units, CBO 

estimates that the NPS would spend, without further appropriation, less than $20,000 annually over the 2007–2011 period for the 

projects authorized by the bill. Such amounts—generally between 

$3,000 and $25,000 a year—are currently deposited in the U.S. 

Treasury and cannot be used without further appropriation. 

H.R. 5411 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined by the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would 

have no significant impact on the budgets of state, local, and tribal 

governments. 

The CBO staff contacts for this estimate are Leigh Angres and 

Deborah Reis. 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. 


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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 not make changes to existing law. 

Æ 


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