39–010

Calendar No. 58

109TH CONGRESS REPORT " SENATE ! 1st Session 109–42

UINTAH RESEARCH AND CURATORIAL CENTER ACT 

MARCH 17, 2005.—Ordered to be printed 

Mr. DOMENICI, from the Committee on Energy and Natural 

Resources, submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany S. 182] 

The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 

referred the bill (S. 182) to provide for the establishment of the 

Uintah Research and Curatorial Center for Dinosaur National 

Monument in the States of Colorado and Utah, and for other purposes, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon with 

an amendment and recommends that the bill, as amended, do pass. 

The amendment is as follows: 

On page 2, line 4, strike ‘‘Uintah’’ and insert ‘‘Uinta’’. 

PURPOSE OF THE MEASURE

The purpose of S. 182 is to authorize the establishment of the 

Uintah Research and Curatorial Center in Utah near Dinosaur National Monument. 

BACKGROUND AND NEED

Dinosaur National Monument was designated by President 

Woodrow Wilson in 1915. Since that time, the Monument has been 

a haven for both amateur and expert dinosaur enthusiasts. Known 

worldwide as one of the most productive sites for Jurassic era fossils and bones, the Monument has over 600,000 artifacts in its collection. The collection is housed in 17 separate facilities in the park 

and many of them are unavailable to the public. In addition, many 

of the artifacts are at risk because they are not stored in facilities 

that meet National Park Service standards for artifact storage. 

S. 182 would establish the Uintah Research and Curatorial Center (Center). The 22,500 square foot facility would be constructed 

outside the Monument’s boundary at a site near the Utah Field 

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House of Natural History Museum (Museum) in Vernal, Utah. The 

curatorial and research facility will fill the role of fossil and archeological collection center and archive for the Monument. Additionally, it will fill operational requirements for the park and other 

partners, including the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service. By locating the Center adjacent to the Museum, interns, park staff, and visiting scholars will have access to the Museum’s exhibit space, classrooms, conference rooms, and education 

facilities. S. 182 would also authorize the Secretary of the Interior 

to accept the donation of the building site. The National Park Service estimates the total cost of building the Center to be approximately $8.7 million. 

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

Senator Bennett introduced S. 182 on January 26, 2005. During 

the 108th Congress, the Committee considered identical legislation 

(S. 1678). Senator Bennett introduced S. 1678 on September 9, 

2003. The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources’

Subcommittee on National Parks held a hearing on S. 1678 on 

June 8, 2004. At the business meeting on September 15, 2004, the 

Committee on Energy and Natural Resources ordered S. 1678 favorably reported (S. Rept. 108–363), with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. S. 1678 passed the Senate, as amended, by 

unanimous consent on October 10, 2004. The House of Representatives did not consider the bill prior to the sine die adjournment of 

the 108th Congress. 

At its business meeting on February 16, 2005, the Committee on 

Energy and Natural Resources ordered S. 182 favorably reported 

with a technical amendment. 

COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in an open 

business session on February 16, 2005, by a voice of a quorum 

present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 182, if amended as 

described herein. 

COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS

During its consideration of S. 182, the Committee adopted an 

amendment in the nature of a substitute and an amendment to the 

title. The amendments correct the title and the text of the bill to 

reflect the correct spelling of ‘‘Uinta.’’

SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Section 1 entitles this bill the ‘‘Uintah Research and Curatorial 

Act.’’

Section 2 defines key terms used in the Act. 

Section 3(a) authorizes the Secretary of Interior (Secretary) to establish the Uintah Research and Curatorial Center (Center). 

Subsection (b) authorizes the Secretary to accept the donation of 

not more than five acres of land located in Uintah County, near 

Vernal, Utah, as identified on the map referenced in section 2. 

Subsection (c) requires the map referenced in section 2 to be on 

file for public inspection in appropriate National Park Service offices. 

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Subsection (d) describes the authorized function of the Center. 

Subsection (e) directs the Secretary to administer the land described in subsection (b). The land is not to be a part of the Dinosaur National Monument and as such is not subject to laws or regulations applicable to the Monument; however, the Secretary is authorized to promulgate any regulations necessary for the management of the Center. This section also allows the Secretary to enter 

into cooperative agreements to provide for curatorial, research and 

operational services. 

Section 4 authorizes the appropriation of $8,800,000 to carry out 

this Act. 

COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

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

S. 182—Uintah Research and Curatorial Center Act 

S. 182 would direct the Department of the Interior to establish 

a research and curatorial center near the Dinosaur National monument, which is located in Colorado and Utah. The bill would authorize the department to acquire by donation up to five acres of 

land around Vernal, Utah, as a site for the new center. The facility 

would be used to store and conduct research on fossils and other 

items owned by the National Park Service (NPS) and other collectors. Under the bill, the center could be managed, operated, or used 

by governmental agencies, educational institutions, or nonprofit organizations through cooperative agreements between the department and those entities. S. 182 would authorize the appropriation 

of $8.8 million to carry out these activities. 

Based on information provided by the NPS and assuming appropriation of the authorized amount, CBO estimates that the Federal 

Government would spend $8.8 million over the next 5 years to construct the research and curatorial center. We estimate that the cost 

of furnishing, equipping, operating, and maintaining the center 

after 2010 would be about $400,000 a year, assuming the availability of appropriated funds. Enacting S. 182 would not affect revenues or direct spending. 

The legislation 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. 

The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Deborah Reis. This 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 

S. 182. 

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 S. 182. 

EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS

During the 108th Congress, the Committee considered similar 

legislation (S. 1678). The views of the Administration were included in testimony received by the Committee at a hearing on S. 

1678 in the 108th Congress on June 8, 2004, as follows: 

STATEMENT OF JANET SNYDER MATTHEWS, ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR FOR CULTURAL RESOURCES, NATIONAL PARK

SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Mr. Chairman and members of the subcommittee, thank 

you for the opportunity to appear before you today to 

present the Department of the Interior’s views on S. 1678, 

a bill to establish the Uintah Research and Curatorial 

Center in the city of Vernal, Utah. We thank Senator Bennett and the other members of the Utah delegation for 

their interest and support in protecting the resources of 

Dinosaur National Monument, the site for which the Center is intended. 

The Department of the Interior supports this bill with a 

technical amendment, to accurately reflect the correct 

spelling of the name of the center—Uinta. The partners 

have chosen to spell the name of the center in the same 

way the Uinta Mountains are spelled and not the County 

of Uintah. We also have a current version of the map that 

more accurately shows the location of the center in its relationship to other partner structures on the site. 

S. 1678 would authorize the National Park Service to establish the Uinta Research and Curatorial Center on land 

outside the boundary of Dinosaur National Monument. 

The land would be acquired by donation from the city of 

Vernal, Utah and be no more than five acres. S. 1678 

would authorize the center to be used for the curation, 

storage, and research of the museum collection of Dinosaur 

National Monument and provide for curation of other collections held by other federal agencies, tribes, and universities under the guidelines of cooperative agreements with 

the Secretary. The State of Utah, local agencies, academic 

institutions, and appropriate private nonprofit entities 

may also enter into agreements to manage and use the 

site. The bill requires that the land not become part of the 

Monument or be subject to laws and regulations applicable 

to the Monument. This language is common when Congress has authorized NPS administrative sites in the past. 

Dinosaur National Monument was established on October 9, 1915 to protect an extraordinary deposit of dinosaur 

remains of the Jurassic period. While the park contains 

many other significant resources, the centerpiece continues 

to be the paleontological specimens for which the park was 

originally established. They are considered by the scientific 

community as internationally significant and represent the 

single best window into the life of Jurassic dinosaurs. The 

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collection contains type specimens from which specific dinosaurs are named, as well as many one-of-a-kind specimens. The collection is heavily used by outside researchers 

as well as the NPS. The collection also contains significant 

archaeological, biological, archival, and historic objects 

that preserve the cultural and natural history of the park. 

The 1986 General Management Plan identified a need 

for a collections building and upgraded lab facilities under 

the preferred alternative. In the late 1990’s Utah State 

Parks began planning for the construction/reconstruction 

of the Utah Field House Museum in Vernal. The park 

began working with the State to develop a partnership to 

provide collections space for the state as well as the park.

The Field House Museum received $5.5 million from the 

State of Utah for the reconstruction, to be co-located with 

the collections building on property acquired by the City of 

Vernal and Uintah County. The portion of the property for 

the Uinta Research and Curatorial Center is being donated to the National Park Service (approximately onefourth of the lot, estimated value of approximately 

$375,000). 

The 2001 Collection Management Report identified 

609,000 items in the collection. The collections are currently stored in 11 different facilities throughout the park, 

including garages, most of which meet few NPS museum 

standards. Maintenance and curation has been deferred 

due to lack of space or proper facility to prepare for storage. Of the 957 museum standards currently applicable to 

the park, the park barely meets 50% of them. 

This new facility would allow the park to meet nearly 

98% of those standards. Of particular importance are the 

health and safety concerns from radon gas production in 

the enclosed areas where radioactive specimens are currently stored. Due to lack of space, park staff must conduct 

their duties in the aisles of the old paleo lab at the Quarry 

Visitor Center. This lab, as well as the entire Center, is in 

serious need of rehabilitation, having suffered extensive 

structural distress since its construction in the 1950’s. As 

such, the Quarry Visitor provides neither adequate storage 

space nor a suitable environment for staff to work in. The 

NPS has a project planned to stabilize and rehabilitate the 

historic Quarry Visitor Center in FY 2007 as part of the 

five-year line-item construction program. 

The Uinta Center will provide for approximately 22,500 

square feet of work and storage space and cost approximately $8.8 million, which covers only the construction of 

the building. Funding for the construction is currently programmed for FY 2007. In addition, one-time costs for moving the collection, equipping the laboratory, furnishing offices, and meeting IT needs are estimated to be approximately $400,000. Additional recurring costs for the operation of the center—either through direct additional NPS 

funding, or partnerships with other agencies that have expressed an interest in using the facility, are estimated to 

be approximately $250,000 to $300,000 per year. This inVerDate jul 14 2003 05:13 Mar 19, 2005 Jkt 039010 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6969 E:\HR\OC\SR042.XXX SR042
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cludes additional staffing to perform administrative and 

maintenance functions as well as basic operational costs 

(utilities, necessary supplies, materials and equipment). 

A decision was made early in the process not to include 

the site as part of the monument. The site is not contiguous with the present park boundary and is nearly fourteen miles from the closest park entrance. However, it is 

in the City of Vernal, Utah and is the site for the newly 

constructed Utah Field House of Natural History Museum. 

The State will be the primary partner with the NPS. The 

Field House will provide visitors and residents access to 

the museum and programs on the natural history of the 

area, while the Uinta Center will provide the storage and 

research function of a world-class museum. Other partners 

in the project include the City of Vernal, Utah and Uintah 

County who have donated the land for the project. Both 

communities see this venture as an economic benefit and 

an enhancement to the surrounding region’s tourism efforts. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the 

Ashley National Forest will also work with us and store 

their collections here. 

The Uinta Research and Curatorial Center is another 

example of the goal of the Department and the National 

Park Service to meet the needs of the agency while working with partners. The Center will provide proper storage 

for irreplaceable artifacts, improve working conditions for 

staff and visiting scientists, partner with the state to provide educational opportunities, and give visitors the chance 

to discover the many wonders of eastern Utah. 

That concludes my remarks, Mr. Chairman. I would be 

happy to respond to any questions you and the committee 

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 S. 182 as ordered reported.

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