99–006

107TH CONGRESS REPORT " HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ! 2d Session 107–670

OLD SPANISH TRAIL RECOGNITION ACT OF 2002

SEPTEMBER 23, 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 

[To accompany S. 1946] 

[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill (S. 

1946) to amend the National Trails System Act to designate the 

Old Spanish Trail as a National Historic Trail, having considered 

the same, report favorably thereon without amendment and recommend that the bill do pass.

PURPOSE OF THE BILL

The purpose of S. 1946 is to amend the National Trails System 

Act to designate the Old Spanish Trail as a National Historic Trail. 

BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

S. 1946 would designate the routes of the Old Spanish Trail, 

known as the Armijo Route and the North Branch, along with some 

additional side trails. During the time of its use (1829–1848), the 

2,700 mile trail was considered to be the first viable overland trade 

route that ran between Santa Fe, New Mexico and Los Angeles, 

California, while winding its way through Colorado, Utah, Arizona 

and Nevada. It was used mostly by New Mexican traders transporting goods and emigrants from New Mexico and the east. The 

use of the route declined following the beginning of American control of what is today the southwestern United States as emigrants 

and others began to find alternative routes. In 1996, the National 

Park Service was directed to study the old Spanish Trail (section 

402 of Public Law 104–333) to determine the suitability and feasibility of designating it as a national historic trail. In July 2001, the 

study was published with the conclusion that the trail met all national historic trail criteria. S. 1946 would designate the Old SpanVerDate Sep 04 2002 06:57 Sep 24, 2002 Jkt 099006 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\HR670.XXX HR670
2

ish Trail as part of the National Trails System, preserve the trail, 

and recognize its contribution to Western history. 

COMMITTEE ACTION

S. 1946 was introduced on February 14, 2002, by Senator Ben 

Nighthorse Campbell (R–CO). On August 1, 2002, the Senate 

passed the bill with amendments by unanimous consent. In the 

House of Representatives, the bill was referred to the Committee 

on Resources. On September 12, 2002, the Full Committee met to 

consider the bill. No amendments were offered and the bill was 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 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 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 

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:

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U.S. CONGRESS, CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE, Washington, DC, September 17, 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 S. 1946, the Old Spanish Trail 

Recognition Act of 2002. 

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

to provide them. The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Deborah Reis. 

Sincerely, 

BARRY B. ANDERSON

(For Dan L. Crippen, Director). 

Enclosure. 

S. 1946—Old Spanish Trail Recognition Act of 2002

S. 1946 would establish the Old Spanish National Historic Trail. 

The 3,500-mile trail would comprise four major routes and extend 

from New Mexico to California. 

Assuming appropriation of the necessary amounts, CBO estimates that the National Park Service (NPS) would spend about 

$400,000 over the next two or three years to complete a comprehensive management plan for the new trail. In addition, we estimate that the NPS would spend about $500,000 annually to manage the trail beginning in 2003 or 2004. Thus, initial costs would 

total about $2 million over the next four to five years. 

The costs of subsequent trail development, which could occur 

over many years, are uncertain and cannot be determined until a 

management plan has been completed. Such costs include capital 

expenditures for visitor facilities as well as other one-time expenses 

for trail marking, exhibits, and interpretive materials. They vary 

significantly from trail to trail, depending on such factors as the 

length of the trail, federal ownership of land, and contributions by 

nonfederal entities such as nonprofit organizations and state agencies. The costs of developing the historic trail could range from 

under $1 million (for signs and minimal facilities such as trailhead 

parking and wayside exhibits) to over $20 million (for multiple visitor centers and multimedia interpretive programs). 

The legislation 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. 

On June 28, 2002, CBO submitted a cost estimate for S. 1946 as 

ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural 

Resources on June 5, 2002. The two versions of the legislation are 

identical, as are the estimated costs. 

The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Deborah Reis. The 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 MADE BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED

In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 

House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by the bill, 

as reported, are shown as follows (existing law proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new matter is printed in italic, 

existing law in which no change is proposed is shown in roman): 

SECTION 5 OF THE NATIONAL TRAILS SYSTEM ACT 

NATIONAL SCENIC AND NATIONAL HISTORICAL TRAILS

SEC. 5. (a) National scenic and national historic trails shall be 

authorized and designated only by Act of Congress. There are hereby established the following National Scenic and National Historic 

Trails: 

(1) * * *

* * * * * * *

ø(21)¿ (22) ALA KAHAKAI NATIONAL HISTORIC TRAIL.—

(A) * * *

* * * * * * *

(23) OLD SPANISH NATIONAL HISTORIC TRAIL.—

(A) IN GENERAL.—The Old Spanish National Historic Trail, 

an approximately 2,700 mile long trail extending from Santa 

Fe, New Mexico, to Los Angeles, California, that served as a 

major trade route between 1829 and 1848, as generally depicted 

on the maps numbered 1 through 9, as contained in the report 

entitled ‘‘Old Spanish Trail National Historic Trail Feasibility 

Study’’, dated July 2001, including the Armijo Route, Northern 

Route, North Branch, and Mojave Road. 

(B) MAP.—A map generally depicting the trail shall be on file 

and available for public inspection in the appropriate offices of 

the Department of the Interior. 

(C) ADMINISTRATION.—The trail shall be administered by the 

Secretary of the Interior (referred to in this paragraph as the 

‘‘Secretary’’). 

(D) LAND ACQUISITION.—The United States shall not acquire 

for the trail any land or interest in land outside the exterior 

boundary of any federally-managed area without the consent of 

the owner of the land or interest in land. 

(E) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary shall consult with other 

Federal, State, local, and tribal agencies in the administration 

of the trail. 

(F) ADDITIONAL ROUTES.—The Secretary may designate additional routes to the trail if—

(i) the additional routes were included in the Old Spanish Trail National Historic Trail Feasibility Study, but 

were not recommended for designation as a national historic trail; and 

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(ii) the Secretary determines that the additional routes 

were used for trade and commerce between 1829 and 1848.

* * * * * * *

Æ