29–010

Calendar No. 450

108TH CONGRESS REPORT " SENATE ! 2d Session 108–240

SLEEPING BEAR DUNES NATIONAL LAKESHORE 

MARCH 9, 2004.—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 H.R. 408]

The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 

referred the Act (H.R. 408) to provide for expansion of Sleeping 

Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, 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. 408 is to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to acquire approximately 104.45 acres of land by purchase 

from a willing seller and to revise the boundary of the Sleeping 

Bear Dunes National Lakeshore to include such land in that park. 

BACKGROUND AND NEED

The Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore was established in 

1970 to protect the outstanding natural features along a 35-mile 

stretch of Lake Michigan’s eastern coastline. Since 1986, the owners of the Homestead Resort, which encompasses 6,300 feet of 

frontage along the Crystal River adjacent to the National Lakeshore, have been trying to develop their site as a golf course and 

housing development. The site contains wetland, riparian and upland habitat for a variety of species, and appraisals have ranged 

from $7 million to $9 million. 

The National Park Service has sought to acquire the Homestead 

Resort site for inclusion in the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore through an exchange of other National Park Service lands. 

Any exchange of existing National Park Service lands is, however, 

strongly opposed by local entities, interested organizations, visitors, 

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and the general public. H.R. 408 authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to acquire the Homestead Resort site for inclusion in the National Lakeshore, but prohibits the Secretary from acquiring the 

land through exchange or conveyance of lands that are within the 

boundary of the park on the bill’s date of enactment. 

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

H.R. 408 was introduced on January 28, 2003, by Reps. Camp 

and Stupak and passed the House of Representatives on October 

8, 2003 by voice vote. A similar bill, S. 808 was introduced by Senators Levin and Stabenow on April 8, 2003. The Subcommittee on 

National Parks held a hearing on S. 808 on September 9, 2003. S. 

Hrg. 108–193. At the business meeting on February 11, 2003, the 

Committee on Energy and Natural Resources ordered H.R. 408 favorably reported. 

COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION AND TABULATION OF VOTES

The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in open business session on February 11, 2004, by a unanimous vote of a 

quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass H.R. 408. 

The rollcall vote on reporting the measure was 23 yeas, 0 nays, 

as follows: 

YEAS NAYS 

Mr. Domenici 

Mr. Nickles 

Mr. Craig 

Mr. Campbell*

Mr. Thomas 

Mr. Alexander 

Ms. Murkowski 

Mr. Talent 

Mr. Burns 

Mr. Smith*

Mr. Bunning 

Mr. Kyl*

Mr. Bingaman 

Mr. Akaka 

Mr. Dorgan*

Mr. Graham*

Mr. Wyden*

Mr. Johnson*

Ms. Landrieu*

Mr. Bayh*

Mrs. Feinstein*

Mr. Schumer*

Ms. Cantwell

* Indicates voted by proxy. 

SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Section 1(a) revises the boundary of Sleeping Bear National 

Lakeshore to include the lands described in subsection 1(b) when 

the title of those lands has vested in the United States in fee simple. 

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Subsection (b) describes the 104.45 acres of unimproved land, to 

be added to the park as referenced on National Park Service map 

634/80078, and requires the Secretary of the Interior to keep that 

map on file and available for public inspection in appropriate offices of the National Park Service. 

Subsection (c) authorizes the Secretary to acquire the land described in subsection (b) only by purchase from a willing seller. 

Section 2 states that the Secretary may not acquire the land described in section 1(b) through any exchange or conveyance of lands 

that are within the boundary of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National 

Lakeshore as of the date of the enactment of this Act.

COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

The following estimate of costs of this measure has been provided 

by the Congressional Budget Office.

U.S. CONGRESS, 

CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE, 

Washington, DC, February 24, 2004. 

Hon. PETE V. DOMENICI, 

Chairman, Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, 

U.S. Senate, Washington, DC. 

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: The Congressional Budget Office has prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 408, a bill to provide for 

expansion of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. 

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

to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Deborah Reis. 

Sincerely, 

ELIZABETH M. ROBINSON

(For Douglas Holtz-Eakin, Director). 

Enclosure. 

H.R. 408—An act to provide for expansion of Sleeping Bear Dunes 

National Lakeshore 

H.R. 408 would expand the boundary of the Sleeping Bear Dunes 

National Lakeshore in Michigan to include an adjacent 104-acre 

tract of undeveloped land located on the Crystal River. 

Assuming appropriation of the necessary amounts, CBO estimates that purchasing the proposed addition would cost the federal 

government between $8 million and $10 million during the next 

year or two. Because the new tract probably would be maintained 

in its natural state, we estimate that any additional costs to develop or manage it would be insignificant. This estimate is based 

on information provided by the National Park Service, local tax authorities, and the current landowners. 

H.R. 408 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. 

On October 1, 2003, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for H.R. 

408 as ordered reported by the House Committee on Resources on 

September 24, 2003. The two versions of the legislation are identical, as are the cost estimates. 

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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 

H.R. 408. 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. 408, as ordered reported. 

EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS

On February 11, 2004, the Committee on Energy and Natural 

Resources requested legislative reports from the Department of Interior and the Office of Management and Budget setting forth Executive agency recommendations on H.R. 408. These reports had 

not been received at the time the report on H.R. 408 was field. 

When the reports become available, the Chairman will request that 

they be printed in the Congressional Record for the advice of the 

Senate. The testimony provided by the National Park Service at 

the Subcommittee hearing follows:

PREPARED STATEMENT OF RICHARD G. RING, ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR FOR ADMINISTRATION, BUSINESS PRACTICES, AND

WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, NATIONAL PARK SERVICE, 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Mr. Chairman, thank you for the opportunity to present 

the Department of the Interior’s views on s. 808, a bill to 

provide for the expansion of Sleeping Bear Dunes National 

Lakeshore to include selected acreage along the Crystal 

River. 

The Department supports efforts to protect Sleeping 

Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. However, in order to 

meet the President’s Initiative to eliminate the deferred 

maintenance backlog, we must continue to focus our resources on caring for existing areas in the National Park 

System (NPS). Therefore, we recommend that the committee defer action on S. 808 during the 108th Congress. 

The existing NPS has more demands on it than ever before. Since 1991, 34 new units have been added to the System. These units alone in FY 2003 add $25.6 million to the 

System’s operating budget, over $30 million in unfunded 

operational needs, and over $265 million in unfunded onetime projects. In addition, we have expanded a number of 

units over that time period. Expansions also can bring 

with them increases in operational costs and maintenance 

needs. These units and expansions include important resources that we as Americans recognize as nationally significant. Our focus now though is to take better care of the 

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natural, cultural, and historic resources and visitor facilities already in the System. 

S. 808 would redraw the boundary of the 71,192.60-acre 

Lakeshore to include a parcel of land that is contiguous to 

the existing Lakeshore. The 104.45-acre parcel encompasses 6,300 feet of frontage on the Crystal River and contains wetland, riparian, and upland habitat for a variety 

of species within mixed northern forests. The land appraisals have not been completed, but the estimated cost of acquiring the private land is between $7–9 million dollars. 

The private landowner first proposed development, including a golf course and homes, on the parcel in the late 

1980s. to protect the parcel from development, several land 

exchange alternatives have since then been considered by 

the NPS and interested parties. However, for a variety of 

reasons, an agreed upon exchange could not be reached. 

The interested parties wished to acquire NPS land that 

was not suitable for exchange since NPS had previously 

acquired it through condemnation. In addition, through 

the General Management Plan scoping process, 87 percent 

of the 850 comments received expressed opposition to any 

type of exchange involving NPS lands. Comments were received from local entities, interested organizations, visitors, and the general public. This legislation was proposed 

as a solution for the protection of the property. 

The Department of Justice has advised that Section 

1(c)(2) of the bill, as introduced, violates the Recommendations Clause of the Constitution. In addition, the fiscal 

year 2004 budget request has already been submitted. We 

recommend that this section be removed. 

Mr. Chairman, that concludes my prepared testimony. I 

would be happy to answer any questions you or the other 

members of the subcommittee 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 Act H.R. 408 as ordered reported.

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