II 

Calendar No. 613 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4209 

To provide greater regional access to the Katahdin Woods and Waters 

National Monument in the State of Maine, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 30, 2024 

Mr. KING introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to 

the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

NOVEMBER 21, 2024 

Reported by Mr. MANCHIN, without amendment 

A BILL 

To provide greater regional access to the Katahdin Woods 

and Waters National Monument in the State of Maine, 

and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Katahdin Woods and 

5 Waters National Monument Access Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 


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1 (1) AUTHORIZED ACQUISITION AREA.—The 

2 term ‘‘authorized acquisition area’’ means the des3 ignated area outside the boundary of the National 

4 Monument depicted as ‘‘Authorized Acquisition 

5 Area’’ on the map entitled ‘‘Katahdin Woods and 

6 Waters National Monument Proposed Boundary Ad7 justment’’, numbered 686/193,181 and dated March 

8 2024. 

9 (2) NATIONAL MONUMENT.—The term ‘‘Na10 tional Monument’’ means the Katahdin Woods and 

11 Waters National Monument in the State of Maine 

12 established by the Proclamation. 

13 (3) PROCLAMATION.—The term ‘‘Proclama14 tion’’ means Presidential Proclamation Number 

15 9476, dated August 24, 2016 (54 U.S.C. 320301 

16 note). 

17 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

18 the Secretary of the Interior. 

19 SEC. 3. ACQUISITION OF ADDITIONAL LAND FOR NATIONAL 

20 MONUMENT. 

21 (a) BOUNDARY.—The boundaries of the National 

22 Monument shall be the boundaries established by the 

23 Proclamation. 

24 (b) ACQUISITION.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 

2 the Secretary may acquire, by purchase from a will3 ing seller, donation, or exchange, land or interests in 

4 land within the authorized acquisition area. 

5 (2) PROHIBITION ON USE OF EMINENT DO6 MAIN.—Nothing in this Act authorizes the use of 

7 eminent domain to acquire land or an interest in 

8 land. 

9 (c) TREATMENT OF ACQUIRED LAND; BOUNDARY

10 ADJUSTMENT.—On acquisition by the Secretary of any 

11 land pursuant to subsection (b)— 

12 (1) the land shall be included in the National 

13 Monument; and 

14 (2) the boundaries of the National Monument 

15 shall be adjusted accordingly. 

16 SEC. 4. ADMINISTRATION OF NATIONAL MONUMENT. 

17 (a) ADMINISTRATION.—The Secretary shall admin18 ister the National Monument (including the land added 

19 to the National Monument under this Act) in accordance 

20 with— 

21 (1) this Act; 

22 (2) the Proclamation; and 

23 (3) the laws generally applicable to units of the 

24 National Park System. 


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1 (b) HUNTING, FISHING, AND OUTDOOR RECREATION

2 ON ACQUIRED LAND.—The Secretary shall allow hunting, 

3 fishing, or any other outdoor recreation activity on land 

4 acquired pursuant to section 3(b)— 

5 (1) if that activity was in existence on the day 

6 before the date of acquisition of the land; and 

7 (2) consistent with the management of that ac8 tivity under the Proclamation. 

9 (c) COLLECTION OF FIDDLEHEAD FERNS.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 

11 the Secretary shall allow the gathering by hand of 

12 fiddlehead ferns (Matteuccia struthiopteris) in the 

13 National Monument for noncommercial personal use 

14 and consumption by the general public. 

15 (2) LIMITATION.—If the Secretary determines 

16 that the gathering of fiddlehead ferns (Matteuccia 

17 struthiopteris) under paragraph (1) may adversely 

18 affect resources of the National Monument, the Sec19 retary may limit the gathering of fiddlehead ferns 

20 (Matteuccia struthiopteris) under that paragraph in 

21 accordance with applicable regulations. 

22 (d) PUBLIC EDUCATION.—In accordance with the 

23 mission of the National Park Service, the Secretary shall 

24 collaborate with local communities and Tribal govern25 ments to educate the public regarding the natural environVerDate Sep 11 2014 06:08 Nov 22, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4209.RS S4209

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1 ment and history of land management in the National 

2 Monument, including the shaping of that landscape by Na3 tive communities and practices, successive generations of 

4 timber management, and other activities. 

5 (e) FORESTRY.—In accordance with the management 

6 plan for the National Monument, the Secretary may con7 duct such noncommercial timber harvests as the Secretary 

8 determines to be necessary. 

9 (f) PROTECTION OF EXISTING ACCESS.—Nothing in 

10 this Act affects valid existing rights, including existing 

11 rights of access through the National Monument for the 

12 removal of timber outside the boundaries of the National 

13 Monument. 

14 (g) PUBLIC SAFETY.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall provide 

16 to the public appropriate safety education and notifi17 cation materials to ensure safe interactions between 

18 visitors and logging trucks, equipment, and oper19 ations on roads in or adjacent to the National 

20 Monument. 

21 (2) PROCEDURES.—The Secretary shall collabo22 rate with affected stakeholders to establish proce23 dures to meet the needs of visitors to the National 

24 Monument, logging and trucking operations, and 

25 other users of roads in or adjacent to the National 


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1 Monument to ensure safe interactions between active 

2 logging operations and visitors. 

3 SEC. 5. ADMINISTRATIVE SITES AND VISITOR FACILITIES. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—To facilitate the administration of 

5 the National Monument, the Secretary may acquire, by 

6 purchase from a willing seller, donation, or exchange, not 

7 more than 10 acres of land or interests in land, including 

8 improvements, for the administration of the National 

9 Monument and visitor services outside the boundaries, but 

10 within the vicinity, of the National Monument. 

11 (b) AGREEMENTS.—The Secretary may enter into 

12 agreements with State of Maine, units of Tribal or local 

13 government, or private entities— 

14 (1) to carry out this section; and 

15 (2) to develop a cooperative information center 

16 for the National Monument. 


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Calendar No. 613 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4209 

A BILL 

To provide greater regional access to the Katahdin 

State of Maine, and for other purposes. Woods and Waters National Monument in the 

NOVEMBER 21, 2024 

Reported without amendment 


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