29–010 

Calendar No. 56 

113TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! SENATE 1st Session 113–25 

NATCHEZ TRACE PARKWAY LAND CONVEYANCE 

APRIL 22, 2013.—Ordered to be printed 

Mr. WYDEN, from the Committee on Energy and Natural 

Resources, submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany S. 304] 

The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 

referred the bill (S. 304) to direct the Secretary of the Interior to 

convey to the State of Mississippi 2 parcels of surplus land within 

the boundary of the Natchez Trace Parkway, and for other purposes, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon without amendment and recommends that the bill do pass. 

PURPOSE

The purpose of S. 304 is to direct the Secretary of the Interior 

to convey to the State of Mississippi by quitclaim deed all right, 

title, and interest of the United States in two parcels of land in the 

city of Natchez, Mississippi, consisting of a total of approximately 

67 acres, and to adjust the boundary of the Natchez Trace Parkway. 

BACKGROUND AND NEED

The Natchez Trace Parkway extends 444 miles from Nashville, 

Tennessee, through the northwestern corner of Alabama, to Natchez, Mississippi. The path was originally made by bison and other 

game, and was later ‘‘traced’’ by Native Americans. In the late 18th 

century, the Native American trail became the principal link between the old Southwest Territory (now Tennessee) and the ports 

of Natchez and New Orleans on the lower Mississippi River. In the 

early 19th century, it served as a post road for the delivery of mail, 

the return route for the boatmen who floated their goods down the 

Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, and the route used by General Andrew Jackson’s forces on their way to the Battle of New Orleans. 


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Congress authorized construction of the Natchez Trace Parkway 

and designated it as a unit of the National Park System in 1938. 

Much of it was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps during the 

Great Depression. 

The southern terminus in Natchez, Mississippi, was the final section of the Parkway constructed and completed in 2005. For years 

prior to its completion, it was uncertain where the Parkway would 

terminate. The State of Mississippi acquired and donated two different parcels of land to the National Park Service to accommodate 

a variety of possible construction alternatives. After the Parkway’s 

completion, the land acquired for those alternate termination 

points remained unused by the National Park Service. 

The unused property includes two parcels: the Bean field and the 

Feltus property, 38 and 29 acres respectively. The City of Natchez 

wishes to develop the Bean field parcel as a recreational complex. 

In 2000, Public Law 106–527 authorized the National Park Service 

to lease the property to Natchez. Rather than enter in a lease, the 

National Park Service seeks to return the unused parcels back to 

the State. 

S. 304 would authorize the transfer of 67 acres of identified unused Federal land back to the State and adjust the boundary of the 

Parkway to exclude the conveyed land and include 10 acres of 

lands already managed by the National Park Service. 

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

S. 304 was introduced by Senators Cochran and Wicker on February 13, 2013. At its business meeting on March 14, 2013, the 

Committee ordered S. 304 favorably reported. 

During the 112th Congress similar legislation, S. 264, was introduced by Senators Cochran and Wicker, on February 3, 2011. The 

Subcommittee on National Parks held a hearing on S. 264 on July 

28, 2011 (S. Hrg. 112–214). At its business meeting on November 

10, 2011, the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources ordered 

S. 264 favorably reported with an amendment (S. Rpt. 112–106). 

COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in open business session on March 14, 2013, by majority voice vote of a quorum 

present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 264. 

SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Section 1 provides the short title, the ‘‘Natchez Trace Parkway 

Land Conveyance Act of 2013.’’ 

Section 2 defines key terms used in the bill. 

Section 3(a) directs the Secretary of the Interior to convey to the 

State by quitclaim deed all right, title, and interest to two parcels 

totaling approximately 67 acres while reserving an easement on 

the parcel known as the ‘‘bean field property.’’ The easement restricts the use of that parcel to that which is compatible with the 

Parkway. 

Subsection (b) describes two parcels depicted on the map. 

Subsection (c) directs that the map describing the conveyance be 

available for public inspection in the appropriate offices of the National Park Service. 


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Section 4(a) provides that the boundary of the Parkway shall be 

adjusted to exclude the two parcels upon completion of the conveyance to the State. 

Subsection (b) adjusts the boundary of the Parkway to include 

approximately 10 acres of land managed by the National Park 

Service which was inadvertently excluded on previous boundary 

maps for the Parkway. 

COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

The following estimate of costs of this measure has been provided 

by the Congressional Budget Office. 

S. 304—Natchez Trace Parkway Land Conveyance Act of 2013 

S. 304 would require the National Park Service (NPS) to convey 

about 67 acres of property in the Natchez Trace Parkway to the 

state of Mississippi. The legislation also would adjust the boundaries of the parkway to include 10 additional acres. Based on information provided by NPS, CBO estimates that implementing the 

bill would have no significant impact on the federal budget. Enacting S. 304 would not affect direct spending or revenues; therefore, 

pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply. 

S. 304 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. 

The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Martin von Gnechten. 

The estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, 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. 304. 

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 S. 304, as ordered reported. 

CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING

S. 304, as ordered reported, does not contain any congressionally 

directed spending items, limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined in rule XLIV of the Standing Rules of the Senate. 

EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS

Executive Communications were not requested by the Committee 

in the 113th Congress. The following Administration testimony references similar legislation introduced in the 112th Congress. 

The testimony provided by the National Park Service at the July 

28, 2011, Subcommittee on National Parks hearing on S. 264 follows. 


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STATEMENT OF PEGGY O’DELL, DEPUTY DIRECTOR, 

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Mr. Chairman and members of the Subcommittee, thank 

you for the opportunity to present the views of the Department of the Interior on S. 264, a bill to direct the Secretary of the Interior to convey to the State of Mississippi 

two parcels of surplus land within the boundary of the 

Natchez Trace Parkway, and for other purposes. 

The Department supports S. 264 with an amendment 

described later in this statement. This legislation would 

authorize the conveyance of 67 acres of unused federal 

land to the State of Mississippi. This land was originally 

donated by the state to the National Park Service to help 

complete construction of the Natchez Trace Parkway 

(Parkway), but it was never used for that purpose. The bill 

would also adjust the boundary of the Parkway to include 

approximately 10 acres of land that the National Park 

Service owns around the current southern terminus, which 

were inadvertently excluded from the boundary previously. 

The Natchez Trace was the main overland link between 

the old southwest territory and the Ohio River Valley in 

the 18th and 19th centuries. In 1938, Congress established 

the Natchez Trace Parkway as a unit of the National Park 

System. The Parkway was constructed between 1938 and 

2005 at a cost of nearly $500 million. During the construction period, the states of Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee helped acquire and donate over 50,000 acres of land 

to facilitate Parkway construction and protect the scenic, 

natural, cultural, and historic resources within the Natchez Trace corridor. Today, the completed Parkway spans 

444 miles from Nashville, Tennessee, to Natchez, Mississippi, and is enjoyed by over 13 million travelers each 

year. 

The southern terminus in Natchez was the final section 

of Parkway constructed and was completed in 2005. Decades prior to this section being planned and designed, it 

was uncertain where the Parkway would terminate. In 

order to prepare, the State of Mississippi acquired and donated to the National Park Service two different sections 

of land to accommodate two possible construction alternatives. 

The National Park Service began planning the final section of Parkway in the mid-1990s. After completing an environmental impact statement in 1998, which included significant public input, the Park Service selected the Liberty 

Road alternative. This decision left land acquired for the 

alternative terminus unused. The 67 acres identified in S. 

264 are the unused land. 

The 67 acres are subdivided into two parcels, both within the city limits of Natchez. One parcel, commonly known 

as the bean field property, is approximately 38 acres and 

is adjacent to Natchez High School. The other parcel, commonly known as the Feltus property, is approximately 29 

acres and is located in the new business district of NatchVerDate Mar 15 2010 04:18 Apr 25, 2013 Jkt 029010 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6969 E:\HR\OC\SR025.XXX SR025

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ez. The Feltus property includes a structure that has been 

used by the city since 1999 under a cooperative agreement 

with the National Park Service. 

In 2000, the city approached the National Park Service 

with a request to lease the bean field parcel to facilitate 

construction of a public recreational complex for the city, 

including soccer fields and other amenities. Public Law 

106–527, enacted that year, authorized the National Park 

Service to lease land within its boundary to the city ‘‘for 

any purpose compatible with the Parkway.’’ This legislation provided authority for the National Park Service to 

accommodate the city’s request to use the bean field property for public recreational uses. 

The National Park Service then entered into a 25-year 

memorandum of agreement with the city to help facilitate 

the recreational project. In 2001, as part of the agreement, 

an extensive archeological investigation was performed to 

determine if any significant cultural or historical resources 

existed on the bean field property. None were found. This 

investigation was in addition to the assessments undertaken for the 1998 environmental impact statement, which 

covered all 67 acres. 

The city is planning to invest up to $5 million to build 

the recreational complex on the bean field property. With 

such a large local investment planned, we believe this is 

an appropriate time to end the National Park Service’s 

role as the property’s lessor by conveying the property 

back to the state. Both the state and the city are highly 

supportive of the proposed conveyance and have discussed 

the best way to proceed should this legislation pass. The 

state has indicated that in the short term, the state would 

continue honoring the existing ‘‘any purpose compatible 

with the Parkway’’ lease authority and may consider conveying the parcel to the city to allow for fee simple ownership. The Feltus property would be retained by the state 

for purposes deemed appropriate, and the state would collaborate with the city on any future plans for this property 

as well. 

While we support the proposed conveyance, we are concerned about how the bean field property might be used in 

the future, beyond the planned use for recreational purposes. We recommend that S. 264 be amended to provide 

for reversion of the 38-acre bean field property to the 

United States, for administration by the National Park 

Service, in the event that the land is not used for purposes 

compatible with the Parkway. The bean field, unlike the 

Feltus property, is visible from the Parkway. A reversionary clause would help protect against the future possibility of incompatible development detracting from the 

Parkway’s scenic values. We would be happy to work with 

the committee on language for such an amendment, as 

well as a technical amendment needed for 10-acre boundary adjustment provision. 


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Mr. Chairman, this concludes my prepared remarks. I 

would be pleased to answer any questions you or any 

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 bill S. 304, as ordered reported. 

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