29–010 

Calendar No. 107 

113TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! SENATE 1st Session 113–53 

BUFFALO SOLDIERS IN THE NATIONAL PARKS STUDY 

JUNE 27, 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. 225] 

The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 

referred the bill (S. 225) to authorize the Secretary of the Interior 

to conduct a study of alternatives for commemorating and interpreting the role of the Buffalo Soldiers in the early years of the National Parks, 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. 225 is to authorize the Secretary of the Interior 

to conduct a study of alternatives for commemorating and interpreting the role of the Buffalo Soldiers in the early years of the National Parks. 

BACKGROUND AND NEED

In the late 19th and early 20th century, America’s Buffalo Soldiers—segregated cavalry units of the U.S. Army—played an important, yet little known role in the history of our national parks. 

The African American soldiers of the 24th Infantry and 9th Cavalry were responsible for patrolling the 320-mile route between the 

Presidio in San Francisco to Sequoia and Yosemite National Parks. 

Their units built roads and trails along the route and they protected these new parks from poaching, logging, fire, and trespass 

grazing. Starting in 1903, the Buffalo Soldiers were led by Lt. Colonel Charles Young, only the third African American to graduate 

from West Point. Young was assigned as the Acting Superintendent 

of Sequoia National Park in California for the summer and is reVerDate Mar 15 2010 20:06 Jun 29, 2013 Jkt 029010 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\SR053.XXX SR053

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garded as the driving force behind completion of a much needed 

wagon road through Sequoia National Park and the trail to the top 

of Mount Whitney. The road and trail are still in use today. 

S. 225 would authorize the Secretary of the Interior to conduct 

a study to determine effective ways to commemorate the Buffalo 

Soldiers and their role in helping to protect, build, and preserve 

America’s national parks, as well as to ascertain the suitability and 

feasibility of potential historic sites, national landmarks, and a national historic trail related to their work. 

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

Senators Feinstein and Boxer introduced S. 225 on February 4, 

2013. The Subcommittee on National Parks held a hearing on S. 

225 on April 23, 2013. At its business meeting on May 16, 2013, 

the Committee ordered S. 225 favorably reported. 

In the 112th Congress, Senators Feinstein and Boxer introduced 

similar legislation, S. 544, on March 10, 2011. The Subcommittee 

on National Parks held a hearing on S. 544 on October 19, 2011 

(S. Hrg. 112–224). 

COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in 

open business session on May 16, 2013, by a voice vote of a quorum 

present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 225. 

SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Section 1 provides the short title, the ‘‘Buffalo Soldiers in the National Parks Act’’. 

Subsection (a) contains congressional findings. 

Subsection (b) provides that the purpose of the act is to authorize 

a study of the role of the Buffalo Soldiers in the early years of the 

National Park Service. 

Section 2(a) authorizes the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) 

to conduct a study of alternatives for commemorating and interpreting the role of the Buffalo Soldiers in the National Parks. 

Subsection (b) directs the Secretary to include within the study, 

identified in the previous section, a historical assessment of the 

Buffalo Soldiers who served in the National Park, evaluate the feasibility of establishing a national historic trail, and identify properties that could meet the criteria for listing in the National Register of Historic Places or designation as a National Historic Landmark. The Secretary is further directed to evaluate appropriate 

ways to enhance historical research, education, interpretation, and 

public awareness of the Buffalo Soldiers story including ways to 

link the story to the development of National Parks and the story 

of African-American service following the Civil War. 

Subsection (c) requires that the Secretary submit a report containing the study’s findings and recommendations to the Committee on Natural Resources of the House and the Committee on 

Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate. 

COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

The following estimate of costs of this measure has been provided 

by the Congressional Budget Office: 


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S. 225—Buffalo Soldiers in the National Parks Study Act 

S. 225 would require the National Park Service (NPS) to conduct 

a study of alternatives for honoring the Buffalo Soldiers (members 

of several African-American regiments within the U.S. Army established after the Civil War) in their role in the development of the 

National Park System. The U.S. Army, including regiments of Buffalo Soldiers, was responsible for protecting national parks before 

the National Park Service was established. 

Based on information from the NPS and assuming the availability of appropriated funds, CBO estimates that conducting the 

study would cost about $400,000 over the next three years. Enacting S. 225 would not affect direct spending or revenues; therefore, 

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

S. 225 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates 

as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would not 

affect the budgets of state, local, or tribal governments. 

On May 2, 2013, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for H.R. 520, 

the Buffalo Soldiers in the National Parks Study Act, as ordered 

to be reported by the House Committee on Natural Resources on 

April 24, 2013. The two pieces of legislation are nearly identical, 

and the CBO cost estimates are the same. 

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. 225. 

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. 225, as ordered reported. 

CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING

S. 225, as 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

The testimony provided by the National Park Service at the April 

23, 2013, Subcommittee on National Parks hearing on S. 225 follows: 

STATEMENT OF PEGGY O’DELL, DEPUTY DIRECTOR FOR OPERATIONS, 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. 225, 


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to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a 

study of alternatives for commemorating and interpreting 

the role of the Buffalo Soldiers in the early years of the national parks, and for other purposes. 

The Department supports S. 225. However, we feel that 

priority should be given to the 31 previously authorized 

studies for potential units of the National Park System, 

potential new National Heritage Areas, and potential additions to the National Trails System and National Wild and 

Scenic River System that have not yet been transmitted to 

Congress. 

S. 225 would authorize a study to determine the most effective ways to increase understanding and public awareness of the critical role that the Buffalo Soldiers, segregated units composed of African-American cavalrymen, 

played in the early years of the national parks. It would 

evaluate the suitability and feasibility of a National Historic Trail along the routes between their post at the Presidio of San Francisco and the parks they protected, notably Yosemite and Sequoia. The study would also identify 

properties that could meet the criteria for listing in the 

National Register of Historic Places or designation as National Historic Landmarks. We estimate that this study 

will cost approximately $400,000. 

President Obama recognized the legacy of the Buffalo 

Soldiers in issuing a proclamation on March 25, 2013, designating the Charles Young home in Wilberforce, Ohio, as 

a national monument. The Charles Young Buffalo Soldiers 

National Monument is now the 401st unit of the National 

Park System. The Presidential proclamation that established this national monument authorizes the NPS to complete a management plan that would include interpreting 

the struggles and achievements of the Buffalo Soldiers in 

their service to the United States. We note that, if S. 225 

is enacted, there will be overlap with the Presidential proclamation, as this bill directs the NPS to complete a study 

to increase understanding and public awareness of the 

critical role that the Buffalo Soldiers played in the early 

years of the national parks. However, this bill goes beyond 

the direction in the Presidential proclamation by additionally authorizing a study of the suitability and feasibility of 

a national historic trail and identification of National Register of Historic Places National Historic Landmarks properties related to the Buffalo Soldiers. If enacted, the NPS 

will coordinate the completion of the study and the management plan. 

African-American 19th and 20th century Buffalo Soldiers were an important, yet little known, part of the history of some of our first national parks. These cavalry 

troops rode hundreds of miles from their post at the Presidio of San Francisco to Sequoia and Yosemite National 

Parks in order to patrol and protect them. The journey 

across the state took sixteen days of serious horseback 

riding averaging over twenty miles a day. Once in the 

parks, they were assigned to patrol the backcountry, build 


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roads and trails, put a halt to poaching, suppress fires, 

stop trespass grazing by large herds of unregulated cattle 

and sheep, and otherwise establish roles later assumed by 

National Park rangers. 

The U.S. Army administered Sequoia and Yosemite National Parks from 1891 to 1914, when it was replaced by 

civilian management. The National Park Service (NPS) 

was not created until 1916, 25 years after these parks 

were established. Commanding officers became acting military superintendents for these national parks with two 

troops of approximately 60 cavalry men assigned to each. 

The troops essentially created a roving economy—infusing 

money into parks and local businesses—and thus their 

presence was generally welcomed. The presence of these 

soldiers as official stewards of park lands prior to the 

NPS’s establishment brought a sense of law and order to 

the mountain wilderness. 

Lesser known, however, is the participation of AfricanAmerican troops of the 24th Infantry and 9th Cavalry, the 

Buffalo Soldiers, who protected both Sequoia and Yosemite 

National Parks in 1899, 1903, and 1904. These troops and 

their contributions should be recognized and honored, and 

this bill does just that. 

The most notable Buffalo Soldier was Colonel Charles 

Young, who served as a captain in the cavalry commanding a segregated black company at the Presidio of 

San Francisco. Born in Kentucky during the Civil War, 

Charles Young had already set himself a course that took 

him to places where a black man was not often welcome. 

He was the first black to graduate from the white high 

school in Ripley, Ohio, and through competitive examination he won an appointment to the U.S. Military Academy 

at West Point in 1884. He went on to graduate with his 

commission, only the third black man to do so. Colonel 

Young’s story and leadership are emblematic of the experience of the Buffalo Soldiers during difficult and racially 

tense times. When the new military superintendent arrived in Sequoia National Park in the summer of 1903, he 

had already faced many challenges. Young and his troops 

arrived in Sequoia after a 16-day ride from the Presidio of 

San Francisco to find that one of their major assignments 

would be the extension of the wagon road. Hoping to break 

the sluggish pattern of previous military administrations, 

Young poured his considerable energies into the project. 

Young and his troops built as much road as the combined 

results of the three previous summers, as well as building 

a trail to the top of Mt. Whitney—the highest point in the 

contiguous United States. 

The soldiers also protected the giant sequoias from illegal logging, wildlife from poaching, and the watershed and 

wilderness from unauthorized grazing by livestock. A difficult task under any circumstances, the intensity was undoubtedly compounded by societal prejudice common at the 

turn of the century. They also produced maps and assisted 

tourists in the area. 


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Although Colonel Charles Young only served one season 

as an acting superintendent of a national park, he and his 

men have not been forgotten. The energy and dignity they 

brought to this national park assignment left a strong imprint. The roads they built are still in use today, having 

served millions of park visitors for more than eighty years. 

The legacy they left extends far beyond Sequoia National 

Park, as they helped lay the foundation for the National 

Park System, which continues to inspire and connect people of all backgrounds to public lands and natural treasures to this day. 

In recent years the NPS has made an effort to chronicle 

the achievements of these men. In the Presidio of San 

Francisco, Golden Gate National Recreation Area and the 

Presidio Trust have developed an education program using 

the historic stables that the Buffalo Soldiers actually used 

to house their horses. In Yosemite National Park, a park 

ranger portrays one of the U.S. Army’s Buffalo Soldiers as 

part of his interpretation of Yosemite’s history. Sequoia 

National Park has a giant sequoia named for Colonel 

Young in honor of his lasting legacy in that park. These 

isolated but important efforts to educate the public on the 

important role of the Buffalo Soldiers could be heightened 

by this consolidated study. 

There is a growing concern that youth are becoming increasingly disconnected with wild places and our national 

heritage. Additionally, many people of color are not necessarily aware of national parks and the role their ancestors may have played in shaping the national park system. 

The NPS can help foster a stronger sense of awareness 

and knowledge about the critical roles of African-American 

Buffalo Soldiers in the protection and development of some 

of our nation’s natural treasures. As the 2016 centennial 

of the NPS approaches, it is an especially appropriate time 

to conduct research and increase public awareness of the 

stewardship role the Buffalo Soldiers played in the early 

years of the national parks. 

Mr. Chairman, this concludes my testimony. I would be 

glad to answer any questions that you or 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 S. 225, as ordered reported. 

Æ 


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