69–010 

Calendar No. 668 

110TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! SENATE 2d Session 110–316 

DENALI NATIONAL PARK AND ALASKA RAILROAD 

EXCHANGE ACT OF 2007 

APRIL 10, 2008.—Ordered to be printed 

Mr. BINGAMAN, from the Committee on Energy and Natural 

Resources, submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany H.R. 830] 

The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 

referred the Act (H.R. 830) to authorize the exchange of certain interests in land in Denali National Park in the State of Alaska, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon without amendment and recommends that the Act do pass. 

PURPOSE

The purpose of H.R. 830 is to authorize the exchange of certain 

interests in land in Denali National Park in the State of Alaska. 

BACKGROUND AND NEED

The Alaska Railroad provides passenger rail service from Whittier, Anchorage, and Fairbanks to Denali National Park. In 2005, 

the railroad carried more than 260,000 passengers to Denali National Park. In 2006, that number rose to over 300,000. The Railroad’s ability to manage this increasing traffic is limited by the 

lack of a turn-around at Denali. Under current conditions, trains 

carrying visitors from Anchorage to Denali must continue to Fairbanks. Trains traveling south from Fairbanks to Denali must likewise continue to Anchorage. To accommodate existing traffic, the 

Railroad concentrates passenger service into two trains to Denali 

per day, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. These trains 

average 20 coach cars in length and carry up to 1,500 passengers 

each. The arrival of so many visitors to the park at one time often 

causes congestion, crowding, and traffic. For example, visitors who 

travel by train to Denali Park Station must travel by bus to enter 


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the park. The concentration of rail traffic results in two major concentrations of buses that leave the park entrance and travel into 

the park each day. 

A turnaround would allow trains to run round trips from either 

Fairbanks or Anchorage to the park. It would offer the Railroad the 

ability to economically use smaller trains and to offer more trips 

to the park each day. This expanded schedule would, in turn, allow 

the park to smooth out the bus schedule and provide a less crowded experience for visitors. 

H.R. 830 would authorize the Secretary of the Interior to convey 

to the Alaska Railroad an exclusive use easement to not more than 

25 acres of land in exchange for the Railroad’s relinquishment of 

an exclusive use easement of equal size to the federal government. 

The bill would limit the use of the easement conveyed to the Railroad to activities necessary for the operation of the railway. 

The lands that would be affected by this bill are within the 

boundary of Denali National Park and owned by the federal government. The Alaska Railroad Transfer Act of 1982 (45 U.S.C. 

1201–1214) conveyed to the state an exclusive use easement to the 

Railroad for the approximately 35 miles of track through the park. 

This Act limited the use of the easement to activities necessary for 

the operation of the railway and mandated that the state operate 

the Railroad subject to laws and regulations for the protection of 

park values. H.R. 830 would apply these same conditions to the 

easement it conveys to the Railroad. 

Although not specified in the bill, the proposed location of the 

turn-around is approximately four miles south of Denali Park Station on land that has been determined to be unsuitable for wilderness designation. The Railroad has identified four parcels of land 

that are of interest to the National Park Service and may be suitable for designation as wilderness. 

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

H.R. 830, sponsored by Congressman Young, passed the House 

of Representatives by voice vote on October 22, 2007 (H. Rpt. 110–

395). 

A companion bill, S. 1808, sponsored by Senators Murkowski and 

Stevens, was introduced on July 17, 2007. The Subcommittee on 

National Parks held a hearing on S. 1808 on September 27, 2007. 

(S. Hrg. 110–266.) At its business meeting on January 30, 2008, 

the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources ordered H.R. 830 

favorably reported, without amendment. 

COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in an 

open business session on January 30, 2008, by voice vote of a 

quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass H.R. 830. 

SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Section 1 contains the short title. 

Section 2 contains definitions. 

Section 3(a) authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to grant to 

the Alaska Railroad Corporation an exclusive-use easement on land 

identified by the Secretary within Denali National Park for the 


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purpose of providing a location to the Corporation for construction, 

maintenance, and on-going operation of track and associated support facilities for turning railroad trains around near Denali Park 

Station. In addition, this subsection states that, in exchange for the 

easement, the Secretary shall require the relinquishment of certain 

portions of the Corporation’s existing exclusive use easement within the boundary of Denali National Park. 

Subsection (b) sets forth the conditions of the exchange and include the following: the exchange of easements shall be on an approximately equal-acre basis, the easement granted to the Railroad 

shall not exceed 25 acres, the Railroad shall pay all costs associated with the exchange, and the lands underlying any easement relinquished to the United States that are adjacent to designated wilderness are hereby designated as wilderness and added to the 

Denali Wilderness. 

COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

The following estimate of costs of this measure has been provided 

by the Congressional Budget Office: 

H.R. 830—Denali National Park and Alaska Railroad Land Exchange Act of 2007 

H.R. 830 would authorize the Secretary of the Interior to exchange easements on land within the Denali National Park with 

the Alaska Railroad Corporation to build a turnaround for train 

traffic arriving at the Denali Park Station. The legislation would 

not affect federal ownership of the land, and the Alaska Railroad 

would be responsible for all costs associated with the exchange. 

CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 830 would have no significant impact on the federal budget. Enacting the legislation would 

not affect direct spending or revenues. 

H.R. 830 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. 

The legislation would authorize the Secretary to grant to the 

Alaska Railroad Corporation an exclusive-use easement—an agreement that would allow the Alaska Railroad the right to use a specified parcel of land for certain purposes to the exclusion of all others—on up to 25 acres within the Denali National Park. The corporation would use the easement to construct and maintain a turnaround for trains arriving at Denali Park Station. In exchange, the 

corporation would relinquish an equal amount of land that is currently subject to an exclusive-use easement between the federal 

government and the railroad. 

On October 19, 2007, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for H.R. 

830 as ordered reported by the House Committee on Natural Resources on October 10, 2007. The two versions of the legislation are 

identical, as are the estimated costs. 

The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Daniel Hoople. This 

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 


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of the regulatory impact which would be incurred in carrying out 

H.R. 830. The Act 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. 830, as ordered reported. 

CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING

H.R. 830, 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 views of the Administration were included in testimony received by the Committee at a hearing on H.R. 830 on September 

27, 2007. 

STATEMENT OF DANIEL N. WENK, DEPUTY DIRECTOR, 

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Mr. Chairman, thank you for the opportunity to present 

the views of the Department of the Interior on S. 1808, a 

bill to authorize the exchange of exclusive use easements 

between the National Park Service and the Alaska Railroad within Denali National Park. 

The Department supports S. 1808. 

S. 1808 would authorize the Secretary of the Interior to 

convey to the Alaska Railroad (Railroad) an exclusive use 

easement to not more than 25 acres of land in exchange 

for the Railroad’s relinquishment of an exclusive use easement of equal size to the federal government. The bill 

would limit the use of the easement conveyed to the Railroad to activities necessary for the operation of the railway. The bill would also require the Railroad to pay the 

costs associated with the exchange, including the costs for 

surveys and compliance with the National Environmental 

Policy Act (NEPA). To complete the exchange, the Alaska 

Legislature would have to approve any release of Railroad 

land interests as the Alaska Railroad is a state-owned corporation. The exchange would have to be carried out within five years after enactment. 

Both easements in question are located within Denali 

National Park on land owned by the federal government. 

The exchange of easements would not affect federal ownership of underlying lands. The easement conveyed to the 

Railroad would be used to build a train turn-around at 

Denali National Park. The easement relinquished by the 

Railroad would be managed in its natural state as part of 

Denali National Park. If it is adjacent to the Denali Wilderness, this bill would add the land to the wilderness. 

The Alaska Railroad provides passenger rail service 

from Whittier, Anchorage, and Fairbanks to Denali National Park. In 2005, the Alaska Railroad carried more 


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than 260,000 passengers to Denali National Park. In 2006, 

that number rose to over 300,000. The Railroad’s ability to 

manage this increasing traffic is limited by the lack of a 

turn-around at Denali. Under current conditions, trains 

carrying visitors from Anchorage to Denali must continue 

to Fairbanks. Trains traveling south from Fairbanks to 

Denali must likewise continue to Anchorage. To accommodate existing traffic, the Railroad concentrates passenger 

service into two trains to Denali per day, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. These trains average 20 

coach cars in length and carry up to 1,500 passengers 

each. The arrival of so many visitors to the park at one 

time often causes congestion, crowding, and traffic. For example, visitors who travel by train to Denali Park Station 

must travel by bus to enter the park. The concentration of 

rail traffic results in two major ‘‘pulses’’ of buses that leave 

the park entrance and travel into the park each day. 

A turnaround would allow trains to run round trips from 

either Fairbanks or Anchorage to the park. It would offer 

the Railroad the ability to economically use smaller trains 

and to offer more trips to the park each day. This expanded schedule would, in turn, allow the park to smooth 

out the bus schedule and provide a less crowded experience for visitors. 

The lands that would be affected by this bill are within 

the boundary of Denali National Park and owned by the 

federal government. The Alaska Railroad Transfer Act of 

1982 (45 U.S.C. Sections 1201–1214) conveyed to the state 

an exclusive use easement to the Railroad for the approximately 35 miles of track through park. This Act limited 

the use of the easement to activities necessary for the operation of the railway and mandated that the state operate 

the Railroad subject to laws and regulations for the protection of park values. S. 1808 would apply these same conditions to the easement it conveys to the Railroad. 

Although not specified in the bill, the proposed location 

of the turn-around is approximately four miles south of 

Denali Park Station on land that has been determined to 

be unsuitable for wilderness designation. The Railroad has 

identified four parcels of land that are of interest to the 

National Park Service. 

The National Park Service believes that full public involvement in the planning process should occur prior to deciding if a land exchange should occur. This would occur 

through the NEPA compliance that is provided for in the 

proposed legislation. 

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

pleased to answer any questions you or the other members 

of the subcommittee may have. 


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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 H.R. 830, as ordered reported. 

Æ 


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