79–006 

1Public Law 96–312. 

2 16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq. 

3 16 U.S.C. 1271 et seq. 

115TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 2d Session 115–833 

TO AUTHORIZE THE SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE TO MAINTAIN OR REPLACE CERTAIN FACILITIES AND STRUCTURES FOR COMMERCIAL 

RECREATION SERVICES AT SMITH GULCH IN IDAHO, AND FOR OTHER 

PURPOSES 

JULY 17, 2018.—Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of 

the Union and ordered to be printed 

Mr. BISHOP of Utah, from the Committee on Natural Resources, 

submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany H.R. 1482] 

[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office] 

The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred the 

bill (H.R. 1482) to authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to maintain or replace certain facilities and structures for commercial 

recreation services at Smith Gulch in Idaho, and for other purposes, having considered the same, report favorably thereon without amendment and recommend that the bill do pass. 

PURPOSE OF THE BILL

The purpose of H.R. 1482 is to authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to maintain or replace certain facilities and structures for 

commercial recreation services at Smith Gulch in Idaho. 

BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

Smith Gulch is a ravine located along the Salmon River corridor 

in the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness in Idaho. The 

Central Idaho Wilderness Act of 1979 1 designated 2.4 million acres 

of land in the area surrounding Smith Gulch as the River of No Return Wilderness to be managed in accordance with the Wilderness 

Act.2 The legislation also designated 79 miles of the Salmon River 

as a wild river to be managed in accordance with the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act.3

In 2004, Congress amended the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to 

authorize the continued established use and occupancy of three 


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4Public Law 108–447. 

5 Based on information provided to the Committee on Natural Resources by the bill’s sponsor. 

6http://www.lis.gov/cgi-lis/query/D?r113:2:./temp/∼r113rpIHMQ: 

commercial recreation facilities and related services at Smith 

Gulch.4 However, the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) does not interpret 

current law as authorizing the improvements or replacements to 

the facilities and structures at Smith Gulch that require the use 

of certain mechanized equipment.5

H.R. 1482 would authorize USFS to make improvements to the 

commercial recreation facilities and structures at Smith Gulch, including hydroelectric generators, water pumps, electric lights, solar 

energy systems, battery power and other similarly appropriate improvements. 

In the 113th Congress, Congressman Simpson sponsored similar 

legislation (H.R. 4283), which passed the House of Representatives 

by a vote of 398 to 1.6

COMMITTEE ACTION

H.R. 1482 was introduced on March 9, 2017, by Congressman 

Michael K. Simpson (R–ID). The bill was referred to the Committee 

on Natural Resources, and within the Committee to the Subcommittee on Federal Lands. On July 11, 2018, the Natural Resources Committee met to consider the bill. The Subcommittee was 

discharged by unanimous consent. No amendments were offered 

and the bill was ordered favorably reported to the House of Representatives by unanimous consent. 

COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Regarding clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII 

of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the Committee on 

Natural Resources’ oversight findings and recommendations are reflected in the body of this report. 

COMPLIANCE WITH HOUSE RULE XIII AND CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET

ACT

1. Cost of Legislation and the Congressional Budget Act. With respect to the requirements of clause 3(c)(2) and (3) of rule XIII of 

the Rules of the House of Representatives and sections 308(a) and 

402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee has 

received the following estimate for the bill from the Director of the 

Congressional Budget Office: 

U.S. CONGRESS, 

CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE, 

Washington, DC, July 13, 2018. 

Hon. ROB BISHOP, 

Chairman, Committee on Natural Resources, 

House of Representatives, Washington, DC. 

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: The Congressional Budget Office has prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 1482, a bill to authorize 

the Secretary of Agriculture to maintain or replace certain facilities 

and structures for commercial recreation services at Smith Gulch 

in Idaho, and for other purposes. 


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

to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Jeff LaFave. 

Sincerely, 

MARK P. HADLEY

(For Keith Hall, Director). 

Enclosure. 

H.R. 1482—A bill to authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to maintain or replace certain facilities and structures for commercial 

recreation services at Smith Gulch in Idaho, and for other purposes 

H.R. 1482 would authorize the Forest Service to allow three providers of commercial recreation services in the Salmon-Challis National Forest in Idaho to construct or improve certain facilities. 

Those recreation services currently operate under special use permits that do not allow those types of projects. Under the bill, if the 

operators of those recreation services request authorization to undertake those projects, the agency would be required to conduct environmental reviews. Any costs to carry out those reviews would be 

covered by cost-recovery fees assessed on the recreation services. 

Using information provided by the Forest Service, CBO estimates 

that enacting the bill would increase offsetting receipts from costrecovery fees and associated direct spending; therefore, pay-as-yougo procedures apply. However, CBO estimates that any net effect 

on direct spending would be negligible. Enacting the bill would not 

affect revenues. 

CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 1482 would not increase net 

direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 

10-year periods beginning in 2029. 

H.R. 1482 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act. 

On April 7, 2017, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for S. 590, a 

bill to authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to maintain or replace 

certain facilities and structures for commercial recreation services 

at Smith Gulch in Idaho, and for other purposes, as ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

on March 30, 2017. The two bills are similar, and CBO’s estimates 

of the budgetary effects are the same. 

The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Jeff LaFave. The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy Assistant Director for Budget Analysis. 

2. General Performance Goals and Objectives. As required by 

clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, the general performance goal or objective 

of this bill is to authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to maintain 

or replace certain facilities and structures for commercial recreation services at Smith Gulch in Idaho. 

EARMARK STATEMENT

This bill does not contain any Congressional earmarks, limited 

tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined under clause 9(e), 

9(f), and 9(g) of rule XXI of the Rules of the House of Representatives. 


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COMPLIANCE WITH PUBLIC LAW 104–4

This bill contains no unfunded mandates. 

COMPLIANCE WITH H. RES. 5

Directed Rule Making. This bill does not contain any directed 

rule makings. 

Duplication of Existing Programs. This bill does not establish or 

reauthorize a program of the federal government known to be duplicative of another program. Such program was not included in 

any report from the Government Accountability Office to Congress 

pursuant to section 21 of Public Law 111–139 or identified in the 

most recent Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance published pursuant to the Federal Program Information Act (Public Law 95–220, 

as amended by Public Law 98–169) as relating to other programs. 

PREEMPTION OF STATE, LOCAL OR TRIBAL LAW

This bill is not intended to preempt any State, local or tribal law. 

CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

If enacted, this bill would make no changes in existing law. 

Æ 


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