Park Service management should be modified or termi-
nated. In developing the list, the Commission shall con-
sider the factors referred to in section 102(a)(2). For any
listed areas, the Commission shall suggest alternative
management by an entity or entities other than the Na-
tional Park Service, and for any area determined to have
national significance, prior to including such area on the
list the Commission shall identify feasible alternatives to
National Park Service management which will protect the
resources of the area and assure continued public access
to thereto. In developing the list, the Commission shall
consult with other Federal land managing agencies, State
and local officials, the National Park System Advisory
Board, resource management, recreation and scholarly or-
ganizations and other interested parties as the Secretary
deems advisable. These consultations shall also include ap-
propriate opportunities for public review and comment.
(b) MEMBERSHIP AND APPOINTMENT.—The Com-
mission shall consist of 7 members each of whom shall
have substantial familiarity with, and understanding of,
the National Park System. Three members of the Com-
mission, one of whom shall be the Director of the National
Park Service, shall be appointed by the Secretary. Two
members shall be appointed by the Speaker of the United
States House of Representatives and two shall be ap-
pointed by the President Pro Tem of the United States
Senate. Each member shall be appointed within 3 months
after the expiration of the 1-year period specified in sec-
tion 102(c).
(c) CHAIR.—The Commission shall elect a chair from
among its members.
(d) VACANCIES.—Vacancies occurring on the Com-
mission shall not affect the authority of the remaining
members of the Commission to carry out the functions of
the Commission. Any vacancy in the Commission shall be
promptly filled in the same manner in which the original
appointment was made.
(e) QUORUM.—A simple majority of Commission
members shall constitute a quorum.
(f) MEETINGS.—The Commission shall meet at least
quarterly or upon the call of the chair or a majority of
the members of the Commission.
(g) COMPENSATION.—Members of the Commission
shall serve without compensation as such. Members of the
Commission, when engaged in official Commission busi-
ness, shall be entitled to travel expenses, including per
diem in lieu of subsistence, in the same manner as persons
employed intermittently in government service under sec-
tion 5703 of title 5, United States Code.
(h) TERMINATION.—The Commission established
pursuant to this section shall terminate 90 days after the
transmittal of the report to Congress as provided in sub-
section (a).
(i) LIMITATION
ON
NATIONAL
PARK
SERVICE
STAFF.—The Commission may hire staff to carry out its
assigned responsibilities. Not more than one-half of the
professional staff of the Commission shall be made up of
current employees of the National Park Service.
(j) STAFF OF OTHER AGENCIES.—Upon the request
of the Commission, the head of any Federal agency may
detail, on a reimbursable basis, any of the personnel of
such agency to the Commission to assist the Commission.
(k) EXPERTS AND CONSULTANTS.—Subject to such
rules as may be adopted by the Commission, the Commis-
sion may procure temporary and intermittent services to
the same extent as authorized by section 3109(b) of title
5, United States Code, but at rates determined by the
Commission to be advisable.
(l) POWERS OF THE COMMISSION.—(1) The Commis-
sion shall for the purpose of carrying out this title hold
such public hearings, sit and act at such times and places,
take such testimony, and receive such evidence as the
Commission deems advisable.
(2) The Commission may make such bylaws, rules,
and regulations, consistent with this title, as it considers
necessary to carry out its functions under this title.
(3) When so authorized by the Commission any mem-
ber or agent of the Commission may take any action which
the Commission is authorized to take by this section.
(4) The Commission may use the United States mails
in the same manner and upon the same conditions as
other departments and agencies of the United States.
(5) The Secretary shall provide to the Commission
any information available to the Secretary and requested
by the Commission regarding the plan referred to in sec-
tion 101 and any other information requested by the Com-
mission which is relevant to the duties of the Commission
and available to the Secretary.
TITLE II—NEW AREA
ESTABLISHMENT
SEC. 201. STUDY OF NEW PARK SYSTEM AREAS.
Section 8 of the Act of August 18, 1970, entitled ‘‘An
Act to improve the Administration of the National Park
System by the Secretary of the Interior, and to clarify the
authorities applicable to the system, and for other pur-
poses’’ (16 U.S.C. 1a–1 and following) is amended as fol-
lows:
(1) By inserting ‘‘GENERAL AUTHORITY.—’’
after ‘‘(a)’’.
(2) By striking the second through the sixth
sentences of subsection (a).
(3) By redesignating the last sentence of sub-
section (a) as subsection (e) and inserting in such
sentence before the words ‘‘For the purposes of car-
rying’’ the following: ‘‘(e) AUTHORIZATION OF AP-
PROPRIATIONS.—’’.
(4) By striking subsection (b).
(5) By inserting the following after subsection
(a):
‘‘(b) STUDIES
OF AREAS
FOR POTENTIAL ADDI-
TION.—(1) At the beginning of each calendar year, along
with the annual budget submission, the Secretary shall
submit to the Committee on Natural Resources of the
House of Representatives and to the Committee on En-
ergy and Natural Resources of the United States Senate
a list of areas recommended for study for potential inclu-
sion in the National Park System.
‘‘(2) In developing the list to be submitted under this
subsection, the Secretary shall give consideration to those
areas that have the greatest potential to meet the estab-
lished criteria of national significance, suitability, and fea-
sibility. The Secretary shall give special consideration to
themes, sites, and resources not already adequately rep-
resented in the National Park System as identified in the
National Park System Plan to be developed under section
101 of the National Park System Reform Act of 1994.
No study of the potential of an area for inclusion in the
National Park System may be initiated after the date of
enactment of this section, except as provided by specific
authorization of an Act of Congress. Nothing in this Act
shall limit the authority of the National Park Service to
conduct preliminary resource assessments, gather data on
potential study areas, provide technical and planning as-
sistance, prepare or process nominations for administra-
tive designations, update previous studies, or complete re-
connaissance surveys of individual areas requiring a total
expenditure of less than $25,000. Nothing in this section
shall be construed to apply to or to affect or alter the
study of any river segment for potential addition to the
national wild and scenic rivers system or to apply to or
to affect or alter the study of any trail for potential addi-
tion to the national trails system.
‘‘(c) REPORT.—The Secretary shall complete the
study for each area for potential inclusion into the Na-
tional Park System within 3 complete fiscal years follow-
ing the date of enactment of specific legislation providing
for the study of such area. Each study under this section
shall be prepared with appropriate opportunity for public
involvement, including at least one public meeting in the
vicinity of the area under study, and reasonable efforts
to notify potentially affected landowners and State and
local governments. In conducting the study, the Secretary
shall consider whether the area under study—
‘‘(1) possesses nationally significant natural or
cultural resources, or outstanding recreational op-
portunities, and that it represents one of the most
important examples of a particular resource type in
the country; and
‘‘(2) is a suitable and feasible addition to the
system.
Each study shall consider the following factors with regard
to the area being studied: the rarity and integrity of the
resources, the threats to those resources, whether similar
resources are already protected in the National Park Sys-
tem or in other Federal, state or private ownership, the
public use potential, the interpretive and educational po-
tential, costs associated with acquisition, development and
operation, the socioeconomic impacts of any designation,
the level of local and general public support and whether
the unit is of appropriate configuration to ensure long
term resource protection and visitor use. Each such study
shall also consider whether direct National Park Service
management or alternative protection by other agencies or
the private sector is appropriate for the area. Each such
study shall identify what alternative or combination of al-
ternatives would in the professional judgment of the Di-
rector of the National Park Service, be most effective and
efficient in protecting significant resources and providing
for public enjoyment. The letter transmitting each com-
pleted study to Congress shall contain a recommendation
regarding the Administration’s preferred management op-
tion for the area.
‘‘(d) LIST OF AREAS.—At the beginning of each cal-
endar year, along with the annual budget submission, the
Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Natural Re-
sources of the House of Representatives and to the Com-
mittee on Energy and Natural Resources of the United
States Senate a list of areas which have been previously
studied which contain primarily cultural or historical re-
sources and a list of areas which have been previously
studied which contain primarily natural resources in nu-
merical order of priority for addition to the National Park
System. In developing the list, the Secretary should con-
sider threats to resource values, cost escalation factors and
other factors listed in subsection (c) of this section.’’.
Æ