100 
with respect to management of the Monument are hereby 
set aside. 
(c) SUPERINTENDENT.—The Secretary shall appoint 
a Superintendent for the Monument to administer the 
Monument. 
(d) HEADQUARTERS.—The headquarters for the 
Monument shall be located at the National Park Service 
facility at Three Rivers, California, which is the head-
quarters of Sequoia National Park and Kings Canyon Na-
tional Park. 
(e) VISITOR CENTERS.—Visitors centers for the 
Monument shall be located at— 
(1) Grant Grove Visitor Center in Kings Can-
yon National Park; 
(2) Springville, the principal entrance to the 
west side of the southern unit of the Monument; and 
(3) Kernville. 
SEC. 305. GIANT SEQUOIA NATIONAL MONUMENT ADVI-
SORY BOARD. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Superintendent shall es-
tablish an advisory board, to be known as the ‘‘Giant Se-
quoia National Monument Advisory Board’’, composed of 
9 members, to be appointed by the Superintendent. 
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(b) PROHIBITION ON FEDERAL GOVERNMENT EM-
PLOYMENT.—Members of the Advisory Board shall not be 
employees of the Federal Government. 
(c) TERMS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—A member of the Advisory 
Board shall serve for a term of not more than 4 
years. 
(2) INTERVALS.—The Superintendent shall ap-
point members of the Advisory Board in a manner 
that allows the terms of the members to expire at 
staggered intervals. 
(d) DUTIES.—The Advisory Board shall— 
(1) assist in the preparation of the management 
plan; and 
(2) provide recommendations with respect to 
the management of the Monument. 
(e) PROCEDURES.—The Superintendent shall estab-
lish procedures and standards for the Advisory Board. 
(f) OPEN MEETINGS.—Meetings of the Advisory 
Board shall be open to the public. 
SEC. 306. TRANSFER OF REMAINDER OF SEQUOIA NA-
TIONAL FOREST TO SIERRA NATIONAL FOR-
EST AND INYO NATIONAL FOREST. 
(a) SIERRA NATIONAL FOREST.— 
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(1) IN GENERAL.—The portion of the Sequoia 
National Forest located north of Sequoia National 
Park that is not included in the Monument is added 
to the Sierra National Forest. 
(2) BOUNDARY
REVISION.—The boundary of 
the Sierra National Forest is adjusted to include the 
land added by paragraph (1). 
(b) INYO NATIONAL FOREST.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The portion of the Sequoia 
National Forest south of Sequoia National Park 
that is not included in the Monument is added to the 
Inyo National Forest. 
(2) BOUNDARY
REVISION.—The boundary of 
the Inyo National Forest is adjusted to include the 
land added by paragraph (1). 
SEC. 307. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
There are authorized to be appropriated such sums 
as are necessary to carry out this title. 
TITLE IV—NATIONAL PARK 
SYSTEM NEW AREA STUDIES 
SEC. 401. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) The National Park System began with the 
establishment in 1872 of Yellowstone National Park. 
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(2) The National Park System has grown to 
391 units across the country, protecting many of the 
greatest natural and cultural treasures of the United 
States for future generations. 
(3) The National Park System provides tremen-
dous benefits to local, regional, and national econo-
mies, generating more than four dollars in value to 
the public for every tax dollar invested and sup-
porting $13.3 billion of local private-sector economic 
activity and 267,000 private-sector jobs. 
(4) The National Park System safeguards more 
than 99 percent of National Park System land as 
undeveloped backcountry, while still accommodating 
more than 250 million visitor days per year. 
(5) The National Park System preserves vital 
natural assets, including ancient forests and old- 
growth ecosystems, native habitats that protect and 
nurture endangered, threatened, or rare species, liv-
ing landscapes that contain the full range of native 
wildlife, and healthy populations of game species 
that replenish adjacent hunting lands. 
(6) National Park System land plays an impor-
tant role in efforts to address the impacts of global 
warming, since the land absorbs vast amounts of 
carbon, protects resilient ecosystems and expansive 
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open spaces that allow for migration and adaptation 
of plant and wildlife species to climate change, 
serves as natural laboratories for research, and helps 
educate the public about this critical issue. 
(7) The expansion of certain existing units of 
the National Park System and the establishment of 
new units can provide significant ecological, eco-
nomic, recreational, and cultural benefits to the 
American people. 
(8) The National Park Service should under-
take studies to determine possible additions to the 
National Park System, including lands currently 
managed by other Federal agencies. 
(9) These studies should include determination 
of ecological representation in the National Park 
System based on the scientifically accepted Environ-
mental Protection Agency Level III Ecoregions of 
the Continental United States classification system. 
SEC. 402. RECONNAISSANCE SURVEYS OF CERTAIN AREAS 
FOR INCLUSION WITHIN NATIONAL PARK 
SYSTEM. 
(a) RECONNAISSANCE SURVEYS.— 
(1) SURVEYS REQUIRED.—The Secretary of the 
Interior (in this title referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) 
shall conduct reconnaissance surveys of areas classi-
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fied as ‘‘Level III Ecoregions of the Continental 
United States’’ by the Environmental Protection 
Agency that— 
(A) are not represented ecologically by any 
unit of the National Park System or National 
Wilderness Preservation System; 
(B) do not have adequate representation of 
their native biological diversity by existing Na-
tional Park System units; 
(C) do not have adequate connectivity be-
tween existing National Park System units or 
other protected areas to ensure the long-term 
conservation of their native biological diversity; 
and 
(D) are near major population centers, 
thereby furthering the goal of providing access 
to the National Park System to all Americans. 
(2) PURPOSE.—The Secretary shall conduct the 
reconnaissance surveys of the areas described in 
paragraph (1) to determine if there are resources 
that possess national significance, to make a prelimi-
nary evaluation of the suitability and feasibility of 
their inclusion as units of the National Park System, 
and to recommend whether or not to proceed to a 
special resource study. The survey shall include a 
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thorough review of existing information from various 
sources, site visits, and consultation with interested 
parties, including potentially affected State and local 
governments and private landowners. 
(3) CONSIDERED LAND.—The areas the Sec-
retary considers under this subsection may include 
Federal land, land held by a State or local govern-
ment, or private land. 
(4) COMPLETION.—The Secretary shall com-
plete a reconnaissance survey within 3 years after 
commencement of the survey. 
(b) SUBMISSION
TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 
three years after funds are first made available for the 
reconnaissance surveys, the Secretary shall submit to the 
Congress a report containing the results of the reconnais-
sance surveys and any special resource studies carried out 
in response to the Secretary’s recommendations under 
paragraph (2). 
(c) STUDY CRITERIA.—In conducting the reconnais-
sance surveys, the Secretary shall consider whether the 
area being studied— 
(1) possesses nationally significant natural or 
cultural resources and represents one of the most 
important examples of a particular resource type in 
the United States; and 
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(2) is a suitable and feasible addition to the 
National Park System. 
(d) SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS.—In each reconnais-
sance survey, the Secretary shall— 
(1) consider the following factors with regard to 
the area being studied— 
(A) the rarity and integrity of the re-
sources; 
(B) the threats to those resources; 
(C) whether similar resources are already 
protected in the National Park System or in 
other public or private ownership; 
(D) the public use potential; 
(E) the interpretive and educational poten-
tial; 
(F) costs associated with acquisition, devel-
opment and operation; 
(G) the socioeconomic impacts of any des-
ignation; 
(H) the level of local and general public 
support; 
(I) whether the area is of appropriate con-
figuration to ensure long-term resource protec-
tion and visitor use. 
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(2) identify what alternative or combination of 
alternatives would, in the professional judgment of 
the Director of the National Park Service, be most 
effective and efficient in protecting significant nat-
ural and cultural assets and providing for public en-
joyment; 
(3) include any other information that the Sec-
retary considers to be relevant; and 
(4) ensure that it is completed in compliance 
with section 8 of Public Law 91–383 (16 U.S.C. 1a– 
5). 
(e) AUTHORIZATION
OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are nec-
essary to carry out this section. 
SEC. 403. COMMITTEE OF SCIENTISTS. 
(a) APPOINTMENT AND ROLE.—In conducting the re-
connaissance surveys required by section 402, the Sec-
retary shall appoint and consult with a committee com-
posed of nine scientists who are not officers or employees 
of the National Park Service, of any other public entity, 
or of any entity engaged in whole or in part in logging 
or livestock grazing, production of wood or wood products, 
oil, gas or mineral exploration or production, mining, 
roadbuilding, off-road motorized recreation, or other re-
source extraction or development-related activities. 
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(b) QUALIFICATIONS OF COMMITTEE MEMBERS.—A 
majority of the scientists appointed to the committee shall 
be individuals with significant training and field experi-
ence in conservation biology and the balance shall include 
individuals with significant training and field experience 
in other biological and earth sciences. 
(c) DUTIES.—The committee shall provide the Sec-
retary and Congress with the following: 
(1) Scientific and technical advice and counsel 
on the reconnaissance surveys. 
(2) An assessment of each of the Environ-
mental Protection Agency Level III Ecoregions of 
the Continental United States that describes— 
(A) important biological features and their 
distinctiveness; 
(B) current conservation status, including 
habitat loss, remaining blocks of intact habitat, 
degree of fragmentation, degree of protection, 
and threats; and 
(C) priority areas for increased conserva-
tion. 
(3) Reports documenting the committee’s— 
(A) assessment of each of the Environ-
mental Protection Agency Level III Ecoregions 
of the Continental United States, not later than 
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1 year after the date of the enactment of this 
Act; and 
(B) overall findings, conclusions, and rec-
ommendations, not later than 3 years after the 
date of the enactment of this Act. 
(4) Continued consultation, testimony, review, 
and recommendations to the Secretary or Congress 
as long as needed pursuant to the surveys. 
(d) APPLICABLE LAW.—The Advisory Council shall 
function in accordance with the Federal Advisory Com-
mittee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) and other applicable laws. 
TITLE V—EFFECTIVE DATE AND 
MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS 
SEC. 501. EFFECTIVE DATE. 
This Act and the amendments made by this Act take 
effect on the date of enactment of this Act. 
SEC. 502. EFFECT ON EXISTING CONTRACTS. 
This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall 
not apply to any contract for the sale of timber that was 
entered into on or before the date of enactment of this 
Act. 
SEC. 503. WILDERNESS ACT EXCLUSION. 
This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall 
not apply to any Federal wilderness area designated under 
the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.). 
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