I
103D CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 433
To increase the size of the Big Thicket National Preserve in the State
of Texas by adding the Village Creek Corridor unit, the Big Sandy
Corridor unit, the Canyonlands unit, the Sabine River Blue Elbow unit,
and addition to the Lower Neches Corridor unit.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JANUARY 5, 1993
Mr. WILSON introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Natural Resources
A BILL
To increase the size of the Big Thicket National Preserve
in the State of Texas by adding the Village Creek Cor-
ridor unit, the Big Sandy Corridor unit, the Canyonlands
unit, the Sabine River Blue Elbow unit, and addition
to the Lower Neches Corridor unit.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Big Thicket National
Preserve Addition Act of 1993’’.
SEC. 2. ADDITIONS TO THE BIG THICKET NATIONAL PRE-
SERVE.
(a) ADDITIONS.—Subsection (b) of the first section
of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to authorize the establishment
of the Big Thicket National Preserve in the State of
Texas, and for other purposes’’, approved October 11,
1974 (16 U.S.C. 698), hereafter referred to as the ‘‘Act’’,
is amended as follows:
(1) Strike out ‘‘map entitled ‘Big Thicket Na-
tional Preserve’ ’’ and all that follows through ‘‘Sec-
retary of the Interior (hereafter referred to as the
‘Secretary’)’’ and insert in lieu thereof ‘‘map entitled
‘Big Thicket National Preserve’, dated October 19,
1990, and numbered 20031 C, which shall be on file
and available for public inspection in the offices of
the National Park Service, Department of the Inte-
rior, and offices of the Superintendent of the pre-
serve. After advising the Committee on Interior and
Insular Affairs of the House of Representatives and
the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of
the Senate, in writing, the Secretary of the Interior
(hereafter referred to as the ‘Secretary’) may make
minor revisions of the boundaries of the preserve
when necessary by publication of a revised drawing
or other boundary description in the Federal Reg-
ister. The Secretary’’.
(2) Strike out ‘‘and’’ at the end of the penul-
timate undesignated paragraph relating to Little
Pine Island-Pine Island Bayou corridor unit.
(3) Strike out the period in the ultimate undes-
ignated paragraph relating to Lance Rosier unit and
insert in lieu thereof a semicolon.
(4) Add at the end thereof the following:
‘‘Village Creek Corridor unit, Hardin County,
Texas, comprising approximately 5,309 acres;
‘‘Big Sandy Corridor unit, Hardin, Polk, and
Tyler Counties, Texas, comprising approximately
4,818 acres;
‘‘Canyonlands unit, Tyler County, Texas, com-
prising approximately 1,476 acres;
‘‘Sabine River Blue Elbow unit, Orange Coun-
ty, Texas, comprising approximately 3,592 acres;
and
‘‘Addition to the Lower Neches River Corridor
unit, Orange and Jasper Counties, Texas, compris-
ing approximately 750 acres.’’.
(b) ACQUISITION.—(1) Subsection (c) of the first sec-
tion of such Act is amended by striking out the first sen-
tence and inserting in lieu thereof the following: ‘‘The Sec-
retary is authorized to acquire by donation, purchase with
donated or appropriated funds, transfer from any other
Federal agency, or exchange, any lands, waters, or inter-
ests therein which are located within the boundaries of the
preserve: Provided, That the Secretary may acquire scenic
easements on privately owned undeveloped lands located
within the boundaries of the Village Creek Corridor, Big
Sandy Corridor, Canyonlands, Blue Elbow, or Lower
Neches River unit: Provided further, That privately owned
undeveloped lands located within any such unit may be
acquired only with the consent of the owner: Provided fur-
ther, That the Secretary may acquire lands owned by com-
mercial timber companies only by donation or exchange:
Provided further, That any lands owned by the State of
Texas, or any of its political subdivisions may be acquired
by donation only.’’.
(2) Add at the end of the first section the following
new subsections:
‘‘(d) Within 60 days after enactment of this sub-
section, the Secretary and the Secretary of Agriculture
shall identify lands within their jurisdictions located with-
in the vicinity of the preserve which may be suitable for
exchange for commercial timber lands within the preserve.
In so doing, the Secretary of Agriculture shall seek to
identify for exchange national forest lands that are near
or adjacent to private lands that are already owned by the
commercial timber companies and are of sufficient size
and configuration for commercial timber use. Such na-
tional forest lands shall be located in the Sabine National
Forest in Sabine County, Texas, in the Davy Crockett Na-
tional Forest south of Texas State Highway 7, or in other
sites deemed mutually agreeable. In exercising this ex-
change authority, the Secretary of the Interior and the
Secretary of Agriculture may utilize any authorities or
procedures otherwise available to them in connection with
land exchanges, and which are not inconsistent with the
purposes of this Act. The values of the properties so ex-
changes shall be approximately equal or, if they are not
approximately equal, shall be equalized by the payment of
cash to the grantor or to the respective Secretary as cir-
cumstances require. Such exchanges shall be completed as
soon as possible, but no later than two years after the
date of enactment of this subsection.
‘‘(e) With respect to the 37 acre area owned by the
Louisiana-Pacific Corporation or its subsidiary, Kirby
Forest Industries, Inc., on Big Sandy Creek in Hardin
County, Texas, and now utilized as part of the Indian
Springs Youth Camp (H.G/ King Abstract 822), the Sec-
retary shall not acquire such area without the consent of
the owner so long as the area is used exclusively as a youth
camp.’’.
(c) PUBLICATION
OF BOUNDARY DESCRIPTION.—
Not later than 6 months after the date of enactment of
this subsection, the Secretary shall publish in the Federal
Register a detailed description of the boundary of the Vil-
lage Creek Corridor unit, the Big Sandy Corridor unit,
the Canyonlands unit, the Sabine River Blue Elbow unit,
and the addition to the Lower Neches River unit of the
Big Thicket National Preserve.
(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section
6 of such Act is amended by inserting at the end thereof
the following new sentence: ‘‘Effective upon date of enact-
ment of this paragraph, there is authorized to be appro-
priated such sums as may be necessary to carry out the
purposes of subsections 1(c) and 1(d).’’.
Æ