I
104TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 1256
To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to provide funds to the Palisades
Interstate Park Commission for acquisition of land in the Sterling Forest
area of the New York/New Jersey Highlands Region, and for other
purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH 15, 1995
Mr. TORRICELLI (for himself, Mr. HINCHEY, and Mr. GILMAN) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Resources
A BILL
To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to provide funds
to the Palisades Interstate Park Commission for acquisi-
tion of land in the Sterling Forest area of the New
York/New Jersey Highlands Region, and for other pur-
poses.
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 ‘‘Sterling Forest Protec-
tion Act of 1995’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds that—
(1) the Palisades Interstate Park Commission
was established pursuant to a joint resolution of the
75th Congress approved in 1937 (Public Resolution
No. 65; ch. 706; 50 Stat. 719), and chapter 170 of
the Laws of 1937 of the State of New York and
chapter 148 of the Laws of 1937 of the State of
New Jersey;
(2) the Palisades Interstate Park Commission
is responsible for the management of 23 parks and
historic sites in New York and New Jersey, compris-
ing over 82,000 acres;
(3) over 8,000,000 visitors annually seek out-
door recreational opportunities within the Palisades
Park System;
(4) Sterling Forest is a biologically diverse open
space on the New Jersey border comprising approxi-
mately 17,500 acres, and is a highly significant wa-
tershed area for the State of New Jersey, providing
the source for clean drinking water for 25 percent
of the State;
(5) Sterling Forest is an important outdoor rec-
reational asset in the northeastern United States,
within the most densely populated metropolitan re-
gion in the Nation;
(6) Sterling Forest supports a mixture of hard-
wood forests, wetlands, lakes, glaciated valleys, is
strategically located on a wildlife migratory route,
and provides important habitat for 27 rare or en-
dangered species;
(7) the protection of Sterling Forest would
greatly enhance the Appalachian National Scenic
Trail, a portion of which passes through Sterling
Forest, and would provide for enhanced recreational
opportunities through the protection of lands which
are an integral element of the trail and which would
protect important trail viewsheds;
(8) stewardship and management costs for
units of the Palisades Park System are paid for by
the States of New York and New Jersey; thus, the
protection of Sterling Forest through the Palisades
Interstate Park Commission will involve a minimum
of Federal funds;
(9) given the nationally significant watershed,
outdoor recreational, and wildlife qualities of Ster-
ling Forest, the demand for open space in the north-
eastern United States, and the lack of open space in
the densely populated tri-state region, there is a
clear Federal interest in acquiring the Sterling For-
est for permanent protection of the watershed, out-
door recreational resources, flora and fauna, and
open space; and
(10) such an acquisition would represent a cost
effective investment, as compared with the costs that
would be incurred to protect drinking water for the
region should the Sterling Forest be developed.
SEC. 3. PURPOSES.
The purposes of this Act are—
(1) to establish the Sterling Forest Reserve in
the State of New York to protect the significant wa-
tershed, wildlife, and recreational resources within
the New York-New Jersey highlands region;
(2) to authorize Federal funding, through the
Department of the Interior, for a portion of the ac-
quisition costs for the Sterling Forest Reserve;
(3) to direct the Palisades Interstate Park
Commission to convey to the Secretary of the Inte-
rior certain interests in lands acquired within the
Reserve; and
(4) to provide for the management of the Ster-
ling Forest Reserve by the Palisades Interstate Park
Commission.
SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act: