[Senate Report 112-123]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 285
112th Congress Report
SENATE
2d Session 112-123
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TENNESSEE WILDERNESS ACT
_______
January 13, 2012.--Ordered to be printed
Filed, under authority of the order of the Senate of December 17, 2011
_______
Mr. Bingaman, from the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany S. 1090]
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was
referred the bill (S. 1090) to designate as wilderness certain
public land in the Cherokee National Forest in the State of
Tennessee, and for other purposes, having considered the same,
reports favorably thereon without amendment and recommends that
the bill do pass.
PURPOSE
The purpose of S. 1090 is to designate certain Federal land
in the Cherokee National Forest in the State of Tennessee as
wilderness.
BACKGROUND AND NEED
The 650,000-acre Cherokee National Forest is located in the
Southern Appalachian Mountains of eastern Tennessee. With
650,000 acres, it is the largest tract of public land in the
State, and it adjoins the Great Smokey Mountains National Park
and other national forests in Virginia, North Carolina, and
Georgia.
The first wilderness areas in the Cherokee National Forest
were established in 1975, and subsequent additions have
extended wilderness designation to 66,637 acres in 11 areas.
Through its public forest planning process, the Forest Service
recommended in 2004 that additional lands in the Cherokee
National Forest be designated as wilderness. Since then, the
Forest Service has managed the lands as Wilderness Study Areas
to protect their wilderness characteristics.
Consistent with the Forest Service's recommendations, S.
1090 would designate one new wilderness area and expand five
existing wilderness areas to add a total of 19,556 acres to the
National Wilderness Preservation System. The new wilderness
will respond to the public's desire for primitive recreation
and ecosystem protection on a portion of the remaining roadless
areas within the Cherokee National Forest.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
S. 1090 was introduced by Senators Alexander and Corker on
May 26, 2011. The Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests held
a hearing on the bill on October 3, 2011. At its business
meeting on November 10, 2011, the Committee on Energy and
Natural Resources ordered S. 1090 favorably reported without
amendment.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in open
business session on November 10, 2011, by a voice vote of a
quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 1090.
Senators Lee and Paul asked to be recorded as opposing the
measure.
SUMMARY OF S. 1090
S. 1090 would designate approximately 19,556 acres of
Federal land in the Cherokee National Forest in Tennessee as
wilderness, to be administered in accordance with the
Wilderness Act of 1964. As generally depicted on referenced
maps, the bill would designate approximately 9,038 acres as the
new Upper Bald River Wilderness; 348 acres as an addition to
the Big Frog Wilderness, 966 acres as additions to the Little
Frog Mountain Wilderness; 2,922 acres as an addition to the
Sampson Mountain Wilderness; 4,446 acres as an addition to the
Big Laurel Branch Wilderness; and 1,836 acres as an addition to
the Joyce Kilmer-Slickrock Wilderness.
COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS
The following estimate of costs of this measure has been
provided by the Congressional Budget Office:
S. 1090--Tennessee Wilderness Act of 2011
S. 1090 would designate about 20,000 acres of federal land
in Tennessee as wilderness under the Wilderness Act of 1964.
Based on information provided by the Forest Service, CB0
estimates that implementing the legislation would have no
significant impact on the federal budget. Enacting S. 1090
would not affect direct spending or revenues; therefore, pay-
as-you-go procedures do not apply.
The lands to be added by S. 1090 to the National Wilderness
Preservation System are already owned by the federal government
and are currently being managed to protect their value as
wilderness by the Forest Service. CB0 expects that designating
those areas as wilderness would not increase the costs of
managing or protecting them. In addition, because those lands
are already managed as wilderness, we expect that they would
produce no income from commercial activities over the next 10
years under current law.
S. 1090 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and
would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments.
The CB0 staff contact for this estimate is Jeff LaFave. The
estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant
Director for Budget Analysis.
REGULATORY IMPACT EVALUATION
In compliance with paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee makes the following
evaluation of the regulatory impact which would be incurred in
carrying out S. 1090.
The bill is not a regulatory measure in the sense of
imposing Government-established standards or significant
economic responsibilities on private individuals and
businesses.
No personal information would be collected in administering
the program. Therefore, there would be no impact on personal
privacy.
Little, if any, additional paperwork would result from the
enactment of S. 1090, as ordered reported.
CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING
S. 1090, as reported, does not contain any congressionally
directed spending items, limited tax benefits, or limited
tariff benefits as defined in rule XLIV of the Standing Rules
of the Senate.
EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS
The views of the Administration were included in testimony
received by the Committee at the October 3, 2011 hearing, which
is provided below.
Statement Of Thomas Tidwell, Chief, Forest Service, Department of
Agriculture
Chairman Wyden, Ranking Member Barrasso, and members of the
Subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to appear before
you today to provide the Department of Agriculture's views on
S. 1344, the ``Arizona Wallow Fire Recovery and Monitoring
Act'' and S. 1090, the ``Tennessee Wilderness Act of 2011.''
s. 1090, the tennessee wilderness act of 2011
S. 1090, the ``Tennessee Wilderness Act of 2011,'' would
designate seven parcels totaling 19,586 acres as wilderness in
the Cherokee National Forest in east Tennessee. The Department
strongly supports this legislation.
S. 1090 would create one new wilderness area and expand the
boundaries of five existing wilderness areas:
(1) The Upper Bald River Wilderness includes 9,038 acres
and contains headwaters of streams that drain into the Tellico
River.
(2) The Big Frog Addition to the Big Frog Wilderness
includes 348 acres and is a mountain ridge containing the
headwaters of Payne Branch, a tributary of Tumbling Creek which
is in turn a tributary of the Ocoee River.
(3) The Little Frog Mountain Additions, NW and NE, to the
Little Frog Mountain Wilderness include 996 acres including the
headwaters of Deweese Creek and portions of Dry Pond Lead
Trail.
(4) The Sampson Mountain Addition to the Sampson Mountain
Wilderness includes 2,922 acres including a mountain ridge and
the Hell Hollow Trail.
(5) The Big Laurel Branch Addition to the Big Laurel
Wilderness includes 4,446 acres and portions of the Appalachian
National Scenic Trail.
(6) Joyce Kilmer--Slickrock Addition to the Joyce Kilmer--
Slickrock Wilderness includes 1,836 acres along a mountain
ridge and a portion of the Stiffknee trail.
Wilderness management is an important part of the Forest
Service mission. There are currently 11 designated wildernesses
covering 66,600 acres in the Cherokee National Forest. The
areas proposed for wilderness designation in S. 1090 were
recommended for wilderness status by the Forest Service in the
development of its comprehensive 2004 Land and Resource
Management Plan (Forest Plan) for the Cherokee National Forest
and have been managed as recommended wilderness since that
time.
Public involvement was an integral part of the Forest Plan
revision process. Individuals, groups, other agencies and
various organizations took advantage of the opportunities to
provide input into the overall management of the Forest,
including areas proposed for wilderness designation. The final
Forest Plan reflects years of collaboration and public
participation. Congressional designation of these areas as
wilderness would be the culmination of this process.
Thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today
and I look forward to answering any questions you may have.
CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW
In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee notes that no
changes in existing law are made by the bill S. 1090 as ordered
reported.