[Senate Report 108-368]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 727
108th Congress Report
SENATE
2d Session 108-368
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CARIBBEAN NATIONAL FOREST ACT OF 2004
_______
September 28, 2004.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Domenici, from the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany S. 2334]
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was
referred the bill (S. 2334) to designate certain National
Forest System land in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico as
components of the National Wilderness Preservation System,
having considered the same, reports favorably thereon without
amendment and recommends that the bill do pass.
PURPOSE OF THE MEASURE
The purpose of S. 2334 is to designate approximately 10,000
acres of the Caribbean National Forest System land in the
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico as a component of the National
Wilderness Preservation System.
BACKGROUND AND NEED
The Caribbean National Forest (CNF) has long been
recognized as a special area that is worthy of protection. The
Spanish Crown proclaimed much of the current CNF as a forest
reserve in 1824. One hundred years ago, President Theodore
Roosevelt reasserted the protection of the CNF. The CNF has the
largest number of species of native trees (with 240) in the
National Forest System. It contains 50 varieties of orchids and
over 150 species of ferns. The area is also rich in wildlife
with over 100 species of vertebrates, including the severely
endangered Puerto Rican parrot.
The El Toro Wilderness would be the only tropical forest
Wilderness in the National Forest System and the first
Wilderness in Puerto Rico. Wilderness designation will ensure
that the forest home to these species will remain protected. It
also will protect the major watersheds in the CNF which provide
water to over 800,000 residents. The designation will enhance
protections for the endangered Puerto Rican parrot and permit
recovery efforts to continue.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
S. 2334 was introduced by Senator Clinton for herself and
Senator Schumer on April 22, 2004. The Subcommittee on Public
Lands and Forests held a hearing on July 21, 2004. A similar
House bill, H.R. 1723, was introduced by Puerto Rico's Resident
Commissioner, Anibal Acevedo-Vila, on April 10, 2003. The
Forest and Forest Health Subcommittee held a hearing on July
24, 2003.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in
open business session on September 15, 2004, by a unanimous
voice vote of a quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass
S. 2334, if amended as described herein.
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS
Section 1 provides the short title.
Section 2 defines key terms.
Section 3 designates approximately 10,000 acres of the CNF
as the El Toro Wilderness and directs the Secretary of
Agriculture to manage the area in accordance to the Wilderness
Act of 1964 (16 U.S.C. 1131), subject to valid existing rights.
Subsection (d) provides that nothing in the bill precludes the
installation and maintenance of certain data collection and
remote transmission facilities where the Secretary determines
they are essential to the scientific research purposes of the
Luquillo Experimental Forest.
COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS
The following estimate of costs of this measure has been
provided by the Congressional Budget Office.
S. 2334--Caribbean National Forest Act of 2004
CBO estimates that enacting S. 2334 would have no
significant impact on the federal budget. Enacting the bill
would not affect direct spending or revenues. S. 2334 contains
no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in
the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would have no significant
impact on the budgets of state, local, or tribal governments.
S. 2334 would designate as wilderness approximately 10,000
acres of land within the Caribbean National Forest/Luquillo
Experimental Forest, located in Puerto Rico. Based on
information from the Forest Service, CBO estimates that
designating that area as wilderness would not significantly
affect the agency's costs to manage it. We also estimate that
the proposed designation would have no impact on offsetting
receipts from programs to develop federally owned natural
resources.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Megan Carroll.
This estimate was approved by Peter H. Fontaine, 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. 2334.
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. 2334.
EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS
On September 11, 2003, the Committee on Energy and Natural
Resources requested legislative reports from the Department of
Agriculture and the Office of Management and Budget setting
forth Executive agency recommendations on S. 2334. When the
reports become available, the Chairman will request that they
be printed in the Congressional Record for the advice of the
Senate. These reports had not been received when this report
was filed. The testimony provided by the Department of the
Interior at the Subcommittee hearing on S. 2334 follows:
Statement of Mark Rey, National Forest System Forest Service, U.S.
Department of Agriculture
Mr. Chairman, thank you for the opportunity to appear
before you today to provide the Department's views on S. 2334
to designate certain National Forest System land in the
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico as components of the National
Wilderness Preservation System.
S. 2334 would designate approximately 10,000 acres of land
in the Caribbean National Forest/Luquillo Experimental Forest
in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico as the El Toro Wilderness
and as a component of the National Wilderness Preservation
System. The Department supports S. 2334.
The bill would provide that designation of the Wilderness
shall not preclude within the area's boundaries: installation
and maintenance of hydrologic, meteorological, climatological,
or atmospheric data collection and transmission facilities when
they are essential to the scientific research purposes of the
Luquillo Experimental Forest.
The Caribbean National Forest encompasses over 28,000 acres
of land, making it the largest block of public land on the
island of Puerto Rico. The Forest, locally known as El Yunque,
is one of the most popular recreation sites in Puerto Rico and
the National Forest System. Almost a million tourists, from
Puerto Rico, the U.S. mainland, and abroad experience this
tropical rain forest environment each year.
It is the only tropical rain forest in the National Forest
System and the most accessible in the world. It is also home to
the Puerto Rican parrot, one of the 10 most endangered birds in
the world, and nearly 240 species of trees and 120 terrestrial
animals--four of which are also listed as endangered species.
The 1997 revised Land and Resource Management Plan for the
Caribbean National Forest/Luquillo Experimental Forest
recommended wilderness designation for the 10,000-acre El Toro
area. We believe the designation of the El Toro Wilderness
would enhance the area's solitude, scenery and pristine
qualities of the area. The El Toro Wilderness would become the
only tropical forest in the National Forest Wilderness System
and the only wilderness area in Puerto Rico.
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. 2334 as ordered
reported.