[Senate Report 109-155]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 247
109th Congress Report
SENATE
1st Session 109-155
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CARIBBEAN NATIONAL FOREST ACT OF 2005
_______
October 19, 2005.--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 H.R. 539]
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was
referred the Act (H.R. 539) to designate certain National
Forest System land in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico as a
component of the National Wilderness Preservation System,
having considered the same, reports favorably thereon without
amendment and recommends that the Act do pass.
PURPOSE OF THE MEASURE
The purpose of H.R. 539 is to designate approximately
10,000 acres of the Caribbean National Forest 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 also is 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
H.R. 539 was introduced by Representative Luis Fortuno on
February 2, 2005. The Subcommittee on Forests and Forest Health
of the House Committee on Resources held a hearing on May 11,
2005. H.R. 539 was reported from the Committee with an
amendment in the nature of a substitute by unanimous consent on
May 18, 2005 (H. Rept. 109-126). H.R. 539 was passed by the
House of Representatives, as amended, under suspension of the
rules on September 13, 2005. On September 14, 2005, H.R. 539
was received in the Senate and referred to the Committee on
Energy and Natural Resources. On September 28, 2005, the
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources ordered H.R. 539
favorably reported, without amendment, by voice vote.
A companion bill, S. 272, was introduced by Senator Clinton
for herself and Senator Schumer on February 3, 2005. At its
business meeting on February 16, 2005, the Committee on Energy
and Natural Resources ordered S. 272 favorably reported, with
amendments (S. Rept. 109-34). The Senate passed S. 272 on July
26, 2005.
A similar bill (S. 2334) also was introduced by Senator
Clinton for herself and Senator Schumer in the 108th Congress.
The Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests held a hearing on
July 21, 2004 (S. Hrg. 108-714). The Committee favorably
reported S. 2334, without amendment, by a voice vote of a
quorum present, on September 28, 2004 (S. Rept. 108-368). The
Senate passed S. 2334 without amendment on October 10, 2004.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in
open business session on September 28, 2005, by a voice vote of
a quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass H.R. 539.
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:
H.R. 539--Caribbean National Forest Act of 2005
CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 539 would have no
significant impact on the federal budget. Enacting the bill
would not affect direct spending or revenues. H.R. 539 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.
H.R. 539 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 H.R. 539.
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 H.R. 539.
EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS
The Administration views on H.R. 539 were included in
testimony received by the House Resources Subcommittee on
Forests and Forest Health at a hearing on May 11, 2005, as
follows:
Statement of Joel Holtrop, Deputy Chief, National Forest System, U.S.
Forest Service, United States Department of Agriculture
Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee, Thank you for
the opportunity to present the Department's views on the four
bills before the Subcommittee today.
The Department supports H.R. 539.
H.R. 539 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 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.
El Yunque is the only tropical rain forest in the National
Forest System. It is 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. The El Toro Wilderness would become the only tropical
forest in the National Forest Wilderness System and the only
wilderness area in Puerto Rico. We believe the designation of
the El Toro Wilderness would enhance the areas solitude,
scenery and pristine qualities of the area.
H.R. 539 specifically provides that hydrologic,
meteorological, climatological, or atmospheric data collection
and transmission facilities may be installed and maintained
within the designated Wilderness area's boundaries when they
are determined by the Secretary to be essential to the
scientific research purposes of the Luquillo Experimental
Forest.
This concludes my statement. I would be pleased to answer
any questions that 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 Act H.R. 539 as ordered
reported.