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will be incorporated when reprints are needed. None of these costs are presently part of the park's budget.

Much has been said and talked about Kris' death. The death of anyone so young is tragic, and to lose someone under these circumstances is even more so for his family, friends, co-workers and all who care for and about National Parks. By helping the public understand the work and dedication of NPS law enforcement rangers and all NPS employees-through well-planned and designed educational exhibits and signs, perhaps we can prevent or minimize some of the dangers we all face in protecting these great American places and stories.

S. 1060 and H.R. 1577 are nearly identical. There are some differences in style and format. S. 1060 does contain a grammatical error that was corrected in the House bill. All references to "visitors' center" should read "visitor center". We look forward to working with this committee and the House to reach consensus on the language that will allow us to remember this fine young man.

H.R. 255

Mr. Chairman, thank you for the opportunity to present the views of the Department of the Interior on H.R. 255, a bill to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to grant an easement to facilitate access to the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center. The Department supports H.R. 255 as passed by the House. The bill would grant an easement by the National Park Service (NPS) to Otoe County, Nebraska for the construction and maintenance of an access road from state and county roads to the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Trails and Visitors Center in Nebraska City, Nebraska. The design, construction, and maintenance of the access road is to be done at no expense to the Federal government.

The Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center is currently under construction. It is scheduled to be completed in early 2004 with the grand opening set for July 30, 2004. This coincides with the Lewis and Clark signature event in Nebraska. The center will display the flora and fauna documented by the Lewis and Clark expedition across the country. The NPS recommended that the center be located in Nebraska City in 1991. That same year, the Park Service acquired a 65-acre tract of land for the center, a site adjacent to Nebraska City, Nebraska.

H.R. 255 would facilitate the granting of an easement necessary to create an access road across public land to link the center to the main roads in the area. NPS would grant the easement to the Otoe County government so that the county can construct and maintain the road to the visitor center. When completed, this access road would provide the access from both Nebraska State Highway 2 and Otoe County Road 67 for those visitors to the Missouri River Basin Lewis & Clark Interpretive Trails & Visitors Center. The bicentennial commemoration of the Lewis and Clark Corps of Discovery is expected to draw millions of Americans to sites along the trail over the next several years. This new center, a permanent facility, will be one of the stops many will make along the trail.

H.R. 1012

Mr. Chairman, thank you for the opportunity to present the Department of the Interior's views on H.R. 1012, a bill to establish the Carter G. Woodson Home National Historic Site in the District of Columbia.

The Department recognizes the appropriateness of establishing the Carter G. Woodson home as a unit of the National Park System. The site was found to be nationally significant, as well as suitable and feasible for addition to the system, in a study conducted by the National Park Service and sent to Congress earlier this year. However, we recommend that the committee defer action on H.R. 1012 during the 108th Congress. The Administration is continuing to place a priority on reducing the National Park System's deferred maintenance backlog and wants to ensure that funding is not diverted to pay for the cost of a new unit of the National Park System, which would include acquiring and rehabilitating property along with operating and maintaining the site.

Dr. Carter G. Woodson was a prominent American historian and is generally considered the preeminent historian of the African-American experience in the United States. Born in 1875 to former slaves, Woodson began his formal education at age 20 after being denied a public education in his home town of Canton, Virginia, and earned several degrees from institutions of higher learning. He became the second African-American, after W.E.B. DuBois, to earn a doctorate from Harvard. During much of Dr. Woodson's life, there was little information about African-American life and history. Dr. Woodson's research uncovered history that helped educate the American public about the contributions of African Americans to our Nation's history and culture.

From 1915 until 1950, Dr. Woodson lived at 1538 Ninth Street, Northwest, a Victorian-style row house built in 1890 in the Shaw neighborhood of Washington, D.C. His home was also the headquarters of the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History, which he founded. The organization, which was renamed the Association for the Study of African-American Life and History, continued to operate out of the home until 1970. The association still owns the home, but it is unoccupied and in need of restoration. The home was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1976.

The National Park Service conducted a special resource study on the Carter G. Woodson home during 2001-2002, pursuant to P.L. 106-349. The study found that in addition to being nationally significant, the site was suitable and feasible for inclusion in the National Park Šystem. The suitability finding was based on the determination that no existing unit of the National Park System provides the opportunity to present the story of Dr. Woodson and his legacy, or interprets African-American history as a general subject. It was also based on the fact that the home offers the chance to interpret other aspects of the community in which Dr. Woodson worked and lived, which has numerous historically significant resources associated with achievements of African-Americans. The site was found feasible for inclusion, with qualifications. Along with acquiring the Woodson house itself, to make this a viable park unit, the National Park Service would need to acquire three adjacent properties to the north for administrative, interpretive, and visitor service needs, and to meet accessibility requirements. The study estimates that the one-time cost of acquiring and developing the site would be in the range of $5 million to $6.5 million, and the annual cost of operating and maintaining the site would be approximately $500,000.

H.R. 1012 provides authority for the Secretary of the Interior to establish the Carter G. Woodson home as a national historic site after acquiring a majority of the property within the proposed boundary of the unit. The boundary encompasses the Woodson home and the three adjoining houses to the north. The bill also authorizes the Secretary to enter into certain agreements. One agreement would be with the Shiloh Community Development Corporation to redevelop the property. This corporation is a non-profit organization that intends to build senior housing on the same block as the Woodson home; discussions have begun between the National Park Service and the corporation about a potential development partnership which holds the possibility of providing a cost-effective means of restoring the property.

Another potential agreement permitted by the bill would enable the Association for the Study of African-American Life and History to use a portion of the historic site for its own administrative purposes. The bill would also allow partnerships with public and private entities for the purpose of fostering interpretation of AfricanAmerican heritage in the Shaw area. This provision is intended to facilitate connection of the Woodson home to other significant historical and cultural sites in the area for purposes of promoting education and tourism. These provisions are all consistent with the findings of the study.

Mr. Chairman, that concludes my statement. I would be pleased to answer any questions that you or other members of the committee may have.

Senator THOMAS. Thank you. Thank you for your brevity. That's good.

Then let's go to Mr. Kearney.

STATEMENT OF CHRISTOPHER KEARNEY, DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR POLICY, MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Mr. KEARNEY. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Good afternoon. Thank you for the opportunity to present the Department of the Interior's views on S. 546, the Paleontological Resources Preservation Act. The Department supports the purpose of the bill, but would like to work with the committee on amendments that we provide at the end of our testimony.

In recent years, public interest in fossils has grown rapidly, and with this interest, the commercial values of fossils has also increased. The unfortunate consequence has been a loss of fossils from Federal lands through theft and vandalism and from the United States itself through international trafficking. These crimes

reduce scientific and public access to scientifically significant and instructive fossils, and destroy the contextual information critical for interpreting the fossils.

Under the agency's existing regulations and policies, vertebrate fossils may only be collected from lands under their respective jurisdictions with a permit for scientific and educational purposes. S. 546 would codify this collection policy and standardize the permitting requirements among the various agencies. It would ensure that these fossils are retained as public property and carried in suitable repositories for current and future generations of scientists and the public to study and enjoy.

Scientists use the information from specimens and repository collections to build our understanding of the history of life and physical environment on earth. Millions of visitors enjoy the displays offered by public repositories of the most spectacular and educational fossils. Many are obtained from public lands.

One exception to the permitting requirements under S. 546 is for the casual collection of certain paleontological resources for personal, scientific, educational and recreational uses. This important provision would authorize the Secretary to allow the public to casually collect common invertebrate and plant fossils without a permit on certain Federal lands.

In other words, under this bill, visitors to lands who enjoy paleontology as a hobby could continue to collect for their personal use a wide variety of plant and common invertebrate fossils. The casual collection of such fossils can be an important component of the public's enjoyment of some Federal lands and is generally consistent with scientific and educational goals. S. 546 would codify the Land Management Agency's existing prohibition on commercial fossil collecting from Federal lands, and by prohibiting such collection, this legislation ensures that vertebrate fossils on Federal lands remain in public hands, that they are not bought or sold, and that the Federal Government does not have to use taxpayer funds to purchase the resources, purchase fossils found on lands it owns.

In conclusion, Mr. Chairman, we look forward to working with the committee on our remaining questions with respect to amendments, and would be happy to answer any questions that you may have.

[The prepared statement of Mr. Kearney follows:]

PREPARED STATEMENT OF CHRISTOPHER KEARNEY, DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR POLICY, MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Mr. Chairman, thank you for the opportunity to present the Department of the Interior's views on S. 546, the Paleontological Resources Preservation Act. The Department supports the purpose of S. 546 to protect paleontological resources on federal lands but would like to work with the Committee on the amendments provided at the end of this testimony.

S. 546 adopts the recommendation of a report submitted to Congress in May 2000, titled "Fossils on Federal and Indian Lands” (the Interagency Fossil Report). Concerned about the lack of unified policies and standards for the management of fossils on federal lands and the resulting deterioration and loss of fossils, Congress directed the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Bureau of Land Management, the Bureau of Reclamation, the Fish and Wildlife Service, the Forest Service, the National Park Service, the Smithsonian Institution and the U.S. Geological Survey to develop a report assessing the need for a unified federal management policy. During development of the report, three major themes emerged from the public comments received.

First, a majority of people who commented viewed fossils on federal lands as part of America's heritage. Second, they recommended that vertebrate fossils continue to be protected as rare and within the ownership of the federal government. Third, they supported the involvement of amateurs in the science and enjoyment of fossils, including the availability of most plant and invertebrate fossils for casual collection on lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service. To meet these and other goals, the report recommended the establishment of a framework for fossil management, analogous to the Archeological Resources Protection Act of 1979 (ARPA).

Fossils are non-renewable resources which, with the exception of microfossils and those that make up commercially developed minerals, such as coal, are relatively rare and have significant scientific, educational and recreational values. Federal lands, the majority of which are in the western part of the United States, contain a rich array of plant, invertebrate and vertebrate fossils. For more than a century, land management agencies have managed fossils within their unique missions. These agencies have protected all vertebrate fossils, requiring permits for their excavation and removal, with the stipulation that the resources remain in federal ownership in perpetuity.

In recent years, public interest in fossils has grown rapidly and with this interest, the commercial value of fossils also has increased. The unfortunate consequence has been a loss of fossils from federal lands, through theft and vandalism, and from the United States itself, through international trafficking. These crimes reduce scientific and public access to scientifically significant and instructive fossils and destroy the contextual information critical for interpreting the fossils.

S. 546 would provide a unified federal policy to ensure that scientifically significant fossils on certain federal lands are inventoried, monitored, protected, and curated consistently, while accommodating the agencies' distinct missions. The provisions in this bill do not apply to Indian lands. As we understand it, the bill, in large measure, reflects the current practice of agencies in the management of fossils on federal land. Streamlining the practices of the various land management agencies into a unified approach will enhance overall management of fossils on federal lands by reducing public confusion and improving collaboration and cooperation among agencies, scientists, and the public.

Under the agencies' existing regulations and policies, vertebrate fossils may only be collected with a permit for scientific and educational purposes. S. 546 would codify this collection policy and standardize the permitting requirements among the various agencies, as recommended in the Interagency Fossil Report. It would ensure that these fossils are retained as public property and curated in suitable repositories for current and future generations of scientists and the public to study and enjoy. Scientists use the information from specimens in repository collections to build on our understanding of the history of life and physical environment on Earth. Millions of visitors enjoy the displays offered by public repositories of their most spectacular and educational fossils, many originating from federal lands.

One exception to the permitting requirements under S. 546 is for casual collection of certain paleontological resources for personal, scientific, educational and recreational uses. This important provision would authorize the Secretary to allow the public to casually collect common invertebrate and plant fossils without a permit on certain federal lands. In other words, under this bill, visitors to BLM lands who enjoy paleontology as a hobby could continue to collect and keep for their personal use a wide variety of plant and common invertebrate fossils. The casual collection of such fossils can be an important component of the public's enjoyment of some federal lands and is generally consistent with scientific and educational goals.

S. 546 would codify the land managing agencies' existing prohibition on commercial fossil collecting from federal lands. By prohibiting such collecting, this legislation ensures that vertebrate fossils on federal lands, a rich part of America's heritage, remain in public hands, that they are not bought or sold, and that the federal government does not have to use taxpayer funds to purchase fossils found on lands that it owns.

S. 546 would provide additional protection by prohibiting the excavation, damage, transport or sale of paleontological resources located on federal lands. Criminal penalties for these acts would be set by classification, following fine and imprisonment penalties imposed under federal law.

Keeping an appropriate inventory and monitoring are crucial components of fossil management. S. 546 would provide the Secretary with the flexibility to keep an inventory and monitor exposed fossils based on the site-specific geology and paleontology of their management units. The exposure of fossils by erosion varies, based on the type of rock in which they are found and local climate. Some fossils remain ex

posed at the surface for decades or centuries, while others weather away soon after exposure depending on the nature of their preservation.

S. 546 would balance the need for public access to fossils with the recognition that the unlimited disclosure of certain information about particularly significant fossils can lead to the theft or vandalism of those fossils. In the National Parks Omnibus Management Act of 1998, Congress authorized the National Park Service to withhold information about the nature and specific location of paleontological resources in park units unless certain criteria were met. S. 546 would extend this same authority to the other federal land managing agencies.

Last Congress, the Department testified before this Committee in support of the purpose of S. 2727, a similar bill, while also citing a number of concerns. After the hearing, the Department provided the Committee with general comments and suggested amendments to address our concerns with the bill. We appreciate that S. 546, as introduced, includes the vast majority of our proposed amendments. At the end of this testimony, we offer additional amendments for the Committee's further consideration. We look forward to working with the Committee on these remaining issues.

As the prices of fossils rise, the federal land managing agencies will be under increasing pressure to both protect scientifically significant fossil resources and to ensure their appropriate availability to the general public. S. 546 would create a single legislative framework for paleontological resource management that will facilitate sharing of resources, personnel and partnership_opportunities across agency lines. Mr. Chairman, this concludes my statement. I would be pleased to answer any questions you or other members of the Committee may have.

Proposed Amendments for S. 546

On p. 3, line 1, after "personal" strike "(" insert ",".

On p. 3, line 2, after "recreational" strike ")".

On p. 3, line 13, after "means lands" insert "owned, controlled, or".

-clarifies the bill's inclusion of all lands (except Indian lands) managed by the Departments

On p. 4, line 14, strike "Rehabilitation" insert "Repatriation"

On p. 5, line 17, after "Federal lands" insert "owned, controlled, or".

-clarifies generally where casual collecting may be allowed

On p. 8, line 4, after "permit" insert "issued under this Act".

-ensures that the permit referenced is the permit established under this Act On p. 8, line 8, after "Acts;" insert "Criminal"

-clarifies that Section 9 addresses criminal penalties, in contrast with Section 10 which addresses civil penalties

On p. 9, line 8, strike "Penalities" insert "Penalties"

On p. 10, line 19, after "involved.”, insert ”, as determined by the Secretary.".
On p. 11, line 12, strike entire subsection (b), insert:

"(b) PETITION FOR JUDICIAL REVIEW; COLLECTION OF UNPAID ASSESSMENTS.

(1) JUDICIAL REVIEW-Any person against whom an order is issued assessing a penalty under subsection (a) may file a petition for judicial review of the order in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia or in the district in which the violation is alleged to have occurred within the 30-day period beginning on the date the order making the assessment was issued. The Secretary shall promptly file in such court a certified copy of the record on which the order was issued. The court shall hear the action on the record made before the Secretary and shall sustain the action if it is supported by substantial evidence on the record considered as a whole.

(2) FAILURE TO PAY—If any person fails to pay a penalty under this section within thirty (30) days

(A) after the order making the assessment has become final and the person has not filed a petition for judicial review of the order in accordance with paragraph (1); or

(B) after a court in an action brought in paragraph (1) has entered a final judgment upholding the assessment of the penalty,

the Secretary may request the Attorney General to institute a civil action in a district court of the United States for any district in which the person is found, resides, or transacts business, to collect the penalty (plus interest at currently prevailing

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