Statement of Administration Policy: H.R. 2369 - Flint Hills Prairie National Monument

SENT 10/7/91 and SENT to House 10/8/91
(House Rules)
(Glickman (D) Kansas and 14 others)

The Administration strongly opposes enactment of H.R. 2369, which would establish a ranch site in Kansas as a unit of the National Park System. The National Park Service and other non-Federal entities already manage over 30 publicly accessible areas that contain prairie resources. A 1990 National Park Service study has concluded that this site does not meet its longstanding criteria for a manageable, cost-effective prairie ecosystem unit. The proposed site would not ensure the preservation and sustainability of an intact tallgrass prairie ecosystem because it:

• lacks the overall size necessary to support the restoration of large populations of free and roaming herbivore, such as bison and elk;
  
  
• lacks a complete watershed system;
  
  
• is bisected by a State highway; and
  
  
• is adjacent to oil and natural gas fields with associated operations and pipelines.

The Administration also objects to the potential costs of H.R. 2369. The National Park Service study identifies an absence of visitor services infrastructure in the surrounding area. The Park Service projects that the costs of land acquisition and development of adequate public access and visitor facilities at this site would further impact already stretched budgetary resources at the existing 358 units of the National Park System.

The study does indicate that the site may contain cultural resources that could be eligible for designation as a national landmark that would not be part of the National Park System. The Administration recommends that the National Park Service be allowed to complete its study process to determine if cultural resources of national significance eligible for landmark status are present at this site before Congress acts on H.R. 2369.