Statement of Administration Policy: H.R. 4309 - Smith River National Recreation Area Act

(House)
(Bosco (D) California)

H.R. 4309 would establish a 300, 000-acre National Recreation Area in the Six Rivers National Forest in northern California, to be administered by the Secretary of Agriculture. While the Administration generally supports H.R. 4309 as introduced, the Administration opposes the bill as reported by the Interior and Insular Affairs Committee because this version would:

—  prohibit mining on valid existing claims. The Secretary of Agriculture would be required to compensate existing claimants for this taking of their private property rights. There are over 5,000 claims within the boundary of the proposed National Recreation Area. One firm alone has spent approximately $20 million just on mineral documentation. While the Department of Agriculture does not have an estimate of the value of these mining claims, such compensation would be very costly;

—  prohibit most timber harvest within the corridors of designated wild and scenic rivers. Under current law, the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act would allow harvesting on rivers classified as recreational and scenic. Without the prohibition, harvesting would be allowed on approximately 100 miles of the designated rivers. The prohibition would result in 11,500 acres of timbered land and 172,500,000 board feet of standing timber being unavailable for harvest; and

—  provide unjustified Federal payments to local counties at a cost totalling $10 million.

If H.R. 4309 is presented to the President in its current form, the Secretary of Agriculture would recommend a veto.