[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1313 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
108th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1313
To establish the Congaree Swamp National Park in the State of South
Carolina, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
June 23, 2003
Mr. Hollings introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish the Congaree Swamp National Park in the State of South
Carolina, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Congaree National Park Act of
2003''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.
(a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
(1) Congaree Swamp National Monument, consisting of 22,200
acres, was established in 1976 to preserve the finest remaining
example of an old-growth southern hardwood forest in North
America;
(2) Congaree Swamp contains a variety of rare ecological,
geological, archaeological, scenic, historical, and wildlife
components, including--
(A) the largest remaining tract of old-growth
bottomland hardwood forest in the United States, the
remnant of an ecosystem that once covered more than
24,000,000 acres of river bottom from Maryland to
Texas;
(B) extensive stands of old-growth bottomland
hardwoods and rare examples of the globally endangered
longleaf pine forest;
(C) important habitat for more than 700 species of
plants, 173 species of birds, 51 kinds of reptiles and
amphibians, and 53 species of fish (including rare,
threatened, and endangered species), and 10 species of
rare plants; and
(D) a natural setting of national and international
significance;
(3) the Monument--
(A) provides opportunities for educational and
recreational activities and research; and
(B) is used for hiking, camping, fishing, and
unconfined wilderness experiences (including
opportunities for solitude);
(4) certain private land adjacent to the Monument--
(A) has been determined by the State of South
Carolina to contain outstanding recreational areas and
wildlife habitat;
(B) provides essential habitat for declining
species of fish, wildlife, and plants, including
colonial waterbirds and neotropical migratory
songbirds; and
(C) contains a variety of archaeological and
historical resources dating from 10,000 years ago to
the 19th century;
(5) the Monument and adjacent private land contain cultural
resources important for interpreting life during the Colonial
and Antebellum periods, including Buycke's levee, which--
(A) served as a cattle mound and a refuge for
livestock; and
(B) has a doughnut-shaped construction, making it
the only example of that type of construction known to
exist; and
(6) land in and adjacent to the Monument is recognized--
(A) as playing an important role in the history of
the United States from the explorations of Hernando de
Soto to the fall of Columbia, South Carolina in the
Civil War;
(B) for offering natural, ecological, wildlife,
cultural, scenic, historic, wilderness, and
recreational resources; and
(C) as being a fragile and irreplaceable ecological
system that could be destroyed if not carefully
protected.
(b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are--
(1) to expand the boundary of the Monument by approximately
4,576 acres and redesignate the Monument as a national park
to--
(A) protect and interpret an intact bottomland
hardwood ecosystem;
(B) promote the recovery of longleaf pine in upland
habitats;
(C) restore ecological functions; and
(D) protect native populations of fish, wildlife,
and plants;
(2) to protect and interpret the site of McCord's Ferry and
other cultural features that illustrate the evolving
agricultural and commercial practices in the South during the
Colonial and Antebellum periods; and
(3) to provide opportunities for scientific research and to
enhance visitor opportunities at the Monument.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Map.--The term ``map'' means the map entitled
``Congaree National Park Boundary Map'', numbered 178/80015,
and dated April 2003.
(2) Park.--The term ``Park'' means the Congaree National
Park established by section 4(a).
(3) Plan.--The term ``plan'' means the general management
plan developed under section 5(b).
(4) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of the Interior.
(5) State.--The term ``State'' means the State of South
Carolina.
SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF CONGAREE NATIONAL PARK.
(a) Establishment.--There is established in the State the Congaree
National Park.
(b) Composition.--The Park shall be composed of--
(1) the Congaree Swamp National Monument; and
(2) approximately 4,576 acres of land adjacent to the
Congaree Swamp National Monument, as depicted on the map.
(c) Boundary Survey.--As soon as practicable after the date of
enactment of this Act and subject to the availability of funds, the
Secretary shall complete an official survey of the Park.
(d) Map and Legal Description.--
(1) Availability of map.--The map shall be on file and
available for public inspection in the appropriate offices of
the National Park Service.
(2) Submission to congress.--As soon as practicable after
the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit
to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate
and the Committee on Resources of the House of Representatives
the map and a legal description of the Park.
(3) Effect.--The map and legal description shall have the
same force and effect as if included in this Act, except that
the Secretary may correct any errors in the map or legal
description.
(e) Acquisition of Land.--The Secretary may acquire by donation,
purchase from a willing seller with donated or appropriated funds,
transfer, or exchange, land or an interest in land for inclusion in the
Park.
(f) Boundary Revision.--
(1) In general.--Subject to paragraph (2), the Secretary
may make minor revisions to the boundary of the Park by
publishing in the Federal Register a revised map or boundary
description.
(2) Limitation.--The total area of the Park shall not
exceed 30,000 acres.
SEC. 5. ADMINISTRATION.
(a) In General.--The Secretary shall administer the Park in
accordance with this Act and the laws generally applicable to units of
the National Park System, including--
(1) the Act of August 25, 1916 (16 U.S.C. 1 et seq.); and
(2) the Act of August 21, 1935 (16 U.S.C. 461 et seq.).
(b) General Management Plan.--
(1) In general.--Not later than the end of the third fiscal
year after the date on which funds are made available to carry
out this Act, the Secretary shall prepare a general management
plan for the Park.
(2) Inclusions.--The plan shall include a recommendation on
whether the boundary of the Congaree National Park Wilderness
should be expanded.
(3) Applicable law.--The Secretary shall prepare the plan
in accordance with--
(A) section 12(b) of the Act of August 18, 1970 (16
U.S.C. 1a-7(b)); and
(B) any other applicable law.
(4) Submission to congress.--On completion of the plan, the
Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Energy and Natural
Resources of the Senate and the Committee on Resources of the
House of Representatives the plan.
(c) Fishing.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary shall permit sport fishing
on land and water within the Park in accordance with applicable
Federal and State laws.
(2) Limitations.--
(A) Regulations.--The Secretary may designate by
regulation areas in which, and periods during which, no
fishing shall be permitted for reasons of public
safety, administration, fish or wildlife management, or
public use and enjoyment of the Park.
(B) Consultation.--Except in an emergency, the
Secretary shall consult with the appropriate State
agency before promulgating regulations under
subparagraph (A).
SEC. 6. DESIGNATION OF CONGAREE NATIONAL PARK WILDERNESS.
(a) In General.--The Congaree Swamp National Monument Wilderness in
the State shall be designated as the ``Congaree National Park
Wilderness''.
(b) References.--Any reference to the Congaree Swamp National
Monument Wilderness in a law (including regulations), map, document,
paper, or other record of the United States shall be considered to be a
reference to the Congaree National Park Wilderness.
SEC. 7. EFFECT.
Nothing in this Act--
(1) affects the use of private land adjacent to the Park;
or
(2) preempts the authority of the State with respect to the
regulation of hunting, fishing, boating, and wildlife
management on private land or water outside the boundaries of
the Park.
SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are necessary
to carry out this Act.
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