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3d Session

7 No. 2646

EXTENSION OF BOUNDARIES OF WIND CAVE NATIONAL PARK, S. DAK.

FEBRUARY 13, 1931.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union and ordered to be printed

Mr. NOLAN, from the Committee on the Public Lands, submitted the following

REPORT

[To accompany S. 5248]

The Committee on the Public Lands, to whom was referred the bill (S. 5248) to extend the boundaries of Wind Cave National Park, S. Dak., having considered the same, report it favorably to the House with the recommendation that it do pass without amendment.

The following is an excerpt from the Senate report on this measure, and fully explains the purpose and reasons for this legislation:

The Wind Cave National Park is also used as a game sanctuary and has large herds of elk and buffalo, also some antelope and deer. The purpose of the original bill was to square up the west boundary by adding 320 acres.

The amendment suggested by the Department of the Interior and accepted by the Department of Agriculture becomes the main part of the bill. It will add 1,200 acres to the north side of the park. These lands are all Government owned. One tract of patented land was acquired by purchase and a set of improvements was constructed thereon for the game warden. A part of the land is public domain and the balance is national forest, but without substantial timber.

While the departments are in complete agreement as to the 1,200 acres to be added by the amendment, they do not fully agree as to the 320 acres covered in original bill, which are foothill lands of grazing value without commercial timber. The Department of Agriculture hold that these lands have no unusual park values; they do not claim they have any forest value.

The Director of the National Park Service views this matter differently, for he says, "the bill as drawn would extend the boundaries of the Wind Cave National Park by the addition of the specified acreage at the northwest corner of the park which would be desirable for the control of grazing in this section." Reports of both departments are hereunto attached.

Department OF THE INTERIOR,
Washington, January 29, 1931.

Hon. GERALD P. NYE,

Chairman Committee on Public Lands and Surveys,

United States Senate.

MY DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: In response to your request of December 11, 1930, for an early opinion as to the merits of S. 5248, which would extend the boundaries of Wind Cave National Park, S. Dak., by adding thereto an area of 320 acres, I transmit herewith a memorandum on the subject that has been submitted by Director Albright of the National Park Service.

After a review of the proposed measure, I agree with Mr. Albright.

Sincerely yours,

RAY LYMAN WILBUR, Secretary.

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR,
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE,
Washington, January 10, 1931.

Memorandum for the Secretary.

Reference is made to letter dated December 11, from the chairman Committee on Public Lands and Surveys, United States Senate, inclosing copy of S. 5248, entitled, "A bill to extend the boundaries of the Wind Cave National Park, South Dakota, by adding thereto an area of three hundred and twenty acres' with request for report thereon.

The bill as drawn would extend the boundaries of the Wind Cave National Park by the addition of the specified acreage at the northwest corner of the park which would be desirable for the control of grazing in this section.

However, after careful consideration of the bill, this office believes that a further extension of the park boundaries should be made at this time to include withdrawn public lands and lands purchased by the Biological Survey of the Department of Agriculture for the extension of the Wind Cave Game Preserve maintained in the park under the authority of the act of August 10, 1912 (37 Stat. 293), providing for the establishment of the game preserve within the park boundaries.

This additional land will not only help to round out the boundaries but will also add areas that possess scenery highly typical of the lower elevations of the Black Hills and which also contain some geological interest. This extension would also bring into the park portions of Beaver Creek, which is the largest running stream in the neighborhood, which would be of considerable benefit to the park since there is very little water on the lands embraced in the present park boundaries.

For this purpose it is recommended that the bill be amended by inserting after the word "the" in line 5 the following: "E. 1⁄2 SW. 4 SE. 4 sec. 26, S. 1⁄2 sec. 25" and in line 6 after the word "east" insert the following: "and S. 2 sec. 30, township 5 south, range 6 east". To make the bill conform with these changes it will be necessary also to amend the title by striking out the words "three hundred and twenty" and insert in lieu thereof "approximately eleven hundred". It is respectfully recommended that S. 5248, if amended as above, be given favorable consideration by the Department and Congress.

HORACE M. ALBRIGHT, Director.

Hon. GERALD P. NYE,

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE,
Washington, January 19, 1981.

United States Senate.

Chairman Committee on Public Lands and Surveys,

DEAR SENATOR NYE: Further reference is made to your letter of December 11, 1930, requesting the views of this department regarding the bill (S. 5248) to extend the boundaries of Wind Cave National Park, S. Dak.

Reports from field officers of the Forest Service are to the effect that the east half of section 33, township 5 south, range 5 east, Black Hills meridian, which is now a part of the Harney National Forest, possesses no unusual scenic or other values of national-park caliber, and they know of no reason why it should be added to the park, other than to square up the west boundary of the park;

that the same effect would be secured by eliminating from the park the east halves of the two sections to the south which lack distinctive park values.

Since the bill S. 5248 was introduced, the suggestion has been made that it be amended to include within the park the south half of section 25 and the east half of the southwest quarter and the southeast quarter of section 26, township 5 south, range 5 east; and the south half of section 30, township 5 south, range 6 east. Section 30 is not within the Harney National Forest. As to the described parts of sections 25 and 26 the Forest Service reports that they are rough, with scattered timber, that no forest uses ar involved, that parts of the described lands are within the park fence and in game sanctuary, that the State has built expensive bridges and a road through these lands to the State Park, and that while the addition of these lands to the Wind Cave National Park would create an irregula: north boundary there otherwise appears to be no objection to such action.

The facts reported by the Forest Service are not such as to warrant a favorable report by this department upon the proposed addition to the park of the east half of section 33, township 5 south, range 5 east; but no objection is known to the inclusion within the park of the sections 25, 26, and 30, above referred to, if the committee deems such action desirable.

Very sincerely yours,

R. W. DUNLAP, Acting Secretary.

HR-71-3-VOL 2-21

O

TO AMEND THE ACT OF MAY 23, 1930

FEBRUARY 13, 1931.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union and ordered to be printed

Mr. ARENTZ, from the Committee on the Public Lands, submitted the following

REPORT

[To accompany S. 5557]

The Committee on the Public Lands, to whom was referred (S. 5557) to amend the act of May 23, 1930, having considered the same, report favorably thereon and recommend that it do pass without amendment.

The section of the act approved May 23, 1930 (46 Stat. 378), referred to in this legislation and which is amended by the same appears below, together with the amendment set forth by this measure, which is set out in italics.

That the following-described land be, and the same is hereby, eliminated from the Tusayan National Forest, Arizona, and added to and made a part of the Western Navajo Indian Reservation, subject to all valid rights and claims of individuals initiated prior to the approval of this act: All that part of the Tusayan National Forest lying east of the Colorado River and north of the Little Colorado River, unsurveyed, but which will probably be when surveyed in townships 32, 33, 34, 35, and 36 north, ranges 5 and 6 east; all lands in township 31 north. range 6 east, which are now a part of the Tusayan National Forest; sections 1, 2, 3, 4, and 10 to 14, inclusive, east half section 23, sections 24 and 25, east half section 26 and sections 35 and 36, township 30 north, range 6 east; sections 27 to 34, inclusive, township 30 north, range 7 east; sections 1, 2, and 11 to 14, inclusive, sections 23 to 26, inclusive, sections 35 and 36, township 29 north, range 6 east; sections 3 to 10, inclusive, and sections 15 to 36, inclusive, township 29 north, range 7 east; section 1 and north half section 12, township 28 north, range 6 east; sections 1 to 23, inclusive, and sections 29 to 32, inclusive, township 28 north, range 7 east; Gila and Salt River base and meridian, Arizona: Provided, That all unappropriated and unreserved public lands in sections 24 to 28, inclusive, and sections 33 to 36, inclusive, in township 28 north, range 7 east, Gila and Salt River base and meridian, Arizona, be, and the same are hereby, added to and made a part of the Western Navajo Indian Reservation, subject to all valid rights and claims of individuals initiated prior to approval of this act That section 1 of the act of May 23, 1930 (46 Stat. 378), entitled "An act to eliminate certain lands from the Tusayan National Forest, Arizona, as an addition to the Western Navajo Indian Reservation," be, and the same is hereby, amended so as to include the following-described lands subject to all the conditions and provisions

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