I heartily concur in the memorandum report of the Director of the National Park Service and urge that H. R. 4712 receive favorable consideration by Congress. Very truly yours, RAY LYMAN WILBUR, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTErior, Memorandum for the Secretary. Reference is made to letter dated December 21, 1931, from the chairman of the Committee on the Public Lands, inclosing copy of H. R. 4712 entitled "A bill to establish a minimum area for a Shenandoah National Park, for administration, protection, and general development by the National Park Service, and for other purposes," with request for report thereon. This measure proposes legislation amendatory of and supplementary to existing legislation in effect in connection with the establishment of a number of proposed national parks in the East. Section 1 proposes to reduce the minimum area for administration, protection, and general development and which is to be tendered the Secretary of the Interior by the State of Virginia for the proposed Shenandoah National Park, to not less than 160,000 acres. The basic act of May 22, 1926 (44 Stat. 616), in effect authorized the Secretary of the Interior to accept 386,500 acres for administration, protection, and development purposes; in other words, for a complete park. A careful survey on the ground by the National Park Service experts later indicated that by the elimination of unnecessary and undesirable land no more than 327,000 acres should be required for that park, and Congress by act of February 16, 1928 (45 Stat. 109), accordingly reduced the minimum to 327,000 acres. As soon as this authorization was secured the State of Virginia proceeded to appraise the lands within the boundaries inclosing this 327,000 acres, and endeavored to gather funds to acquire this acreage in the same manner as Kentucky did in the case of the proposed Mammoth Cave National Park, and North Carolina and Tennessee in the case of the proposed Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Appraisals, which have been exceedingly difficult, will soon be completed, but it is already evident that the State will have sufficient pledged funds to acquire only about 160,000 acres. Further studies by the same national park experts have indicated that a suitable national park can be secured with this 160,000 acres, or 250 square miles. It should be pointed out that such reduction will not prevent the State of Virginia, if at any time in the future it can secure additional funds, from acquiring the remainder of the 327,000 acres, or any portion thereof. Section 2 would authorize leases to former owners of land within the proposed Shenandoah, Great Smoky Mountains, Mammoth Cave, and Isle Royale National Parks during their lifetime. This authorization would be an extension of existing law as covered by the act approved February 16, 1928, supra, section 2 of which reads as follows: "That the Secretary of the Interior is hereby authorized to lease lands within the Shenandoah National Park and Great Smoky Mountains National Park for periods not exceeding two years, upon such conditions as he may in his discretion deem proper, to persons and educational or religious institutions occupying the same or who had or claim to have had some interest in the title to the same prior to the establishment of the park.” The provision of this law reading "for periods not exceeding two years' has been construed by the solicitor of this department, as it was intended by Congress, to authorize leases for successive periods of two years at a time during the lifetime of worthy landowners where such leases would not be inconsistent with future national-park development plans. In all these areas where the land has to be acquired by the several States and tendered without cost to the Government for our national parks, a number of owners of land have been encountered who, because of age or other infirmities or for other humane reasons, should be allowed to remain on the land during their lifetime. Of course, such occupancy to be under such regulations as the Secretary of the Interior may prescribe and during their good behavior, and as long as the particular holding is not primarily needed for national-park development. In a few instances also large bearing orchards have had to be acquired by the States, especially in Tennessee, for which a large sum would have to be laid out to secure the fee simple title and remove the owners from the land, but which can be secured at greatly reduced prices if former owners are allowed to remain on their land and harvest the crop during the lifetime of the orchards, which is figured at from 10 to 15 years more. In a number of other instances lands acquired or to be acquired by the States can be secured by donation or at a very nominal sum if the owners are permitted to utilize them for the remainder of their days. Again, several minor outdoor clubs within the Great Smoky Mountains area have been acquired at nominal prices upon an understanding that the club owners of record at the time of the transfer of the deed to the State might have the use of such property during their lifetime. While under existing law leases may be granted for a period of two years and then renewed for 2-year periods thereafter, many of the old-timers to whom such leases have been granted with a promise of life tenure under such leasing arrangements by the States making these acquisitions, or those whose land still has to be acquired and who have little contact with the outside world, have misgivings that such arrangements may not be carried out. Such legislation as is proposed under section 2 would reassure these people and enable the State authorities to save considerable money in the acquisition of such parcels and thereby expedite completion of the individual park projects. Experience in the past few years has shown that there are comparatively few instances, when taken in comparison with the extensive land acquisition program for each project, where such exceptions would have to be made. Wherever made they would be made in close cooperation between the several commissions having the acquisition program in their hands and the Secretary of the Interior through the National Park Service. In connection with appropriations made for the acquisition of privately-owned lands within existing national parks in the West, Congress has heretofore recognized the wisdom of permitting the acquisition of these holdings subject to lifetime leases and by the act of March 4, 1929 (45 Stat. pt. 1, 1600), and subsequent appropriation acts, has authorized the granting to former owners of lifetime leases as part consideration for the purchase of land. To conform the language of section 2 of this legislation to similar legislation introduced in the Senate and reported on favorably by this department, it is recommended that the following amendments be made in H. R. 4712. (1) On page 2, line 17, strike out the words "land was" and insert in lieu thereof the words "lands were". (2) On page 2, line 20, strike out the word "said" and insert in lieu thereof the word "such". I heartily recommend favorable consideration of this bill by the department and Congress. HORACE M. ALBRIGHT, Director. O MINIMUM AREA FOR SHENANDOAH NATIONAL PARK JANUARY 22, 1932.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union and ordered to be printed Mr. LANKFORD of Georgia, from the Committee on Public Lands, submitted the following SUPPLEMENTAL REPORT [To accompany H. R. 4712] The Committee on the Public Lands, to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 4712) to establish a minimum area for the Shenandoah National Park, for administration, protection, and general development by the National Park Service, and for other purposes, submit the following supplemental report in compliance with clause 2a of Rule XIII. By section 1 of this proposed legislation the act of February 16, 1928 (title 16, sec. 403d, U. S. C., 45 Stat. 109) would be amended as indicated below, the new matter appearing in italic and the amended language in brackets: That the minimum area for administration, protection, and general development by the National Park Service in the Shenandoah National Park, the establishment of which is provided for by the act of Congress approved May 22, 1926 (44 Stat. 616), be, and the same is hereby, established as [three hundred and twenty-seven] one hundred and sixty thousand acres, and so much of the said act of May 22, 1926 [and of the act of February 16, 1928 (45 Stat. 109)], as is inconsistent herewith is hereby repealed. By section 2 of this legislation the act of February 16, 1928 (title) 16, sec. 403e, U. S. C., 45 Stat. 109), would be amended as indicated by comparison shown below. The act of February 16, 1928 (sec. 2), reads as follows: That the Secretary of the Interior is hereby authorized to lease lands within the Shenandoah National Park and Great Smoky Mountains National Park for periods not exceeding two years, upon such conditions as he may in his discretion deem proper, to persons and educational or religious institutions occupying same or who had, or claim to have had, some interest in the title to the same prior to the establishment of the park. Section 2 of this bill is as follows: That the Secretary of the Interior be, and he is hereby, authorized, in his discretion, to accept title to lands tendered without cost to the United States within the areas of the Shenandoah National Park, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Mammoth Cave National Park, and the Isle Royale National Park, subject to leases entered into and granted as part consideration in connection with the purchase of said land for tender to the United States for park purposes: Provided, That said leases and the terms and conditions thereof shall have previously been submitted to and approved by said Secretary: Provided further, That he may lease upon such terms and conditions as he deems proper any lands within the aforesaid areas, when such use shall not be deemed by him inconsistent with the purposes for which the lands were acquired on behalf of the United States, to persons, educational or religious institutions, private corporations, associations, and partnerships previously occupying such land for terms not exceeding the particular lifetime in the case of natural persons, and not exceeding twenty years in all other cases, which latter leases may be renewed in the discretion of said Secretary. This bill affects the basic park act of May 22, 1926 only in so far as it supplements and supersedes the amendment of February 16, 1928, supra, as indicated above. |