Crater Lake National Park: Administrative History by Harlan D. Unrau and Stephen Mark, 1987

 CHAPTER NINE: Legislation Relating to Crater Lake National Park: 1916-Present

A. LEGISLATIVE ACTS

9. An Act to Correct the Boundary of Crater Lake National Park in the State of Oregon, and for Other Purposes (96 Stat. 709–September 15, 1982)

On May 6, 1981, Senator Hatfield submitted a bill (S. 1119) to “correct the boundary of Crater Lake National Park.” The 22,890-acre addition to the park in 1980 included a 480-acre parcel of timber on the west boundary which was scheduled to be cut under a contract entered into by the U.S. Forest Service in 1976. Thus, Hatfield introduced S. 1119 by stating:

Based on field examinations by Forest Service and Park Service personnel, a boundary line based on the above criteria was developed and reviewed by both agencies. The line finally adopted included a small parcel of timber on the west boundary which was scheduled to be cut under a contract entered into in 1976. Field personnel of the National Park Service were not aware that the added lands were subject to an outstanding timber sale. However, neither the sponsor of the legislation nor the Park Service wished to prohibit the exercise of valid contractual rights to cut timber by the boundary change.

Timber harvesting is not permitted within Crater Lake National Park. Accordingly, this legislation would remove from the park about 480 acres, of which 39 acres are scheduled to be harvested and 58 acres have already been cut during 1960-66. The new boundary line will conform the boundary to that which was intended by all parties when the 1980 legislation was considered. [37]

As introduced the bill read:

That (a) the first section of the Act entitled, “An Act reserving from the public lands in the State of Oregon, as a public park for the benefit of the people of the United States, and for the protection and preservation of the game, fish, timber, and all other natural objects therein, a tract of land herein described, and so forth”, approved May 22, 1902 (32 Stat. 202), as amended, is further amended by revising the second sentence thereof to read as follows: “The boundary of the park shall encompass the lands, waters, and interests therein within the area generally depicted on the map entitled, ‘Crater Lake National Park, Oregon,’ numbered 106-80-001-A, and dated March 1981, which shall be on file and available for public inspection in the office of the National Park Service, Department of the Interior.”

(b) Lands, waters, and interests therein excluded from the boundary of Crater Lake National Park by subsection S(a) are hereby made a part of the Rogue River National Forest, and the boundary of such national forest is revised accordingly. [38]

The proposed legislation was referred to the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources for consideration. Meanwhile, on May 19, Representative Denny Smith of Oregon introduced an identical bill (H.R. 3630) in the House, where it was referred to the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs.

In response to the request of Senate committee chairman James A. McClure of Idaho Under Secretary of the Interior Donald P. Hodel responded with the department’s position on the bill on September 23. Recommending enactment of the bill Hodel urged passage “to remove the approximately 480 acres of land from Crater Lake National Park, and to make those lands a part of Rogue River National Forest.” On October 7 the committee issued a report recommending passage of the bill without amendment. [39]

The bill passed the Senate on October 21 and was sent to the House where it was referred to the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs the following day. Meanwhile on October 16 the House Subcommittee on Public Lands and National Parks had held hearings on H.R. 3630. On November 19 the subcommittee adopted S. 1119 in lieu of H.R. 3630 and reported its findings to the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs. Among its recommendations, which were accepted by the full committee, were amendments authorizing the Secretary of the Interior to initiate studies and actions to assure the retention of Crater Lake’s natural pristine water quality and to designate part of the Cumberland Island National Seashore as wilderness, the text relating to the latter issue becoming Section 2 of the bill.