Description:
H.R. 1838 would establish a new national recreation area in central California. The bill also would designate 21,000 acres of adjacent lands as part of the National Wilderness Preservation System. Based on information provided by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and assuming appropriation of the necessary amounts, CBO estimates that implementing the legislation would cost $5 million over the 2017-2021 period.
Because enacting H.R. 1838 would increase offsetting receipts, which are treated as reductions in direct spending, and the associated spending of those receipts, pay-as-you-go procedures apply. However, CBO estimates that any net effects on direct spending would be negligible. Enacting the bill would not affect revenues. CBO also estimates that enacting the legislation would not increase net direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2027.
H.R. 1838 would designate about 75,000 acres of BLM land in California as the Clear Creek National Recreation Area. Under the bill, the agency would be required to complete a new land use plan for the area within two years of enactment. Based on information from BLM regarding the costs of carrying out similar activities, CBO estimates that completing the land use plan would cost less than $500,000 over the 2017-2018 period.
CBO expects that, under the bill, the affected lands would see a significant increase in use by the public and that the BLM would need to hire additional personnel to manage the area. Based on information provided by the agency, CBO estimates that operating the recreation area would require 10 to 15 new employees to carry out administrative and law enforcement functions and that the cost of employing those individuals would total roughly $1 million a year.
In addition, the legislation would require the BLM to establish a user fee program for operators of motorized vehicles to offset certain costs of administering the recreation area; we expect that those funds would be used primarily to construct trails and facilities for off-highway vehicles. Based on information regarding the amount of user fees collected at similar recreation areas, CBO estimates that fee collections and the associated spending would total less than $500,000 a year.
Finally, H.R. 1838 would designate 21,000 acres of lands in central California as part of the National Wilderness Preservation System. Because the affected lands are already being managed for conservation purposes, CBO estimates that designating the new wilderness would have no significant effect on the federal budget.
H.R. 1838 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments.
