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90TH CONGRESS 2d Session

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

{ No. 1812

REPORT

AUTHORIZING THE PRINTING OF ADDITIONAL COPIES OF PARTS 1 AND 2 OF SENATE HEARINGS ON "STATUS AND FUTURE OF SMALL BUSINESS"

JULY 26, 1968.-Ordered to be printed

Mr. HAYS, from the Committee on House Administration,
submitted the following

REPORT

[To accompany S. Con. Res. 77]

The Committee on House Administration, to whom was referred Senate Concurrent Resolution 77, having considered the same, report favorably thereon without amendment and recommend that the concurrent resolution do pass.

Estimated cost of printing:

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90TH CONGRESS 2d Session

}

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

{

REPORT No. 1813

DESIGNATING CERTAIN LANDS IN THE GREAT SWAMP NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE, MORRIS COUNTY, N.J.,

AS WILDERNESS

JULY 26, 1968.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed

Mr. BARING, from the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, submitted the following

REPORT

together with

SEPARATE VIEWS

[To accompany H.R. 16771]

The Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, to whom was referred the bill (H.R. 16771) to designate certain lands in the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge, Morris County, N.J., as wilderness, having considered the same, report favorably thereon with an amendment and recommend that the bill as amended do pass.

The amendment is as follows:

Page 2, lines 5 through 8, strike out all of section 2 and insert:

SEC. 2. The area designated by this Act as wilderness shall be known as "The Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge Wilderness Area" and shall be administered by the Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife under the supervision of the Secretary of the Interior in accordance with the provisions of the Wilderness Act.

PURPOSE

H.R. 16771, as amended and approved by the committee, would designate approximately 3,750 acres of the existing Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge, located in New Jersey, as a part of the National Wilderness System established by the Wilderness Act of 1964 (78 Stat. 890, 892). This proposed addition to the Wilderness System was recommended by the President as provided for in the 1964 act.

H.R. 16771 was introduced by Mr. Frelinghuysen (for himself, Mr. Hunt, Mr. Sandman, Mr. Howard, Mr. Thompson of New Jersey, Mr. Cahill, Mr. Widnall, Mr. Joelson, Mr. Helstoski, Mr. Rodino, Mr. Minish, Mrs. Dwyer, Mr. Gallagher, Mr. Daniels, and Mr. Patten.) A similar but not identical proposal, S. 3379, passed the Senate July 10, 1968.

NEED

The proposed Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge Wilderness Area is made up of two existing units of the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge, the M. Hartley Dodge and the Harding units. These two units contain approximately 3,750 acres out of a total area of 5,800 acres in the refuge. This refuge was established in 1964 and is situated in Morris County, N.J., approximately 25 miles westerly from New York City and 7 miles south of Morristown, the county seat of Morris County. The proximity of an area of this size with wilderness characteristics within sight of the heart of New York City makes this area truly unique.

Most of the area is a brush and timbered swamp broken by low ridge or hills rising 5 to 15 feet above the floor of the swamp. Bottom land, vegetation consists of red maple, elm, swamp rose, alder and willow while the ridges support beech, oak, birch, sugar maple, ash, and hiskory. Wildlife is abundant and consists of deer and smaller animals, together with some 175 species of birdlife that have been identified within the area. The area has a history of use for educational, conservation, and recreational purposes.

From testimony presented to the committee, it became evident that careful consideration had to be given to two potential problem areas: First, was there any conflict between the management of this area for wildlife purposes and its designation as wilderness? Second, did the area itself have all the characteristics of wilderness as that term is defined in the statute?

The first of these questions was resolved to the satisfaction of the committee by testimony and supplemental information received from the Department of the Interior, indicating that the wildlife management practices within the area designated for wilderness would be entirely consistent with wilderness concepts and that it would not be necessary to build or construct any public use or wildlife enhancement facilities within the area inconsistent with the provisions of the Wilderness Act. The second concern of the committee was satisfactorily answered by agreement of the townships of Passaic and Harding to close the existing road that now separates the M. Hartley Dodge and Harding units. The closure of this dividing road, in the opinion of the committee, is absolutely essential if this area is to be considered for wilderness designation. It is with this understanding, as well as the full assurance of the two townships involved that the road will be closed, that this committee favorably recommends the area for wilderness designation.

It should be pointed out that within the two units proposed for wilderness designation there are still substantial amounts of private land. Of the 2,400 acres in the M. Hartley Dodge unit, 388 acres are yet to be acquired, while in the Harding unit 602 acres out of a total of 1,350 acres are still in private ownership. Present plans call for the Department of the Interior to acquire this acreage by 1970. These

acquisition plans are independent of the designation of the area as wilderness and are being carried out by the Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife. It is noteworthy that approximately 3,000 of the 4,000 acres now owned by the Federal Government within the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge were donated by interested citizens at a cost estimated at more than a million dollars.

As indicated in the accompanying letter of July 15, 1968, from the Department of the Interior, this committee did consider elimination of the reverter clause contained in the deed conveying the lands to the United States by the North American Wildlife Foundation. However, upon receiving assurance that there was no conflict between wilderness use and wildlife conservation purposes, the elimination of the reverter clause was felt unnecessary.

The Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries has been advised regarding action on this legislation.

COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS

The amendment adopted by the committee would designate the area as "The Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge Wilderness Area" and would clearly indicate that the area is to continue to be managed by the Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife as a wildlife refuge, but that future management plans or use of the area must be in accordance with concepts of the Wilderness Act. The committee recognizes that many wildlife refuge areas require active and intensive management plans that are not consistent with wilderness designation. Here, however, wildlife management plans are entirely consistent with wilderness preservation.

COST

No additional budgetary expenditures are involved in the enactment of H.R. 16771.

COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

The Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs recommends that H.R. 16771 as amended be enacted.

EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATION

The communication from the President, dated March 13, 1968, together with supplemental reports from the Department of the Interior, of June 27 and July 15, 1968 follow:

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR,

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY, Washington, D.C., March 13, 1968.

The PRESIDENT,
The White House,
Washington, D.C.

DEAR MR. PRESIDENT: It is with pleasure that I recommend the establishment of the Great Swamp Wilderness, consisting of the Harding Wilderness unit and the M. Hartley Dodge Wilderness unit, within the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge, Morris County, N.J., as part of the national wilderness preservation system.

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