(2) "Outdoor recreation resources" means the land and water areas which provide or may in the future provide opportunities for outdoor recreation. 62-14-9.-Designation of agency.-The game, fish, and parks commission, acting through the game, fish, and parks department, is hereby deignated as the state agency authorized to accept and to administer funds provided for the planning and development of the outdoor recreation resources of this state. pursuant to the provisions of the act of Congress entitled "Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965", approved September 3, 1964, and any amendments thereto. In connection with obtaining for the state of Colorado the benefits of any such programs, the commission shall coordinate its activities with and represent the interest of all agencies of the state, and of county, city, and other political subdivisions having interests in the planning, development, and maintenance of outdoor recreation resources within the state. 62-14-10.-Powers of commission.-(1) (a) The commission, unless otherwise especially provided by law, shall have power, and it shall be their duty: (b) To enter into contracts and agreements with the United States or any appropriate agency thereof. (c) To keep financial and other records relating thereto. (d) To furnish appropriate officials and agencies of the United States such reports and information as may be reasonably necessary to enable such officials and agencies to perform their duties under the "Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965". (e) To prepare, maintain, and keep up-to-date a comprehensive plan for the development of the outdoor recreation resources of the state. (f) To receive and disburse federal monies to carry out the purposes of a comprehensive statewide outdoor recreation plan; provided, that of the allocations not more than seventy-five percent, exclusive of administrative costs, shall be retained for development of the state-operated facilities by the commission. In the event requests on behalf of any county, city, or other political subdivision do not fully utilize the federal-aid funds available, then the state may use such funds. (g) To undertake projects for the development of the state resources for outdoor recreation and such areas acquired or developed pursuant to any program participated in by this state under authority of this act shall be publicly maintained and operated for outdoor recreation purposes by the commission. (h) To enter into and administer agreements with the United States or any appropriate agency thereof for planning, acquisition, and development projects involving participating federal-aid funds, exclusive of administrative costs, on behalf of any county, city, or other political subdivision; provided, that such county, city, or other political subdivision gives necessary assurances to said commission that it has available sufficient funds to meet its share of the cost of the project and that the acquired or developed areas will be operated and maintained in perpetuity at its expense for public outdoor recreation use. Funds distributed to city, county, or other political subdivision pursuant to this section and not utilized shall, pursuant to rules and regulations adopted by the commission, revert to the commission to be used by the commission. Section 2.-Safety clause.-The general assembly hereby finds, determines, and declares that this act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, and safety. ALLEN DINES, Speaker of the House of Representatives. EVELYN T. DAVIDSON, Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives. Approved 10:16, p.m., April 30, 1965. JOHN A. LOVE, Governor of the State of Colorado. The CHAIRMAN. Our next witness is Mr. John Greenslit, State liaison officer, North Dakota State Outdoor Recreation Agency. He is accompanied by Mr. Milo Hoisveen, State engineer and executive officer, North Dakota State Outdoor Recreation Agency. Gentlemen, we are pleased to have you. STATEMENT OF JOHN GREENSLIT, STATE LIAISON OFFICER, NORTH DAKOTA STATE OUTDOOR RECREATION AGENCY; ACCOMPANIED BY MILO HOISVEEN, STATE ENGINEER AND EXECUTIVE OFFICER, NORTH DAKOTA STATE OUTDOOR RECREATION AGENCY Mr. GREENSLIT. Thank you, Mr. Chairman and gentlemen of the committee. I would like to reiterate the approval of the S. 1401 concept as mentioned, and also enter favorable testimony on Senate bill 2828 in favor of retention of the user fees by the Corps of Engineers. The program in North Dakota has been efficient. It has been acceptable and it has been a user fee charge, rather than an entrance fee charge. I appreciate this opportunity to appear before you today on Senate bill 1401. The land and water conservation fund has provided Federal grants of $2.3 million for outdoor recreation projects in North Dakota. We have obligated virtually all our apportionments and have proposals waiting now for release of the fiscal 1969 moneys. Apportionments from the fund are certified to the States after the beginning of each fiscal year based on estimated receipts. So far the actual receipts have never measured up to the anticipations. Near the close of the fiscal year we find our apportionment is cut. It is very difficult to program projects on these fluctuating funds. When Congress passed the Conservation Fund Act it was anticipated that North Dakota would receive about $1.3 million each year. We receive less than half that amount. Even at the reduced rate the fund has become very important to our State. We have been able to undertake a program that to date has provided about $4.6 million in new outdoor opportunities. This is only the beginning. Demand in North Dakota is now estimated at $50 million ahead of the supply and is continuing to grow at a fantastic rate. The cost of acquiring land and constructing facilities is also in an upward spiral. In many areas of our State, land must be purchased to provide a place for outdoor recreation. Every day of delay finds the price a little higher. We have several areas that are outstanding for their scenic beauty or historic importance. These areas are rapidly becoming desecrated by man and their values will be forever lost. Our forests are being cleared at an alarming rate. We must act soon to place these types of areas into public ownership to save them for the future. Many can be saved and at the same time used for outdoor recreation. Tourism is our fourth leading industry. If we can develop adequate attractions to entice more people to visit North Dakota it will be a great boon to our economy. Outdoor recreation is the key that can. find tourism ranking second only to agriculture in North Dakota. North Dakota has been a leader in the outdoor recreation program. Many States have patterned projects and policy after ours. We are proud of our State for the extreme interest that all of her people share in the outdoor recreation program. The outdoor recreation needs of our people have been too long neglected. Adequate funding in the land and water conservation fund can assure that these needs will no longer be ignored. North Dakota, and all the rest of the Nation, will benefit through increased and stabilized revenue for the land and water conservation fund. I urge you to give favorable consideration to Senate bill 1401. I would also like to file a favorable statement on Senate bill 1401 from Gov. William L. Guy, and also from the North Dakota Water Users Association. The CHAIRMAN. That will be included at this point, Mr. Greenslit. I also have a letter from the Governor submitting a resolution of the State Outdoor Recreation Agency. That will also be included. (The documents referred to follow :) STATE OF NORTH DAKOTA, EXECUTIVE OFFICE, Bismarck, February 5, 1968. Re S. 1401. COMMITTEE ON INTERIOR AND INSULAR AFFAIRS, Senate of the United States, Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C. I am pleased to have this opportunity to convey to you, on behalf of the State of North Dakota, our support for S. 1401 now before your committee. When Congress created the Land and Water Conservation Fund indications were that North Dakota should by now be receiving $1%1⁄2 million each year for outdoor recreation acquisition and development. We are apportioned less than half that amount. Through our state outdoor recreation plan we have discovered that our outdoor recreation program is more than $50 million behind the needs of our people. The demand for outdoor recreation is increasing at fantastic rates. Our financial resources have remained almost static. Just as demand for outdoor recreation increases, the cost of providing necessary areas and facilities also grows. Land prices are skyrocketing in our predominately rural state just as they have in metropolitan areas of the nation. Within North Dakota there are many places where land should be purchased soon to provide our people with a place to enjoy the out-of-doors. Many more tracts should be bought so their historic or scenic values can be saved for our future generations. The Land and Water Conservation Fund Act has been important to North Dakota. We have purchased land to expand the state park that was the starting point of Custer's last march. Had we not acted on this acquisition the land would have been used for a housing development. Land has been bought to form new recreation reservoirs in several locations, with a full range of land and water oriented activities. The 5,000 acres of forest land we were able to buy with a matching grant from the Fund provides recreation for today and will save these woodlands for our tomorrows. We share the federal grants with small and large communities across the state. They are anxious to use this program to provide their people with opportunities they would not otherwise have. In the next few days we expect to receive a proposal that would reserve for recreation and open space several tracts in one of our largest cities. North Dakota has consistently been one of the leading States in the outdoor recreation program. We have obligated all of our apportionments and have projects waiting for release of the Fiscal 1969 funds. Many states have patterned projects and comprehensive planning innovations after those which have originated in North Dakota. The Fund has done much for North Dakota, but much more remains to be done. Increased revenues will benefit us and the rest of the nation. I urge you to do everything in your power to assure that S. 1401 will be enacted into law. WILLIAM L. GUY, Governor. NORTH DAKOTA STATE OUTDOOR RECREATION AGENCY, Hon. HENRY M. JACKSON, U.S. Senator, Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C. DEAR SENATOR JACKSON: The North Dakota State Outdoor Recreation Agency on January 26, 1968 adopted a resolution in support of S. 1401. If enacted, S. 1401 will amend the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 to provide increased revenue through additional sources. A copy of the Agency's resolution is enclosed. The principal purpose of the bill is to help overcome the problem of rapidly increasing cost of land for public park and recreation areas. This bill can permit early action to save many outstanding areas for our future generations. S. 1401 will benefit North Dakota and the nation. I urge your support. Sincerely, WILLIAM L. GUY, Governor and Chairman. RESOLUTION OF THE NORTH DAKOTA STATE OUTDOOR RECREATION AGENCY Whereas, S. 1401 is presently being considered by the 90th Congress; and Whereas, if enacted, this bill will provide that from July 1, 1967 to June 30, 1972 all receipts which are currently deposited in miscellaneous receipts of the U.S. Treasury and which are collected from mineral leasing of public lands and Outer Continental Shelf Lands and all such receipts collected by the Department of Agriculture from national forests and national grasslands shall be deposited in the Land and Water Conservation Fund; and Whereas, deposits of such receipts will total between $180 million and $480 million annually; and Whereas, in view of the ever-increasing demands for public outdoor recreation projects and the resulting increase in land costs, this additional revenue to the Land and Water Conservation Fund will allow the acquisition of lands required for outdoor recreation projects before the costs of such lands increase even more and become economically infeasible for development. Now, therefore, be it resolved by the North Dakota State Outdoor Recreation Agency in meeting this twenty sixth day of January, 1968, that the United States Congress is respectfully urged to enact S. 1401 at the earliest possible date. Be it further resolved, that the Governor of North Dakota be requested to forward copies of this resolution to the Secretary of the Interior, to U.S. Senator Henry M. Jackson, and to all members of North Dakota's Congressional Delegation. Attest: WILLIAM L. GUY, Governor and Chairman. MILO W. HOISVEEN, STATEMENT OF Oscar N. BERG, EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, NORTH DAKOTA WATER USERS ASSOCIATION I am Oscar N. Berg, Minot, North Dakota and serve as Executive Vice President of the North Dakota Water Users Association This is a voluntary, non-profit organization, with a membership of 3,000 farmers, business and professional people, interested in all phases of soil and water resources development. We, as a group, support S. 1401, which provides that from July 1, 1967 to June 30, 1972, all receipts which are currently deposited in miscellaneous receipts of the U.S. Treasury and which are collected from mineral leasing of public lands and Outer Continental Shelf Lands and all such receipts collected by the Department of Agriculture from national forest and national grasslands, shall be deposited in the Land and Water Conservation Fund. These deposits will total between $180 million and $480 million annually and this will enable the acquisition of lands for outdoor recreation projects before values increase wherein it becomes economically unfeasible and uneconomic for acquisition and development. The North Dakota Water Users Association, in view of our rapidly increasing population and the resultant demand for recreational development in both urban and rural areas, believe that this is a national investment that will contribute to the present and future generations in social and cultural values. We respectfully urge that this legislation be enacted at the earliest date because of the urgency in meeting the financial demands for outdoor recreation development in all areas of the United States. This legislation, we believe, is in the national interest! The CHAIRMAN. Mr. Greenslit, I would like to ask you just one question. Are you giving priority in your State program to land acquisition? Mr. GREENSLIT. Our No. 1 priority, sir, is land acquisition. The CHAIRMAN. Of course you have to have a certain amount of development with it, but you are giving first priority to land acquisition? Mr. GREENSLIT. That is right. The CHAIRMAN. Very good. I have no further questions. I want to thank you gentlemen very much. Mr. Hoisveen, do you wish to be heard? Mr. HOISVEEN. Yes, sir; I do. The CHAIRMAN. A formal statement? Mr. HOISVEEN. Yes, sir; I do. The CHAIRMAN. All right. STATEMENT OF MILO W. HOISVEEN, STATE ENGINEER AND EXECUTIVE OFFICER, NORTH DAKOTA STATE OUTDOOR RECREATION AGENCY Mr. HOISVEEN. I am Milo Hoisveen, State engineer and executive director of the North Dakota State Outdoor Recreation Agency. It has been my privilege to appear before a number of your committee members on several occasions. However, this is my first opportunity to appear before you in behalf of outdoor recreation as handled by the newly created Bureau of Outdoor Recreation. My association in the field of waterbased outdoor recreation dates back to 1931 when I made a number of surveys in connection with lake improvement for recreation purposes. Oddly enough the opportunity to develop some of these areas did not present itself until funds became available under the Bureau of Outdoor Recreation grants and aid program. This program, besides enhancing the construction of a multitude of local outdoor recreation projects, has been most helpful in developing water-based recreation at both the State and local level. We believe that we in North Dakota pioneered the water-oriented dam construction projects with the Bureau of Outdoor Recreation. In most instances the water-based outdoor recreation projects are multiple purpose in scope and involve as many as five State and local agencies cooperating with the Bureau of Outdoor Recreation. These are usually multipurpose projects and may include swimming, boating, fishing, wildlife, and a municipal water supply. Formulas are developed relative to an equitable distribution of costs. Through this system we are able to assure the Bureau of Outdoor Recreation that none of their funds are used to facilitate features of reservoirs used for purposes other than recreation. I can say that it did take a great deal of negotiating to convince the Bureau of Outdoor Recreation that their funds would not be used to implement other programs. I am glad to |