As ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources on November 21, 2013
S. 364 would establish a conservation management area consisting of 208,000 acres of federal land in Montana. The bill also would add 67,000 acres to existing wilderness areas in the state. Finally, the legislation would require the Secretary of Agriculture to develop a strategy to mitigate the effects of noxious weeds in the Lewis and Clark National Forest.
Based on information provided by the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management, CBO estimates that preparing new maps and legal descriptions for the affected lands would cost $40,000 over the 2014-2019 period, assuming appropriation of the necessary amounts. We also estimate that developing the noxious weed strategy, as required under the bill, would have no effect on the federal budget because the agency is already conducting similar activities.
Finally, CBO expects that managing the affected lands for conservation purposes would not affect the amount of offsetting receipts generated from mineral production, grazing, or other activities on those lands over the next 10 years; such receipts are treated as offsets to direct spending. Enacting the legislation would not affect direct spending or revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply.
S. 364 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would not affect the budgets of state, local, or tribal governments.
