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002712. 27 U.S. CONGRESS, CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE, : Washington, DC, July 9, 1993. Hon. GEORGE MILLER, Chairman, Committee on Natural Resources, Rouse of Representatives, Washington, DC. DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: The Congressional Budget Office has re- viewed H.R. 631, the Colorado Wilderness Act of 1993, as ordered reported by the House Committee on Natural Resources on June 30, 1993. CBO estimates that enactment of H.R. 631 would result in additional costs of $2 million to $3 million over the next five years, assuming appropriation of the necessary amounts. Enact- ment of H.R. 631 could affect direct spending by reducing offsetting receipts, and therefore the bill would be subject to pay-as-you-go procedures under section 252 of the Balanced Budget and Emer- gency Deficit Control Act of 1985. We do not expect such reductions in receipts to be significant. H.R. 631 would designate over 611,000 acres of National Forest System land and Bureau of Land Management holdings in Colo- rado as part of the National Wilderness Preservation System. Three additional units of federal land totaling about 155,000 acres would be permanently protected under conservation plans that are less restrictive than wilderness designations. Finally, the bill would require the Forest Service to report on the status of private prop- erty within the Spanish Peaks further planning area. Based on information from the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management, CBO estimates that costs for creating and exe- cuting wilderness area management plans would total about $300,000 annually. Surveying and boundary work would cost from $50,000 to $250,000 per year for up to ten years. The National Wilderness Preservation System Act stipulates that all timber located in units of the National Wilderness Preservation System is no longer available for timber harvesting. Because most of the land specified in this bill is not currently available for timber harvest, and much of the timber that is available would likely be replaced by timber in other areas, we would not expect there to be a significant reduction in timber receipts over the next five years. Lands designated as wilderness are also no longer available for mineral exploration and development. We expect that no significant loss of mineral receipts would result from this bilI because H.R. 631 provides that mineral resources could be removed under valid existing rights. The bill would bar new claims, but any effect of that prohibition would be minor because there have been few new mining claims in the affected areas in recent years. Enactment of this bilI would not impose significant costs on state and local governments. If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Theresa Gullo, who can be reached at 226-2860. Sincerely, ROBERT D. REISCHAUER, Director.