Congressional Research Service Reports - 68 Matching Results

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Agricultural Wetlands: Current Programs and Legislative Proposals

Description: Amending Federal laws to protect wetlands, especially agricultural wetlands, is a contentious issue for the 104th Congress. Critics contend that current programs are excessive in their reach and unfairly restrict private landowners. Supporters counter that these programs are critical if the Nation is to achieve the stated goal of no-net-loss of wetlands. The two major statutes under which agricultural wetlands are protected are swampbuster, enacted in the Agriculture, Food, Trade, and Conservat… more
Date: January 4, 1996
Creator: Zinn, Jeffrey A. & Copeland, Claudia
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Softwood Lumber Imports: The 1996 U.S.-Canada Agreement

Description: Many U.S. lumber producers have complained that subsidies to Canadian lumber producers give them an unfair advantage in supplying the U.S. market. The dispute has evolved through various forums over the past 15 years. Recent negotiations led to an agreement on May 28 to reduce Canadian lumber exports with a tariff rate quota (i.e., a tariff on imports above the quota) probably by about 9% from record 1995 levels, leading to expectations of trade harmony (at least on this issue) for the next 5 y… more
Date: June 13, 1996
Creator: Gorte, Ross W.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Amtrak and Energy Conservation: Background and Selected Public Policy Issues

Description: A rationale for federal financial support to Amtrak has been that rail service conserves energy, compared to other forms of intercity passenger transportation. The numbers discussed in this report suggest that the rationale might not be valid with regard to autos and buses. The report discusses some public policy implications that could follow from that conclusion.
Date: January 19, 1999
Creator: Thompson, Stephen J.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Amtrak and Energy Conservation in Intercity Passenger Transportation

Description: A rationale for federal financial support to Amtrak has been that rail service conserves energy, compared to other forms of intercity passenger transportation. The numbers presented in this report suggest that the rationale might not be valid with regard to some alternative modes of transportation, and the report discusses some public policy implications that could follow from that conclusion.
Date: September 3, 1996
Creator: Thompson, Stephen J.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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New World Gold Mine and Yellowstone National Park

Description: Crown Butte Mines, Inc. wants to develop its New World gold mine deposit located near Yellowstone National Park. The proposed mine is located almost entirely on private property about 3 miles east of the northeast corner of Yellowstone National Park and next to the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness area. The New World Mine Project would mine an estimated 1,800 tons of gold/silver/copper ore per day (500,000 tons annually), valued at an estimated $800 million over a 10-15 year period. The project wo… more
Date: August 27, 1996
Creator: Humphries, Marc
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The President's Forest/Roadless Area Initiative

Description: On October 13, 1999, President Clinton announced a new approach to the management of the roadless areas in the National Forest System that may prohibit new road construction and certain other activities in inventoried readless areas and extend some protections to non-inventoried roadless areas as well.
Date: October 28, 1999
Creator: Baldwin, Pamela
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Biosphere Reserves and the U.S. MAB Program

Description: Since 1972, the United States has participated in the Man and the Biosphere Program (MAB), coordinated by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). In addition to the American Land Sovereignty Protection Act this report also discusses the legislation that would affect U.S. participation in the World Heritage Convention, under which World Heritage sites are recognized, and which include some of the sites recognized as biosphere reserves
Date: June 4, 1999
Creator: Fletcher, Susan R.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Roadless Areas: The Administration's Moratorium

Description: On February 12, 1999, the Forest service announced a moratorium on new road construction in many roadless areas within the national Forest System. This measure is temporary (up to 18 moths) while national Forest transportation policy revision is being debated. areas protected by the moratorium include roadless areas of at least 5,000 acres, of at least 1,000 acres if contiguous to other roadless areas. However, the moratorium exempts 9 national forests with recently revised management plans and… more
Date: April 8, 1999
Creator: Gorte, Ross W.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Federal Land and Resource Management: A Primer

Description: Four federal agencies administer most of the U.S. government's land. The National Park Service administers the Park System for recreation use and preservation. The Fish and Wildlife Service manages wildlife refuges primarily for protecting and improving fish and wildlife habitats. The Bureau of Land Management manages the public lands for sustained yields of multiple uses - grazing, recreation, timber, and fish and wildlife. The Forest Service similarly manages the national forests. Most forest… more
Date: December 22, 1998
Creator: Gorte, Ross W.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Federal Land Ownership: Constitutional Authority; the History of Acquisition, Disposal, and Retention; and Current Acquisition and Disposal Authorities

Description: Federal land ownership and management are of perennial interest to Congress. This report describes the constitutional authority for federal land ownership. It provides the history of federal land acquisition and disposal, and describes the federal land management agency jurisdictions, based on congressional authorities to reserve or withdraw lands from disposal. The report then describes several efforts to force additional federal land disposal, including recent legislative activity. It conclud… more
Date: April 7, 1999
Creator: Gorte, Ross W. & Baldwin, Pamela
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Department of Energy's Tritium Production Program

Description: Tritium is a radioactive isotope of hydrogen used to enhance the explosive yield of every thermonuclear weapon. Tritium has a radioactive decay rate of 5.5% per year and has not been produced in this country for weapons purposes since 1988.
Date: September 10, 1998
Creator: Rowberg, Richard E. & Lau, Clifford
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Natural Resource "Subsidy" Issues

Description: In 1993, the Clinton Administration proposed eliminating many natural resource "subsidies" and increasing fees for many Federal services. Among the proposals advanced were increases in existing grazing and recreation fees and new mining and commercial fishing fees. Other proposals would have affected timber sales and water deliveries from Federal projects. Many of these proposals have been advanced by fiscal conservatives in the 104th Congress to reduce the Federal budget deficit.
Date: April 27, 1995
Creator: Gorte, Ross W.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Chip Mill Industry in the South

Description: Chip mills turn trees into chips for paper, particle-boards, and exports. While the federal government does not collect data on a chip mill industry, chip production in the South has apparently been expanding. The timber supply appears sufficient to allow some increased harvests, but could be depleted by continued industrial expansion. The federal government does not directly regulate timber cutting but could become engaged if requirements of the Clean Water and Endangered Species Acts were tri… more
Date: June 10, 1998
Creator: Gorte, Ross W.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Wetland Mitigation Banking: Status and Prospects

Description: Wetland protection is controversial because the federal government regulates activities on private lands and because the natural values at some of these regulated sites are being debated. This controversy pits property owners and development interests against environmentalists and others who seek to protect the remaining wetlands. Mitigation banking, which allows a person to degrade a wetland at one site if a wetland at another site is improved, has been identified as a potential answer to this… more
Date: September 12, 1997
Creator: Zinn, Jeffrey A.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Biosphere Reserves: Fact Sheet

Description: Since 1972, the United States has participated in the Man and the Biosphere Program (MAB), coordinated by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). This report presents a background on the criteria for Biosphere Reserves, designation process and the policy implications of designation/recognition.
Date: October 3, 1997
Creator: Fletcher, Susan R.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Rural Abandoned Mine Program - A Fact Sheet

Description: The Rural Abandoned Mine Program (RAMP) was designed to restore agricultural land that has been disturbed by strip mining. The program is carried out by the Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service at a current cost of about $10 million per year--a modest share of total Federal abandoned surface mining reclamation efforts that currently exceed $110 million per year, and that has been higher in the past. Critics contend that the RAMP program is inefficient and duplicate… more
Date: June 12, 1995
Creator: Thompson, Duane A.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Wetlands and Agriculture: Policy Issues in the 1995 Farm Bill

Description: Wetlands protection efforts have been a major concern for agricultural interests since Congress enacted so-called swampbuster provisions in the 1985 Food Security Act. Under these provisions, all producers who alter wetlands risk losing certain farm program benefits. Determining which sites are wetlands and enforcement of penalties remain contentious issues. Controversy has been heightened by confusion over how this program is related to the principal Federal regulatory program to protect wetla… more
Date: December 19, 1994
Creator: Zinn, Jeffrey A.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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An Introduction to Major Natural Resource Issues in the 104th Congress

Description: This report introduces natural resource issues that the 104th Congress is likely to consider during the second session or is already considering through authorizations, appropriations, and/or oversight. Many were considered, but not resolved, by earlier Congresses
Date: January 30, 1996
Creator: Library of Congress. Environment and Natural Resources Policy Division.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Forest Fires and Forest Health

Description: Interest in fuel management, to reduce fire control costs and damages, has been renewed with the numerous, destructive wildfires spread across the West during the summers of 1988 and 1994.
Date: June 7, 1996
Creator: Gorte, Ross W.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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