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![handle is hein.congrecreports/crptxaghp0001 and id is 1 raw text is: AUT-ENTICATED
US. GOVERNMENT
INFORMATION
GP
118TH CONGRESS REPORT
2d Session HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 118-560
ALABAMA UNDERWATER FOREST NATIONAL MARINE
SANCTUARY AND PROTECTION ACT
JUNE 27, 2024.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of
the Union and ordered to be printed
Mr. WESTERMAN, from the Committee on Natural Resources,
submitted the following
REPORT
[To accompany H.R. 897]
The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred the
bill (H.R. 897) to provide for the establishment of the Alabama Un-
derwater Forest National Marine Sanctuary, and for other pur-
poses, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon with
an amendment and recommends that the bill as amended do pass.
The amendment is as follows:
Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the following:
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the Alabama Underwater Forest National Marine Sanc-
tuary and Protection Act.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) An ancient cypress forest dating back 50,000 to 70,000 years has been ex-
posed in the Gulf of Mexico off the Alabama coastline.
(2) The cypress trees, which were uncovered by massive waves associated
with Hurricane Ivan, are still rooted in the mud they were growing in at least
50,000 years ago.
(3) The Underwater Forest site is unique on a global scale, the only known
site where trees between 50,000 and 70,000 years old have been preserved in-
tact with the ecosystem they were growing in.
(4) Exploration of the site continues to yield invaluable scientific insight in
a variety of fields, though scientists have just begun to study the ancient forest.
SEC. 3. POLICY AND PURPOSE.
(a) POLICY.-It is the policy of the United States to protect and preserve the an-
cient cypress trees located off the coast of Alabama, known as the Alabama Under-
water Forest.
(b) PURPOSE.-The purpose of this Act is to protect the resources of the area de-
scribed in section 5(b), to educate and interpret for the public regarding the ancient
Alabama Underwater Forest environment, and to manage human uses of the Ala-
bama Underwater Forest National Marine Sanctuary consistent with this Act.
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