condemnation, the private properties on the south and west of the Center. They feel the Center property is essential to the full development of their facility. The Department of Agriculture has declined these requests on previous occasions but now feels, for the reasons stated above, that it is to the advantage of both the Federal Government and Alameda County to relocate the Plant Materials Center. Continued operation of the Center at another location is necessary and such is recommended and concurred in by the California Department of Conservation, California Department of Fish and Game, and the California Agricultural Experiment Station.

There are high-priority conservation needs and problems in the State of California that are as yet unsolved. The Center program includes the following projects as part of a continuing activity of conservation plant improvements:

(a) Fire-resistant plants for reseeding burns. About 1 million acres of California range and woodland are burned each year resulting in erosion and sedimentation problems.

(b) Plants for conservation purposes that will also contribute to beautification and recreation uses on the 250,000 acres in California now included in watershed projects.

(c) Food plants for waterfowl and cover plants for upland game that will also serve soil conservation objectives. Suitable waterfowl food plants on the margins of some 12,000 stock water ponds in California Soil Conservation Districts will make the 25,000 surface acres attractive hunting and productive breeding areas as well as prevent or reduce erosion of disturbed areas.

Other USDA Soil Conservation Service plant materials centers located in bordering States cannot serve the needs of the State of California. The Pleasanton Center serves the land resource areas of the Mediterranean-type climate peculiar only to the State of California. This winter-wet and summer-dry climate requires plant materials and cultural and management practices that differ from any other part of the United States. Plant materials centers now located in the bordering States of Arizona, Oregon, and Idaho do not and cannot serve the specialized needs of the Pacific Southwest coastal area.

The removal of the Plant Materials Center to a new locationincluding the selection, procurement, and development of a new site to full productive capacity-may take as long as 6 years. Acquiring land and getting occupancy is a time-consuming process. Land at the new site will need to be leveled and an irrigation system installed to provide precise water control for the small fields used in the specialized plant materials operation. A program of weed control, cleanup crops, and green mature crops will follow land leveling. Plans will need to be developed and buildings and facilities constructed for the new plant materials center to become fully operative.

Agreements with adjoining landowners must be arranged to insure insulation of seed crops. Seed fields need to be established on the new location before production can be abandoned on the Pleasanton Center. Many vegetative materials in observational nurseries will be dug, transported, and replanted when the new land is ready. There is a need to continue observations on presently established studies at Pleasanton for 2 to 4 years to complete certain projects.

It is planned to conduct both irrigated and nonirrigated work on the larger acreage at the relocation site. Pleasanton has been used for irri

gated work exclusively, with dryland work being carried out on leased land at nearby Sunol. Agencies of the State of California have been contributing nearly one-half of the financial support of the operation of the Plant Materials Center, making possible a greater range and scope of activities at a minimum Federal expenditure.

The county of Alameda is desirous of purchasing the land at the present site and the Soil Conservation Service is experiencing difficulty in carrying out the operation in an efficient manner because of the buildup and industrialization near Pleasanton. Also, preliminary estimates and appraisals indicate that the relocation of the Pleasanton Plant Materials Center can be accomplished without the appropriation of Federal funds.

After giving careful consideration to all factors involved, we believe this is an opportune time to sell the Pleasanton Plant Materials. Center and relocate it at another site.

I thank you for this opportunity to appear before this committee and would be pleased to answer any question you may have. Mr. DE LA GARZA. Thank you very much, Mr. Williams. Are there any questions of Mr. Williams?

Mr. Jones?

Mr. JONES. No.

Mr. DE LA GARZA. Mr. Purcell?

Mr. PURCELL. No.

Mr. DE LA GARZA. Mr. Dole?

Mr. DOLE. There may be something in the record of the last hearing as to the size of this area. What are we talking about? How many acres? How many buildings? And the value thereof?

Mr. WILLIAMS. The Center property is 60 acres, which was purchased by the Soil Conservation Service in 1939. Certain buildings have been placed on the property. Mr. Douglas, who is a technician on this subject, can respond better than I can.

Do you have any further comments, Mr. Douglas.

STATEMENT OF DON DOUGLAS, HEAD PLANT SPECIALIST, SOIL CONSERVATION SERVICE, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICUL

TURE

Mr. DOUGLAS. There are 11 buildings, wells, pumps, and an underground irrigation system. For a replacement center, we feel that we need a rather larger establishment, so far as acreage is concerned, to carry out both our irrigated and our other operations.

Mr. DOLE. Do you have any figures on the approximate value of the present property that you own there?

Mr. WILLIAMS. Yes; we had an appraisal made pending the outcome of this legislation. The 60 acres, with the improvements were appraised last year at approximately $800,000. And as Mr. Edwards has explained to me, California land values have gone even higher since the evaluation was made.

Now, for the information of the subcommittee, we have not made any commitments to anybody about a relocation site for obvious reasons. We have examined several possibilities. We know that within the estimated sales price it will be possible to acquire the land, to develop it, and to pay the cost of moving, and the probabilities are that we will have something left over for the Federal Treasury, but

we, certainly, estimate that it will not be a cost to the Federal Treasury.

Mr. DOLE. Mr. Chairman, we should have a brief statement as to the facilities and the exact acreage in addition to the information we have just received. I think that, finally, this bill is identical to the one considered last year in the Conservation and Credit Subcommittee which was passed without objection.

Mr. WILLIAMS. That is correct.

Mr. DOLE. There has been no change made in H.R. 547.

Mr. WILLIAMS. Yes; that is correct.

Mr. DE LA GARZA. This information that will be forthcoming from you will be put into the record.

(The information referred to follows:)

FACILITIES PRESENTLY EXISTING AT PLEASANTON PLANT MATERIALS CENTER, PLEASANTON, CALIF.

The property consists of approximately 60 acres of level, high-capability cropland. The improvements consist of 11 buildings, two wells and pumps that supply adequate irrigation water for the 60 acres, an underground irrigation system, fencing, sewer lines and septic tank, underground electric conduits, underground gas lines, and gravel driveways, walkways and parking area.

The buildings total 9572 square feet of usable space and consist of an office building, a seed storage building, a seed cleaning and drying building, a garage and shop building with five stalls, an implement building, an open equipment storage shed, two pumphouses, a small blacksmith shop, a barracks-type storage building, and an oil and paint house. Four of the buildings are of adobe block construction. They are attractive, well-designed, and well-constructed in Spanish style architecture.

Total appraised valuation of the above listed improvements is $93,800.

Mr. DE LA GARZA. Mr. Douglas, will you identify yourself for the record, sir?

Mr. DOUGLAS. I am the head plant materials specialist in the SCS. Mr. DE LA GARZA. Are there any further questions?

Mr. Kleppe?

Mr. KLEPPE. He just answered my question.

Thank you.

Mr. DE LA GARZA. Do you have any further information like to give to the subcommittee, Mr. Edwards?

Mr. EDWARDS. No, Mr. Chairman.

you would

Mr. DE LA GARZA. Are there any other witnesses who would like to be heard on this bill?

If not, we thank you very much, Mr. Edwards, Mr. Williams, Mr. Douglas, and Mr. Ryerson.

The subcommittee will forthwith take action on this measure.
Mr. WILLIAMS. Thank you very much.

Mr. DE LA GARZA. The chairman of the subcommittee has an interest in the next piece of legislation, and I will ask Mr. Jones to preside, while the chairman submits a statement on this next piece of legislation.

Mr. JONES of Missouri (presiding). The Chair will be happy to hear our honorable colleague on H.R. 472, which, together with the departmental report, will be made a part of the record at this point. (H.R. 472 by Mr. de la Garza and the departmental report follow:)

[H.R. 472, 90th Cong., 1st sess.]

A BILL To authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to purchase certain land from Texas Southmost College, Brownsville, Texas

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the Secretary of Agriculture is authorized to acquire by purchase, with any funds available for agricultural research, one and nineteen one-hundredths acres and three and sixty-eight one-hundredths acres, more or less, as improved, out of the motor transport area fourteen and six thousand seven hundred fifteen ten-thousandths acres in the Fort Brown Reservation in Brownsville, Cameron County, Texas, and now leased to the Government of the United States for research purposes.

Hon. W. R. POAGE,

Chairman, Committee on Agriculture,

House of Representatives.

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE,

Washington, D.C., June 7, 1967.

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: This is in reply to your letter of January 20, 1967, requesting a report on H.R. 472. The bill is entitled, "To authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to purchase certain land from Texas Southmost College, Brownsville, Texas."

The bill would authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to use any funds available for agricultural research for the purchase of 4.87 acres, more or less, with improvements at Brownsville, Texas. The property is presently leased to the Department for conducting entomology research. The Board of Trustees, Texas Southmost College, adopted a resolution offering to sell the leased property to the Department for $125,000. An independent appraisal has valued the property at $150,000. While options under the offer expired on September 17, 1966, there is no reason to expect that the Board of Trustees would not reopen the offer if the Department was authorized to purchase the property.

This Department favors the objective of H.R. 472. It would provide authority for purchase of property consonant with long range objectives of our research programs.

The Brownsville laboratory was established in 1953, primarily for research on the pink bollworm which had begun to spread rapidly in the early 1950's. The research program has been expanded to include other cotton insects, fruit insects, pesticides, beekeeping and insect pathology.

The 4.87 acres of leased land which H.R. 472 would authorize the Department to purchase adjoins the approximately 13.89 acres of land owned by the Department and constitutes an integral part of the total entomological research station at Brownsville, Texas.

The Lower Rio Grande Valley is a major production area for cotton, vegetables, and citrus fruits. The subtropical climate is conducive to the year-round breeding of insects essential to the research program. Furthermore, nearly every major insect pest of cotton is found and thrives in the area, on both sides of the Rio Grande River. The research program at Brownsville has produced some outstanding accomplishments.

The Bureau of the Budget advises that there is no objection to the presentation of this report from the standpoint of the Administration's program.

Sincerely yours,

ORVILLE L. FREEMAN.

STATEMENT OF HON. ELIGIO DE LA GARZA, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF TEXAS

Mr. DE LA GARZA. Mr. Chairman and members of the subcommittee, this bill was introduced by me at the request of the Department of Agriculture and, I might add also, at the request and with the consent of Texas Southmost College in my district.

Testifying on behalf of the Department of Agriculture, Mr. Chairman, is Francis R. Mangham, Deputy Administrator, Administrative

Management, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture.

I will ask him to come before the subcommittee and present the Department's testimony in behalf of this legislation.

Mr. JONES of Missouri (presiding). We will be happy to hear from him at this time.

STATEMENT OF FRANCIS R. MANGHAM, DEPUTY ADMINISTRATOR, ADMINISTRATIVE MANAGEMENT, AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH SERVICE, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, WASHINGTON, D.C.

Mr. MANGHAM. Mr. Chairman and members of the subcommittee, I appreciate the opportunity to appear before your subcommittee to present the Department's views on H.R. 472. The bill would authorize the Department to use any funds available for agricultural research for the purchase of approximately 4.87 acres of land with improvements at Brownsville, Tex. The improvements include a brick and concrete laboratory and office building, containing 7,200 square feet of space.

The property involved is presently leased to the Department and used for conducting entomology research. The board of trustees, Texas Southmost College, in November 1964, adopted a resolution offering to sell the leased property to the Department for $125,000. An independent appraisal in July 1966 valued the land at $74,000 and the laboratory building at $76,000, for a total of $150,000. While options under the offer expired on September 7, 1966, there is presently no reason to expect that the board of trustees would not reopen the offer if the Department was authorized to purchase the property. The Department now owns approximately 13.89 acres that adjoin the 4.87 acres and constitutes an integral part of the total research complex at Brownsville. The 13.89 acres was acquired from the International Boundary and Water Commission in 1960. Permanent laboratory buildings, greenhouses, and field cages have been constructed and equipped on the Government-owned land at a cost of approximately $300,000. The entire complex is utilized.

The Brownsville laboratory was established in 1953, primarily for research on the pink bollworm which had begun to spread rapidly in the early 1950's. Since then, the research program has been expanded to include other cotton insects, fruit insects, pesticides, beekeeping, and insect pathology. The location is excellent for conducting entomological research since the lower Rio Grande is a major production area for cotton, vegetables, and citrus fruits. The subtropical climate is conducive to the year-round breeding of insects essential to the research program, Nearly every major insect pest of cotton is found and thrives in the area, on both sides of the Rio Grande River.

Several lines of research at Brownsville have been particularly productive. They include research on sex attractants of the pink bollworm; use of insect viruses to control bollworms and other cotton insects; investigations on resistances of cotton to bollworms; fleahopper and other insects; chemosterilant research on pink bollworm and tobacco budworm, as well as several other lines of research on