2000
[DOCID: f:s509rfh.txt]
107th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 509
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
September 5, 2001
Referred to the Committee on Resources
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To establish the Kenai Mountains-Turnagain Arm National Heritage
Corridor in the State of Alaska, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Kenai Mountains-Turnagain Arm
National Heritage Corridor Act of 2001''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.
(a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
(1) the Kenai Mountains-Turnagain Arm transportation
corridor is a major gateway to Alaska and includes a range of
transportation routes used first by indigenous people who were
followed by pioneers who settled the Nation's last frontier;
(2) the natural history and scenic splendor of the region
are equally outstanding; vistas of nature's power include
evidence of earthquake subsidence, recent avalanches,
retreating glaciers and tidal action along Turnagain Arm, which
has the world's second greatest tidal range;
(3) the cultural landscape formed by indigenous people and
then by settlement, transportation and modern resource
development in this rugged and often treacherous natural
setting stands as powerful testimony to the human fortitude,
perseverance, and resourcefulness that is America's proudest
heritage from the people who settled the frontier;
(4) there is a national interest in recognizing,
preserving, promoting, and interpreting these resources;
(5) the Kenai Mountains-Turnagain Arm region is
geographically and culturally cohesive because it is defined by
a corridor of historic routes--trail, water, railroad, and
roadways through a distinct landscape of mountains, lakes, and
fjords;
(6) national significance of separate elements of the
region include, but are not limited to, the Iditarod National
Historic Trail, the Seward Highway National Scenic Byway, and
the Alaska Railroad National Scenic Railroad;
(7) national Heritage Corridor designation provides for the
interpretation of these routes, as well as the national
historic districts and numerous historic routes in the region
as part of the whole picture of human history in the wider
transportation corridor including early Native trade routes,
connections by waterway, mining trail, and other routes;
(8) national Heritage Corridor designation also provides
communities within the region with the motivation and means for
``grass roots'' regional coordination and partnerships with
each other and with borough, State, and Federal agencies; and
(9) national Heritage Corridor designation is supported by
the Kenai Peninsula Historical Association, the Seward
Historical Commission, the Seward City Council, the Hope and
Sunrise Historical Society, the Hope Chamber of Commerce, the
Alaska Association for Historic Preservation, the Cooper
Landing Community Club, the Alaska Wilderness Recreation and
Tourism Association, Anchorage Historic Properties, the
Anchorage Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Cook Inlet
Historical Society, the Moose Pass Sportsman's Club, the Alaska
Historical Commission, the Girdwood Board of Supervisors, the
Kenai River Special Management Area Advisory Board, the Bird/
Indian Community Council, the Kenai Peninsula Borough Trails
Commission, the Alaska Division of Parks and Recreation, the
Kenai Peninsula Borough, the Kenai Peninsula Tourism Marketing
Council, and the Anchorage Municipal Assembly.
(b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are--
(1) to recognize, preserve, and interpret the historic and
modern resource development and cultural landscapes of the
Kenai Mountains-Turnagain Arm historic transportation corridor,
and to promote and facilitate the public enjoyment of these
resources; and
(2) to foster, through financial and technical assistance,
the development of cooperative planning and partnerships among
the communities and borough, State, and Federal Government
entities.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS
In this Act:
(1) Heritage corridor.--The term ``Heritage Corridor''
means the Kenai Mountains-Turnagain Arm National Heritage
Corridor established by section 4(a) of this Act.
(2) Management entity.--The term ``management entity''
means the 11 member Board of Directors of the Kenai Mountains-
Turnagain Arm National Heritage Corridor Communities
Association, a non-profit corporation, established in
accordance with the laws of the State of Alaska.
(3) Management plan.--The term ``management plan'' means
the management plan for the Heritage Corridor.
(4) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of the Interior.
SEC. 4. KENAI MOUNTAINS-TURNAGAIN ARM NATIONAL HERITAGE CORRIDOR.
(a) Establishment.--There is established the Kenai Mountains-
Turnagain Arm National Heritage Corridor.
(b) Boundaries.--The Heritage Corridor shall comprise the lands ion
the Kenai Mountains and upper Turnagain Arm region generally depicted
on the map entitled ``Kenai Peninsula/Turnagain Arm National Heritage
Corridor'', numbered ``Map #KMTA--1, and dated ``August 1999''. The map
shall be on file and available for public inspection in the offices of
the Alaska Regional Office of the National Park Service and in the
offices of the Alaska State Heritage Preservation Officer.
SEC. 5. MANAGEMENT ENTITY.
(a) To carry out the purposes of this Act, the Secretary shall
enter into a cooperative agreement with the management entity. The
cooperative agreement shall be prepared with public participation and
shall include information relating to the objectives and management of
the Heritage Corridor, including the following:
(1) A discussion of the goals and objectives of the
Heritage Corridor.
(2) An explanation of the proposed approach to conservation
and interpretation of the Heritage Corridor.
(3) A general outline of the protection measures, to which
the management entity commits.
(b) Nothing in this Act authorizes the management entity to assume
any management authorities or responsibilities on Federal lands.
(c) Representatives of other organizations shall be invited and
encouraged to participate with the management entity and in the
development and implementation of the management plan, including but
not limited to: The State Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation; the
State Division of Mining, Land and Water; the Forest Service; the State
Historic Preservation Office; the Kenia Peninsula Borough, the
Municipality of Anchorage; the Alaska Railroad, the Alaska Department
of Transportation; and the National Park Service.
SEC. 6. AUTHORITIES AND DUTIES OF MANAGEMENT ENTITY.
(a) Management plan.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 3 years after the Secretary
enters into a cooperative agreement with the management entity,
the management entity shall develop a management plan for the
Heritage Corridor, taking into consideration existing Federal,
State, borough, and local plans.
(2) Contents.--The management plan shall include, but not
be limited to--
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(A) comprehensive recommendations for
conservation, funding, management, and development of the Heritage
Corridor;
(B) a description of agreements on actions to be
carried out by public and private organizations to
protect the resources of the Heritage Corridor;
(C) a list of specific and potential sources of
funding to protect, manage, and develop the Heritage
Corridor;
(D) an inventory of the known cultural and historic
resources contained in the Heritage Corridor; and
(E) a description of the role and participation of
other Federal, State, and local agencies that have
jurisdiction on lands within the Heritage Corridor.
(b) Priorities.--The management entity shall give priority to the
implementation of actions, goals, and policies set forth in the
cooperative agreement with the Secretary and the management plan,
including assisting communities within the region in--
(1) carrying out programs which recognize important
resource values in the Heritage Corridor;
(2) encouraging economic viability in the affected
communities;
(3) establishing and maintaining interpretive exhibits in
the Heritage Corridor;
(4) improving and interpreting heritage trails;
(5) increasing public awareness and appreciation for the
natural, historical, and cultural resources and modern resource
development of the Heritage Corridor;
(6) restoring historic buildings and structures that are
located within the boundaries of the Heritage Corridor; and
(7) ensuring that clear, consistent, and appropriate signs
identifying public access points and sites of interest are
placed throughout the Heritage Corridor.
(c) Public Meetings.--The management entity shall conduct 2 or more
public meetings each year regarding the initiation and implementation
of the management plan for the Heritage Corridor. The management entity
shall place a notice of each such meeting in a newspaper of general
circulation in the Heritage Corridor and shall make the minutes of the
meeting available to the public.
SEC. 7. DUTIES OF THE SECRETARY.
In accordance with the terms and conditions of the cooperative
agreement and upon the request of the management entity, and subject to
the availability of funds, the Secretary may provide administrative,
technical, financial, design, development, and operations assistance to
carry out the purposes of this Act.
SEC. 8. SAVINGS PROVISIONS.
(a)Regulatory Authority.--Nothing in this Act shall be construed to
grant powers of zoning or management of land use to the management
entity of the Heritage Corridor.
(b) Effect on Authority of Governments.--Nothing in this Act shall
be construed to modify, enlarge, or diminish any authority of the
Federal, State, or local governments to manage or regulate any use of
land as provided for by law or regulation.
(c) Effect on Business.--Nothing in this Act shall be construed to
obstruct or limit business activity on private development or resource
development activities.
SEC. 9. PROHIBITION ON THE ACQUISITION OR REAL PROPERTY.
The management entity may not use funds appropriated to carry out
the purposes of this Act to acquire real property or interest in real
property.
SEC. 10. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
(a) First Year.--For the first year $350,000 is authorized to be
appropriated to carry our the purposes of this Act, and is made
available upon the Secretary and the management entity entering into a
cooperative agreement as authorized in section 3.
(b) In General.--There is authorized to be appropriated not more
than $1,000,000 to carry out the purposes of this Act for any fiscal
year after the first year. Not more than $10,000,000, in the aggregate,
may be appropriated for the Heritage Corridor.
(c) Matching Funds.--Federal funding provided under this Act shall
be matched at least 25 percent by other funds or in-kind services.
(d) Sunset Provision.--The Secretary may not make any grant or provide
any assistance under this Act beyond 15 years from the date that the
Secretary and management entity complete a cooperative agreement.
Passed the Senate August 3, 2001.
Attest:
JERI THOMSON,
Secretary.
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