[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1327 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

103d CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1327

To require the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study of historic 
 sites, buildings, and artifacts in the Champlain Valley and the Upper 
   Hudson River Valley, including the Lake George area in the United 
               States and Canada, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                July 30 (legislative day, June 30), 1993

Mr. Jeffords (for himself, Mr. Leahy, and Mr. Moyniham) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
                      Energy and Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To require the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study of historic 
 sites, buildings, and artifacts in the Champlain Valley and the Upper 
   Hudson River Valley, including the Lake George area in the United 
               States and Canada, 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 ``Champlain Valley Heritage Study Act 
of 1993''.

SEC. 2. FINDING.

    Congress finds that sites in the Upper Hudson River Valley, in the 
Champlain Valley, and in the area around Lake George there remain 
nationally and internationally significant heritage sites that 
illustrate over 400 years of a shared history of conflict and 
cooperation between the United States and Canada; that these sites 
illustrate the contest of cultures beginning in aboriginal times and 
extending through the era of imperial rivalry when the British and 
French vied for control of North America; that these sites also reflect 
the territorial ambitions of the American and Canadian peoples; and 
that the collective natural, historic, and cultural resources of the 
region are appropriate for consideration as a possible national or 
international heritage corridor.

SEC. 3. HERITAGE CORRIDOR DEFINED.

    As used in this Act, the term ``heritage corridor'' means a 
coherent and identifiable region comprised of natural and cultural 
resources whose integrity is integral to local, regional, and national 
interests and worthy of national recognition.

SEC. 4. CHAMPLAIN VALLEY HERITAGE CORRIDOR STUDY.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of the Interior (referred to in this 
Act as the ``Secretary'') shall conduct a study of natural, historic, 
and cultural resources associated with sites described in subsection 
(c).
    (b) Contents.--The study shall include--
            (1) an inventory of specific historic and cultural 
        resources within the region;
            (2) an inventory of existing local programs that link 
        historic, cultural, and natural resources;
            (3) descriptions of events, in geographical context, 
        related to the historic properties;
            (4) an assessment of the suitability and feasibility of 
        designating the sites as part of a national or international 
        heritage corridor to be administered individually, as a unit, 
        or by public-private partnerships;
            (5) an analysis of any effects that the designation of the 
        sites would have on the economy of the region in which the 
        sites are located; and
            (6) an analysis of any effects that the designation of the 
        sites would have on public and private ownership, use, and 
        development.
    (c) Sites.--The study shall be conducted with respect to the 
battlefields, forts, historic sites, and other associated historic 
landscapes, structures, and properties that--
            (1) are located in the area around the upper Hudson River, 
        Lake Champlain, and Lake George; and
            (2) are thematically linked to the important shared history 
        of conflict and cooperation that occurred between the time of 
        aboriginal settlement through significant eras of North 
        American history from earliest European settlement through the 
        end of the American Civil War and Canadian Confederation 
        (1867).
    (d) Consultation.--
            (1) In general.--In conducting the study, the Secretary 
        shall consult with--
                    (A) officials of State and local governments;
                    (B) local historians and archaeologists;
                    (C) owners of historic sites;
                    (D) Native Americans;
                    (E) local and regional planning commissions;
                    (F) local and regional chambers of commerce;
                    (G) interstate citizens groups; and
                    (H) other interested parties.
            (2) Consultation with canadian governments.--The Secretary, 
        acting through the Secretary of State, shall request the 
        appropriate officials of the governments of Canada and the 
        province of Quebec to enter into discussions to determine means 
        of linking historic sites along the Richelieu River with 
        related historic sites of related interest in the United States 
        in an international heritage corridor.
    (e) Public Hearings.--The Secretary shall publicize and hold at 
least 2 public meetings, of which--
            (1) 1 meeting shall be held in the State of Vermont; and
            (2) 1 meeting shall be held in the State of New York.
    (f) Submission to Congress.--Not later than 2 years after the date 
on which funds are made available for the study required under this 
Act, the Secretary shall submit a report describing the results of the 
study to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate 
and the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives.

SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There are authorized to be appropriated $250,000 to carry out this 
Act.

                                 <all>