[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4331 Introduced in House (IH)]




105th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4331

 To provide for the establishment of an interpretive center and museum 
   at Fort Peck Dam, Montana, and to provide further protection for 
      significant fossil remains in the vicinity of Fort Peck Dam.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 24, 1998

   Mr. Hill introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
             Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To provide for the establishment of an interpretive center and museum 
   at Fort Peck Dam, Montana, and to provide further protection for 
      significant fossil remains in the vicinity of Fort Peck Dam.

    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 ``Fort Peck Paleontological Protection 
and Interpretation Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) It is in the national interest to preserve and protect 
        paleontological finds.
            (2) The extensive paleontological finds near Fort Peck Dam, 
        Montana, including the recent discovery of the remains of a 
        tyrannosaurus rex, provide an opportunity to educate the public 
        regarding the cultural, historical, and paleontological 
        resources of the Fort Peck Dam area.
            (3) The establishment of an interpretive center and museum 
        at Fort Peck Dam, which is the site of the first major 
        paleontological discovery in Montana, presents an opportunity 
        to continue preserving these paleontological finds while 
        educating persons nationwide and abroad.
            (4) In support of this opportunity, the Fort Peck Dam 
        Interpretive Center and Museum, Inc. has worked cooperatively 
        with the appropriate Federal agencies in preserving important 
        paleontological finds such as the tyrannosaurus rex.
            (5) The Fort Peck Dam Interpretive Center and Museum, Inc., 
        has entered into partnerships with leading educational 
        institutions and has taken the lead in providing community 
        support for such preservation efforts.
            (6) The Fort Peck Dam Interpretive Center and Museum, Inc., 
        would continue to work with the Smithsonian Institution and 
        accredited educational institutions on preserving 
        paleontological resources.

SEC. 3. FORT PECK DAM INTERPRETIVE CENTER AND MUSEUM.

    (a) Establishment of Center and Museum.--The Secretary of the Army 
shall design, construct, furnish, and equip an interpretive center and 
museum, to be located on project lands of the Army Corps of Engineers 
at Fort Peck Dam, Montana, for the purpose of preserving and 
interpreting the historical, cultural, and paleontological resources of 
the Fort Peck Dam area.
    (b) Project Purpose.--To permit the carrying out of subsection (a), 
the purpose of the Fort Peck Dam project shall include paleontology in 
addition to the other project purposes.
    (c) Transfer of Jurisdiction.--In order to ensure protection of 
significant fossil remains on Federal lands in the vicinity of Fort 
Peck Dam, the Secretary of Agriculture shall transfer, without 
reimbursement, a parcel of real property consisting of approximately 
360 acres located in section 22, township 25 north, range 43 east, 
McCone County, Montana, to the administrative jurisdiction of the 
Secretary of the Army. The transferred property shall be administered 
by the Secretary of the Army as part of the project lands of the Army 
Corps of Engineers at Fort Peck Dam.
    (d) Coordination.--In carrying out subsection (a), the Secretary of 
the Army shall coordinate with the Fort Peck Dam Interpretive Center 
and Museum, Inc., and the Director of the United States Fish and 
Wildlife Service, the Bureau of Land Management, and the Bureau of 
Reclamation. The Secretary of the Army shall seek to enter into an 
agreement with the Directors of such agencies and with the Corporation 
to provide for the operation, maintenance, and management of the 
completed interpretive center and museum.
    (e) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section a total of $10,000,000. Funds 
appropriated shall be available until expended.
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