[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2511 Referred in House (RFH)]







106th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2511


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 25, 2000

                 Referred to the Committee on Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT


 
 To establish the Kenai Mountains-Turnagain Arm National Heritage Area 
            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 Area Act of 2000''.

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 historical 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 area 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 area designation also provides 
        communities within the region with the motivation and means for 
        ``grassroots'' regional coordination and partnerships with each 
        other and with borough, State, and Federal agencies; and
            (9) national heritage area 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 Gridwood 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 area.--The term ``Heritage Area'' means the 
        Kenai Mountains-Turnagain Arm National Heritage Area 
        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.
            (3) Management plan.--The term ``management plan'' means 
        the management plan for the Heritage Area.
            (4) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of the Interior.

SEC. 4. KENAI MOUNTAINS-TURNAGAIN ARM NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA.

    (a) Establishment.--There is established the Kenai Mountains-
Turnagain Arm National Heritage Area.
    (b) Boundaries.--The Heritage Area shall comprise the lands in 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) The Secretary shall enter into a cooperative agreement with the 
management entity to carry out the purposes of this Act. The 
cooperative agreement shall include information relating to the 
objectives and management of the Heritage Area, including the 
following:
            (1) A discussion of the goals and objectives of the 
        Heritage Area.
            (2) An explanation of the proposed approach to conservation 
        and interpretation of the Heritage Area.
            (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 Kenai Peninsula Borough; the 
Municipality of Anchorage; the Alaska Railroad; the Alaska Department 
of Transportation; and the National Park Service.
    (d) Representation of ex officio members in the nonprofit 
corporation shall be established under the bylaws of the management 
entity.

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 Area, taking into consideration existing Federal, 
        State, borough, and local plans.
            (2) Contents.--The management plan shall include, but not 
        be limited to--
                    (A) comprehensive recommendations for conservation, 
                funding, management, and development of the Heritage 
                Area;
                    (B) a description of agreements on actions to be 
                carried out by Government and private organizations to 
                protect the resources of the Heritage Area;
                    (C) a list of specific and potential sources of 
                funding to protect, manage, and develop the Heritage 
                Area;
                    (D) an inventory of resources contained in the 
                Heritage Area; and
                    (E) a description of the role and participation of 
                other Federal, State and local agencies that have 
                jurisdiction on lands within the Heritage Area.
    (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 heritage plan, 
including assisting communities within the region in--
            (1) carrying out programs which recognize important 
        resource values in the Heritage Area;
            (2) encouraging economic viability in the affected 
        communities;
            (3) establishing and maintaining interpretive exhibits in 
        the Heritage Area;
            (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 Area;
            (6) restoring historic buildings and structures that are 
        located within the boundaries of the Heritage Area; and
            (7) ensuring that clear, consistent, and appropriate signs 
        identifying public access points and sites of interest are 
        placed throughout the Heritage Area.
    (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 Area. The management entity 
shall place a notice of each such meeting in a newspaper of general 
circulation in the Heritage Area and shall make the minutes of the 
meeting available to the public.

SEC. 7. DUTIES OF THE SECRETARY.

    (a) The Secretary, in consultation with the Governor of Alaska, or 
his designee, is authorized to enter into a cooperative agreement with 
the management entity. The cooperative agreement shall be prepared with 
public participation.
    (b) 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 Area.
    (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 OF 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 out the purposes of this Act, and is made 
available upon the Secretary and the management entity completing a 
cooperative agreement.
    (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 Area.
    (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 September 22, 2000.

            Attest:

                                                    GARY SISCO,

                                                              Secretary