[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2643 Introduced in House (IH)]







107th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2643

 To authorize the acquisition of additional lands for inclusion in the 
 Fort Clatsop National Memorial in the State of Oregon, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 25, 2001

    Mr. Wu (for himself, Mr. Baird, and Mr. Souder) introduced the 
    following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To authorize the acquisition of additional lands for inclusion in the 
 Fort Clatsop National Memorial in the State of Oregon, 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 ``Fort Clatsop National Memorial 
Expansion Act of 2001''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (1) Fort Clatsop National Memorial is the only unit of the 
        National Park System solely dedicated to the Lewis and Clark 
        Expedition.
            (2) In 1805, the members of the Lewis and Clark Expedition 
        built Fort Clatsop at the mouth of the Columbia River near 
        Astoria, Oregon, and they spent 106 days at the fort waiting 
        for the end of winter and preparing for their journey home.
            (3) In 1958, Congress enacted Public Law 85-435 authorizing 
        the establishment of Fort Clatsop National Memorial for the 
        purpose of commemorating the culmination, and the winter 
        encampment, of the Lewis and Clark Expedition following its 
        successful crossing of the North American continent.
            (4) The 1995 General Management Plan for Fort Clatsop 
        National Memorial, prepared with input from the local 
        community, recommends the expansion of the memorial to include 
        the trail used by expedition members to access the Pacific 
        Ocean from the fort and the shore and forest lands surrounding 
        the fort and trail to protect their natural settings.
            (5) The area near present day McGowan, Washington, where 
        the Lewis and Clark Expedition first camped after reaching the 
        Pacific Ocean, known as the ``Station Camp'' site, and where 
        they performed detailed surveying and conducted the historic 
        vote to determine where to spend the winter, is of undisputed 
        national significance.
            (6) The National Park Service and State of Washington 
        should identify the best alternative for adequately and cost 
        effectively protecting and interpreting the Station Camp site.
            (7) Expansion of Fort Clatsop National Memorial requires 
        Federal legislation because the size of the memorial is 
        currently limited by statute to 130 acres.
            (8) Congressional action to allow for the expansion of Fort 
        Clatsop National Memorial to include both the trail to the 
        Pacific Ocean and the Station Camp site would be both timely 
        and appropriate before the start of the bicentennial 
        celebration of the Lewis and Clark Expedition planned to take 
        place during the years 2004 through 2006.
            (9) The National Park Service, in a formal partnership with 
        the States of Washington and Oregon and relevant Indian tribes, 
        should conduct a comprehensive study of alternative mechanisms 
        for the long-term protection of, and visitation to, Lewis and 
        Clark sites along the lower Columbia River and the short-term 
        implementations of bicentennial commemoration activities. The 
        sites which should be studied include the Megler Rest Area and 
        Fort Canby State Park with the goal of adding these sites to 
        the Fort Clatsop National Memorial in a fashion that is 
        mutually agreeable to the National Park Service and the States 
        of Washington and Oregon.

SEC. 3. EXPANSION OF FORT CLATSOP NATIONAL MEMORIAL, OREGON.

    (a) Revised Boundaries.--Section 2 of Public Law 85-435 (16 U.S.C. 
450mm-1) is amended--
            (1) by inserting ``(a) Initial Designation of Lands.--'' 
        before ``The Secretary'';
            (2) by striking ``coast:'' and all that follows through the 
        end of the sentence and inserting ``coast.''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following new subsections:
    ``(b) Authorized Expansion.--The Fort Clatsop National Memorial 
shall also include the lands depicted on the map entitled `Fort Clatsop 
Boundary Map', numbered `405-80016-CCO', and dated June 1996. The 
Secretary shall maintain in an undeveloped state a visual buffer zone 
between a commemorative trail that will run through the property and 
adjacent private lands.
    ``(c) Maximum Designated Area.--The total area designated as the 
Fort Clatsop National Memorial shall not exceed 1,500 acres.''.
    (b) Authorized Acquisition Methods.--Section 3 of Public Law 85-435 
(16 U.S.C. 450mm-2) is amended--
            (1) by inserting ``(a) Acquisition Meth-
        ods.--'' before ``Within''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(b) Limitation.--The lands depicted on the map referred to in 
section 2(b) may be acquired only by donation or purchase from willing 
sellers, with the exception of corporately owned timberlands.''.

SEC. 4. STUDY OF STATION CAMP SITE AND OTHER AREAS FOR POSSIBLE 
              INCLUSION IN NATIONAL MEMORIAL.

    The Secretary of the Interior shall conduct a study of the area 
near McGowan, Washington, where the Lewis and Clark Expedition first 
camped after reaching the Pacific Ocean and known as the ``Station 
Camp'' site, as well as the Megler Rest Area and Fort Canby State Park, 
to determine the suitability, feasibility, and national significance of 
these sites for inclusion in the National Park System. The study shall 
be conducted in accordance with section 8 of Public Law 91-383 (16 
U.S.C. 1a-5).
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