[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1638 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







107th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1638

To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to study the suitability and 
  feasibility of designating the French Colonial Heritage Area in the 
State of Missouri as a unit of the National Park System, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            November 6, 2001

   Mr. Bond introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
       referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to study the suitability and 
  feasibility of designating the French Colonial Heritage Area in the 
State of Missouri as a unit of the National Park System, 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 ``French Colonial Heritage Area Study 
Act of 2001''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) the French Colonial Heritage Area is of great 
        historical significance as the home of--
                    (A) 2 of the 5 poteaux-en-terre (post in the 
                ground) vertical log French homes remaining in North 
                America, dating from circa 1800; and
                    (B) several other important historical artifacts;
            (2) the Heritage Area is located in the Ste. Genevieve 
        National Historic District and is adjacent to related historic 
        properties, including--
                    (A) a third North American poteaux-en-terre home;
                    (B) the Le Grand Champ, a common field used by 
                French settlers;
                    (C) historic downtown Ste. Genevieve; and
                    (D) a prehistoric Native American village evidenced 
                by several ceremonial mounds;
            (3) the Heritage Area contains several of the last 
        remaining examples of French colonial period settlements that 
        emphasized integration with the local culture;
            (4) local agencies and organizations in the State of 
        Missouri have undertaken significant efforts to--
                    (A) preserve the historic architecture of Ste. 
                Genevieve; and
                    (B) convert historic properties to educational 
                facilities devoted to the history of the early French 
                experience in the United States; and
            (5) no unit of the National Park System has comparable 
        historical features providing the cultural backdrop required to 
        adequately interpret the story of the early French settlers in 
        the United States.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Heritage area.--The term ``Heritage Area'' means the 
        French Colonial Heritage Area, including the Bequette-Ribault, 
        St. Gemme-Amoureaux, and Wilhauk homes and the related and 
        supporting historical assets in Ste. Genevieve County, 
        Missouri.
            (2) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of the Interior, acting through the Director of the National 
        Park Service.

SEC. 4. STUDY.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 3 years after the date on which 
funds are made available to carry out this Act, the Secretary shall, in 
consultation with the State of Missouri--
            (1) complete a study on the suitability and feasibility of 
        designating the Heritage Area as a unit of the National Park 
        System; and
            (2) submit to the Committee on Resources of the House of 
        Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural 
        Resources of the Senate a report describing the findings of the 
        study.
    (b) Contents.--The study required under subsection (a) shall be 
conducted in accordance with Public Law 91-383 (16 U.S.C. 1a-1 et 
seq.).

SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are necessary 
to carry out this Act.
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