[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2588 Introduced in House (IH)]






109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2588

  To direct the Secretary of the Interior to carry out a study of the 
 feasibility of designating the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National 
           Historic Watertrail as a national historic trail.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 24, 2005

Mrs. Jo Ann Davis of Virginia (for herself, Mr. Scott of Virginia, Mr. 
    Gilchrest, Mr. Cardin, Mr. Platts, Mr. Van Hollen, Mr. Moran of 
Virginia, Mr. Goode, Mr. Holden, Mr. Tom Davis of Virginia, Mr. Hoyer, 
 Mr. Ruppersberger, Mr. Wolf, and Mr. Forbes) introduced the following 
         bill; which was referred to the Committee on Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To direct the Secretary of the Interior to carry out a study of the 
 feasibility of designating the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National 
           Historic Watertrail as a national historic trail.

    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 ``Captain John Smith Chesapeake 
National Historic Watertrail Study Act of 2005''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) Captain John Smith's role in the founding of Jamestown, 
        Virginia, the first permanent English settlement in North 
        America, and in exploring and mapping the Chesapeake Bay region 
        during the period from 1607 to 1609 marks a defining period in 
        the history of the United States;
            (2) the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic 
        Watertrail traces the routes of Smith's voyages from Jamestown 
        to explore the Chesapeake Bay and tributaries of the Chesapeake 
        Bay, from the mouth of Chesapeake Bay at Cape Henry to the 
        northern reaches of the Bay at the mouth of the Susquehanna 
        River, including the Potomac River; and
            (3) the designation of the Captain John Smith Chesapeake 
        National Historic Watertrail would--
                    (A) serve as a reminder of--
                            (i) the 400th anniversary of Captain John 
                        Smith's founding of Jamestown; and
                            (ii) the series of exploratory voyages by 
                        Smith around the Chesapeake Bay during the 
                        period from 1607 to 1609;
                    (B) give recognition to the Native American 
                settlements, culture, and natural history of the 
                Chesapeake Bay region during the 17th century;
                    (C) complement the Chesapeake Bay Gateways and 
                Watertrails Network Initiative; and
                    (D) provide new opportunities for education, 
                recreation, and heritage tourism in the Chesapeake Bay 
                region.

SEC. 3. DESIGNATION OF TRAIL FOR STUDY.

     Section 5(c) of the National Trails System Act (16 U.S.C. 1244(c)) 
is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(43)(A) The Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic 
Watertrail, a series of routes extending approximately 3000 miles along 
the Chesapeake Bay and the tributaries of the Chesapeake Bay in the 
States of Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Delaware and the 
District of Columbia that traces Captain John Smith's voyages charting 
the land and waterways of the Chesapeake Bay and the tributaries of the 
Chesapeake Bay.
    ``(B) The study shall be conducted in consultation with Federal, 
State, regional, and local agencies and representatives of the private 
sector, including the entities responsible for administering--
            ``(i) the Chesapeake Bay Gateways and Watertrails Network 
        authorized under the Chesapeake Bay Initiative Act of 1998 (16 
        U.S.C. 461 note; Public Law 105-312); and
            ``(ii) the Chesapeake Bay Program authorized under section 
        117 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 
        1267).''.
                                 <all>