[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 323 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 323

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

                            February 8, 2005

  Mr. Talent 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 National 
Historic Site Study Act of 2005''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) the French Colonial Heritage Area has great historical 
        significance as the home of two of the five poteaux-en-terre 
        (post in the ground) vertical log French homes remaining in 
        North America, dating from circa 1800, in addition to several 
        other important historical artifacts;
            (2) the area is located within the Ste. Genevieve National 
        Historic District, and is adjacent to related historic 
        properties including the third North American poteaux-en-terre 
        home, the ``Le Grand Champ'' (common field used by French 
        settlers), historic downtown Ste. Genevieve, and a pre-historic 
        Native American village still evidenced by several ceremonial 
        mounds;
            (3) the Area contains some of the only existing examples of 
        a French Colonial Period settlement, which was characterized by 
        contact that emphasized integration with the local culture;
            (4) local state agencies and organizations have undertaken 
        significant efforts to preserve the historic architecture of 
        Ste. Genevieve and convert it to educational facilities devoted 
        to the history of the early French experience in the New World; 
        and
            (5) no current National Park System unit has comparable 
        historic features providing the cultural backdrop required to 
        adequately interpret the story of the early French in the New 
        World.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Area.--The term ``Area'' means the French Colonial 
        Heritage Area, which includes the Bequette-Ribault, St. Gemme-
        Amoureaux, and Wilhauk homes, and the related and supporting 
        historical assets located 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 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 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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