[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2482 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2482

To require the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a special resource 
  study regarding the proposed Mississippi River Trail, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 24, 2007

  Ms. McCollum of Minnesota (for herself, Mr. Kind, Mr. Boswell, Ms. 
    Bordallo, Mr. Walz of Minnesota, Mr. Ellison, and Ms. Baldwin) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                           Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To require the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a special resource 
  study regarding the proposed Mississippi River Trail, 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 ``Mississippi River Special Resource 
Study Act''.

SEC. 2. SPECIAL RESOURCE STUDY REGARDING PROPOSED MISSISSIPPI RIVER 
              TRAIL.

    (a) Study Required.--The Secretary of the Interior shall conduct a 
special resource study along the route of the Mississippi River in the 
counties contiguous to the river from its headwaters in the State of 
Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico for the purpose of evaluating a range 
of alternatives for protecting and interpreting the resources along the 
route of the Mississippi River, including alternatives for potential 
addition of all or portions of the route to the National Trails System.
    (b) Consultation.--The Secretary shall conduct the special resource 
study in consultation with appropriate Federal, State, county, and 
local governmental entities.
    (c) Study Objectives.--In conducting the special resource study, 
the Secretary shall evaluate alternatives for achieving the following 
objectives:
            (1) Identifying the resources and historic themes 
        associated with the route of the Mississippi River.
            (2) Making a review of existing studies and reports, such 
        as the Mississippi River Corridor Study and the Lower 
        Mississippi Delta Report, to complement and not duplicate other 
        studies of the scenic or historical importance of the 
        Mississippi River that may be underway or undertaken.
            (3) Establishing connections with partnerships already 
        engaged in the development of various trails and sites along 
        the route of the Mississippi River.
            (4) Preserving recreational opportunities and facilitating 
        access for a variety of recreational users.
            (5) Protecting rare, threatened, or endangered plant and 
        animal species, and rare or unusual plant communities and 
        habitats.
            (6) Protecting historically significant landscapes, 
        districts, sites, and structures.
            (7) Identifying alternatives for preservation and 
        interpretation of the route by the National Park Service, other 
        Federal, State, or local governmental entities, or private and 
        nonprofit organizations.
            (8) Identifying cost estimates for any necessary 
        acquisition, development, interpretation, operation, and 
        maintenance associated with the alternatives developed under 
        the special resource study.
    (d) Submission to Congress.--Not later than three years after funds 
are first made available for the study, the Secretary shall submit to 
the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate and the 
Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives a report 
containing the results of the special resource study.
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