[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3063 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3063

To revise the boundary of Martin Van Buren National Historic Site, and 
                          for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 17, 2007

 Mrs. Gillibrand introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
                   the Committee on Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To revise the boundary of Martin Van Buren National Historic Site, 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 ``Martin Van Buren National Historic 
Site Boundary Revision Act''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    As used in this Act:
            (1) Historic site.--The term ``historic site'' means the 
        Martin Van Buren National Historic Site in the State of New 
        York, as authorized by Public Law 93-486 on October 26, 1974.
            (2) Map.--The term ``map'' means the map entitled 
        ``Boundary Map, Martin Van Buren National Historic Site'', 
        numbered ``460/80801'' and dated January 2005.
            (3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of the Interior.

SEC. 3. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
            (1) the historic site was established to preserve and 
        interpret the landscape, structures, and collections of 
        ``Lindenwald'', in Kinderhook, New York, owned by Martin Van 
        Buren, the eighth President of the United States (1837-1841) 
        from 1839 to his death in 1862;
            (2) the current boundary, encompassing about 39 acres of 
        land, does not adequately protect natural and cultural 
        resources that contribute to the significance of the historic 
        site;
            (3) the conservation easements acquired to preserve the 
        historic site's key agricultural views no longer offer adequate 
        protection for those views;
            (4) administrative buildings and facilities required for 
        future operations of the historic site may not be suitable to 
        be developed within its current boundaries due to impacts on 
        historic or scenic resources; and
            (5) a boundary study prepared by the National Park Service 
        in 2003 identifies about 331 acres of lands that, if acquired, 
        would help protect the agricultural character and the quality 
        of the setting of the historic site and increase opportunities 
        for interpretation and education.
    (b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are--
            (1) to protect the remaining contributing resources 
        significant to the historic site;
            (2) to preserve a more accurate portrayal of Van Buren's 
        Lindenwald by reuniting remaining agricultural lands associated 
        with the house through their acquisition from willing sellers;
            (3) to enhance the interpretation of Van Buren's broader 
        political and agrarian beliefs by enabling public access to key 
        agricultural resources and to protect scenic values associated 
        with the historic site; and
            (4) to enable the National Park Service to establish 
        administrative facilities that do not intrude upon the historic 
        site's resources or scenic values.

SEC. 4. BOUNDARY ADJUSTMENTS TO THE HISTORIC SITE.

    (a) Boundary Adjustment.--Effective on the date of enactment of 
this Act, the boundary of the historic site is adjusted to include 
approximately 261 acres of land identified as the ``PROPOSED PARK 
BOUNDARY'', as generally depicted on the map.
    (b) Acquisition Authority.--The Secretary may acquire the lands and 
interests in lands referred to in subsection (a) from a willing seller 
by donation, purchase with donated or appropriated funds, or exchange.
    (c) Availability of Map.--The map shall be on file and available 
for public inspection in the appropriate offices of the National Park 
Service.
    (d) Administration.--Land acquired for the historic site by this 
section shall be administered as part of the historic site in 
accordance with applicable laws and regulations.

SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

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