[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2535 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2535

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


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

             January 22 (legislative day, January 3), 2008

 Mr. Reid (for Mrs. Clinton) introduced the following bill; which was 
    read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural 
                               Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To revise the boundary of the 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 established by Public Law 93-486 (16 U.S.C. 461 note) 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 the 
        house known as ``Lindenwald'' in Kinderhook, New York, which 
        was owned by Martin Van Buren, the eighth President of the 
        United States from 1839 to his death in 1862;
            (2) the current boundary of the historic site, 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 key 
        agricultural views of the historic site no longer offer 
        adequate protection for the views;
            (4) development of administrative buildings and facilities 
        required for future operations of the historic site within the 
        current boundaries of the historic site may not be suitable due 
        to the impacts of those buildings and facilities on historic or 
        scenic resources; and
            (5) a boundary study prepared by the National Park Service 
        in 2003 identifies about 331 acres of land that, if acquired, 
        would--
                    (A) help protect the agricultural character and the 
                quality of the setting of the historic site; and
                    (B) increase opportunities for interpretation and 
                education at the historic site.
    (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 Lindenwald by 
        reuniting remaining agricultural land associated with the house 
        through the acquisition of the agricultural land from willing 
        sellers;
            (3) to enhance the interpretation of the broader political 
        and agrarian beliefs of President Van Buren by--
                    (A) enabling public access to key agricultural 
                resources; and
                    (B) protecting the scenic values associated with 
                the historic site; and
            (4) to enable the National Park Service to establish 
        administrative facilities that do not intrude on the resources 
        or scenic values of the historic site.

SEC. 4. BOUNDARY ADJUSTMENTS TO THE HISTORIC SITE.

    (a) Boundary Adjustment.--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 land and 
any interests in the land described in subsection (a) from willing 
sellers 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 under this 
section shall be administered as part of the historic site in 
accordance with applicable law (including regulations).

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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