[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2636 Introduced in House (IH)]

113th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2636

    To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a special 
          resource study of the Hudson River Valley, New York.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              July 9, 2013

  Mrs. Lowey (for herself, Mr. Sean Patrick Maloney of New York, Mr. 
Engel, and Mr. Tonko) introduced the following bill; which was referred 
                 to the Committee on Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a special 
          resource study of the Hudson River Valley, New York.

    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 ``Hudson River Valley Special Resource 
Study Act''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of the Interior.
            (2) Study area.--
                    (A) In general.--The term ``study area'' means the 
                portion of the Hudson River that flows from Rodgers 
                Island at Fort Edward to the southernmost boundary of 
                Westchester County, New York.
                    (B) Inclusion.--The term ``study area'' includes 
                any relevant sites and landscapes within the counties 
                in New York that abut the area described in 
                subparagraph (A).

SEC. 3. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) the Hudson River Valley possesses nationally 
        significant and unique cultural, historical, natural, 
        recreational, and scenic resources;
            (2) the Hudson River Valley is home to a robust and growing 
        tourism and recreation industry that is an important component 
        of the regional economy;
            (3) throughout history, the Hudson River Valley has played 
        a crucial role in the development of the United States, 
        starting from the vibrant Native American communities that 
        first inhabited the land, to the voyage of Henry Hudson up the 
        river later named for Hudson in the vessel Half Moon in 1609 
        and later with the American Revolution, the debate on our 
        Constitution, the first successful steamboat voyage by Robert 
        Fulton in 1807, the Industrial Revolution, the establishment of 
        the Erie Canal and growth of metropolitan New York, and the 
        inception of the modern labor and environmental movements;
            (4) the Hudson River Valley gave birth to important 
        movements in the art, architecture, and literature of the 
        United States;
            (5) the Hudson River Valley encompasses a rich array of 
        sensitive natural resources ranging from the Hudson River and 
        the vast estuarine district of the Hudson River, to the 
        wetlands, refuges, parks, forests, farmlands, preserves, 
        cliffs, valleys, and wildlife of the Hudson River;
            (6) the depictions and descriptions of the renowned scenery 
        and natural resources of the Hudson River Valley played a 
        central role in the recognition of the value of the landscape 
        and the development of the esthetic and environmental ideal of 
        the United States;
            (7) a 1996 National Park Service study described the Hudson 
        River Valley as ``the landscape that defined America''; and
            (8) the Hudson River Valley has been the subject of 
        multiple State and Federal inventories, studies, and plans that 
        should greatly assist in the conduct of a National Park Service 
        special resource study.

SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF STUDY.

    (a) In General.--As soon as funds are made available to carry out 
this section, the Secretary shall conduct a study of the study area to 
evaluate--
            (1) the national significance of the study area; and
            (2) the suitability and feasibility of designating the 
        study area as a unit of the National Park System.
    (b) Study Guidelines.--In conducting the study under subsection 
(a), the Secretary shall--
            (1) use the criteria for the study of areas for potential 
        inclusion in the National Park System included in section 8 of 
        the National Park System General Authorities Act (16 U.S.C. 1a-
        5); and
            (2) closely examine models for units of the National Park 
        System, in particular national river and recreation areas, and 
        other landscape protection models, that--
                    (A) encompass large areas of non-Federal land 
                within designated boundaries;
                    (B) promote increased heritage tourism and economic 
                development;
                    (C) foster public and private collaborative 
                arrangements for achieving National Park Service 
                objectives; and
                    (D) protect and respect the rights of private land 
                owners and municipalities.

SEC. 5. REPORT.

    Not later than 3 years after the date on which funds are first made 
available to conduct the study under section 4, the Secretary shall 
submit to the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of 
Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of 
the Senate a report on the findings, conclusions, and recommendations 
of the study.
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