[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 123 (Tuesday, September 16, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9434-S9435]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 MARJORY STONEMAN DOUGLAS WILDERNESS AND ERNEST F. COE VISITOR CENTER 
                            DESIGNATION ACT

  The bill (S. 931) to designate the Marjory Stoneman Douglas 
Wilderness and the Ernest F. Coe Visitor Center, was considered, 
ordered to be engrossed for a third reading, read the third time, and 
passed; as follows:

                                 S. 931

       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 ``Marjory Stoneman Douglas 
     Wilderness and Ernest F. Coe Visitor Center Designation 
     Act''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

       (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
       (1)(A) Marjory Stoneman Douglas, through her book, ``The 
     Everglades: River of Grass'' (published in 1947), defined the 
     Everglades for the people of the United States and the world;
       (B) Mrs. Douglas' book was the first to stimulate 
     widespread understanding of the Everglades ecosystem and 
     ultimately served to awaken the desire of the people of the 
     United States to restore the ecosystem's health;
       (C) in her 107th year, Mrs. Douglas is the sole surviving 
     member of the original group of people who devoted decades of 
     selfless effort to establish the Everglades National Park;
       (D) when the water supply and ecology of the Everglades, 
     both within and outside the park, became threatened by 
     drainage and development, Mrs. Douglas dedicated the balance 
     of her life to the defense of the Everglades through 
     extraordinary personal effort and by inspiring countless 
     other people to take action;
       (E) for these and many other accomplishments, the President 
     awarded Mrs. Douglas the Medal of Freedom on Earth Day, 1994; 
     and
       (2)(A) Ernest F. Coe (1886-1951) was a leader in the 
     creation of Everglades National Park;
       (B) Mr. Coe organized the Tropic Everglades National Park 
     Association in 1928 and was widely regarded as the father of 
     Everglades National Park;
       (C) as a landscape architect, Mr. Coe's vision for the park 
     recognized the need to protect south Florida's diverse 
     wildlife and habitats for future generations;
       (D) Mr. Coe's original park proposal included lands and 
     waters subsequently protected within the Everglades National 
     Park, the Big Cypress National Preserve, and the Florida Keys 
     National Marine Sanctuary; and
       (E)(i) Mr. Coe's leadership, selfless devotion, and 
     commitment to achieving his vision culminated in the 
     authorization of the Everglades National Park by Congress in 
     1934;
       (ii) after authorization of the park, Mr. Coe fought 
     tirelessly and lobbied strenuously for establishment of the 
     park, finally realizing his dream in 1947; and
       (iii) Mr. Coe accomplished much of the work described in 
     this paragraph at his own expense, which dramatically 
     demonstrated his commitment to establishment of Everglades 
     National Park.
       (b) Purpose.--It is the purpose of this Act to commemorate 
     the vision, leadership, and enduring contributions of Marjory 
     Stoneman Douglas and Ernest F. Coe to the protection of the 
     Everglades and the establishment of Everglades National Park.

     SEC. 3. MARJORY STONEMAN DOUGLAS WILDERNESS.

       (a) Redesignation.--Section 401(3) of the National Parks 
     and Recreation Act of 1978 (Public Law 95-625; 92 Stat. 3490; 
     16 U.S.C. 1132 note) is amended by striking ``to be known as 
     the Everglades Wilderness'' and inserting ``to be known as 
     the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Wilderness, to commemorate the 
     vision and leadership shown by Mrs. Douglas in the protection 
     of the Everglades and the establishment of the Everglades 
     National Park''.
       (b) Notice of Redesignation.--The Secretary of the Interior 
     shall provide such notification of the redesignation made by 
     the amendment made by subsection (a) by signs, materials, 
     maps, markers, interpretive programs, and other means 
     (including changes in signs, materials, maps, and markers in 
     existence before the date of enactment of this Act) as will 
     adequately inform the public of the redesignation of the 
     wilderness area and the reasons for the redesignation.
       (c) References.--Any reference in any law, regulation, 
     document, record, map, or other paper of the United States to 
     the ``Everglades Wilderness'' shall be deemed to be a 
     reference to the ``Marjory Stoneman Douglas Wilderness''.

     SEC. 4. ERNEST F. COE VISITOR CENTER.

       (a) Designation.--Section 103 of the Everglades National 
     Park Protection and Expansion Act of 1989 (16 U.S.C. 410r-7) 
     is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
       (f) Ernest F. Coe Visitor Center.--On completion of 
     construction of the main visitor center facility at the 
     headquarters of Everglades National Park, the Secretary shall 
     designate the visitor center facility as the `Ernest F. Coe 
     Visitor Center', to commemorate the vision and leadership 
     shown by Mr. Coe in the establishment and protection of 
     Everglades National Park.''.

     SEC. 5. CONFORMING AND TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS.

       Section 103 of the Everglades National Park Protection and 
     Expansion Act of 1989 (16 U.S.C. 410r-7) is amended--
       (1) in subsection (c)(2), by striking ``personnally-owned'' 
     and inserting ``personally-owned''; and
       (2) in subsection (e), by striking ``Visitor Center'' and 
     inserting ``Marjory Stoneman Douglas Visitor Center''.

[[Page S9435]]

     

                          ____________________