[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 38 (Monday, March 30, 1998)]
[House]
[Pages H1707-H1709]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




PROVIDING ASSISTANCE TO NATIONAL HISTORIC TRAILS INTERPRETIVE CENTER IN 
                            CASPER, WYOMING

  Mrs. CUBIN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 2186) to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to provide 
assistance to the National Historic Trails Interpretive Center in 
Casper, Wyoming.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 2186

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

       (a) Findings.--The Congress finds and declares the 
     following:
       (1) The city of Casper, Wyoming, is nationally significant 
     as the only geographic location in the western United States 
     where 4 congressionally recognized historic trails (the 
     Oregon Trail, the Mormon Trail, the California Trail, and the 
     Pony Express Trail), the Bridger Trail, the Bozeman Trail, 
     and many Indian routes converged.
       (2) The historic trails that passed through the Casper area 
     are a distinctive part of the national character and possess 
     important historical and cultural values representing themes 
     of migration, settlement, transportation, and commerce that 
     shaped the landscape of the West.
       (3) The Bureau of Land Management has not yet established a 
     historic trails interpretive center in Wyoming or in any 
     adjacent State to educate and focus national attention on the 
     history of the mid-19th century immigrant trails that crossed 
     public lands in the Intermountain West.
       (4) At the invitation of the Bureau of Land Management, the 
     city of Casper and the National Historic Trails Foundation, 
     Inc. (a nonprofit corporation established under the laws of 
     the State of Wyoming) entered into a memorandum of 
     understanding in 1992, and have since signed an assistance 
     agreement in 1993 and a cooperative agreement in 1997, to 
     create, manage, and sustain a National Historic Trails 
     Interpretive Center to be located in Casper, Wyoming, to 
     professionally interpret the historic trails in the Casper 
     area for the benefit of the public.
       (5) The National Historic Trails Interpretive Center 
     authorized by this Act is consistent with the purposes and 
     objectives of the National Trails System Act (16 U.S.C. 1241 
     et seq.), which directs the Secretary of the Interior to 
     protect, interpret, and manage the remnants of historic 
     trails on public lands.
       (6) The State of Wyoming effectively joined the partnership 
     to establish the National Historic Trails Interpretive Center 
     through a legislative allocation of supporting funds, and the 
     citizens of the city of Casper have increased local taxes to 
     meet their financial obligations under the assistance 
     agreement and the cooperative agreement referred to in 
     paragraph (4).
       (7) The National Historic Trails Foundation, Inc. has 
     secured most of the $5,000,000 of non-Federal funding pledged 
     by State and local governments and private interests pursuant 
     to the cooperative agreement referred to in paragraph (4).
       (8) The Bureau of Land Management has completed the 
     engineering and design phase of the National Historic Trails 
     Interpretive Center, and the National Historic Trails 
     Foundation, Inc. is ready for Federal financial and technical 
     assistance to construct the Center pursuant to the 
     cooperative agreement referred to in paragraph (4).
       (b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are the following:
       (1) To recognize the importance of the historic trails that 
     passed through the Casper, Wyoming, area as a distinctive 
     aspect of American heritage worthy of interpretation and 
     preservation.
       (2) To assist the city of Casper, Wyoming, and the National 
     Historic Trails Foundation, Inc. in establishing the National 
     Historic Trails Interpretive Center to memorialize and 
     interpret the significant role of those historic trails in 
     the history of the United States.
       (3) To highlight and showcase the Bureau of Land 
     Management's stewardship of public lands in Wyoming and the 
     West.

     SEC. 2. NATIONAL HISTORIC TRAILS INTERPRETIVE CENTER.

       (a) Establishment.--The Secretary of the Interior, acting 
     through the Director of the Bureau of Land Management (in 
     this section referred to as the ``Secretary''), shall 
     establish in Casper, Wyoming, a center for the interpretation 
     of the historic trails in the vicinity of Casper, including 
     the Oregon Trail, the Mormon Trail, the California Trail, and 
     the Pony Express Trail, the Bridger Trail, the Bozeman Trail, 
     and various Indian routes. The center shall be known as the 
     National Historic Trails Interpretive Center (in this section 
     referred to as the ``Center'').
       (b) Facilities.--The Secretary, subject to the availability 
     of appropriations, shall construct, operate, and maintain 
     facilities for the Center--
       (1) on land provided by the city of Casper, Wyoming;
       (2) in cooperation with the city of Casper and the National 
     Historic Trails Interpretive Center Foundation, Inc. (a 
     nonprofit corporation established under the laws of the State 
     of Wyoming); and
       (3) in accordance with--
       (A) the Memorandum of Understanding entered into on March 
     4, 1993, by the city, the foundation, and the Wyoming State 
     Director of the Bureau of Land Management; and
       (B) the cooperative agreement between the foundation and 
     the Wyoming State Director of the Bureau of Land Management, 
     numbered K910A970020.
       (c) Donations.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, 
     the Secretary may accept, retain, and, subject to the 
     availability of appropriations, expend donations of funds, 
     property, or services from individuals, foundations, 
     corporations, or public entities for the purpose of 
     development and operation of the Center.
       (d) Entrance Fee.--Notwithstanding section 4 of the Land 
     and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 (16 U.S.C. 460l-6a), 
     the Secretary may--
       (1) collect an entrance fee from visitors to the Center; 
     and
       (2) subject to appropriations, use amounts received by the 
     United States from that fee for expenses of operation of the 
     Center.
       (e) Concessions.--The Secretary may--
       (1) take actions to encourage and enable private persons to 
     provide and operate facilities and services at the Center in 
     the same manner and extent as the Secretary may take such 
     actions, with respect to areas administered by the National 
     Park Service, under the Public Law 89-249 (16 U.S.C. 20a et 
     seq.), popularly known as the National Park System 
     Concessions Policy Act; and
       (2) subject to appropriations, use amounts received by the 
     United States from such facilities and services for 
     development and operation of the Center.
       (f) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized 
     to be appropriated to the Secretary $5,000,000 to carry out 
     this section.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
Wyoming (Mrs. Cubin) and the gentleman from American Samoa (Mr. 
Faleomavaega) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Wyoming (Mrs. Cubin).
  (Mrs. CUBIN asked and was given permission to revise and extend her 
remarks.)
  Mrs. CUBIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, this bill would establish the National Historic Trails 
Center and Interpretive Center in Casper, Wyoming.
  H.R. 2186 was introduced in an effort to preserve and interpret 
several historic trails which crossed western America during the 1800s. 
These historic trails represent valuable historic and cultural themes 
that help shaped the West. This bill is the result of a cooperative 
partnership with Federal and non-Federal interests which will help 
fund, construct, operate and maintain the trails center. The 
partnership includes the Bureau of Land Management, the City of Casper, 
the State of Wyoming and the nonprofit National Historic Trails 
Foundation, which have been invaluable in their contribution to this 
effort. The non-Federal partners have made a clear commitment to share 
approximately one-half of the total cost to construct, maintain and 
operate the trails center.
  At this point the design work is done, the land is available, and 
most of the non-Federal funds have been accrued. Now the actual 
interpretive center needs to be constructed. H.R. 2186 authorizes the 
appropriation of funds to complete this construction.
  This bill really is a showpiece of what can be accomplished as a 
result of cooperative partnerships between Federal and non-Federal 
interests. This bill is noncontroversial, Mr. Speaker, and is supported 
by the administration. I urge my colleagues to voice support for 
passage of H.R. 2186.
  H.R. 2186, the National Historic Trails Interpretive Center 
Authorization Act, requests an amount of $5 million be authorized for 
use by the Bureau of Land Management in the Department of the Interior 
to construct the National Historic Trails Interpretive Center in 
Casper, Wyoming.
  Over a century and a half has now passed since the historic overland 
migrations of people across America's western frontier began. Their 
stories of hardship, perseverance and courage are legendary, and they 
figure prominently in the history of the West. The trails they 
traveled, especially in Wyoming, still remain a visible testimony to 
the great struggles of these early American pioneers.
  During the mid-1800's, Casper, Wyoming was the only geographic 
location in the western United States where the Oregon, Mormon, 
California and Pony Express trails, as well as many Indian trails 
converged. A fork of the Bozeman Trail and the beginnings of the 
Bridger Trail also originated in Casper. These

[[Page H1708]]

trails are a distinctive part of our nation's past and they possess 
important historical and cultural values representing themes of 
migration, settlement, transportation, and commerce that shaped the 
landscape of the West.
  Congress has recognized the historical significance of these trails. 
The National Trails Systems Act, as amended in 1978 and 1992, 
designates the Oregon, Mormon, California, and Pony Express Trails as 
National Historic Trails. The Act also directs the Secretary of the 
Interior to protect, interpret and manage the remnants of these trails 
on federal lands.
  While large segments of these trails, and their associated historic 
sites, lie on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) lands in Wyoming, no 
interpretive center is available in Wyoming, or any adjacent state, to 
educate the public on the role of these trails in our nation's history.
  In an effort to preserve and interpret this important history, I have 
introduced H.R. 2186 to establish the National Historic Trails 
Interpretive Center (NHTIC) in Casper, Wyoming. The bill encompasses a 
unique partnership of federal and non-federal interests to jointly 
construct and operate this Center. These interests include the BLM, the 
city of Casper, and the nonprofit National Historic Trails Foundation. 
These entities came together in 1992 to build a center to memorialize 
and interpret the national historic trails in the West.
  The interpretive and educational programs that will be associated 
with the Trails Center in Casper will enable visitors to discover and 
appreciate the miles of untouched trails that lie on public lands in 
the West. The Center will identify and help protect sensitive historic 
trail remnants to prevent degradation. The National Historic Trails 
Centers will also provide an opportunity for the BLM to showcase public 
lands emphasizing the bureau's commitment to preserve lands of 
historical value.
  Under the cooperative agreement, there is a clear commitment of non-
federal partners to share costs to construct, maintain and operate the 
Trails Center. City, state, foundation and private interests will bear 
approximately half of the total costs of the project. The City of 
Casper provided funds to initiate work on the Center. The city has also 
donated more than 10 acres of prime land overlooking the site of the 
North Platte River crossings of the historic trails for the Center. 
Furthermore, the citizens of Casper increased local sales taxes and 
have raised the required 1.5 million of construction dollars to meet 
their financial commitment under the cooperative agreement. The State 
of Wyoming has joined the partnership by giving $700,000 for the 
Center. The cooperative agreement also requires non-Federal entities to 
establish a $1 million endowment, the interest thereof to maintain 
exhibits for the life of the Center. The overwhelming amount of non-
federal support for the Center is precisely the kind of cooperation 
Congress intended in managing and interpreting the historic trails of 
the nation.
  The BLM, under the cooperative agreement, has an important but 
limited role in establishing and operating the National Historic Trails 
Interpretive Center. The BLM has already completed a striking design as 
well as the engineering blueprints of the Center. With this work 
completed, the land available, and most of the non-federal funds in 
hand, the Center is now ready for construction This legislation 
provides congressional authorization of funds for the BLM to do so. 
Once the Center is completed, the BLM will own and operate the 
facility. However, with the endowment, the authorization to charge 
visitors a modest entrance fee, and commitments for volunteer staffing, 
the facility will be largely self-sustaining from a financial 
perspective. This is important in view of the present and anticipated 
future funding restrictions of the Federal government.
  In Wyoming, we are experiencing great interest in the historic trails 
that cross the state. In 1992, a year when visitation to Yellowstone 
National Park and Grand Teton National Park was down, the Wyoming 
Department of Tourism reported an increase in tourism along the Oregon 
Trail route during the sesquicentennial of that trail. This year is the 
sesquicentennial of the Mormon Pioneer Trail. BLM officials have 
estimated that between 200,000 and one million visitors participated in 
``trails'' events in Wyoming this year. We expect similar interest in 
trails during the sesquicentennials of the California and Pony Express 
historic trails. In truth, an increasing number of Americans are 
discovering, enjoying, and learning the history of these treks and are 
seeking to experience natural settings, landmarks, and physical remains 
of the trails.
  I am pleased with the broad level of support the National Historic 
Trails Interpretive Center enjoys. Wyoming State Representative Dorothy 
Perkins, who testified on behalf of the bill before the Resource 
Subcommittee on National Parks and Public Lands, along with Executive 
Director of the Center, Edna Kennell, have both worked tirelessly to 
make this project a reality. As noted earlier, the city of Casper and 
the State of Wyoming have provided tremendous assistance to the 
effort--for that I thank them. The governor of Wyoming, Jim Geringer, 
as well as Wyoming's former governor, Mike Sullivan, have endorsed the 
Center from the beginning. Wyoming's U.S. Senators, Mike Enzi and Craig 
Thomas, support the project. Especially gratifying has been the support 
and encouragement from interests outside of Wyoming, such as the 
Oregon-California Trails Association. I deeply appreciate the support 
of my respected colleague from Utah, Representative Jim Hansen, 
Chairman of the House National Parks and Public Lands Subcommittee.
  The establishment of the National Historic Trails Interpretive Center 
is in the public interest. The project contains the best elements of 
private and public cooperation. The construction and operation of this 
Trails Center is altogether consistent with the BLM's criteria for 
projects of this kind. I urge my colleagues to help advance our efforts 
to preserve and interpret a significant chapter of American history by 
lending their support for this legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  (Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA asked and was given permission to revise and extend 
his remarks.)
  Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 2186 directs the Secretary of the 
Interior to establish a National Historic Trails Interpretive Center in 
Casper, Wyoming, and to carry out this legislation the bill authorizes 
an appropriation of $5 million, and I want to certainly commend my good 
friend, the gentlewoman from Wyoming (Mrs. Cubin), who is the chief 
sponsor of this piece of legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, the center would encompass 4 designated historic trails, 
national historic trails, the Oregon Trail, the California trail, the 
Mormon Pioneer Trail and the Pony Express Trail, that pass through the 
Casper area. The center would include displays and provide visitor 
education on the historical impacts of the trails. Exhibits would 
depict the pioneers' travels, and I have been told that that would also 
include a focus on Native Americans.
  The Bureau of Land Management is currently a partner with the State 
of Wyoming, the City of Casper and the National Historic Trails Center 
Foundation on this project. The partners are operating under a 1992 
memorandum of understanding and a 1997 cooperative agreement.
  The Bureau of Land Management has also committed $450,000 for the 
engineering and design of the center, and the Wyoming legislature has 
appropriated $700,000, and the local county has provided $1.5 million 
for the center through local sales taxes. The City of Casper has 
donated $700,000 to the foundation and has pledged to provide the land 
on which the center will be built. The foundation has raised $3 million 
towards the $4.5 million commitment to the project. In addition, 
efforts are underway to establish an endowment of at least $1 million 
to help with the maintenance and operation costs of the center.
  Mr. Speaker, as this statement shows, there has already been a 
significant amount of work done to establish a National Historic Trails 
Center in Casper, Wyoming, and I add my support to these efforts in the 
bill. I believe H.R. 2186 is a noncontroversial measure, it does have 
the support of the administration, and I ask my colleagues to support 
this piece of legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mrs. CUBIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I wish to thank my colleague from American Samoa for his support and 
work on this bill.
  I do not have any further speakers, so is the gentleman prepared to 
yield back the balance of his time?
  Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman 
from Indiana (Mr. Roemer) to speak on this legislation.
  Mr. ROEMER. Mr. Speaker, I thank my good friend for yielding this 
time to me, and congratulate him and gentlewoman from Wyoming (Mrs. 
Cubin) for her hard work on this very important noncontroversial bill 
on the trails interpretive center. Certainly the engineering design 
center that they are discussing is important in a host of different 
ways, and the money they have worked to allocate for this legislation 
is extremely important too. But I would say, Mr. Speaker, in terms of

[[Page H1709]]

this historic trail that is going to lead somewhere and has been 
designed for specific purposes, certainly the campaign trail for 
finance reform in this country is leading absolutely nowhere.
  Mr. Speaker, we have scheduled it tonight, we have scheduled it at a 
time when we are supposed to be debating during the course of today's 
calendar, we are debating, I am sure, a very important piece of 
legislation here today for this National Historic Trails Interpretive 
Center in Casper, Wyoming, and we are giving 20 minutes to this 
particular bill and the same amount of time and importance to each one 
of the campaign finance bills tonight, 20 minutes apiece.
  Then, Mr. Speaker, we are also saying tonight that these bills have 
to be on the suspension calendar, which I think is a travesty to the 
system, it is unfair to the American people's desire for campaign 
finance reform, and it does not do justice to the amount of work that 
many Members of Congress have put into this historic campaign finance 
reform legislation that they have worked hard on, that they think that 
their constituents are very interested in, that they think is important 
for the integrity of our system here in America.
  And certainly as we look at the calendar for the rest of the day, 20 
minutes today on this National Historic Trails Interpretive Center in 
Casper, Wyoming, 20 minutes on these particular bills on campaign 
finance reform, I am sure that we are going to spend more than 20 
minutes on the tobacco legislation that is going to be coming before 
Congress. And with the amount of money that big tobacco has put into 
the legislation that is going to be before Congress, certainly there 
might be some out there, Mr. Speaker, that do not want any kind of 
legitimate campaign finance reform going on tonight to talk about the 
roles of special interest groups in the system today.
  I think the American people, whether they are in Indiana or 
California or New Jersey, want to do specific things to try to clean up 
the system. They want to have more faith in their people in public 
service, they want to see some lids on the amount of money being spent 
in campaigns across the country today. They want to see this soft money 
or sewer money not being flushed into every particular district in the 
country at the last minute and having no accountability to either one 
of the candidates, Democrat or Republican. They want to see that we 
have a fair system in the campaign finance reform system in the future.
  I think more and more, Mr. Speaker, we are seeing the candidates that 
are running for different elective office out there more and more 
reflective of the higher income groups, and more and more the middle 
class and lower income people are not going to be able to run for 
office in the future if we are not able to debate and discuss in a 
genuine sense, with a lot of integrity and some considerable time, 
campaign finance reform.
  So to put campaign finance reform on a Monday night, to put campaign 
finance reform before the American people at the same time that there 
is a very important basketball game taking place tonight, to put 
campaign finance reform at 20-minute intervals, the same 20 minutes 
that I am sure that this important bill deserves, but I think campaign 
finance reform is certainly something the American people are probably 
more interested in and affects more of them than this National Historic 
Trails Interpretive Center in Casper, Wyoming.

  We need to make sure that we are doing a service to campaign finance 
reform, and let the American people know what is in these bills, let 
the American people contact our offices and let us know how we should 
vote on a particular matter of this kind of importance to the American 
people.
  I would hope that the Republican leadership, Mr. Speaker, would do a 
service to the body, do a service to the people of this country and not 
put such an important bill up for debate when Members are traveling 
back from the Midwest and back from the West Coast, when many of them 
are not even here to partake in the debate or listen to the debate, and 
when we only put 20 minutes forward on such an important piece of 
legislation.
  So, Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this very important bill before 
us, and I appreciate my colleagues' patience.
  Mrs. CUBIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank the fine gentleman from Indiana for his support, 
and I congratulate him on his creativity in debate. I would add one 
little bit of information. Actually there is 20 minutes of time 
allocated to each side, so if it makes my colleague feel any better, it 
is 40, but I doubt that is the case.
  Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, so I reserve the balance of 
my time.
  Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman 
from California (Mr. Farr).
  Mr. FARR of California. Mr. Speaker, it is nice to see a speaker from 
Nevada, an author from Wyoming and a legislator from California all up 
here to support the National Historic Trails Center in Casper, Wyoming. 
I am a big supporter of historic trails. In fact, we are going to 
authorize to spend $5 million of taxpayers' money, and I think it is 
money well spent. But we are going to see probably everybody is voting 
for this bill because it is a good thing to do, to support historic 
trails.
  I wonder if this trail is going to lead us into some meaningful 
campaign finance reform. Do my colleagues think that we could sort of 
get, in a bipartisan spirit, this idea that we ought to probably limit 
the amount of money that goes into campaigns, not expand them, that I 
understand is the proposal, kind of limit it down here? I mean, there 
was so much money spent in campaigns in the 1996 election, if we 
limited it to $5 million like the center would have, we would have 
meaningful reform.

                              {time}  1430

  Mr. Speaker, I appreciate this, and I hope that when we have similar 
type legislation for similar bills in California, that Wyoming supports 
us as well. I hope this trail center, when you interpret it, it will be 
able to interpret why we have not had meaningful campaign reform here 
on the floor of the House in March of 1998.
  Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for her tremendous patience, and 
I want to commend the gentleman from California for his remarks. I 
think that perhaps we should provide a special area in this historic 
center we are going to build in Casper, Wyoming, and put all the 
memorabilia about campaign finance reform in it. Maybe that might be of 
help.
  I want to truly thank the gentlewoman for our dialogue this afternoon 
and in passage of this bill. I urge my colleagues to vote for passage 
of this legislation.
  Mr. HANSEN. Mr. Speaker, I wish to support H.R. 2186, a bill 
introduced by my colleague Congresswoman Barbara Cubin from the State 
of Wyoming. Mrs. Cubin has worked very hard for the citizens of Wyoming 
to help establish the National Historic Trails Interpretive Center. 
These historic trails, including four Congressionally designed trails, 
form a distinctive part of our Nation's history and represent valuable 
historic and cultural themes which helped shaped the West.
  This bill is showpiece of a cooperative partnerships between federal 
and non-federal interests that will fund, construct, operate, and 
maintain the Trails Center.
  This bill is non-controversial and is supported by the 
Administration, trails groups, and the City of Casper, Wyoming. I urge 
my colleagues to support H.R. 2186.
  Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, 
and I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mrs. CUBIN. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Gibbons). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentlewoman from Wyoming (Mrs. Cubin) that the House 
suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 2186.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________