[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 146 (Wednesday, October 14, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Page S12530]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    EL CAMINO REAL DE LOS TEJAS NATIONAL HISTORIC TRAIL ACT OF 1998

  The Senate proceeded to consider the bill (S. 2276) to amend the 
National Trails System Act to designate El Camino Real de los Tejas as 
a National Historic Trail, which had been reported from the Committee 
on Energy and Natural Resources, with amendments; as follows:
  (The parts of the bill intended to be stricken are shown in boldface 
brackets and the parts of the bill intended to be inserted are shown in 
italic.)

                                S. 2276

       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 ``El Camino Real de los Tejas 
     National Historic Trail Act of 1998''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       Congress finds that--
       (1) El Camino Real de los Tejas (the Royal Road to the 
     Tejas), served as the primary route between the Spanish 
     viceregal capital of Mexico City and the Spanish provincial 
     capital of Tejas at Los Adaes (1721-1773) and San Antonio 
     (1773-1821);
       (2) the seventeenth, eighteenth, and early nineteenth 
     century rivalries among the European colonial powers of 
     Spain, France, and England and after their independence, 
     Mexico and the United States, for dominion over lands 
     fronting the Gulf of Mexico, were played out along the 
     evolving travel routes in this immense area;
       (3) the future of several American Indian nations, whose 
     prehistoric trails were later used by the Spaniards for 
     exploration and colonization, was tied to these larger forces 
     and events and the nations were fully involved in and 
     affected by the complex cultural interactions that ensued;
       (4) the Old San Antonio Road was a series of routes 
     established in the early 19th century sharing the same 
     corridor and some routes of El Camino Real, and carried 
     American immigrants from the east, contributing to the 
     formation of the Republic of Texas, and its annexation to the 
     United States;
       (5) the exploration, conquest, colonization, settlement, 
     migration, military occupation, religious conversion, and 
     cultural exchange that occurred in a large area of the 
     borderland was facilitated by El Camino Real de los Tejas as 
     it carried Spanish and Mexican influences northeastward, and 
     by its successor, the Old San Antonio Road, which carried 
     American influence westward, during a historic period which 
     extended from 1689 to 1850; and
       (6) the portions of El Camino Real de los Tejas in what is 
     now the United States extended from the Rio Grande near Eagle 
     Pass and [Loredo] Laredo, Texas and involved routes that 
     changed through time, that total almost 2,600 miles in 
     combined length, generally coursing northeasterly through San 
     Antonio, Bastrop, Nacogdoches, and San Augustine in Texas to 
     Natchitoches, Louisiana, a general corridor distance of 550 
     miles.

     SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION AND ADMINISTRATION.

       Section 5(a) of the National Trails System Act (16 U.S.C. 
     1244(a) is amended--
       (1) by designating the paragraphs relating to the 
     California National Historic Trail, the Pony Express National 
     Historic Trail, and the Selma to Montgomery National Historic 
     Trail as paragraphs (18), (19), and (20), respectively; and
       (2) by adding at the end the following:
       ``[(21)] (22) El camino real de los tejas.--
       ``(A) In general.--El Camino Real de los Tejas (The Royal 
     Road to the Tejas) National Historic Trail, a combination of 
     routes totaling 2,580 miles in length from the Rio Grande 
     near Eagle Pass and Laredo, Texas to Natchitoches, Louisiana, 
     and including the Old San Antonio Road, as generally depicted 
     on the maps entitled `El Camino Real de los Tejas', contained 
     in the report prepared pursuant to subsection (b) entitled 
     `National Historic Trail Feasibility Study and Environmental 
     Assessment: El Camino Real de los Tejas, Texas-Louisiana', 
     dated [__ 1998] July 1998.  A map generally depicting the 
     trail shall be on file and available for public inspection in 
     the Office of the National Park Service, Department of the 
     Interior. The trail shall be administered by the Secretary of 
     the Interior. No land or interest in land outside the 
     exterior boundaries of any federally administered area may be 
     acquired by the United States for the trail except with the 
     consent of the owner of the land or interest in land.
       ``(B) Coordination of activities.--The Secretary of the 
     Interior may coordinate with United States and Mexican public 
     and non-governmental organizations, academic institutions, 
     and, in consultation with the Secretary of State, the 
     government of Mexico and its political subdivisions, for the 
     purpose of exchanging trail information and research, 
     fostering trail preservation and educational programs, 
     providing technical assistance, and working to establish an 
     international historic trail with complementary preservation 
     and education programs in each nation.''.

  The Committee amendments were agreed to.
  The bill (S. 2276), as amended, was passed.

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