[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 24 (Tuesday, March 7, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1235-S1236]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Ms. COLLINS (for herself and Ms. Snowe):
  S. 2194. A bill to direct the Secretary of the Interior to provide 
assistance in planning and developing a regional heritage center in 
Calais, Maine; to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.


                     st. croix island heritage act

  Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the St. Croix 
Island Heritage Act, legislation that will help develop a regional 
heritage center in Calais, ME, in time to commemorate an event of great 
historical and international significance: the 400th anniversary of one 
of the earliest settlements in North America, at St. Croix Island. I am 
pleased to have my senior colleague from Maine, Ms. Snowe, as a 
cosponsor of my legislation.
  Planning for the regional heritage center is well underway. The 
residents of the St. Croix River Valley and organizations such as the 
St. Croix Economic Alliance and the Sunrise County Economic Council 
have worked hard to move the project forward. They commissioned a 
consulting firm to evaluate the market potential of the heritage center 
and to prepare preliminary exhibit and operating plans. They secured 
planning and seed money from the U.S. Forest Service, the city of 
Calais, local businesses, and others. And they have hired a full-time 
project coordinator to oversee development of the heritage center. Now 
they need assistance from the National Park Service, assistance that 
this bill would provide.
  The regional center will preserve and chronicle the region's 
cultural, natural, and historical heritage. The Interior Department's 
role in the planning and development of the heritage center stems from 
the close proximity of the proposed site to St. Croix Island, the only 
international historic site in the National Park System.
  In 2004, the United States, Canada, and France will celebrate the 
400th anniversary of the first settlement at St. Croix Island. We have 
only 4 more years to prepare for a celebration of this historic event.
  I have spoken before on the Senate floor about the historical 
significance of the settlement of St. Croix Island. It is a remarkable 
and little-known story that bears retelling. The story dates to the 
summer of 1604, when a French nobleman, accompanied by a courageous 
group of adventurers that included Samuel Champlain, landed on St. 
Croix Island and set about to construct a settlement. They cleared the 
island, planted crops, dug a well, and built houses, fortifications, 
and public buildings. In the process, they were aided by Native peoples 
who made temporary camps on the island. At the same time, Samuel 
Champlain undertook a number of reconnaissance missions from the 
island. On one, he found and named Mount Desert Island, now the home to 
Acadia National Park.
  By October of 1604, the settlement was ready. But the Maine winter 
was more than the seventy-nine settlers had bargained for. By winter's 
end, nearly half had died, and many others were seriously ill.
  The spring brought relief from the harsh weather. The colony was 
relocated to Port Royal in what is now Nova Scotia and, in 1608, 
Champlain and his fellow explorers founded Quebec.
  According to the National Park Service, the French settlement on St. 
Croix Island in 1604 and 1605 was the first and ``most ambitious 
attempt of its time to establish an enduring French presence in the 
`New World' '' and ``set a precedent for early French claims in New 
France.'' Many view the expedition that settled on St. Croix Island in 
1604 as the beginning of the Acadian culture in North America. This 
rich and diverse culture spread across the continent, from Canada to 
Louisiana, where French-speaking Acadians came to be known as 
``Cajuns.''
  Mr. President, thousands of people attended the celebration that 
marked the 300th anniversary of the settlement

[[Page S1236]]

of St. Croix Island. The consul general of France and the famous Civil 
War hero General Joshua Chamberlain were among those who spoke at the 
event.
  In four years, another century will have passed since the last 
commemoration, and we will celebrate St. Croix Island's 400th 
anniversary. There is much work to be done. In 1996, the U.S. National 
Park Service and Parks Canada agreed to ``conduct joint strategic 
planning for the international commemoration [of the St. Croix Island], 
with a special focus on the 400th anniversary of settlement in 2004.'' 
For its part, Parks Canada constructed an exhibit in New Brunswick 
overlooking St. Croix Island. The exhibit uses Champlain's first-hand 
accounts, period images, updated research, and custom artwork to tell 
the compelling story of the settlement.
  The U.S. National Park Service, on the other hand, still has a ways 
to go. In October 1998, the Park Service did complete a general 
management plan for the St. Croix Island International Historic Site.
  From a variety of alternatives, the Park Service settled on a plan 
that envisions an interpretive trail and ranger station at Red Beach, 
Maine and exhibits located in the regional heritage center up the road 
in Calais.
  The bill I introduce today directs the National Park Service to 
facilitate the development of the regional heritage center in time for 
the 400th anniversary of the St. Croix Island settlement. It empowers 
the Secretary of Interior to enter into cooperative agreements with 
State and local agencies and nonprofit organizations to assist in this 
effort and authorizes $2.5 million for this purpose.
  Mr. President, this bill authorizes and commits the National Park 
Service to follow a plan it has already endorsed to help commemorate a 
1604 settlement of enormous historical significance. I believe that the 
400th anniversary celebration and the heritage center in Calais will be 
a source of pride to all Americans of French ancestry.
  I am very pleased to see that the distinguished chairman of the 
Energy Committee is on the floor. It is to his Committee that this 
legislation, I believe will be referred. I hope that it will be 
favorably reported and enacted this year.
  Thank you, Mr. President. I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Alaska is recognized.
  Mr. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I compliment Senator Collins for her 
introduction of the St. Croix heritage bill. I look forward to 
receiving that in my Energy Committee, and I will attempt to take it up 
at an early opportunity for a hearing and report it out. I want to 
commend her and her colleague from Maine, as well.
                                 ______