[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 100 (Thursday, July 27, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Page S7892]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mrs. FEINSTEIN:
  S. 2977. A bill to assist in the establishment of an interpretive 
center and museum in the vicinity of the Diamond Valley Lake in 
southern California to ensure the protection and interpretation of the 
paleontology discoveries made at the lake and to develop a trail system 
for the lake for use by pedestrians and nonmotorized vehicles; to the 
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.


  bill to Establish an Interpretive Center around Diamond Valley Lake

  Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I am pleased to introduce a bill today 
to benefit 17 million citizens of Southern California and visitors from 
around the country and world through the development of the Western 
Center for Archaeology and Paleontology. At this center, visitors will 
be able to marvel at the archaeological and paleontological past of 
inland southern California.
  This bill would help create an interpretive center and museum around 
Diamond Valley Lake to highlight the animals and habitat of the Ice Age 
up to the European settlement period.
  I understand that the paleontological resources are world class and 
include hundreds of thousands of historic and pre-historic artifacts. 
These include a mastodon skeleton, a mammoth skeleton, a seven-foot 
long tusk, and bones from extinct species previously not believed to 
have lived in the area, including the giant long-horned bison and North 
American lion.
  Additionally, visitors will enjoy unprecedented recreational 
opportunities through a system of hiking, biking, and equestrian trails 
wandering through the grasslands, chaparral, and oak groves that 
surround the reservoir.
  The total cost of the project is $58 million. The State has agreed to 
commit one quarter of the tab, the Metropolitan Water District has 
agreed to contribute one-quarter, and other local governments will also 
contribute one-quarter. This bill would authorize the federal 
government's share of one-quarter or $14 million.
  I urge the Senate to adopt this legislation.
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