[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 110 (Monday, September 18, 2000)]
[House]
[Pages H7667-H7669]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
EL CAMINO REAL DE TIERRA ADENTRO NATIONAL HISTORIC TRAIL ACT
Mr. GILCHREST. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 2271) to amend the National Trails System Act to designate
El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro as a National Historic Trail, as
amended.
The Clerk read as follows:
H.R. 2271
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 Tierra
Adentro National Historic Trail Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds the following:
(1) El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro (the Royal Road of the
Interior), served as the primary route between the colonial
Spanish capital of Mexico City and the Spanish provincial
capitals at San Juan de Los Caballeros (1598-1600), San
Gabriel (1600-1609) and then Santa Fe (1610-1821).
(2) The portion of El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro that
resided in what is now the United States extended between El
Paso, Texas and present San Juan Pueblo, New Mexico, a
distance of 404 miles;
(3) El Camino Real is a symbol of the cultural interaction
between nations and ethnic groups and of the commercial
exchange that made possible the development and growth of the
borderland;
(4) American Indian groups, especially the Pueblo Indians
of the Rio Grande, developed trails for trade long before
Europeans arrived;
(5) In 1598, Juan de Onate led a Spanish military
expedition along those trails to establish the northern
portion of El Camino Real;
(6) During the Mexican National Period and part of the U.S.
Territorial Period, El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro
facilitated the emigration of people to New Mexico and other
areas that would become the United States;
(7) The exploration, conquest, colonization, settlement,
religious conversion, and military occupation of a large area
of the borderlands was made possible by this route, whose
historical period extended from 1598 to 1882;
(8) American Indians, European emigrants, miners, ranchers,
soldiers, and missionaries used El Camino Real during the
historic development of the borderlands. These travelers
promoted cultural interaction among Spaniards, other
Europeans, American Indians, Mexicans, and Americans;
(9) El Camino Real fostered the spread of Catholicism,
mining, an extensive network of commerce, and ethnic and
cultural traditions including music, folklore, medicine,
foods, architecture, language, place names, irrigation
systems, and Spanish law.
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) El camino real de tierra adentro.--
``(A) El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro (the Royal Road of
the Interior) National Historic Trail, a 404 mile long trail
from the Rio Grande near El Paso, Texas to San Juan Pueblo,
New Mexico, as generally depicted
[[Page H7668]]
on the maps entitled `United States Route: El Camino Real de
Tierra Adentro', contained in the report prepared pursuant to
subsection (b) entitled `National Historic Trail Feasibility
Study and Environmental Assessment: El Camino Real de Tierra
Adentro, Texas-New Mexico', dated March 1997.
``(B) Map.--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 Interior.
``(C) Administration.--The trail shall be administered by
the Secretary of the Interior.
``(D) Land acquisition.--No lands or interests therein
outside the exterior boundaries of any federally administered
area may be acquired by the Federal Government for El Camino
Real de Tierra Adentro.
``(E) Volunteer groups; consultation.--The Secretary of the
Interior shall--
``(i) encourage volunteer trail groups to participate in
the development and maintenance of the trail; and
``(ii) consult with other affected Federal, State, local
governmental, and tribal agencies in the administration of
the trail.
``(F) 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 SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Maryland (Mr. Gilchrest) and the gentleman from New Mexico (Mr. Udall)
each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Gilchrest).
General Leave
Mr. GILCHREST. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their
remarks and to include extraneous material on H.R. 2271, as amended.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Maryland?
There was no objection.
Mr. GILCHREST. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, H.R. 2271 amends the National Trails System Act to
designate El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro as a component of the
National Trails System.
The bill directs the Secretary of the Interior to administer the
trail, to encourage volunteer groups to develop and maintain the trail,
and also to consult with affected Federal, State, local governmental,
and tribal agencies in its administration. The bill requires owner
consent for any Federal land acquisition along the trail.
Additionally, H.R. 2271 authorizes the Secretary to coordinate trail
activities and programs with the Government of Mexico as well as with
Mexican nongovernmental organizations and academic institutions.
Mr. Speaker, this trail is one of several historic trails that has
had a significant role in the history and development of the United
States and Mexico. It served as the primary route between the colonial
Spanish capital of Mexico City and the Spanish provincial capital in
the modern day city of Santa Fe.
The trail is approximately 1,800 miles long and existed for an
extended period from the late 16th century to the late 19th century.
The portion of the trail that resides in what is now the United States
extends a distance of 404 miles from the Rio Grande River near El Paso,
Texas, to San Juan Pueblo, New Mexico. Over its long history, this
trail was used by various groups and served as a cultural crossroads
between diverse peoples and cultures.
Mr. Speaker, I am offering an amendment with this bill which makes
some technical changes and also strikes the ``consent of the owner''
language in the provision dealing with land acquisition. Since most of
this trail is on Federal land anyway, land acquisition authority
really, in my opinion, is not necessary.
I actually in a way am opposed to this amendment myself. But so we
can move this legislation, we have worked out an agreement with the
other side that some of us who have some reservations about this
amendment, we can probably work that out in the future.
Therefore, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 2271 and to vote for
this legislation.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I
may consume.
(Mr. UDALL of New Mexico asked and was given permission to revise and
extend his remarks.)
Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. Mr. Speaker, I am both delighted and honored
to be able to share my thoughts with my colleagues on this occasion of
the consideration by this body of a bill that would designate the El
Camino Real de Tierra Adentro as a National Historic Trail.
I also want to congratulate and applaud the efforts of the gentleman
from the great State of Texas and from El Paso for his leadership on
this issue.
The Camino Real has already been designated as a Millennium Legacy
Trail and has been the object of a Sisters Area agreement between two
waystops on this historic trail, San Francisco del Oro located in
Chihuahua, Mexico, and Socorro, New Mexico, situated in the heart of my
home State. It has given rise to other sister cities agreements between
many other communities in New Mexico and in Mexico.
For those of my colleagues who may share my love of Southwest
history, by the way, although portions of this historic trail were used
in prehistoric times, it was first blazed as a complete trail by the
expedition led by Juan de Onate in 1598 when he made his way to New
Mexico to assure its settlement by the Spanish Crown. I am told that
there is still a plaque in the city of Zacatecas that marks the place
where this expedition departed on its year-long trek. This winding
1,800 mile long roadway was the first European trade route in what is
now the United States.
My home State of New Mexico as one of the trailheads for this
incredible road, and the other trailhead lies in Mexico City, has a
great veneration for this historic route, a route which for too long
has been overshadowed by younger but better-publicized national trails.
Yet, this trail has left its indelible imprint on my home State and on
our national history.
New Mexico, to this very day, is peopled by Hispanics who trace their
ancestry directly to many of those original settlers who accompanied
Juan de Onate in 1598. New Mexico Hispanics still treasure the way of
life that they tended and shaped over the past 4 centuries and more.
Hispanic institutions that were carried by the Camino Real del Tierra
Adentro in the minds and hearts of those Hispanic settlers are part of
New Mexico's enchanted way of life. New Mexico's old missions,
scattered along the Camino Real and its branches, date back to the 17th
century.
In the 16th, 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, and long before the
existence of the Santa Fe Trail or the Oregon Trail or the rise of the
Appalachian Trail in the 18th century, there was already an established
pattern of commerce over the Camino Real, a pattern that even reached
out into our vast Great Plains. The flow of people and goods that were
part of that commerce created and supported strong historic ties
between New Mexico and Mexico. Indeed, to this day, many Mexican
families and many New Mexican manito families can trace their roots
back to the same ancestors who lived in the 16th, 17th, 18th, and 19th
centuries.
Before the middle of the last century, the Camino Real de Tierra
Adentro was still uninterrupted by a frontera, an international border.
By even before taking of the Southwest by our national government just
before the middle of the last century, the Camino Real also nurtured
our country by giving viability to the Santa Fe Trail. As a result, the
national commerce flowing across the late-opening branch of the Camino
Real, the Santa Fe Trail, nurtured our Nation's economy when it sorely
needed that sustenance.
I am confident that the passage of this legislation today will do the
same thing. I know that enactment of the legislation we consider today
will strengthen many common ties between the United States and Mexico
that are symbolized by and embodied in the Camino Real, important ties
such as transportation, commerce, and education. I say strengthen
because we know in New Mexico the Camino Real never closed. It may have
changed its
[[Page H7669]]
course slightly as well as the ease with which it could be traveled,
all trails eventually do, but over the centuries and through today, it
has continued to connect the people of Mexico and the United States.
Revitalizing it will, undoubtedly, lead to many future discoveries
that reconnect Hispanic citizens of our two countries even more closely
through the ties of common family historical and cultural heritage.
Revitalizing the Camino Real will also allow the larger family of
Americans to participate in and benefit from that effort. It will lead
to a more rounded, more holistic view of the history of our continent,
one that will enable us to continue to discover and explore the
commonalities that bond our two countries.
On March 22 of this year, I was privileged to have my office host
officials of Mexico's Instituto Nacional de Antropologia e Historia
when they signed a landmark agreement with the U.S. Bureau of Land
Management concerning the recognition, protection, and promotion of the
Camino Real.
{time} 1500
Consideration of this legislation today demonstrates that the
agreement signed on March 22 was not a mere paper agreement; rather, it
provided a remarkable beginning that will lead to increased
understanding in the future, an understanding that says, when people of
goodwill will come together to share their fortunes through family,
historical, cultural and economic connections, they enrich not only
each other but all of those around them.
Mr. GILCHREST. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may
consume to my colleague from the great State of Texas (Mr. Reyes) who
represents this area and has played a real leadership role on this
issue.
Mr. REYES. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me the
time.
Mr. Speaker, I am proud to be the sponsor of the El Camino Real de
Tierra Adentro National Historic Trail Act.
This trail has a great deal of importance to the southwest. El Camino
Real de Tierra Adentro, otherwise known as the Royal Road of the
Interior, served as the primary route between the colonial Spanish
capital of Mexico City and the Spanish provincial capitals of San Juan
de Los Caballeros, San Gabriel, and ultimately Santa Fe, New Mexico.
The portion of El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro that resided in what
is now the United States extended between El Paso, Texas, the district
that I represent, and present-day San Juan Pueblo, New Mexico, a
distance of some 404 miles.
El Camino Real is a symbol of the cultural interaction between
nations and ethnic groups and of the commercial exchange that made
possible the development and growth of our borderland. American Indian
groups dating back into prehistoric times, especially the Pueblo
Indians of the Rio Grande River Valley, used the area and the trail
along the Rio Grande long before Europeans arrived on this continent.
In 1598, Don Juan de Onate led a Spanish military expedition along
those trails to establish the northern portion of El Camino Real; and
during the Mexican National Period and part of the U.S. Territorial
Period, El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro facilitated the immigration of
people into New Mexico and other areas that would ultimately become the
United States of America.
This trail is important to the history of the borderlands as it was
central to the exploration, conquest, colonization, settlement,
religious conversion, and military occupation of the Southwest. Many
people used this trail, including American Indians, European
immigrants, miners, ranchers, cowboys, soldiers and missionaries. These
travelers promoted cultural interaction among Spaniards, other
Europeans, American Indians, Mexicans and Americans.
El Camino Real fostered the spread of Catholicism, mining, an
extensive network of commerce, and ethnic and cultural traditions
including music, folklore, medicine, foods, architecture, language,
place names, irrigation systems, and Spanish law, to name a few. This
trail is important to the cultural history and the rich heritage of the
Southwest and of this country.
H.R. 2271 amends the National Trails System Act to designate El
Camino Real de Tierra Adentro as a National Historic Trail. This
noncontroversial legislation prohibits the acquisition of any lands or
interests outside the exterior boundaries of any federally administered
area for El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro.
With the amendment today, which we are willing to accept, this bill
or a similar bill has already been passed by the Senate. The Senate
bill was sponsored by Senator Jeff Bingaman and cosponsored by Senator
Pete Domenici.
I would like to thank the gentleman from Alaska (Chairman Young) and
the gentleman from California (Mr. George Miller) as well as the
gentleman from Utah (Mr. Hansen) as well as the gentleman from Puerto
Rico (Mr. Romero-Barcelo), the ranking member of that committee, for
the work that they did to move this bill out of the committee and onto
the House floor for today's vote.
I would also like to thank my colleague and good friend the gentleman
from New Mexico (Mr. Udall) for his help in this legislation. He is a
cosponsor of this legislation and clearly appreciates the historical
impact that the trail has had on two nations.
I hope that my colleagues will support me in the passage of this
legislation. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.
Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my
time.
Mr. GILCHREST. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Petri). The question is on the motion
offered by the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Gilchrest) that the House
suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 2271, as amended.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor
thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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