[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 31 (Friday, March 9, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2128-S2130]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. MURKOWSKI:
  S. 509. A bill to establish the Kenai Mountains-Turnagain Arm 
National Heritage Area in the State of Alaska, and for other purposes; 
to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
  Mr. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce a bill to 
establish the Kenai Mountains-Turnagain Arm National Heritage Corridor 
in my State of Alaska.
  The national heritage corridor, when enacted, will include the first 
leg of the Iditarod National Historic Trail and most of the Seward 
Highway National Scenic Byway. National heritage designation will give 
us the ability to tell the American public about the critical role that 
this transportation corridor played in shaping the traditions and 
values of the residents of south-central Alaska. From native trade-
routes to shipping ports, from trails to railroads and later highways, 
these are the themes of our national heritage and the settling of the 
North.
  This would be the first among the 16 existing national heritage areas 
that highlights the experience of settling the northern frontier. The 
fact that it would be one of a kind strengthens the case for 
designation.
  Unlike any of the existing national heritage areas, the Kenai 
Mountains-Turnagain Arm National Heritage Corridor will highlight the 
experience of the northern frontier--of transportation and settlement 
in a harsh landscape, of the gold rush and resource development in a 
remote area. These are the themes of the proposal, themes that form our 
perception of ourselves as a nation. The proposed heritage corridor 
wonderfully expresses these themes.
  Within the proposed heritage corridor there are a number of small 
historic communities that developed around transportation and the gold 
rush. Dwarfed by the sweeping landscapes around them, these small 
communities are today still tied to cycles of nature: summer runs of 
salmon, the fall migration of wildlife, the deep snows of winter, and 
the rush of springtime melt. National heritage designation is about the 
relationship that people develop with their surroundings. This 
relationship remains intact in the proposed corridor and has had a 
lasting impact on the values of the residents who live there today.
  Turnagain Arm, once a critical transportation link, has the world's 
second largest tidal range. Visitors can stand along the shore lines 
and actually watch 30 foot tides move in and out of the arm. On 
occasion, the low roar of an oncoming bore tide can be heard as a wall 
of water sweeps up the Turnagain.
  A traveler through the alpine valleys and mountain passes of the 
heritage corridor can witness a landscape shaped by powerful geologic 
forces: retreating glaciers, earthquake subsidence, and avalanche 
scars. The area is home to variety of wildlife: Dall sheep, Beluga 
whales, moose, bald eagles, trumpeter swans, and Arctic terns to name a 
few.
  Bounded by saltwater on either side, the proposed corridor has been 
an important transportation route from the resource rich Kenai 
Peninsula into the rest of Alaska. Alaskan natives established trade 
routes following river valleys and around like the fjord-like lakes. 
Later, Russian fur-traders, gold rush stampeders, missionaries, and 
others arrived all seeking access into the resource-rich land. The 
famous Iditarod Trail to Nome, which was used to haul mail in and gold 
out, started on the Kenai Peninsula.
  A series of starts and stops by railroad entrepreneurs eventually 
culminated in the completion of the Alaska Railroad from Seward to 
Fairbanks by the federal government. President Harding boarded the 
train in Seward in 1923 to drive the golden spike at Nenana (and died 
on the boat returning to Seattle). It was only in the last half of this 
century that the highway from Seward to Anchorage was opened. Before 
then the small communities of the area were linked to the rest of 
Alaska by wagon trail, rail, and by boat across Turnagain Arm and the 
Kenai River.
  The Heritage corridor contains one of the earliest mining regions in 
Alaska. Russians left evidence of their search for gold at Bear Creek 
near Hope. In 1895, discovery of a rich deposit at Canyon Creak 
precipitated the Turnagain Arm Gold Rush, predating the stampede to the 
Klondike.
  The early settlements and communities of the area are still very much 
as they were in the past. But, as in the early days, this is a region 
where ``nature is boss,'' and historic trails and

[[Page S2129]]

evidence of mining history are often embedded and nearly hidden in the 
landscape. What can be seen stands as powerful testimony to the human 
fortitude, perseverance, and resourcefulness that is America's proudest 
heritage from the people who settled the Alaskan frontier.
  People living in the Kenai Mountains-Turnagain Arm Corridor share a 
sense that it is a special place. In part, this is simply because of 
the sheer natural beauty; but it is also because the Alaska frontier is 
relatively recent. Memories of the times when the inhabitants were 
dependent on their own resources, and on each other, are still very 
much alive.
  Communities are small, but they are alive with volunteerism. All have 
active historical societies. Groups in Seward and Girdwood have 
organized to rebuild the Iditarod Trail. In town of Hope citizens 
constructed a museum of mining history, building it themselves out of 
logs and donated materials. Local people have conducted historic 
building surveys, written books and short histories, collected and 
published old diaries, and created web pages to record and share the 
history of their communities. Seward, the corridor's gateway, has 
created a delightful array of visitor opportunities that display and 
interpret the region's natural setting, Native culture, and history. 
National heritage area designation would greatly encourage and expand 
these good efforts.
  Mr. President, it is important to note that this national heritage 
area is a local grass roots effort and it will remain a locally driven 
grass roots effort. Decisions will be made by locals, not by Federal 
bureaucrats. The only role of the Federal Government is to provide 
technical expertise, mostly in the areas of the interpretation of the 
many historic sites and tremendous natural resource features that are 
found throughout the entire region. There will be no additional land 
ownership by the Federal Government or by the local management entity 
that is charged with putting together a coordinated plan to interpret 
the heritage area. The heritage area is about local people working 
together.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the bill be printed in the 
Record, in its entirety, immediately after my remarks and I urge my 
colleagues to support this legislation.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                 S. 509

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

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Kenai Mountains-Turnagain 
     Arm National Heritage Area Act of 2001''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

       (a) Findings.--Congress find that--
       (1) The Kenai Mountains-Turnagain Arm transportation 
     corridor is a major gateway to Alaska and includes a range of 
     transportation routes used first by indigenous people who 
     were followed by pioneers who settled the nation's last 
     frontier;
       (2) the natural history and scenic splendor of the region 
     are equally outstanding; vistas of nature's power include 
     evidence of earthquake subsidence, recent avalanches, 
     retreating glaciers and tidal action along Turnagain Arm, 
     which has the world's second greatest tidal range;
       (3) the cultural landscape formed by indigenous people and 
     then by settlement, transportation and modern resource 
     development in this rugged and often treacherous natural 
     setting stands as powerful testimony to the human fortitude, 
     perseverance, and resourcefulness that is America's proudest 
     heritage from the people who settled the frontier;
       (4) there is a national interest in recognizing, 
     preserving, promoting, and interpreting these resources;
       (5) the Kenai Mountains-Turnagain Arm region is 
     geographically and culturally cohesive because it is defined 
     by a corridor of historic routes--trail, water, railroad, and 
     roadways through a distinct landscape of mountains, lakes, 
     and fjords;
       (6) national significance of separate elements of the 
     region include, but are not limited to, the Iditarod National 
     Historic Trail, the Seward Highway National Scenic Byway, and 
     the Alaska Railroad National Scenic Railroad;
       (7) national heritage area designation provides for the 
     interpretation of these routes, as well as the national 
     historic districts and numerous historic routes in the region 
     as part of the whole picture of human history in the wider 
     transportation corridor including early Native trade routes, 
     connections by waterway, mining trail, and other routes;
       (8) national heritage area designation also provides 
     communities within the region with the motivation and means 
     for ``grass roots'' regional coordination and partnerships 
     with each other and with borough, State, and Federal 
     agencies; and
       (9) national heritage area designation is supported by the 
     Kenai Peninsula Historical Association, the Seward Historical 
     Commission, the Seward City Council, the Hope and sunrise 
     Historical Society, the Hope Chamber of Commerce, the Alaska 
     Association for Historic Preservation, the Cooper Landing 
     Community Club, the Alaska Wilderness Recreation and Tourism 
     Association, Anchorage Historic Properties, the Anchorage 
     Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Cook Inlet Historical 
     Society, the Moose Pass Sportsman's Club, the Alaska 
     Historical Commission, the Girdwood Board of Supervisors, the 
     Kenai River Special Management Area Advisory Board, the Bird/
     Indian Community Council, the Kenai Peninsula Borough 
     Trails Commission, the Alaska Division of Parks and 
     Recreation, the Kenai Peninsula Borough, the Kenai 
     Peninsula Tourism Marketing Council, and the Anchorage 
     Municipal Assembly.
       (b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are--
       (1) to recognize, preserve, and interpret the historic and 
     modern resource development and cultural landscapes of the 
     Kenai Mountains-Turnagain Arm historic transportation 
     corridor, and to promote and facilitate the public enjoyment 
     of these resources; and
       (2) to foster, through financial and technical assistance, 
     the development of cooperative planning and partnerships 
     among the communities and borough, State, and Federal 
     Government entities.

     SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

       In this Act:
       (1) Heritage area.--The term ``Heritage Area'' means the 
     Kenai Mountains-Turnagain Arm National Heritage Area 
     established by section 4(a) of this Act.
       (2) Management entity.--The term ``management entity'' 
     means the 11 member Board of Directors of the Kenai 
     Mountains-Turnagain Arm National Heritage Corridor 
     Communities Association.
       (3) Management plan.--The term ``management plan'' means 
     the management plan for the Heritage Area.
       (4) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
     of the Interior.

     SEC. 4. KANAI MOUNTAINS-TURNAGAIN ARM NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA.

       (a) Establishment.--There is established the Kenai 
     Mountains-Turnagain Arm National Heritage Area.
       (b) Boundaries.--The Heritage Area shall comprise the lands 
     in the Kenai Mountains and upper Turnagain Arm region 
     generally depicted on the map entitled ``Kenai Peninsula/
     Turnagain Arm National Heritage Corridor'', numbered ``Map 
     #KMTA--1, and dated ``August 1999''. The map shall be on file 
     and available for public inspection in the offices of the 
     Alaska Regional Office of the National Park Service and in 
     the offices of the Alaska State Heritage Preservation 
     Officer.

     SEC. 5. MANAGEMENT ENTITY.

       (a) The Secretary shall enter into a cooperative agreement 
     with the management entity, to carry out the purposes of this 
     Act. The cooperative agreement shall include information 
     relating to the objectives and management of the Heritage 
     Area, including the following:
       (1) A discussion of the goals and objectives of the 
     Heritage Area;
       (2) An explanation of the proposed approach to conservation 
     and interpretation of the Heritage Area;
       (3) A general outline of the protection measures, to which 
     the management entity commits.
       (b) Nothing in this Act authorizes the management entity to 
     assume any management authorities or responsibilities on 
     Federal lands.
       (c) Representatives of other organizations shall be invited 
     and encouraged to participate with the management entity and 
     in the development and implementation of the management plan, 
     including but not limited to: The State Division of Parks and 
     Outdoor Recreation; the State Division of Mining, Land and 
     Water; the Forest Service; the State Historic Preservation 
     Office; the Kenai Peninsula Borough; the Municipality of 
     Anchorage; the Alaska Railroad; the Alaska Department of 
     Transportation; and the National Park Service.
       (d) Representation of ex-officio members in the non-profit 
     corporation shall be established under the bylaws of the 
     management entity.

     SEC. 6. AUTHORITIES AND DUTIES OF MANAGEMENT ENTITY.

       (a) Management Plan.--
       (1) In general.--Not later than 3 years after the 
     Secretary enters into a cooperative agreement with the 
     management entity, the management entity shall develop a 
     management plan for the Heritage Area, taking into 
     consideration existing Federal, State, borough, and local 
     plans.
       (2) Contents.--The management plan shall include, but not 
     be limited to--
       (A) comprehensive recommendations for conservation, 
     funding, management, and development of the Heritage Area;
       (B) a description of agreements on actions to be carried 
     out by Government and private organizations to protect the 
     resources of the Heritage Area;
       (C) a list of specific and potential sources of funding to 
     protect, manage, and develop the Heritage Area;

[[Page S2130]]

       (D) an inventory of the resources contained in the Heritage 
     Area; and
       (E) a description of the role and participation of other 
     Federal, State, and local agencies that have jurisdiction on 
     lands within the Heritage Area.
       (b) Priorities.--The management entity shall give priority 
     to the implementation of actions, goals, and policies set 
     forth in the cooperative agreement with the Secretary and the 
     heritage plan, including assisting communities within the 
     region in--
       (1) carrying out programs which recognize important 
     resource values in the Heritage Area;
       (2) encouraging economic viability in the affected 
     communities;
       (3) establishing and maintaining interpretive exhibits in 
     the Heritage Area;
       (4) improving and interpreting heritage trails;
       (5) increasing public awareness and appreciation for the 
     natural, historical, and cultural resources and modern 
     resource development of the Heritage Area;
       (6) restoring historic buildings and structures that are 
     located within the boundaries of the Heritage Area; and
       (7) ensuring that clear, consistent, and appropriate signs 
     identifying public access points and sites of interest are 
     placed throughout the Heritage Area.
       (c) Public Meetings.--The management entity shall conduct 2 
     or more public meetings each year regarding the initiation 
     and implementation of the management plan for the Heritage 
     Area. The management entity shall place a notice of each such 
     meeting in a newspaper of general circulation in the Heritage 
     Area and shall make the minutes of the meeting available to 
     the public.

     SEC. 7. DUTIES OF THE SECRETARY.

       (a) The Secretary, in consultation with the Governor of 
     Alaska, or his designee, is authorized to enter into a 
     cooperative agreement with the management entity. The 
     cooperative agreement shall be prepared with public 
     participation.
       (b) In accordance with the terms and conditions of the 
     cooperative agreement and upon the request of the management 
     entity, and subject to the availability of funds, the 
     Secretary may provide administrative, technical, financial, 
     design, development, and operations assistance to carry out 
     the purposes of this Act.

     SEC. 8. SAVINGS PROVISIONS.

       (a) Regulatory Authority.--Nothing in this Act shall be 
     construed to grant powers of zoning or management of land use 
     to the management entity of the Heritage Area.
       (b) Effect on Authority of Governments.--Nothing in this 
     Act shall be construed to modify, enlarge, or diminish any 
     authority of the Federal, State, or local governments to 
     manage or regulate any use of land as provided for by law or 
     regulation.
       (c) Effect on Business.--Nothing in this Act shall be 
     construed to obstruct or limit business activity on private 
     development or resource development activities.

     SEC. 9. PROHIBITION ON THE ACQUISITION OR REAL PROPERTY.

       The management entity may not use funds appropriated to 
     carry out the purposes of this Act to acquire real property 
     or interest in real property.

     SEC. 10. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

       (a) First Year.--For the first year $350,000 is authorized 
     to be appropriated to carry out the purposes of this Act, and 
     is made available upon the Secretary and the management 
     entity completing a cooperative agreement.
       (b) In General.--There is authorized to be appropriated not 
     more than $1,000,000 to carry out the purposes of this Act 
     for any fiscal year after the first year. Not more than 
     $10,000,000 in the aggregate, may be appropriated for the 
     Heritage Area.
       (c) Matching Funds.--Federal funding provided under this 
     Act shall be matched at least 25 percent by other funds or 
     in-kind services.
       (d) Sunset Provision.--The Secretary may not make any grant 
     or provide any assistance under this Act beyond 15 years from 
     the date that the Secretary and management entity complete a 
     cooperative agreement.
                                 ______