[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 42 (Monday, March 17, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Page S3808]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. HATCH (for himself, Mr. Domenci, and Mr. Bingaman):
  S. 634. A bill to amend the National Trails System Act to direct the 
Secretary of the Interior to carry out a study on the feasibility of 
designating the Trail of the Ancients as a national historic trail; to 
the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
  Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce a bill to help 
highlight and protect sites in one of our Nation's most 
archaeologically rich regions, the Four Corners. The Trail of the 
Ancients National Historic Trail Act of 2003 would amend the National 
Trails System Act to direct a study of the suitability of designating 
the Trail of the Ancients as a national historic trail.
  The Trail of the Ancients National Historic Trail would become a 
multistate, auto route featuring world-renowned examples of Ancestral 
Puebloan cultures in the Four Corners area. The Ancestral Puebloans, 
also known as Anasazi, preceded today's Navajo and Ute tribes. The 
Trail of the Ancients connects many of the most significant Ancestral 
Puebloan sites in the Four Corners area of Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and 
New Mexico.
  The Four Corners region in the Southwestern United States is one of 
the areas of greatest archaeological interest in the Nation. The Trail 
of the Ancients National Historic Trail would provide improved access 
to and understanding of this region's numerous examples of the 
Ancestral Puebloan culture. The history of the Four Corners region is 
not only unique and important to the Nation, it is unparalleled in how 
well it is preserved in the remaining archaeological sites. The semi-
arid climate of the Four Corners area has helped preserve some the 
archaeological sites beyond what is typically seen in most other areas 
of the United States. International recognition of a number of the 
sites in the area has contributed to the wealth of information about 
the peoples who lived in them.
  The Trail would highlight areas and sites where our Nation's earliest 
inhabitants, the Paleo Americans, traveled and lived as early as 10,000 
B.C. Within the same region lived the Ancestral Puebloan Indians from 
about A.D. 1 to 1300. The Trail would also feature sites that chronicle 
the existence of today's Ute Indian culture from the early 13th 
century, as well as today's Navajo people.
  I point out that the Trail of the Ancients National Historic Trail 
would include only existing routes and roads, and would not require the 
acquisition of additional property. Currently, much of the existing 
route is officially designated a Scenic Byway in Utah, Colorado, and 
Arizona. The trail also intersects and shares stops with other 
national- and State-designated byways and highways including the San 
Juan Skyway in Colorado and the Utah Bicentennial Highway.
  Most of the existing cultural and historical interpretation of the 
numerous sites along the trail was developed independently. Designation 
of the Trail of the Ancients National Historic Trail would link many of 
the cultural and recreation areas for the benefit of the traveling 
public and involved communities. Just as importantly, designation as a 
national historic trail would provide a unified framework for 
protecting and interpreting for the public the trail's most important 
sites.
  That is why I am introducing this legislation today. This bill would 
authorize the study of the Trail of the Ancients for possible inclusion 
in the National Trails System and allow for its precious and 
irreplaceable sites to be best protected, as well as enjoyed by the 
public.
  I thank the Senate for the opportunity to address this issue today, 
and I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.
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