Congressional Record, Volume 156 Issue 40 (Thursday, March 18, 2010)

[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 40 (Thursday, March 18, 2010)]
[House]
[Pages H1616-H1617]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

HUDSON RIVER VALLEY SPECIAL RESOURCE STUDY ACT

Ms. BORDALLO. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 4003) to direct the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a
special resource study to evaluate resources in the Hudson River Valley
in the State of New York to determine the suitability and feasibility
of establishing the site as a unit of the National Park System, and for
other purposes, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:

H.R. 4003

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 ``Hudson River Valley Special
Resource Study Act''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

In this Act:
(1) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of the Interior.
(2) Study area.--The term ``study area''--
(A) means the portion of the Hudson River that flows from
Rodgers Island at Fort Edward to the southern-most boundary
of Westchester County, New York; and
(B) includes any relevant sites and landscapes within the
counties in New York that abut the area described in
subparagraph (A).

SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF STUDY.

(a) In General.--As soon as funds are made available for
this purpose, the Secretary shall complete a special resource
study of the Hudson River Valley in the State of New York to
evaluate--
(1) the national significance of the area; and
(2) the suitability and feasibility of designating the area
as a unit of the National Park System.
(b) Study Guidelines.--In conducting the study under
subsection (a), the Secretary shall--
(1) use the criteria for the study of areas for potential
inclusion in the National Park System in accordance with
section 8(c) of Public Law 91-383 (16 U.S.C. 1a-5(c));
(2) determine the effect of the designation of the area as
a unit of the National Park System on existing commercial and
recreational activities, including but not limited to
hunting, fishing, trapping, recreational shooting, motor boat
use, off-highway vehicle use, snowmobile use, and on the
authorization, construction, operation, maintenance, or
improvement of energy production and transmission
infrastructure, and the effect on the authority of State and
local governments to manage those activities;
(3) identify any authorities that will compel or permit the
Secretary to influence local land use decisions (such as
zoning) or place restrictions on non-Federal land if the area
is designated a unit of the National Park System; and
(4) closely examine park unit models, in particular
national river and recreation areas, as well as other
landscape protection models, that--
(A) encompass large areas of non-Federal lands within their
designated boundaries;
(B) foster public and private collaborative arrangements
for achieving National Park Service objectives; and
(C) protect and respect the rights of private land owners.

SEC. 4. REPORT.

Not later than 36 months after the date that funds are
first made available for this purpose, the Secretary shall
submit to the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural
Resources of the Senate a report on the findings,
conclusions, and recommendations of the study authorized by
this Act.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from
Guam (Ms. Bordallo) and the gentleman from California (Mr. McClintock)
each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Guam.

General Leave

Ms. BORDALLO. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks
and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentlewoman from Guam?
There was no objection.
Ms. BORDALLO. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 4003, introduced by our friend
Representative Maurice Hinchey of New York, would authorize the
Secretary of the Interior to evaluate the resources in the Hudson River
Valley and determine the suitability and the feasibility of
establishing the area as a unit of the National Park System.
Mr. Speaker, for more than half a century various local, state, and
Federal agencies have helped to protect, preserve, and celebrate this
historic and significant landscape. The valley is home to numerous
state and Federal parks that honor a variety of historic events.
Representative Hinchey is to be commended for his tireless efforts on
behalf of his constituents and the outstanding historic and cultural
resources found in New York State. We support passage of H.R. 4003, and
urge its adoption by the House today.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. McCLINTOCK. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, H.R. 4003 has been adequately explained by the majority.
I do want to point out, however, that the committee wisely adopted an
amendment by Congressman Rob Bishop that requires the National Park
Service to identify local activities that will be limited or eliminated
if the study leads to a park designation. As Congress considers
additions to the National Park System, the public is entitled to know
which existing activities, such as hunting and fishing and boating and
snowmobiling and energy production and transmission, will be
restricted.
As we in the West painfully know, national park designation comes
with an abundance of regulations and direct Federal management. It is
important that people living in the affected area know ahead of time
how much authority over their local affairs will be ceded to the
Federal Government.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. BORDALLO. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the
gentleman from New York (Mr. Hinchey).
Mr. HINCHEY. I want to express also my deep appreciation and
gratitude to the chairman of the Natural Resources Committee, Nick
Rahall, for working with me to move this important piece of
legislation. I also would like to thank Chairman Grijalva and the staff
of the Natural Resources Committee for all the support and guidance
throughout this process.
I would like to mention that there are no restrictions in the context
of this legislation for any of the things that were just mentioned.
None whatsoever. In fact, all of those kinds of activities will be
enhanced and encouraged and be much more easy to achieve

[[Page H1617]]

and more beneficial to the communities.
H.R. 4003 would authorize the National Park Service to conduct a
special resource study of the Hudson River Valley to evaluate the
area's national significance and determine the suitability and
feasibility of designating the area as a unit of the National Park
System, a unit of the National Park System, not a national park.
This legislation is cosponsored by each of the Members whose district
is within the proposed study area. And that in and of itself of course
is very interesting. They have garnered strong support locally. Twenty-
four local organizations have already endorsed the bill, and I expect
to see that there will be more in the coming weeks and months.
The Hudson River Valley is one of the most significant river
corridors in our country. The historical, natural, cultural,
commercial, scenic, and recreational resources spread throughout the
region, and in the way they do so they are absolutely unparalleled. The
Hudson River Valley's landscapes are known around the world. In fact,
the beauty of these great landscapes inspired the first and one of
America's great artistic movements, the Hudson River school of art.
Painters such as Thomas Cole and Frederic Church immortalized the
region's scenery for generations to come. These works and others
inspired the American preservationist movement and the movement to
establish in our country national parks.
Today the region is home to a rich and sensitive ecosystem that also
affords ample recreational opportunities, including hiking, canoeing,
and other activities. One of the most recent additions is the Walkway
Over the Hudson. Initially a rail bridge that was considered a marvel
of the Industrial Revolution, it was abandoned in the 1970s following a
fire on one of the trains that went across that bridge at that time. It
recently was restored and reopened, however, over the course of this
past October, and it is now the longest and highest pedestrian overpass
in the United States. It is a remarkable bridge, where people get
enormous amounts of joy walking across it, over a mile across it, and
give them an opportunity to get a sense of the Hudson River Valley
looking north and south as they walk across this marvelous now Walkway
Over the Hudson.
From a historical perspective, the Hudson River Valley has played a
central role in our Nation's narrative and our Nation's development. In
1609, of course, Henry Hudson first sailed up the river that now bears
his name. And we just recently celebrated the 400th anniversary of that
very important trip. During the American Revolution, the region bore
witness to events that determined the course of that Revolutionary War
and the establishment of the freedom and independence of our Nation.
In the 19th century, the Hudson River Valley helped foster the
American Industrial Revolution and became one of the commercial
corridors of our country. In 1807, Robert Fulton piloted the first
successful steamboat voyage up the river. Later in the century, the
Hudson and its estuary, the Mohawk River, connected the Nation's
greatest port, New York City, with the entire western section of the
United States through the Erie Canal network and the central Great
Lakes. In the last century, the region was home to Franklin Delano
Roosevelt at Hyde Park. Later, the region gave birth to the modern
environmental and labor movements.
Preserving and promoting the Hudson River Valley's resources has been
a top priority for me dating back to my time in the New York State
Assembly. While in the State legislature, I authorized legislation to
lead to the creation of the Hudson River Valley Greenway, creating a
process for voluntary regional cooperation among 264 communities within
13 counties that border the Hudson River on both sides, east and west.
When I came to the Congress, I authorized legislation that led to the
designation of the Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area, which
provides technical assistance to local communities or local managers to
assist them in managing natural and historic sites of national
importance up and down the Hudson River. These designations have
provided tremendous benefits to the Hudson Valley region, but it is
clear that more can be done to protect, preserve, and promote the
area's unique resources and its dramatic contribution to the historic
development of the United States.

{time} 1515

I believe an enhanced National Park Service presence is warranted
completely and would have a tremendously positive impact on our local
economy while at the same time preserving and protecting the region's
resources. The authorization of this special resource study will begin
that process.
Just to be clear, no one believes the Hudson River Valley should be
turned into a Yellowstone-type park. That would make no sense for the
region. In fact, I firmly believe that any eventual park unit
designation should and will protect private property rights and that
local governments should retain local control of land-use decisions
involving all of the property up and down the Hudson River that is not
Federal property. There are civil existing park units, such as the
Mississippi River and recreation area, a little bit we have heard about
just recently, which fit these criteria and could be models for our
region.
I believe the study should examine these models and the positive
impact they have had on their local economies.
Passage of this bill and the subsequent study would position the
Hudson River Valley to gain the full attention of the National Park
Service for all of the significant and substantial historic
contributions this region has made to the development, establishment,
and the continuation of the United States, as well as for the area's
pristine natural beauty.
For all of these reasons and more, we are offering this Hudson River
Valley Special Resource Study Act, and we have gained enormous support
from everyone who has heard about it internally here within the
Government of the United States, but even more importantly, widespread
endorsements of this up and down the Hudson River Valley, north and
south and east and west.
And so I offer this bill.
Mr. McCLINTOCK. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
I appreciate sincerely the gentleman's sensitivity to the property
rights of the individuals in the Hudson River Valley and the
prerogatives of local government control; and for that reason, I should
think that he would welcome the amendment that was placed in the bill
that would give all of the people notice of what existing activities
may be restricted if the study concludes that the area should be
designated as a unit of the National Park System and if in fact it does
become a unit.
I yield back the balance of my time.
Ms. BORDALLO. Mr. Speaker, I again urge Members to support the bill,
and I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentlewoman from Guam (Ms. Bordallo) that the House suspend the rules
and pass the bill, H.R. 4003, as amended.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
Ms. BORDALLO. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be
postponed.

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