[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 36 (Wednesday, February 27, 2019)]
[House]
[Pages H2238-H2239]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          SACRAMENTO-SAN JOAQUIN DELTA NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Garamendi) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. GARAMENDI. Mr. Speaker, yesterday the House overwhelmingly passed 
the Natural Resources Management Act, including a provision sponsored 
by Senator Feinstein and me that would establish California's first 
National Heritage Area, the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta National 
Heritage Area.
  I want to thank my House colleagues from California, Representatives 
Matsui, DeSaulnier, McNerney, Thompson, Harder, Lofgren, and Bera, for 
their support as cosponsors of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta 
National Heritage Area Act, H.R. 357.
  I also want to thank Chairman Grijalva of the Natural Resources 
Committee for bringing the bipartisan public lands bill to the floor of 
the House following Senate passage earlier this month.
  I sponsored this legislation to establish the Sacramento-San Joaquin 
Delta National Heritage Area since 2011 along with my colleague Senator 
Feinstein.
  A National Heritage Area designation will help conserve the 
California Delta, which I have had the great pleasure of calling my 
home for the last 40 years.

                              {time}  1015

  This iconic working landscape is central to California's life and is 
the most productive watershed and delta in the Western United States 
and, indeed, from the coast of Alaska to Chile.
  Specifically, this legislation authorizes $10 million in Federal 
grants for

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local development of cultural heritage issues, historic preservation, 
and working lands conservation projects.
  This Federal grant funding will be available for the next 15 years to 
support local governments, historical societies, and nonprofit 
organizations throughout the delta.
  Our National Heritage Area Act proposal is endorsed by the Delta 
Stewardship Council and the Delta Counties Coalition, consisting of 
Sacramento, Solano, Contra Costa, Yolo, and San Joaquin Counties, all 
of which represent the delta. It is also supported by the Delta 
Chambers of Commerce and Visitors Bureau, Restore the Delta, and the 
National Parks Conservation Association.
  California's Delta Protection Commission is charged with developing 
the management plan for the new national heritage area.
  Lastly, I want to address some of the persistent misconceptions about 
national heritage area designations, not only this new one but also 
those throughout the United States. Such designations do not affect 
individual property rights, water rights, landownership, or local land 
use decisions, nor does the designation affect hunting and fishing. 
Rather, the national heritage area program simply makes Federal grant 
funds administered by the National Park Service available for local 
projects.
  The national heritage area program and planning process is 
collaborative and voluntary, meaning that local groups, businesses, and 
landowners can choose to participate or not. I look forward to 
continuing to work with local governments, county governments, local 
businesses, communities, local action groups, and all others interested 
during the public management planning process.
  After nearly a decade of work, the President is expected to sign the 
Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta National Heritage Area Act into law. We 
thank all who supported the legislation and the local entities that 
have done so.
  This is truly a historic achievement for the entire delta, including 
the farming communities, the families, and the immigrant communities 
who have settled in the area over the last 150 years and generated the 
rich cultural and agricultural heritage.

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