[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 17]
[House]
[Pages 24982-24983]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



UPPER DELAWARE SCENIC AND RECREATIONAL RIVER MONGAUP VISITOR CENTER ACT 
                                OF 1999

  Mr. SHERWOOD. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 20) to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to construct 
and operate a visitor center for the Upper Delaware Scenic and 
Recreational River on the land owned by the State of New York.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                                H.R. 20

       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 ``Upper Delaware Scenic and 
     Recreational River Mongaup Visitor Center Act of 1999''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       The Congress finds the following:
       (1) The Secretary of the Interior approved a management 
     plan for the Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River, as 
     required by section 704 of Public Law 95-625 (16 U.S.C. 1274 
     note), on September 29, 1987.
       (2) The river management plan called for the development of 
     a primary visitor contact facility located at the southern 
     end of the river corridor.
       (3) The river management plan determined that the visitor 
     center would be built and operated by the National Park 
     Service.
       (4) The Act that designated the Upper Delaware Scenic and 
     Recreational River and the approved river management plan 
     limits the Secretary of the Interior's authority to acquire 
     land within the boundary of the river corridor.
       (5) The State of New York authorized on June 21, 1993, a 
     99-year lease between the New York State Department of 
     Environmental Conservation and the National Park Service for 
     the construction and operation of a visitor center by the 
     Federal Government on State-owned land in the Town of 
     Deerpark, Orange County, New York, in the vicinity of 
     Mongaup, which is the preferred site for the visitor center.

     SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF VISITOR CENTER FOR UPPER DELAWARE 
                   SCENIC AND RECREATIONAL RIVER.

       For the purpose of constructing and operating a visitor 
     center for the Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River 
     and subject to the availability of appropriations, the 
     Secretary of the Interior may--
       (1) enter into a lease with the State of New York, for a 
     term of 99 years, for State-owned land within the boundaries 
     of the Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River located 
     at an area known as Mongaup near the confluence of the 
     Mongaup and Upper Delaware Rivers in the State of New York; 
     and
       (2) construct and operate such a visitor center on land 
     leased under paragraph (2).

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania (Mr. Sherwood) and the gentleman from Puerto Rico (Mr. 
Romero-Barcelo) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Sherwood).


                             General Leave

  Mr. SHERWOOD. 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. 20.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Pennsylvania?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. SHERWOOD. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 20, introduced by my esteemed 
colleague from New York (Mr. Gilman).
  H.R. 20 authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to enter into a 99-
year lease for State-owned land within the boundaries of the Upper 
Delaware Scenic and Recreational River located at Mongaup, New York.
  The gentleman from New York (Mr. Gilman) is to be commended for his 
hard work on this needed bill, which initiates construction of a 
visitor center for the Upper Delaware which will serve as an 
information point for area services and attractions, as well as supply 
basic traveler needs.
  Because the act which established this recreational river limits the 
Federal authority to acquire lands, Congressional action is needed to 
authorize the expenditure of appropriated funds for the construction 
and subsequent operation of a visitor center on leased land.
  H.R. 20 is supported by both the National Park Service and the 
minority. Besides being a necessary addition to an increasingly busy 
component of the National Park Service, the Mongaup Visitor Center is 
also important to my constituents because the Congressional district 
that I represent is bounded on the east by the Upper Delaware River.
  I again commend the gentleman from New York (Mr. Gilman) for his hard 
work in getting this bill to the floor, and I urge my colleagues to 
support H.R. 20.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. ROMERO-BARCELO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, in 1978, the Congress designated the Upper Delaware 
River in New York State as a Wild and Scenic River. Since then, 
hundreds of thousands of visitors from the New York/New Jersey area and 
around the world have visited the river to enjoy the natural beauty and 
recreational opportunities of the area.
  H.R. 20, submitted and sponsored by the gentleman from New York (Mr. 
Gilman), would authorize the construction and the operation of a 
visitor center for the Upper Delaware. Currently, the area has no such 
facility and a visitor's center would enable the National Park Service 
to offer visitors important information and services much more 
effectively.
  The River Management plan, approved by the Department of the Interior 
a decade ago, calls for the construction and the operation by the 
National Park Service of such a facility; and the State of New York has 
agreed to a long-term lease of a State-owned, 55-acre tract for this 
purpose.
  Construction of the facility will make a visit to this area more 
enjoyable and more educational, and we urge our colleagues to support 
H.R. 20.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. SHERWOOD. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from 
New York (Mr. Gilman).
  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. 
Sherwood) and the gentleman from Puerto Rico (Mr. Romero-Barcelo) for 
bringing this measure to the floor at this time and for their 
supporting remarks.
  Mr. Speaker, as my colleagues may know, in 1978, along with our good 
friend and former colleagues, the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. 
McDade) and the gentleman from New York (Mr. Bingham), I introduced 
legislation establishing the Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational 
River as a component of the National Wild and Scenic River System. It 
is one of the

[[Page 24983]]

few wild rivers in the Northeast for which so many people enjoy 
recreation.
  The property proposed for the location of the Upper Delaware Scenic 
and Recreational River's primary visitors' facility, the Mongaup 
Visitor Center, is owned by the State of New York's Department of 
Environmental Conservation. That property was acquired by the State in 
1990 as part of a much larger purchase of an 11,000-acre tract intended 
to provide habitat for a population of wintering bald eagles.
  New York State legislation authorizing Federal development of the 
property as a visitors center by means of a long-term lease was adopted 
in 1993. A legislative support data package was prepared in 1994 for 
Federal legislation authorizing development of that site and 
authorizing appropriation of funds for development and to increase the 
Upper Delaware's operational base to provide for year-round operation.
  The site for the Mongaup Visitor Center contains abundant natural and 
cultural resources, and this proposal will identify and develop 
strategies to protect the Mongaup area's natural resources, including 
the expanding bald eagle population, the half million migrating 
American shad, 200 species of birds, upland and flood plain forests, 
hemlock and laurel gorges, and a mile of river front with natural sand 
beaches.
  Mr. Speaker, the visitor center will benefit the community in many 
respects. It will serve as an educational asset, a local museum, a 
classroom, and as a driving force in a promotion of the natural and 
historical resources of the entire region.
  Moreover, with 85 percent of the Upper Delaware Scenic and 
Recreational River under private ownership, the region's struggles to 
maintain a balance between private property and recreation continues.
  Bordered by the Delaware River, the Mongaup River, and New York State 
Highway Route 97, the visitors center would provide a central location 
to promote all the services and natural beauty that the region has to 
offer. The only center of its kind within an hour's drive of New York 
City, the Mongaup visitor center would open the Upper Delaware Valley 
to both the local and visiting public.
  The National Park Service has been overseeing this area for some 20 
years without any base of operations. The State of New York has 
dedicated funding to purchase the land for this project, to upgrade 
river services, and to restore the bald eagle population to the region.
  As a final phase of the river management plan, the citizens of the 
Upper Delaware Valley have been apparently awaiting the commencement of 
this long overdue project.
  Accordingly, I urge my colleagues to support this worthy measure.
  Mr. SHERWOOD. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, the Upper Delaware is a national treasure. Through the 
efforts of the gentleman from New York (Mr. Gilman), there will be 
thousands of people each year that will be able to view it and to kayak 
in it and to enjoy this beautiful scenic river.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Sherwood) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 20.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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