[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 148 (2002), Part 12]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 17345]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




  AMENDING LEGAL DEFINITION OF LEWIS AND CLARK NATIONAL HISTORIC TRAIL

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. BARON P. HILL

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 18, 2002

  Mr. HILL. Mr. Speaker, today, I have introduced legislation that will 
amend the legal definition of the Lewis and Clark National Historic 
Trail to include the expedition's route between Wood River, Illinois 
and the Falls of the Ohio, which rests between Clarksville, Indiana and 
Louisville, Kentucky.
  I am grateful that representatives Anne Northup and Mark Souder have 
joined me as original cosponsors of the Bill. Senator Evan Bayh of 
Indiana is also introducing companion legislation in the Senate.
  In October 1803, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark first met at the 
Falls of the Ohio, recruited the first members of the Corps of 
Discovery and departed for the west from Clarksville, Indiana on 
October 26, 1803.
  Our country will begin commemorating the bicentennial of the Lewis 
and Clark expedition next year. Southern Indiana and Louisville, 
Kentucky will host a ``National Signature Event'' to mark the important 
events that happened at the Falls of the Ohio.
  Mr. Speaker, the upcoming bicentennial has caused many of us to more 
carefully examine the history of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. We 
discovered that many important sites like the Falls of the Ohio have 
not been properly recognized in the past. The Falls of the Ohio State 
Park in Indiana and historic Locust Grove in Louisville, Kentucky have 
now been certified by the National Park Service as official sites 
associated with the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail.
  However, there is now a disconnect between the legal definition of 
the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail passed by Congress in 1978 
and the sites that have been certified by the National Park Service as 
significant to the Lewis and Clark story. This bill will extend the 
Trail corridor to include important sites between Wood River and the 
Falls of the Ohio.
  It will also do more than correct current law to include sites that 
both the Park Service and Lewis and Clark scholars have noted as 
significant. By extending the official Trail to include more Eastern 
sites, a larger portion of the U.S. Population will be within driving 
distance of the Trail. This means more people in the east will learn 
about the Lewis and Clark story and be more likely to make a point of 
exploring Western segments of the Trail. this will significantly boost 
tourism all along the Lewis and Clark Trail.
  Mr. Speaker, this amendment to the National Trails System Act is long 
overdue. With the upcoming Lewis and Clark bicentennial only months 
away, this is the perfect time to ensure the Lewis and Clark Trail 
properly reflects the expedition's history. I hope the House will soon 
consider this legislation and pass it into law.

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