[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 2]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 3008-3009]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 INTRODUCTION OF THE FOX-WISCONSIN HERITAGE PARKWAY NATIONAL HERITAGE 
                            AREA ACT OF 2012

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. THOMAS E. PETRI

                              of wisconsin

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, March 6, 2012

  Mr. PETRI. Mr. Speaker, today I am pleased to join my colleagues . . 
. in introducing the Fox-Wisconsin Heritage Parkway National Heritage 
Area Act of 2012, legislation which would designate the Fox-Wisconsin 
Heritage Parkway as a National Heritage Area. I am also pleased that 
Senator Kohl is introducing companion legislation in the Senate.
  The National Park Service defines National Heritage Areas as:

       . . . places where natural, cultural, historic and scenic 
     resources combine to form a cohesive, nationally important 
     landscape arising from patterns of human activity shaped by 
     geography. These patterns make National Heritage Areas 
     representatives of the American experience through the 
     physical features that remain and the traditions that have 
     evolved in them. These regions are acknowledged by Congress 
     for their capacity to tell important stories about our 
     nation. Continued use of National Heritage Areas by people 
     whose traditions helped to shape the landscape enhances their 
     significance.

  The Fox Wisconsin Heritage Parkway, which runs through parts of 15 
counties throughout Wisconsin, marks the route taken in 1673 by 
explorers Father Jacques Marquette and Louis Joliet as they traveled 
from the Great Lakes to the Mississippi River. This journey is an 
integral part of Wisconsin's and our nation's development. We should do 
all that we can to preserve it so that future generations have an 
appreciation for our country's unique history, culture and heritage.

[[Page 3009]]

  Establishing the Fox Wisconsin Heritage Parkway as a National 
Heritage Area will accomplish that preservation goal in a cost-
effective manner. By utilizing public-private partnerships, the 
National Heritage Area designation can serve as a structure to 
coordinate the activities of businesses, non-profits and residents so 
they can highlight their region's unique contributions to America's 
national story.
  Again, I am very pleased to support this region's designation as a 
National Heritage Area, and I ask for my colleagues' support in this 
effort.

                          ____________________