[Senate Report 109-239]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 401
109th Congress Report
SENATE
2d Session 109-239
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TRAIL OF TEARS NATIONAL HISTORIC TRAIL
_______
April 20, 2006.--Ordered to be printed
Filed, under authority of the Senate of April 7, 2006
_______
Mr. Domenici, from the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany S. 1970]
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was
referred the bill (S. 1970) to amend the National Trails System
Act to update the feasibility and suitability study originally
prepared for the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail and
provide for the inclusion of new trail segments, land
components and campgrounds associated with that trail, and for
other purposes, having considered the same, reports favorably
thereon with an amendment and recommends that the bill, as
amended, do pass.
The amendment is as follows:
Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert in lieu
thereof the following:
SECTION 1. REVISION OF FEASIBILITY AND SUITABILITY STUDY OF TRAIL OF
TEARS NATIONAL HISTORIC TRAIL.
Section 5(a)(16) of the National Trails System Act (16 U.S.C.
1244(a)(16)) is amended--
(1) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``subsections'' and
inserting ``sections''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(C) Study of additional components.--Not later than 3
complete fiscal years after the date of enactment of this
subparagraph, the Secretary of the Interior shall submit to
Congress a study regarding the feasibility and suitability of
designating, as additional components of the Trail of Tears
National Historic Trail, the following routes and land
components by which the Cherokee Nation was removed to
Oklahoma:
``(i) The Benge and Bell routes.
``(ii) The land components of the designated water
routes in Alabama, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Tennessee.
``(iii) The routes from the collection forts in
Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, and Tennessee to the
emigration depots.
``(iv) Related campgrounds located along those routes
and in those land components.''.
Purpose of the Measure
The purpose of S. 1970, as ordered reported, is to amend
the National Trails System Act to update the feasibility study
for the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail.
Background and Need
S. 1970 authorizes a feasibility study to evaluate whether
certain sites recently identified by scholars and local trail
enthusiasts are suitable for inclusion in the Trail of Tears
National Historic Trail (Trail).
The Trail commemorates the forcible removal of more than
16,000 Cherokee, black slaves, and other tribes from their
homelands (in northwest Georgia and adjacent Tennessee,
Alabama, and North Carolina) to the Indian Territory (present-
day Oklahoma) in 1838 and 1839. The impact to the Cherokee and
other travelers was devastating. Hundreds of Cherokee died
during their trip west, and thousands more perished from the
consequences of relocation.
In 1987, when Congress authorized the Trail, it consisted
of the primary land route and primary water route used by many
of the Cherokee. Although the original feasibility study
recognized that other sites and routes existed, at that time
there was not enough evidence to locate and confirm them.
In the years since 1987, scholars and trail enthusiasts
have amassed a significant amount of information that have
helped to identify these additional routes and sites, and even
new components of the two designated routes.
New routes include (1) the Bell Route traveled by John
Bell's Treaty Party across Tennessee and Arkansas to Ft.
Gibson, Indian Territory; and (2) the Benge Route, used by
Cherokee leader John Benge's detachment. Benge's Route started
in Ft. Payne, Alabama and traversed Tennessee, Kentucky,
Missouri, and northern Arkansas, before arriving in Oklahoma.
Recent research has also identified the following sites:
(1) land sites along a water route (known as the Water Route)
that traveled the Tennessee, Ohio, Mississippi, and Arkansas
Rivers through Tennessee, Alabama, Arkansas, and Oklahoma; (2)
routes from collection and internment forts in Alabama,
Georgia, North Carolina, and Tennessee to emigration depots;
and (3) campgrounds along those routes.
Legislative History
S. 1970 was introduced by Senators Coburn, Frist, and
Alexander on November 7, 2005. The Subcommittee on National
Parks held a hearing on S. 1970 on February 16, 2006. At its
business meeting on March 8, 2006, the Committee on Energy and
Natural Resources ordered S. 1970 favorably reported as
amended.
Committee Recommendation
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in open
business session on March 8, 2006, by unanimous voice vote of a
quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 1970, if
amended as described herein.
Committee Amendment
During consideration of S. 1970, the Committee adopted an
amendment in the nature of a substitute. The substitute strikes
authority given to the Secretary to designate trail additions
after the suitability study is completed and instead requires
that she report the results to Congress within three years of
the date the bill is enacted into law. The amendment also
deleted any reference to appropriations.
Section-by-Section Analysis
Section 1 amends section 5(a)(16) of the National Trail
System Act (which designates the Trail of Tears National
Historic Trail) to add a new subparagraph, (C).
Subparagraph (C) requires the Secretary of the Interior to
submit to Congress a study of the feasibility and suitability
of additions to the trail within three years of the enactment
of the bill.
S. 1970 does not specify an amount to be appropriated.
Cost and Budgetary Considerations
The Congressional Budget Office estimate of the costs of
this measure has been requested but was not received at the
time the report was filed. When the report is available, the
Chairman will request it to be printed in the Congressional
Record for the advice of the Senate.
Regulatory Impact Evaluation
In compliance with paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee makes the following
evaluation of the regulatory impact which would be incurred in
carrying out S. 1970. The bill is not a regulatory measure in
the sense of imposing Government-established standards or
significant economic responsibilities on private individuals
and businesses.
No personal information would be collected in administering
the program. Therefore, there would be no impact on personal
privacy.
Little, if any, additional paperwork would result from the
enactment of S. 1970, as ordered reported.
Executive Communications
The views of the Administration on S. 1970 were included in
testimony received by the Committee at a hearing on the bill on
February 16, 2006. This testimony follows:
Statement of John Parsons, Associate Regional Director, National
Capital Region, National Park Service, Department of the Interior
Mr. Chairman and members of the subcommittee, thank you for
the opportunity to appear before you today to present the
Department of the Interior's views on S. 1970. The bill would
amend the National Trails System Act to update the feasibility
and suitability study of the Trail of Tears National Historic
Trail (NHT).
We thank Senators Tom Coburn, Bill Frist, and Lamar
Alexander for their interest in and support of the
commemoration of the Trail of Tears NHT. The Department
supports updating the feasibility and suitability study for the
Trail of Tears NHT; however, we recommend that S. 1970 be
amended to remove the automatic designation of any additions to
the original trail the study determines to be eligible. In a
time of austere budgets and a refocusing on the core mission of
the National Park Service (NPS), we believe that available
funding should be first directed toward taking care of what we
already own.
S. 1970 would update the feasibility and suitability study
for the Trail of Tears NHT through the examination of
additional routes, land components, and campgrounds associated
with that trail not included in the initial study. The
Secretary of the Interior would determine if some or all of
these components are eligible additions to the trail at the
completion of the study. Further, it would authorize the
Secretary to make designations of any of these additional
routes, land components and campgrounds that she found
eligible. The National Trails System Act does not provide for
additions to trails subsequent to their designation by
Congress.
A network of 24 scenic and historic trails has been created
since the enactment of the National Trails System Act in 1968.
These trails provide for outdoor recreation needs, providing
enjoyment and appreciation, which in turn, promotes good health
and well-being. They traverse resources that connect us to
history and provide an important opportunity for local
communities to become involved in a national effort by
encouraging public access and citizen involvement.
In 1987, Congress designated the Trail of Tears National
Historic Trail. The trail encompassed the primary water route
and northern land route used during the forced removal of the
Cherokee Nation from its homelands in the southeast to Indian
Territory (present day Oklahoma). The trail is administered by
the NPS.
The Indian Removal Act of 1830 mandated the removal of all
Indian tribes from east of the Mississippi River to lands west
of Arkansas and Missouri. Of the Five Civilized Tribes, the
Cherokee were perhaps the most successful at resisting the
Act's implementation. But their fate was sealed in 1838 when
the U.S. government was determined to complete the Removal. The
roundup began in May, as thousands of Cherokee families were
brought by force to nearby military forts or camps, and
subsequently marched to the principal emigration depots at
Ross's Landing or Fort Cass in Tennessee, or Fort Payne in
Alabama. From there, they either walked overland or rode river
steamboats, flatboats, and keelboats to Indian Territory. By
the spring of 1839, nearly the entire Cherokee Nation,
comprising some 16,000 individuals from all levels of society,
had been removed west.
The 1992 Comprehensive Management and Use Plan for the
Trail of Tears NHT identified the need to study two additional
major routes of Cherokee Removal, the Bell and Benge Routes in
the states of Tennessee, Alabama, Missouri, Arkansas, and
Oklahoma as possible additions to the existing trail. Both of
these routes are included in S. 1970. Subsequently, the
Cherokee Nation, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, the
Trail of Tears Association, and other trail supporters have
urged the NPS to include additional important routes of
Cherokee Removal in Georgia, North Carolina, Alabama,
Tennessee, and Oklahoma. These routes lead from the many
removal forts established by the military during the roundup of
the Cherokee to the major embarkation sites from which the
Cherokee people left on their tragic journey to Indian
Territory. The roundup of the Cherokee is a major part of the
story of the Trail of Tears, and it is not adequately
represented by the current trail.
The Department recognizes the importance of telling the
complete story of the Trail of Tears. Updating the feasibility
and suitability study would cost approximately $175,000. Also,
the NPS estimates that it would require an additional $295,000
per year to adequately provide funding for staff, travel,
supplies, and other costs to administer the new routes.
Historic trails cross public and private lands, and the
intent of the National Trails System Act is one of respecting
private property rights. In so doing, the development of strong
partnerships is critical to administering and managing the
historic trails and achieving preservation of trail resources
and interpretation of the trail to the public. The Trail of
Tears NHT demonstrates the results of this type of effort.
Mr. Chairman, thank you for the opportunity to comment.
This concludes my prepared remarks and I will be happy to
answer any questions you or other committee members might have.
Changes in Existing Law
In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, changes in existing law made by
S. 1970, as ordered reported, are shown as follows (existing
law proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new
matter is printed in italic, existing law in which no change is
proposed is shown in roman):
Public Law 90-543--Oct. 2, 1968
AN ACT To establish a national trails system, and for other purposes
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SHORT TITLE
Section 1. This Act may be cited as the ``National Trails
System Act''.
* * * * * * *
NATIONAL SCENIC AND NATIONAL HISTORICAL TRAILS
Sec. 5. (a) National scenic and national historic trails
shall be authorized and designated only by Act of Congress.
There are hereby established the following National Scenic and
National Historic Trails:
* * * * * * *
(16)(A) The Trail of Tears National Historic Trail, a trail
consisting of water routes and overland routes traveled by the
Cherokee Nation during its removal from ancestral lands in the
East to Oklahoma during 1838 and 1839, generally located within
the corridor described through portions of Georgia, North
Carolina, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri,
Arkansas, and Oklahoma in the final report of the Secretary of
the Interior prepared pursuant to subsection (b) of this
section entitled ``Trail of Tears'' and dated June 1986. Maps
depicting the corridor shall be on file and available for
public inspection in the Office of the National Park Service,
Department of the Interior. The trail shall be administered by
the Secretary of the Interior. No lands or interests therein
outside the exterior boundaries of any federally administered
area may be acquired by the Federal Government for the Trail of
Tears except with the consent of the owner thereof.
(B) In carrying out his responsibilities pursuant to
[subsections]\1\sections 5(f) and 7(c) of this Act, the
Secretary of the Interior shall give careful consideration to
the establishment of appropriate interpretive sites for the
Trail of Tears in the vicinity of Hopkinsville, Kentucky, Fort
Smith, Arkansas, Trail of Tears State Park, Missouri, and
Tahlequah, Oklahoma.
(C) Study of additional components.--Not
later than 3 complete fiscal years after the
date of enactment of this subparagraph, the
Secretary of the Interior shall submit to
Congress a study regarding the feasibility and
suitability of designating, as additional
components of the Trail of Tears National
Historic Trail, the following routes and land
components by which the Cherokee Nation was
removed to Oklahoma:
(i) The Benge and Bell routes.
(ii) The land components of the
designated water routes in Alabama,
Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Tennessee.
(iii) The routes from the collection
forts in Alabama, Georgia, North
Carolina, and Tennessee to the
emigration depots.
(iv) Related campgrounds located
along those routes and in those land
components.