[106th Congress Public Law 307]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office]
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[DOCID: f:publ307.106]
[[Page 1073]]
EL CAMINO REAL DE TIERRA ADENTRO NATIONAL HISTORIC TRAIL ACT
[[Page 114 STAT. 1074]]
Public Law 106-307
106th Congress
An Act
To amend the National Trails System Act to designate El Camino Real de
Tierra Adentro as a National Historic Trail. <<NOTE: Oct. 13,
2000 - [S. 366]>>
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress <<NOTE: El Camino Real de Tierra
Adentro National Historic Trail Act. New Mexico. Texas.>> assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. <<NOTE: 16 USC 1241 note.>>
This Act may be cited as the ``El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro
National Historic Trail Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds the following:
(1) El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro (the Royal Road of the
Interior), served as the primary route between the colonial
Spanish capital of Mexico City and the Spanish provincial
capitals at San Juan de Los Caballeros (1598-1600), San Gabriel
(1600-1609) and then Santa Fe (1610-1821).
(2) The portion of El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro that
resided in what is now the United States extended between El
Paso, Texas and present San Juan Pueblo, New Mexico, a distance
of 404 miles;
(3) El Camino Real is a symbol of the cultural interaction
between nations and ethnic groups and of the commercial exchange
that made possible the development and growth of the borderland;
(4) American Indian groups, especially the Pueblo Indians of
the Rio Grande, developed trails for trade long before Europeans
arrived;
(5) In 1598, Juan de Onate led a Spanish military expedition
along those trails to establish the northern portion of El
Camino Real;
(6) During the Mexican National Period and part of the
United States Territorial Period, El Camino Real de Tierra
Adentro facilitated the emigration of people to New Mexico and
other areas that would become the United States;
(7) The exploration, conquest, colonization, settlement,
religious conversion, and military occupation of a large area of
the borderlands was made possible by this route, whose
historical period extended from 1598 to 1882;
[[Page 114 STAT. 1075]]
(8) American Indians, European emigrants, miners, ranchers,
soldiers, and missionaries used El Camino Real during the
historic development of the borderlands. These travelers
promoted cultural interaction among Spaniards, other Europeans,
American Indians, Mexicans, and Americans;
(9) El Camino Real fostered the spread of Catholicism,
mining, an extensive network of commerce, and ethnic and
cultural traditions including music, folklore, medicine, foods,
architecture, language, place names, irrigation systems, and
Spanish law.
SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION AND ADMINISTRATION.
Section 5(a) of the National Trails System Act (16 U.S.C. 1244(a))
is amended--
(1) by designating the paragraphs relating to the California
National Historic Trail, the Pony Express National Historic
Trail, and the Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail as
paragraphs (18), (19), and (20), respectively; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(21) El camino real de tierra adentro.--
``(A) El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro (the Royal
Road of the Interior) National Historic Trail, a 404
mile long trail from the Rio Grande near El Paso, Texas
to San Juan Pueblo, New Mexico, as generally depicted on
the maps entitled `United States Route: El Camino Real
de Tierra Adentro', contained in the report prepared
pursuant to subsection (b) entitled `National Historic
Trail Feasibility Study and Environmental Assessment: El
Camino Real de Tierra Adentro, Texas-New Mexico', dated
March 1997.
``(B) Map.--A map generally depicting the trail
shall be on file and available for public inspection in
the Office of the National Park Service, Department of
the Interior.
``(C) Administration.--The Trail shall be
administered by the Secretary of the Interior.
``(D) Land acquisition.--No lands or interests
therein outside the exterior boundaries of any federally
administered area may be acquired by the Federal
Government for El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro except
with the consent of the owner thereof.
``(E) Volunteer groups; consultation.--The Secretary
of the Interior shall--
``(i) encourage volunteer trail groups to
participate in the development and maintenance of
the trail; and
``(ii) consult with other affected Federal,
State, local governmental, and tribal agencies in
the administration of the trail.
[[Page 114 STAT. 1076]]
``(F) Coordination of activities.--The Secretary of
the Interior may coordinate with United States and
Mexican public and non-governmental organizations,
academic institutions, and, in consultation with the
Secretary of State, the government of Mexico and its
political subdivisions, for the purpose of exchanging
trail information and research, fostering trail
preservation and educational programs, providing
technical assistance, and working to establish an
international historic trail with complementary
preservation and education programs in each nation.''.
Approved October 13, 2000.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY--S. 366:
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SENATE REPORTS: No. 106-22 (Comm. on Energy and Natural Resources).
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD:
Vol. 145 (1999):
Nov. 19, considered and passed
Senate.
Vol. 146 (2000):
Oct. 3, considered and passed House.
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