**STATEMENT OF KATHERINE H. STEVENSON, ACTING ASSISTANT DIRECTOR,
BUSINESS SERVICES,** **NATIONAL PARK SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE
INTERIOR, BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON NATIONAL PARKS OF THE SENATE
COMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND NATURAL RESOURCES, CONCERNING S. 2098, TO
ESTABLISH THE NORTHERN PLAINS NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA IN THE STATE OF
NORTH DAKOTA**

# November 8, 2007 

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. 2098, a bill to establish the Northern Plains
National Heritage Area in the State of North Dakota.

While the Department appreciates the historic, cultural and natural
features of the area, the Department does not support S. 2098. The
feasibility study produced by the Northern Plains Heritage Foundation
did not meet all of the criteria for designation as a national heritage
area. It did not include the existence of significant levels of public
involvement and support and the local commitments necessary for
successful planning and implementation of a heritage area.

Without further dialog with residents in the region and the support of
current living descendents, we are concerned that the Heritage Area
would not be poised for success and a sustainable future. Success of
this grassroots movement depends upon whether or not there is strong
region-wide support, so we respectfully request the Heritage Area
proponents engage more residents and Mandan-Hidatsa descendents in a
dialog.

We remind the committee that our past support of an amendment to S. 1544
in the 109^th^ Congress authorizing a study did not necessarily mean
that the Department would support designation of this National Heritage
Area.

We generally have asked that the subcommittee defer action on new
designations of National Heritage Areas until program legislation is
enacted. Last year, the Administration sent to Congress a legislative
proposal to establish such guidelines and a process for designation.
Bills were introduced in the 109th Congress (S. 243, H.R. 760 and H.R.
6287) that incorporated the majority of the provisions of the
Administration's proposal, and S. 243 passed the Senate. During the
110th Congress, a similar heritage area program bill, S. 278, has been
introduced and reported by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources
Committee.

Requiring evidence of broad public support prior to designation is
consistent with the steps and criteria for the National Heritage Area
program that have been informally implemented for many years. The steps
and criteria have been developed with input from Congress, existing
National Heritage Areas, and other experts and are designed to ensure
that an area has the resources, local interest, and other qualities that
are critical in establishing a successful National Heritage Area.

The four critical steps that need to be completed before Congress
establishes a National Heritage Area are:

1\. completion of a feasibility study;

2\. public involvement in the feasibility study;

3\. demonstration of widespread public support among heritage area
residents for the proposed designation; and

4\. commitment to the proposal from the appropriate players which may
include governments, industry, and private, non-profit organizations, in
addition to the local citizenry.

S. 2098 would establish the Northern Plains National Heritage Area. The
core area is approximately 80 miles long, anchored at each end by
nationally designated landmarks. Huff Indian Village National Historic
Landmark, an ancient Mandan Indian Village is the southern anchor and
Big Hidatsa Village National Historic Landmark, an ancient Hidatsa
village located within the Knife River Indian Villages National Historic
site at Stanton, North Dakota, is the northern anchor. Huff and Menoken
National Historic Landmarks are also state historic sites preserved and
managed by the State Historical Society of North Dakota. This area
encompasses the ancient homeland of the Mandan and Hidatsa American
Indian nations as well as the Menoken Indian Village, an early Indian
village site just east of Bismarck, North Dakota, which also bears
national historic landmark status.

The bill designates the Northern Plains Heritage Foundation, a
non-profit corporation established under the laws of the State of North
Dakota, as the management entity for the Heritage Area and outlines its
duties. It also authorizes the development of a management plan and
technical assistance to carry out the plan. The bill also requires the
Secretary to conduct an evaluation three years prior to the cessation of
Federal funding under this act.

Long before the Europeans came to the area, Mandan and Hidatsa cultures
flourished along the river in North Dakota. These early people thrived
for centuries in heavily populated agricultural communities along the
fertile floodplains. They also depended on the abundance of fish, game,
and other wildlife throughout the prairies. They were later followed by
pioneers and homesteaders---generations of farmers and ranchers who
continue to cultivate the land and reap the harvest provided by the
abundance of the Northern Plains environment.

The villages of these early settlers served as a central hub in a trade
network that spanned the continent. The Heart River segment of the
Missouri River was the center of the universe for the first people, the
Mandans, who constructed their permanent earthlodge villages along the
Missouri River and its tributaries. The Lewis and Clark Expedition even
benefited from the hospitality and friendship of the Mandan and Hidatsa
when they spent the winter along the Garrison Reach near present-day
Washburn.

Today, the Mandan language is in danger of extinction with only two
conversational speakers able to participate in a preservation project.
Therefore, as part of their preservation initiatives within the Northern
Plains area, the Northern Plains Heritage Foundation's language
initiative is focusing on preserving and archiving language
vocabularies, beginning with the recording of Mandan language materials.
It also is supporting the development of instructional materials for
Mandan, Hidatsa, Arikara, Lakota, French and German language teachers.
Language has always been a key element that characterizes and underpins
the cultural integrity and unique identity of a people or an ethnic
group.

The Department believes that further evaluation and public engagement
would ensure widespread public involvement, and determine local interest
and commitment, thus strengthening the current feasibility study. We
also believe that further examination of the boundaries to include the
current Mandan-Hidatsa homeland and the unique geographical, cultural,
and historical resources of the Northern Plains area would provide other
valuable information as to whether the area qualifies for designation as
a National Heritage Area.

Mr. Chairman, that concludes my statement. I would be pleased to answer
any questions you or other members of the subcommittee may have.