America's Agricultural Heritage Partnership Act of 1996

Summary: America's Agricultural Heritage Partnership Act of 1996 - Establishes in Iowa the America's Agricultural Heritage Partnership to promote the story of American agriculture, centered upon the area of Waterloo and northeast Iowa. 
Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to provide grants and technical assistance to the Partnership, and to enter into related cooperative agreements with private and governmental entities. 
Establishes a Partnership management entity and requires the development of a management plan. 
Authorizes appropriations.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``America's Agricultural Heritage 
Partnership Act of 1996''.

SEC 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
            (1) the city of Waterloo, Iowa, and northeast Iowa, possess 
        many important elements of the nationally significant story of 
        American agriculture, including Native American agriculture, 
        agricultural mechanization, seed hybridization, farm 
        cooperative movements, rural electrification, farm-to-market 
        systems, rural-to-urban migration, veterinary practice, food 
        processing and preservation, national farm organizations, 
        international hunger relief, and the development of national 
        and international agribusiness;
            (2) these resources offer outstanding and unique 
        opportunities to acknowledge and appreciate the development of 
        American agriculture;
            (3) the National Park Service has determined that--
                    (A) the story of American agriculture is nationally 
                significant;
                    (B) northeast Iowa is an ideal place to tell the 
                story; and
                    (C) the story could be divided into 4 principal 
                topics for interpretation consisting of--
                            (i) the amazing science of agriculture;
                            (ii) agriculture as a way of life;
                            (iii) organizing for survival; and
                            (iv) crops from field to table;
            (4) the responsibility for interpreting, retaining, 
        enhancing, and promoting the resources, values, and amenities 
        of Waterloo, Iowa, and northeast Iowa resides with volunteer 
        associations, private businesses, political subdivisions of the 
        State, and the State; and
            (5) despite the efforts by volunteer associations, private 
        businesses, political subdivisions of the State, and the State, 
        the cultural and historical resources of the area have not 
        realized full potential and may be lost without assistance from 
        the Federal Government.
    (b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are--
            (1) to interpret, retain, enhance, and promote the unique 
        and significant contributions to national and international 
        agriculture of certain natural, historical, and cultural 
        resources within Waterloo, Iowa, and northeast Iowa;
            (2) to provide a partnership management framework to assist 
        volunteer associations, private businesses, political 
        subdivisions of the State, and the State in developing and 
        implementing Plan policies and programs that will assist in the 
        interpretation, retention, enhancement, and promotion of the 
        cultural, natural, and recreational resources of northeast 
        Iowa;
            (3) to allow for local, State, and Federal contributions 
        through limited grants and technical assistance to create 
        America's Agricultural Heritage Partnership through cooperative 
agreements among volunteer associations, private businesses, political 
subdivisions of the State, the State, and residents of the area; and
            (4) to provide for an economically self-sustaining 
        Partnership for the educational and inspirational benefit of 
        current and future generations concerning the story of American 
        agriculture.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Activity.--The term ``activity'' means an activity 
        described in section 4(b).
            (2) Management entity.--The term ``management entity'' 
        means the management entity established under section 5(a).
            (3) Partnership.--The term ``Partnership'' means the 
        America's Agricultural Heritage Partnership established under 
        section 4(a).
            (4) Plan.--The term ``Plan'' means the Partnership 
        Management Plan established under section 6(a).
            (5) Political subdivision.--The term ``political 
        subdivision'' means a political subdivision of the State 
        (including a county, city, or town), any part of which is 
        located in or adjacent to the area in which the activities of 
        the Partnership are carried out.
            (6) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Agriculture.
            (7) State.--The term ``State'' means the State of Iowa.

SEC. 4. AMERICA'S AGRICULTURAL HERITAGE PARTNERSHIP.

    (a) Establishment.--On publication by the Secretary in the Federal 
Register of notice that a Plan has been approved by the Secretary, 
there is established in the State the America's Agricultural Heritage 
Partnership to carry out this Act.
    (b) Activities.--The Partnership shall carry out such activities as 
the Partnership determines are necesary to carry out this Act, except 
that the activities shall be carried out only in the counties of 
northeast Iowa that are generally depicted in Alternatives 2 and 3 of 
the Special Resource Study, Cedar Valley, Iowa, of the National Park 
Service conducted during 1995.
    (c) Participation.--
            (1) In general.--Nothing in this Act requires any owner of 
        private property located in an area in which the Partnership's 
        activities are carried out, or resident in the area, to 
        participate in or be associated with the Partnership or the 
        Partnership's activities.
            (2) Removal of property.--On providing written notice to 
        the Secretary, an owner of private property may remove the 
        property from participation in, or association with, the 
        Partnership or the Partnership's activities.
    (d) Grants, Technical Assistance, and Cooperative Agreements.--
            (1) Grants and technical assistance.--The Secretary may 
        provide the Federal share specified in section 9(b) of the cost 
        of making grants and providing technical assistance to the 
        Partnership to carry out this Act.
            (2) Cooperative agreements.--The Secretary may enter into a 
        cooperative agreement with a private entity, the State, a 
        political subdivision of the State, a Federal agency, the 
        Partnership, or the management entity to carry out this Act.

SEC. 5. MANAGEMENT ENTITY.

    (a) Establishment.--Subject to the approval of the Secretary, there 
is established a management entity for the Partnership that shall be 
based on Management Option 5 of the Special Resource Study, Cedar 
Valley, Iowa, of the National Park Service conducted during 1995.
    (b) Plan.--Subject to subsection (a), the structure and operation 
of the management entity shall be established in the Plan.
    (c) Composition.--The management entity may include individuals 
affiliated with--
            (1) the American Association of Museums;
            (2) the American Farm Bureau;
            (3) the American Farmland Trust;
            (4) the Effigy Mounds National Monument and the Herbert 
        Hoover National Historic Site;
            (5) the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land 
        Stewardship;
            (6) the Iowa Department of Corrections;
            (7) the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs;
            (8) the Iowa Department of Economic Development;
            (9) the National Trust for Historic Preservation;
            (10) the Smithsonian Institution;
            (11) the State Historic Preservation Office of the State;
            (12) the United States Department of Agriculture;
            (13) the United States Department of Transportation; and
            (14) the America's Agricultural/Industrial Heritage 
        Landscape, Inc.

SEC. 6. PARTNERSHIP MANAGEMENT PLAN.

    (a) Preparation.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Partnership shall submit a Partnership Management Plan 
to the Secretary for approval.
    (b) Assistance.--The Secretary may provide the Federal share 
specified in section 9(b) of the cost of providing technical assistance 
to the Partnership for the preparation of the Plan.

SEC. 7. PRIVATE PROPERTY PROTECTION.

    (a) In General.--Nothing in this Act--
            (1) modifies, enlarges, or diminishes the authority of a 
        Federal, State, or local government agency to regulate any use 
        of private property;
            (2) requires any private property owner to permit public 
        access (or Federal, State, or local government access) to 
        private property;
            (3) modifies or affects any provision of Federal, State, or 
        local law with regard to public access to or use of private 
        property; or
            (4) creates any liability, or has any effect on any 
        liability (under any other law), of any private property owner 
        with respect to any person injured on private property.
    (b) Land Use.--Nothing in this Act--
            (1) grants a power of zoning, land use, or condemnation to 
        the Partnership, the management entity, the Secretary, or any 
        other Federal, State, or local government agency; or
            (2) modifies any authority of a Federal, State, or local 
        government agency to regulate land use.

SEC. 8. RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER AUTHORITY.

    (a) In General.--Nothing in this Act imposes any environmental, 
occupational, safety, or other rule, regulation, standard, or permit 
process that is different from those that would be applicable had the 
Partnership or management entity not been established.
    (b) Water and Water Rights.--Nothing in this Act authorizes or 
implies the reservation or appropriation of water or water rights.
    (c) Fish and Wildlife.--Nothing in this Act diminishes the 
authority of the State in the management of fish and wildlife, 
including the regulation of fishing and hunting.

SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS; FEDERAL SHARE.

    (a) In General.--There is authorized to be appropriated to carry 
out this Act $400,000 for each fiscal year.
    (b) Federal Share.--The Federal share of providing grants and 
technical assistance under this Act shall be 50 percent.