I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1427

To establish the criteria and mechanisms for the designation of certain areas 

in the United States containing nationally important natural, historic, 

and cultural resources and recreational and educational opportunities 

that are geographically assembled and thematically related as areas that 

provide unique frameworks for understanding the great and diverse character of the United States and the development of communities and 

their surroundings as national heritage areas, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 25, 2003

Mr. HEFLEY introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Resources 

A BILL

To establish the criteria and mechanisms for the designation 

of certain areas in the United States containing nationally important natural, historic, and cultural resources 

and recreational and educational opportunities that are 

geographically assembled and thematically related as 

areas that provide unique frameworks for understanding 

the great and diverse character of the United States 

and the development of communities and their surroundings as national heritage areas, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

2 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

3 ‘‘National Heritage Areas Policy Act’’. 

4 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 

5 this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Purposes. 

Sec. 3. Definitions. 

Sec. 4. Recommendation of areas for designation as national heritage areas. 

Sec. 5. Requirements applicable to feasibility studies. 

Sec. 6. Management plans. 

Sec. 7. Grants for proposed national heritage areas. 

Sec. 8. Grants to support designated national heritage areas. 

Sec. 9. Technical assistance. 

Sec. 10. Termination of designation. 

Sec. 11. Private property protection. 

Sec. 12. Relationship to other federal programs. 

Sec. 13. Savings provisions. 

Sec. 14. Funding.

6 SEC. 2. PURPOSES. 

7 The purposes of this Act are as follows: 

8 (1) To establish the criteria and mechanisms 

9 for the designation of certain areas in the United 

10 States containing nationally important natural, his11 toric, and cultural resources and recreational and 

12 educational opportunities that are geographically as13 sembled and thematically related as areas that pro14 vide unique frameworks for understanding the great 

15 and diverse character of the United States and the 

16 development of communities and their surroundings 

17 as national heritage areas. 

18 (2) To strengthen, complement, and support 

19 the existing units of the National Park System 
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1 through the interpretation and conservation of the 

2 associated living landscapes outside of the bound3 aries of those units. 

4 (3) To describe the extent of Federal respon5 sibilities and duties in regard to future national her6 itage areas. 

7 (4) To encourage collaboration and partner8 ships among State and local governments, nonprofit 

9 organizations, and the private sector, or combina10 tions thereof, to conserve and manage the resources 

11 and opportunities in national heritage areas. 

12 (5) To authorize Federal financial and technical 

13 assistance to local coordinating entities to assist in 

14 the conservation and interpretation of national herit15 age areas. 

16 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

17 In this Act: 

18 (1) FEASIBILITY STUDY.—The term ‘‘feasibility 

19 study’’ means a study conducted by the Secretary, 

20 or conducted by one or more other interested parties 

21 and approved by the Secretary in accordance with 

22 this Act, regarding the feasibility of designating any 

23 proposed national heritage area as a national herit24 age area. 
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1 (2) LOCAL COORDINATING ENTITY.—The term 

2 ‘‘local coordinating entity’’ means, with respect to a 

3 national heritage area—

4 (A) an entity recognized by the Secretary, 

5 but only after consultation with the chief execu6 tive officer of the State in which the national 

7 heritage area is located (or if the area is located 

8 in more than one State, the chief executive offi9 cers of all such States), that agrees to perform 

10 the duties of a local coordinating entity under 

11 this Act; or 

12 (B) a Federal commission designated by 

13 Congress with members appointed by the Sec14 retary to perform the duties of a local coordi15 nating entity under this Act. 

16 (3) NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA.—The term 

17 ‘‘national heritage area’’ means an area or corridor 

18 designated by an Act of Congress as a national her19 itage area. 

20 (4) PROPOSED NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA.—

21 The term ‘‘proposed national heritage area’’ means 

22 an area or corridor that has been authorized by an 

23 Act of Congress for which the Secretary has been 

24 explicitly authorized to conduct a study to determine 
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1 the suitability and feasibility of designating the area 

2 or corridor as a national heritage area. 

3 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

4 the Secretary of the Interior. 

5 (6) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of 

6 the Several States, the District of Columbia, Guam, 

7 the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, the Common8 wealth of Puerto Rico, and the Commonwealth of 

9 the Northern Mariana Islands. 

10 (7) UNIT OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT.—The term 

11 ‘‘unit of local government’’ means the government of 

12 a State, a political subdivision of a State, or an In13 dian tribe. 

14 SEC. 4. RECOMMENDATION OF AREAS FOR DESIGNATION 

15 AS NATIONAL HERITAGE AREAS. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may recommend to 

17 Congress that an area or corridor be designated as a na18 tional heritage area only if, not later than 5 years after 

19 the Act explicitly authorizing the Secretary to conduct a 

20 study to determine the suitability and feasibility of desig21 nating the area or corridor as a national heritage area, 

22 the Secretary has—

23 (1) determined, based upon a feasibility study 

24 conducted for the proposed national heritage area 

25 that the area contains resources of national impor-
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1 tance and is suitable and appropriate for designation 

2 as a national heritage area; 

3 (2) approved a management plan developed in 

4 accordance with this Act for the proposed national 

5 heritage area that includes a business plan as de6 scribed in section 6(b)(4)(G); and 

7 (3) determined that subsection (b) has been 

8 complied with and the 60 day time period referred 

9 to in subsection (b)(2) has expired. 

10 (b) CONSIDERATION OF LOCAL PROPERTY OWN11 ERS.—Prior to a recommendation by the Secretary that 

12 an area or corridor be designated as a national heritage 

13 area, the local coordinating entity shall—

14 (1) contact each owner of private property in 

15 writing within the boundary of the proposed national 

16 heritage area; and 

17 (2) provide sufficient information to allow the 

18 property owner to make an informed decision within 

19 60 days whether or not to allow their property to be 

20 used in the activities of the designated national her21 itage area. 

22 SEC. 5. REQUIREMENTS APPLICABLE TO FEASIBILITY 

23 STUDIES. 

24 (a) STUDY PROCESS AND CONTENT.—A feasibility 

25 study for a proposed national heritage area shall—
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1 (1) be conducted by the Secretary or by one or 

2 more other interested parties for the proposed na3 tional heritage area; 

4 (2) be conducted with participation from the 

5 public and units of local government; and 

6 (3) include the following: 

7 (A) Sufficient information to determine 

8 whether the proposed national heritage area 

9 meets the criteria specified in subsection (b). 

10 (B) A description of the natural, historic, 

11 and cultural resources and recreational, inter12 pretive, and educational opportunities presented 

13 by the proposed national heritage area, includ14 ing an assessment of the quality and integrity 

15 of, the availability of public access to, and the 

16 themes represented by such resources and op17 portunities. 

18 (C) An assessment of the interest of, and 

19 impact of possible designation upon, potential 

20 partners, units of government, nonprofit organi21 zations, and other private entities. 

22 (D) A description of the boundaries and 

23 conceptual framework for the proposed national 

24 heritage area, if the study concludes that all or 

25 a portion of the proposed national heritage area 
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1 is appropriate for designation as a national her2 itage area. 

3 (E) The identity of the local coordinating 

4 entity for the proposed national heritage area. 

5 (b) CRITERIA FOR CONCLUDING AREA IS APPRO6 PRIATE FOR DESIGNATION.—The criteria referred to in 

7 subsection (a)(3)(A) are the following: 

8 (1) ASSEMBLAGE OF RESOURCES.—The pro9 posed national heritage area is a cohesive assem10 blage of natural, historic, cultural, or recreational 

11 resources that—

12 (A) together represent distinctive aspects 

13 of American heritage worthy of recognition, 

14 conservation, interpretation, and continuing 

15 use; and 

16 (B) are best managed through partner17 ships between private and public entities. 

18 (2) TRADITIONS, CUSTOMS, BELIEFS, OR

19 FOLKLIFE.—The proposed national heritage area re20 flects traditions, customs, beliefs, or folklife, or some 

21 combination thereof, that are a valuable part of the 

22 heritage of the United States. 

23 (3) CONSERVATION OF NATURAL, CULTURAL, 

24 OR HISTORIC FEATURES.—The proposed national 

25 heritage area provides outstanding opportunities to 
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1 conserve natural, cultural, or historic features, or 

2 some combination thereof. 

3 (4) RECREATIONAL AND EDUCATIONAL OPPOR4 TUNITIES.—The proposed national heritage area 

5 provides outstanding recreational and interpretive 

6 opportunities. 

7 (5) THEMES AND INTEGRITY OF RESOURCES.—

8 The proposed national heritage area has an identifi9 able theme, and resources important to the theme 

10 retain integrity capable of supporting interpretation. 

11 (6) SUPPORT.—Residents, nonprofit organiza12 tions, other private entities, and units of local gov13 ernment throughout the proposed national heritage 

14 area demonstrate support through letters or other 

15 means for designation of the proposed national her16 itage area as a national heritage area and for man17 agement of the proposed national heritage area as 

18 appropriate for such designation. 

19 (c) COMMENTS OF STATE CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFI20 CER.—Before submitting any feasibility study to the Con21 gress regarding a proposed national heritage area, the 

22 Secretary shall solicit comments from the chief executive 

23 officer of each State in which the proposed national herit24 age area is located. The Secretary shall include in the 
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1 study any comments the Secretary receives from each rel2 evant chief executive officer. 

3 (d) SUBMISSION OF FEASIBILITY STUDY.—Upon 

4 completion or approval by the Secretary of a feasibility 

5 study, the Secretary shall submit the study to the Com6 mittee on Resources of the House of Representatives and 

7 the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the 

8 Senate. The Secretary shall include with the study the rec9 ommendations of the Secretary with respect to the pro10 posed designation to which the study relates. 

11 (e) STUDIES BY INTERESTED PARTIES.—For the 

12 purposes of any Act authorizing the Secretary to conduct 

13 a study to determine the feasibility of designating an area 

14 as a national heritage area, the Secretary may approve 

15 a feasibility study submitted by one or more interested 

16 parties in lieu of conducting the study if the feasibility 

17 study meets the requirements of this Act unless the Act 

18 authorizing the study explicitly exempts the study from 

19 this subsection. 

20 (f) APPROVAL AND DISAPPROVAL OF A FEASIBILITY

21 STUDY.—

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after 

23 receipt of a feasibility study for a proposed national 

24 heritage area, the Secretary shall approve or dis25 approve the study. If the Secretary has not approved 
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1 or disapproved the study within that 90-day period, 

2 the study shall be considered approved. 

3 (2) DISAPPROVAL AND REVISIONS.—If the Sec4 retary disapproves a feasibility study for a proposed 

5 national heritage area, the Secretary shall advise the 

6 entity that submitted the study, in writing, of the 

7 reasons for the disapproval and shall make rec8 ommendations, if any, for a revision of the study. 

9 Not later than 90 days after receipt of a revised fea10 sibility study, the Secretary shall approve or dis11 approve the revised study. If the Secretary has not 

12 approved or disapproved the revised study within 

13 that 90-day period, the revised study shall be consid14 ered approved. 

15 SEC. 6. MANAGEMENT PLANS. 

16 (a) REQUIREMENTS.—In order to meet the require17 ments of this Act, a management plan for a proposed na18 tional heritage area shall be prepared by the local coordi19 nating entity for the proposed national heritage area in 

20 accordance with this section. In preparing the manage21 ment plan, the local coordinating entity shall perform each 

22 of the following duties: 

23 (1) MANAGEMENT PLAN.—Prepare and submit 

24 a management plan reviewed by participating units 
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1 of local government within the boundaries of the 

2 proposed national heritage area. 

3 (2) COLLABORATION.—Collaborate with and 

4 consider the interests of diverse units of government, 

5 businesses, tourism officials, private property own6 ers, and nonprofit groups within the geographic area 

7 of the proposed national heritage area in developing 

8 and implementing such management plan. 

9 (3) PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT.—Ensure regular 

10 public involvement, including public meetings at 

11 least annually, regarding the implementation of the 

12 management plan for the proposed national heritage 

13 area. 

14 (4) RECORDS FOR AUDITS.—Make available to 

15 the Secretary for audit, for any year in which Fed16 eral funds have been received under this Act, all 

17 records pertaining to the expenditure of such funds 

18 and any matching funds, and require, for all agree19 ments authorizing expenditure of Federal funds by 

20 other organizations, that the receiving organizations 

21 make available to the Secretary for audit all records 

22 pertaining to the expenditure of such funds. 

23 (b) CONTENTS OF MANAGEMENT PLAN.—The man24 agement plan prepared for a proposed national heritage 

25 area shall—
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1 (1) present a comprehensive program for the 

2 conservation, interpretation, funding, management, 

3 and development of the proposed national heritage 

4 area and of the historical, cultural, and natural re5 sources and the recreational and educational oppor6 tunities of the proposed national heritage area, in a 

7 manner consistent with the existing local, State, and 

8 Federal land use laws and compatible economic via9 bility of the proposed national heritage area; 

10 (2) involve residents, public agencies, and pri11 vate organizations working in the proposed national 

12 heritage area; 

13 (3) specify and coordinate, as of the date of the 

14 management plan, existing and potential sources of 

15 technical and financial assistance under this and 

16 other Federal laws to protect, manage, and develop 

17 the proposed national heritage area; and 

18 (4) include—

19 (A) actions to be undertaken by units of 

20 government and private organizations to pro21 tect, conserve, and interpret the resources of 

22 the proposed national heritage area; 

23 (B) an inventory of the resources con24 tained in the proposed national heritage area, 

25 including a list of any property in the proposed 
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1 national heritage area that is related to the 

2 themes of the proposed national heritage area 

3 and that is found to merit preservation, restora4 tion, management, development, or maintenance 

5 because of its natural, cultural, historical, or 

6 recreational significance; 

7 (C) policies for resource management with 

8 appropriate land and water management tech9 niques, including the development of intergov10 ernmental cooperative agreements, private sec11 tor agreements, or any combination thereof, to 

12 protect the historical, cultural, recreational, and 

13 natural resources of the proposed national her14 itage area in a manner consistent with sup15 porting appropriate and compatible economic vi16 ability; 

17 (D) a program for implementation of the 

18 management plan by the designated local co19 ordinating entity, in cooperation with its part20 ners and units of local government; 

21 (E) evidence that relevant State, county, 

22 and local plans applicable to proposed national 

23 heritage areas have been taken into consider24 ation; 
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1 (F) an analysis of ways in which local, 

2 State, and Federal programs may best be co3 ordinated to promote the purposes of this Act; 

4 and 

5 (G) a business plan that—

6 (i) describes in detail the role, oper7 ation, financing, and functions of the local 

8 coordinating entity and of each activity in9 cluded in the recommendations contained 

10 in the management plan; and 

11 (ii) provides, to the satisfaction of the 

12 Secretary, adequate assurances that the 

13 local coordinating entity is likely to have 

14 the financial resources necessary to imple15 ment the management plan for the pro16 posed heritage area, including resources to 

17 meet matching requirement for grants 

18 awarded under this Act. 

19 (c) PUBLIC NOTICE.—To satisfy the requirements of 

20 subsection (a)(3), the local coordinating entity shall place 

21 a notice of each of its public meetings in a newspaper of 

22 general circulation in the proposed national heritage area 

23 and shall make the minutes of the meeting available to 

24 the public. 
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1 (d) APPROVAL OF THE PLAN.—The Secretary may 

2 approve the management plan for a proposed national her3 itage area only if the Secretary finds that—

4 (1) the management plan satisfies the require5 ments of this Act and, if implemented, would—

6 (A) adequately protect, conserve, or adapt7 ively reuse the significant historical, cultural, 

8 natural, and recreational resources of the pro9 posed national heritage area; and 

10 (B) consistent with such protection, pro11 vide outdoor recreational opportunities and 

12 compatible economic activities within the pro13 posed national heritage area; 

14 (2) the participating units of local government 

15 within the boundaries of the proposed national herit16 age area have been consulted and given adequate op17 portunity to comment on the management plan; 

18 (3) the local coordinating entity has afforded 

19 adequate opportunity, including public hearings, for 

20 public and governmental involvement in the prepara21 tion of the management plan; and 

22 (4) the Secretary has received from the chief 

23 executive officer of each State acknowledgement that 

24 such officer is aware of the proposed national herit25 age area. 
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1 (e) APPROVAL AND DISAPPROVAL OF A MANAGE2 MENT PLAN.—

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after 

4 receipt of a management plan for a proposed na5 tional heritage area, the Secretary shall approve or 

6 disapprove the management plan. If the Secretary 

7 has not approved or disapproved the management 

8 plan within that 90-day period, the management 

9 plan shall be considered approved. 

10 (2) DISAPPROVAL AND REVISIONS.—If the Sec11 retary disapproves a management plan for a pro12 posed national heritage area, the Secretary shall ad13 vise the entity that submitted the management plan, 

14 in writing, of the reasons for the disapproval and 

15 shall make recommendations for a revision of the 

16 management plan. Not later than 90 days after re17 ceipt of a revised management plan, the Secretary 

18 shall approve or disapprove the revised management 

19 plan. If the Secretary has not approved or dis20 approved the revised management plan within that 

21 90-day period, the revised management plan shall be 

22 considered approved. 
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1 SEC. 7. GRANTS FOR PROPOSED NATIONAL HERITAGE 

2 AREAS. 

3 (a) AUTHORITY TO MAKE GRANTS.—The Secretary 

4 may make grants for activities authorized by subsection 

5 (b). 

6 (b) USE OF GRANTS.—

7 (1) AUTHORIZED USES.—Grants under this sec8 tion may be used for activities necessary—

9 (A) to conduct a feasibility study for a pro10 posed national heritage area; and 

11 (B) to prepare a management plan for a 

12 proposed national heritage area, including the 

13 business plan required under section 

14 6(b)(4)(G). 

15 (2) PROHIBITED USES OF GRANTS.—Grants 

16 under this section may not be used for—

17 (A) the acquisition of real property or any 

18 interest in real property; or 

19 (B) any other activity not specifically au20 thorized by paragraph (1). 

21 (c) DURATION OF ELIGIBILITY FOR GRANTS.—The 

22 Secretary may not provide a grant under this section for 

23 a proposed national heritage area for any period after the 

24 expiration of the 5-year period beginning on the date of 

25 the enactment of the Act authorizing the feasibility study 

26 for the proposed national heritage area. 
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1 SEC. 8. GRANTS TO SUPPORT DESIGNATED NATIONAL HER2 ITAGE AREAS. 

3 (a) AUTHORITY TO MAKE GRANTS.—The Secretary 

4 may make grants from appropriated funds to the local co5 ordinating entity for a national heritage area for activities 

6 authorized by subsection (b). 

7 (b) USE OF GRANTS.—

8 (1) AUTHORIZED USES.—Grants under this sec9 tion may be used by a local coordinating entity for—

10 (A) reports, studies, interpretive exhibits 

11 and programs, historic preservation projects, 

12 and other activities recommended in the man13 agement plan for the national heritage area; 

14 and 

15 (B) operational expenses of the local co16 ordinating entity incurred within the first 10 

17 fiscal years beginning after the date of the en18 actment of the Act designating the national 

19 heritage area. 

20 (2) PROHIBITED USES OF GRANTS.—Grants 

21 under this section may not be used for—

22 (A) the acquisition of real property or any 

23 interest in real property; or 

24 (B) any other activity not specifically au25 thorized by paragraph (1). 
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1 (c) PROTECTION OF FEDERAL INVESTMENT.—The 

2 Secretary shall require that each grant under this section 

3 for the improvement, restoration, or rehabilitation of real 

4 property shall be subject to an agreement that conversion, 

5 use, or disposal of the project assisted with the grant for 

6 purposes contrary to the purposes for which the grant was 

7 made shall result in a right of the United States to com8 pensation from the beneficiary of the grant. Any such 

9 agreement shall provide for a schedule for such compensa10 tion based on the level of Federal investment and the an11 ticipated useful life of the project. 

12 (d) DURATION OF ELIGIBILITY FOR GRANTS.—The 

13 Secretary may not provide any grant under this section 

14 to a local coordinating entity for any period after the expi15 ration of the 10-year period beginning on the date of the 

16 enactment of the Act designating the national heritage 

17 area. 

18 SEC. 9. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE. 

19 The Secretary may provide technical assistance on a 

20 nonreimbursable basis—

21 (1) to any interested party for any activity for 

22 which the Secretary is authorized to provide a grant 

23 under section 7; and 
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1 (2) to local coordinating entities for any activity 

2 for which the Secretary is authorized to provide a 

3 grant under section 8. 

4 SEC. 10. TERMINATION OF DESIGNATION. 

5 (a) NOTICE OF DETERMINATION.—The Secretary 

6 shall submit a written notice to the local coordinating enti7 ty of a national heritage area so designated after the date 

8 of the enactment of this Act if the Secretary determines 

9 that—

10 (1) implementation of the management plan for 

11 the national heritage area has failed to meet stand12 ards set forth in the management plan; or 

13 (2) a preponderance of the units of local gov14 ernment involved in implementing the management 

15 plan for the national heritage area no longer support 

16 such designation. 

17 (b) COMMENT.—Not later than 60 days after the 

18 date that the Secretary submits a written notice under 

19 subsection (a) to a local coordinating entity, the local co20 ordinating entity may submit to the Secretary written 

21 comments supporting a contention that the determination 

22 under section (a) was made in error. 

23 (c) TERMINATION.—After considering any comments 

24 submitted under subsection (b), if the Secretary decides 

25 that the determination under subsection (a) was correct, 
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1 the Secretary shall no longer provide financial assistance 

2 under this Act for that national heritage area. 

3 SEC. 11. PRIVATE PROPERTY PROTECTION. 

4 (a) ACCESS TO PRIVATE PROPERTY.—Nothing in 

5 this Act shall be construed to require any private property 

6 owner to permit public access (including Federal, State, 

7 or local government access) to such private property. 

8 Nothing in this Act shall be construed to modify any provi9 sion of Federal, State, or local law with regard to public 

10 access to or use of private lands. 

11 (b) LIABILITY.—Designation of a national heritage 

12 area shall not be considered to create any liability, or to 

13 have any effect on any liability under any other law, of 

14 any private property owner with respect to any persons 

15 injured on such private property. 

16 (c) RECOGNITION OF AUTHORITY TO CONTROL LAND

17 USE.—Nothing in this Act shall be construed to modify 

18 any authority of Federal, State, or local governments to 

19 regulate land use. 

20 (d) PARTICIPATION OF PRIVATE PROPERTY OWNERS

21 IN NATIONAL HERITAGE AREAS.—Nothing in this Act 

22 shall be construed to require the owner of any private 

23 property located within the boundaries of a national herit24 age area to participate in or be associated with the na25 tional heritage area. 
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1 SEC. 12. RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER FEDERAL PROGRAMS. 

2 (a) OTHER ASSISTANCE NOT AFFECTED.—This Act 

3 does not affect the authority of any Federal official to pro4 vide technical or financial assistance under any other law. 

5 (b) NOTIFICATION OF OTHER FEDERAL ACTIVI6 TIES.—The head of each Federal agency shall provide to 

7 the Secretary and the local coordinating entity for a na8 tional heritage area, to the extent practicable, advance no9 tice of all activities which may have an impact on the na10 tional heritage area. 

11 SEC. 13. SAVINGS PROVISIONS. 

12 (a) RULES, REGULATIONS, STANDARDS, AND PER13 MIT PROCESSES.—Except as provided in section 12(b), 

14 nothing in this Act shall be construed to impose any envi15 ronmental, occupational, safety, or other rule, regulation, 

16 standard, or permit process in a national heritage area 

17 that is different from those that would be applicable if 

18 the national heritage area had not been established. 

19 (b) WATER AND WATER RIGHTS.—Nothing in this 

20 Act shall be construed to authorize or imply the reserva21 tion or appropriation of water or water rights. 

22 (c) NO DIMINISHMENT OF STATE AUTHORITY.—

23 Nothing in this Act shall be construed to diminish the au24 thority of the State containing any national heritage area 

25 to manage fish and wildlife, including the regulation of 

26 fishing and hunting within the national heritage area. 
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1 (d) EXISTING NATIONAL HERITAGE AREAS.—Noth2 ing in this Act shall affect any national heritage area so 

3 designated before the date of the enactment of this Act. 

4 SEC. 14. FUNDING. 

5 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be 

7 appropriated for each fiscal year for grants and 

8 technical assistance for activities under section 8—

9 (A) not more than $1,000,000 for any fis10 cal year for each national heritage area to re11 main available until expended; and 

12 (B) not more than a total of $10,000,000 

13 for each national heritage area. 

14 (2) AMOUNTS FOR INITIAL STUDIES AND

15 PLANS.—In addition to amounts authorized in para16 graphs (1) and (3), there are authorized to be ap17 propriated for each fiscal year for grants and tech18 nical assistance for activities under section 7—

19 (A) not more than $250,000 for any fiscal 

20 year for each proposed national heritage area to 

21 remain available until expended; and 

22 (B) not more than a total of $1,500,000 

23 for each proposed national heritage area. 

24 (3) AMOUNTS FOR FEASIBILITY STUDIES.—In 

25 addition to amounts authorized in paragraphs (1) 
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1 and (2), there is authorized to be appropriated not 

2 more than $250,000 for each feasibility study di3 rected by Congress to be completed by the Secretary. 

4 (b) REQUIRED MATCH.—As a condition of providing 

5 a grant under this section, the Secretary shall require the 

6 recipient of the grant to provide matching funds equal to 

7 the amount of the grant. Recipient matching funds—

8 (1) must be from non-Federal sources; and 

9 (2) may be made in the form of in-kind con10 tributions of goods or services fairly valued. 

11 (c) LIMIT ON FEDERAL OVERSIGHT AND ADMINIS12 TRATIVE FUNDS.—Not more than five percent of the 

13 funds made available under each of subsections (a)(1) and 

14 (a)(2) for a fiscal year may be used by the Secretary for 

15 technical assistance, oversight, and administrative pur16 poses. 

17 (d) PROHIBITION ON USE OF FUNDS TO SUPPLE18 MENT NATIONAL PARK SYSTEM.—No funds authorized to 

19 be appropriated under this section other than those au20 thorized by subsection (c) may be used to supplement 

21 funding or programs at any unit of the National Park Sys22 tem. 

23 (e) USE OF FEDERAL FUNDS FROM OTHER

24 SOURCES.—Nothing in this Act shall preclude a local co25 ordinating entity from using Federal funds available under 
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1 other Federal laws for the purposes for which those funds 

2 were authorized. 

3 (f) ALLOCATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Notwith4 standing any other provision of law, no funds appropriated 

5 or otherwise made available to the Secretary to carry out 

6 the purposes of this Act may be obligated or expended—

7 (1) unless the appropriation of such funds has 

8 been allocated in the manner prescribed by this Act; 

9 or 

10 (2) in excess of the amount authorized in this 

11 Act.

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