I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1798

To establish the Upper Housatonic Valley National Heritage Area in the 

State of Connecticut and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 11, 2003

Mrs. JOHNSON of Connecticut (for herself and Mr. OLVER) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Resources 

A BILL

To establish the Upper Housatonic Valley National Heritage 

Area in the State of Connecticut and the Commonwealth 

of Massachusetts, 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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Upper Housatonic Val5 ley National Heritage Area Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) The upper Housatonic Valley, encompassing 

9 29 towns in the hilly terrain of western Massachu-
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1 setts and northwestern Connecticut, is a singular 

2 geographical and cultural region that has made sig3 nificant national contributions through its literary, 

4 artistic, musical, and architectural achievements, its 

5 iron, paper, and electrical equipment industries, and 

6 its scenic beautification and environmental conserva7 tion efforts. 

8 (2) The upper Housatonic Valley has 139 prop9 erties and historic districts listed on the National 

10 Register of Historic Places including—

11 (A) five National Historic Landmarks—

12 (i) Edith Wharton’s home, The 

13 Mount, Lenox, Massachusetts; 

14 (ii) Herman Melville’s home, Arrow15 head, Pittsfield, Massachusetts; 

16 (iii) W.E.B. DuBois’ Boyhood Home17 site, Great Barrington, Massachusetts; 

18 (iv) Mission House, Stockbridge, Mas19 sachusetts; and 

20 (v) Crane and Company Old Stone 

21 Mill Rag Room, Dalton, Massachusetts; 

22 and 

23 (B) four National Natural Landmarks—

24 (i) Bartholomew’s Cobble, Sheffield, 

25 Massachusetts, and Salisbury, Connecticut; 
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1 (ii) Beckley Bog, Norfolk, Con2 necticut; 

3 (iii) Bingham Bog, Salisbury, Con4 necticut; and 

5 (iv) Cathedral Pines, Cornwall, Con6 necticut. 

7 (3) Writers, artists, musicians, and vacationers 

8 have visited the region for more than 150 years to 

9 enjoy its scenic wonders, making it one of the coun10 try’s leading cultural resorts. 

11 (4) The upper Housatonic Valley has made sig12 nificant national cultural contributions through such 

13 writers as Herman Melville, Nathaniel Hawthorne, 

14 Edith Wharton, and W.E.B. DuBois, artists Daniel 

15 Chester French and Norman Rockwell, and the per16 forming arts centers of Tanglewood, Music Moun17 tain, Norfolk (Connecticut) Chamber Music Festival, 

18 Jacob’s Pillow, and Shakespeare & Company. 

19 (5) The upper Housatonic Valley is noted for 

20 its pioneering achievements in the iron, paper, and 

21 electrical generation industries and has cultural re22 sources to interpret those industries. 

23 (6) The region became a national leader in sce24 nic beautification and environmental conservation ef25 forts following the era of industrialization and defor-
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1 estation and maintains a fabric of significant con2 servation areas including the meandering 

3 Housatonic River. 

4 (7) Important historical events related to the 

5 American Revolution, Shays’ Rebellion, and early 

6 civil rights took place in the upper Housatonic Val7 ley. 

8 (8) The region had an American Indian pres9 ence going back 10,000 years and Mohicans had a 

10 formative role in contact with Europeans during the 

11 seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. 

12 (9) The Upper Housatonic Valley National 

13 Heritage Area has been proposed in order to height14 en appreciation of the region, preserve its natural 

15 and historical resources, and improve the quality of 

16 life and economy of the area. 

17 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are as fol18 lows: 

19 (1) To establish the Upper Housatonic Valley 

20 National Heritage Area in the State of Connecticut 

21 and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. 

22 (2) To implement the national heritage area al23 ternative as described in the document entitled 

24 ‘‘Upper Housatonic Valley National Heritage Area 

25 Feasibility Study, 2003’’. 
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1 (3) To provide a management framework to 

2 foster a close working relationship with all levels of 

3 government, the private sector, and the local com4 munities in the upper Housatonic Valley region to 

5 conserve the region’s heritage while continuing to 

6 pursue compatible economic opportunities. 

7 (4) To assist communities, organizations, and 

8 citizens in the State of Connecticut and the Com9 monwealth of Massachusetts in identifying, pre10 serving, interpreting, and developing the historical, 

11 cultural, scenic, and natural resources of the region 

12 for the educational and inspirational benefit of cur13 rent and future generations. 

14 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

15 In this Act: 

16 (1) HERITAGE AREA.—The term ‘‘Heritage 

17 Area’’ means the Upper Housatonic Valley National 

18 Heritage Area, established in section 4. 

19 (2) MANAGEMENT ENTITY.—The term ‘‘Man20 agement Entity’’ means the management entity for 

21 the Heritage Area designated by section 4(d). 

22 (3) MANAGEMENT PLAN.—The term ‘‘Manage23 ment Plan’’ means the management plan for the 

24 Heritage Area specified in section 6.
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1 (4) MAP.—The term ‘‘map’’ means the map en2 titled ‘‘Boundary Map Upper Housatonic Valley Na3 tional Heritage Area’’, numbered P17/80,000, and 

4 dated February 2003. 

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

6 the Secretary of the Interior. 

7 (6) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means the State 

8 of Connecticut and the Commonwealth of Massachu9 setts. 

10 SEC. 4. UPPER HOUSATONIC VALLEY NATIONAL HERITAGE 

11 AREA. 

12 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established the 

13 Upper Housatonic Valley National Heritage Area. 

14 (b) BOUNDARIES.—The Heritage Area shall be com15 prised of—

16 (1) part of the Housatonic River’s watershed, 

17 which extends 60 miles from Lanesboro, Massachu18 setts to Kent, Connecticut; 

19 (2) the towns of Canaan, Colebrook, Cornwall, 

20 Kent, Norfolk, North Canaan, Salisbury, Sharon, 

21 and Warren in Connecticut; 

22 (3) the towns of Alford, Becket, Dalton, 

23 Egremont, Great Barrington, Hancock, Hinsdale, 

24 Lanesboro, Lee, Lenox, Monterey, Mount Wash25 ington, New Marlboro, Pittsfield, Richmond, Shef-
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1 field, Stockbridge, Tyringham, Washington, and 

2 West Stockbridge in Massachusetts; and 

3 (4) the land and water within the boundaries of 

4 the Heritage Area, as depicted on the map. 

5 (c) AVAILABILITY OF MAP.—The map shall be on file 

6 and available for public inspection in the appropriate of7 fices of the National Park Service, Department of the In8 terior. 

9 (d) MANAGEMENT ENTITY.—The Upper Housatonic 

10 Valley National Heritage Area, Inc. shall be the manage11 ment entity for the Heritage Area. 

12 SEC. 5. AUTHORITIES, PROHIBITIONS AND DUTIES OF THE 

13 MANAGEMENT ENTITY. 

14 (a) DUTIES OF THE MANAGEMENT ENTITY.—To fur15 ther the purposes of the Heritage Area, the management 

16 entity shall—

17 (1) prepare and submit a management plan for 

18 the Heritage Area to the Secretary in accordance 

19 with section 6; 

20 (2) assist units of local government, regional 

21 planning organizations, and nonprofit organizations 

22 in implementing the approved management plan 

23 by—
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1 (A) carrying out programs and projects 

2 that recognize, protect and enhance important 

3 resource values within the Heritage Area; 

4 (B) establishing and maintaining interpre5 tive exhibits and programs within the Heritage 

6 Area; 

7 (C) developing recreational and educational 

8 opportunities in the Heritage Area; 

9 (D) increasing public awareness of and ap10 preciation for natural, historical, scenic, and 

11 cultural resources of the Heritage Area; 

12 (E) protecting and restoring historic sites 

13 and buildings in the Heritage Area that are 

14 consistent with heritage area themes; 

15 (F) ensuring that clear, consistent, and ap16 propriate signs identifying points of public ac17 cess and sites of interest are posted throughout 

18 the Heritage Area; and 

19 (G) promoting a wide range of partner20 ships among governments, organizations and in21 dividuals to further the purposes of the Herit22 age Area; 

23 (3) consider the interests of diverse units of 

24 government, businesses, organizations and individ-
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1 uals in the Heritage Area in the preparation and im2 plementation of the management plan; 

3 (4) conduct meetings open to the public at least 

4 semi-annually regarding the development and imple5 mentation of the management plan; 

6 (5) submit an annual report to the Secretary 

7 for any fiscal year in which the management entity 

8 receives Federal funds under this Act, setting forth 

9 its accomplishments, expenses, and income, includ10 ing grants to any other entities during the year for 

11 which the report is made; 

12 (6) make available for audit for any fiscal year 

13 in which it receives Federal funds under this Act, all 

14 information pertaining to the expenditure of such 

15 funds and any matching funds, and require in all 

16 agreements authorizing expenditures of Federal 

17 funds by other organizations, that the receiving or18 ganizations make available for such audit all records 

19 and other information pertaining to the expenditure 

20 of such funds; and 

21 (7) encourage by appropriate means economic 

22 viability that is consistent with the purposes of the 

23 Heritage Area. 

24 (b) AUTHORITIES.—The management entity may, for 

25 the purposes of preparing and implementing the manage-
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1 ment plan for the Heritage Area, use Federal funds made 

2 available through this Act to—

3 (1) make grants to the State of Connecticut 

4 and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, their po5 litical subdivisions, nonprofit organizations and other 

6 persons; 

7 (2) enter into cooperative agreements with or 

8 provide technical assistance to the State of Con9 necticut and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, 

10 their political jurisdictions, nonprofit organizations, 

11 and other interested parties; 

12 (3) hire and compensate staff, which shall in13 clude individuals with expertise in natural, cultural, 

14 and historical resources protection, and heritage pro15 gramming; 

16 (4) obtain money or services from any source 

17 including any that are provided under any other 

18 Federal law or program; 

19 (5) contract for goods or services; and 

20 (6) undertake to be a catalyst for any other ac21 tivity that furthers the purposes of the Heritage 

22 Area and is consistent with the approved manage23 ment plan. 

24 (c) PROHIBITIONS ON THE ACQUISITION OF REAL

25 PROPERTY.—The management entity may not use Fed-
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1 eral funds received under this Act to acquire real property, 

2 but may use any other source of funding, including other 

3 Federal funding outside this authority, intended for the 

4 acquisition of real property. 

5 SEC. 6. MANAGEMENT PLAN. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—The management plan for the 

7 Heritage Area shall—

8 (1) include comprehensive policies, strategies 

9 and recommendations for conservation, funding, 

10 management and development of the Heritage Area; 

11 (2) take into consideration existing State, coun12 ty, and local plans in the development of the man13 agement plan and its implementation; 

14 (3) include a description of actions that govern15 ments, private organizations, and individuals have 

16 agreed to take to protect the natural, historical and 

17 cultural resources of the Heritage Area; 

18 (4) specify the existing and potential sources of 

19 funding to protect, manage, and develop the Herit20 age Area in the first 5 years of implementation; 

21 (5) include an inventory of the natural, histor22 ical, cultural, educational, scenic, and recreational 

23 resources of the Heritage Area related to the themes 

24 of the Heritage Area that should be preserved, re25 stored, managed, developed, or maintained; 
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1 (6) recommend policies and strategies for re2 source management that consider and detail the ap3 plication of appropriate land and water management 

4 techniques including, but not limited to, the develop5 ment of intergovernmental and interagency coopera6 tive agreements to protect the Heritage Area’s nat7 ural, historical, cultural, educational, scenic and rec8 reational resources; 

9 (7) describe a program of implementation for 

10 the management plan including plans for resource 

11 protection, restoration, construction, and specific 

12 commitments for implementation that have been 

13 made by the management entity or any government, 

14 organization, or individual for the first 5 years of 

15 implementation; 

16 (8) include an analysis and recommendations 

17 for ways in which local, State, and Federal pro18 grams, including the role of the National Park Serv19 ice in the Heritage Area, may best be coordinated to 

20 further the purposes of this Act; and 

21 (9) include an interpretive plan for the Heritage 

22 Area. 

23 (b) DEADLINE AND TERMINATION OF FUNDING.—

24 (1) DEADLINE.—The management entity shall 

25 submit the management plan to the Secretary for 
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1 approval within 3 years after funds are made avail2 able for this Act. 

3 (2) TERMINATION OF FUNDING.—If the man4 agement plan is not submitted to the Secretary in 

5 accordance with this subsection, the management en6 tity shall not qualify for Federal funding under this 

7 Act until such time as the management plan is sub8 mitted to and approved by the Secretary. 

9 SEC. 7. DUTIES AND AUTHORITIES OF THE SECRETARY. 

10 (a) TECHNICAL AND FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.—

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may, upon 

12 the request of the management entity, provide tech13 nical assistance on a reimbursable or non-reimburs14 able basis and financial assistance to the Heritage 

15 Area to develop and implement the approved man16 agement plan. The Secretary is authorized to enter 

17 into cooperative agreements with the management 

18 entity and other public or private entities for this 

19 purpose. In assisting the Heritage Area, the Sec20 retary shall give priority to actions that in general 

21 assist in—

22 (A) conserving the significant natural, his23 torical, cultural, and scenic resources of the 

24 Heritage Area; and 
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1 (B) providing educational, interpretive, and 

2 recreational opportunities consistent with the 

3 purposes of the Heritage Area. 

4 (2) SPENDING FOR NON-FEDERALLY OWNED

5 PROPERTY.—The Secretary may spend Federal 

6 funds directly on non-federally owned property to 

7 further the purposes of this Act, especially in assist8 ing units of government in appropriate treatment of 

9 districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects list10 ed or eligible for listing on the National Register of 

11 Historic Places. 

12 (b) APPROVAL AND DISAPPROVAL OF MANAGEMENT

13 PLAN.—

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall approve 

15 or disapprove the management plan not later than 

16 90 days after receiving the management plan. 

17 (2) CRITERIA FOR APPROVAL.—In determining 

18 the approval of the management plan, the Secretary 

19 shall consider whether—

20 (A) the management entity is representa21 tive of the diverse interests of the Heritage 

22 Area including governments, natural and his23 toric resource protection organizations, edu24 cational institutions, businesses, and rec25 reational organizations; 
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1 (B) the management entity has afforded 

2 adequate opportunity, including public hearings, 

3 for public and governmental involvement in the 

4 preparation of the management plan; 

5 (C) the resource protection and interpreta6 tion strategies contained in the management 

7 plan, if implemented, would adequately protect 

8 the natural, historical, and cultural resources of 

9 the Heritage Area; and 

10 (D) the Secretary has received adequate 

11 assurances from the appropriate State and local 

12 officials whose support is needed to ensure the 

13 effective implementation of the State and local 

14 aspects of the management plan. 

15 (3) ACTION FOLLOWING DISAPPROVAL.—If the 

16 Secretary disapproves the management plan, the 

17 Secretary shall advise the management entity in 

18 writing of the reasons therefore and shall make rec19 ommendations for revisions to the management plan. 

20 The Secretary shall approve or disapprove a pro21 posed revision within 60 days after the date it is 

22 submitted. 

23 (4) APPROVAL OF AMENDMENTS.—Substantial 

24 amendments to the management plan shall be re25 viewed by the Secretary and approved in the same
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1 manner as provided for the original management 

2 plan. The management entity shall not use Federal 

3 funds authorized by this Act to implement any 

4 amendments until the Secretary has approved the 

5 amendments. 

6 SEC. 8. DUTIES OF OTHER FEDERAL AGENCIES. 

7 Any Federal agency conducting or supporting activi8 ties directly affecting the Heritage Area shall—

9 (1) consult with the Secretary and the manage10 ment entity with respect to such activities; 

11 (2) cooperate with the Secretary and the man12 agement entity in carrying out their duties under 

13 this Act and, to the maximum extent practicable, co14 ordinate such activities with the carrying out of such 

15 duties; and, 

16 (3) to the maximum extent practicable, conduct 

17 or support such activities in a manner which the 

18 management entity determines will not have an ad19 verse effect on the Heritage Area. 

20 SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be appro22 priated for the purposes of this Act not more than 

23 $1,000,000 for any fiscal year. Not more than a total of 

24 $10,000,000 may be appropriated for the Heritage Area 

25 under this Act. 
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1 (b) MATCHING FUNDS.—Federal funding provided 

2 under this Act may not exceed 50 percent of the total cost 

3 of any assistance or grant provided or authorized under 

4 this Act. 

5 SEC. 10. SUNSET. 

6 The authority of the Secretary to provide assistance 

7 under this Act shall terminate on the day occurring 15 

8 years after the date of enactment of the Act.

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