I 

112TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4148 

To establish the Fox-Wisconsin Heritage Parkway National Heritage Area, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 6, 2012 

Mr. PETRI introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To establish the Fox-Wisconsin Heritage Parkway National 

Heritage Area, 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 ‘‘Fox-Wisconsin Herit5 age Parkway National Heritage Area Act of 2012’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 

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

9 Area’’ means the Fox-Wisconsin Heritage Parkway 

10 National Heritage Area established by section 3(a). 


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1 (2) LOCAL COORDINATING ENTITY.—The term 

2 ‘‘local coordinating entity’’ means the local coordi3 nating entity for the Heritage Area designated by 

4 section 3(d). 

5 (3) MANAGEMENT PLAN.—The term ‘‘manage6 ment plan’’ means the management plan for the 

7 Heritage Area required under section 5(a). 

8 (4) MAP.—The term ‘‘map’’ means the map in9 cluded under section 5(b)(3)(H). 

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

11 the Secretary of the Interior. 

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

13 of Wisconsin. 

14 SEC. 3. FOX-WISCONSIN HERITAGE PARKWAY NATIONAL 

15 HERITAGE AREA. 

16 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 

17 State the Fox-Wisconsin Heritage Parkway National Her18 itage Area. 

19 (b) BOUNDARIES.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Heritage Area shall in21 clude— 

22 (A) the area included in Appendix A, Map 

23 1 of the feasibility study submitted by the local 

24 coordinating entity, which includes approxi25 mately 1,444 square miles of land in 15 counVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:49 Mar 07, 2012 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4148.IH H4148

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1 ties in central and southeastern Wisconsin, in2 cluding Brown, Calumet, Columbia, Crawford, 

3 Dane, Fond du Lac, Grant, Green Lake, Iowa, 

4 Marquette, Outagamie, Richland, Sauk, 

5 Waushara, and Winnebago counties; and 

6 (B) any contributing sites, buildings, and 

7 districts within the area described in subpara8 graph (A) that are recommended for inclusion 

9 in the Heritage Area by the management plan. 

10 (2) REVISIONS.—The boundaries of the Herit11 age Area may be revised if the revisions are— 

12 (A) proposed in the management plan de13 veloped for the Heritage Area; 

14 (B) depicted on the map; and 

15 (C) approved by the Secretary in accord16 ance with this Act. 

17 (c) MAP.—The map shall be available for public in18 spection in the appropriate offices of— 

19 (1) the National Park Service; and 

20 (2) the local coordinating entity. 

21 (d) LOCAL COORDINATING ENTITY.—The local co22 ordinating entity for the Heritage Area shall be the Fox23 Wisconsin Heritage Parkway, a nonprofit organization es24 tablished in the State. 


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1 SEC. 4. ADMINISTRATION. 

2 (a) AUTHORITIES.—To carry out the management 

3 plan, the Secretary, acting through the local coordinating 

4 entity, may use amounts made available under this Act— 

5 (1) to make grants to the State (including any 

6 political subdivision of the State), nonprofit organi7 zations, and other individuals; 

8 (2) to enter into cooperative agreements with, 

9 or provide technical assistance to, the State (includ10 ing any political subdivision of the State), nonprofit 

11 organizations, and other interested parties; 

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

14 and historical resource protection, and heritage pro15 gramming; 

16 (4) to obtain funds or services from any source, 

17 including funds or services that are provided under 

18 any other Federal law or program; 

19 (5) to enter into contracts for goods or services; 

20 and 

21 (6) to serve as a catalyst for any other activity 

22 that— 

23 (A) furthers the purposes and goals of the 

24 Heritage Area; and 

25 (B) is consistent with the approved man26 agement plan. 


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1 (b) DUTIES.—The local coordinating entity shall— 

2 (1) in accordance with section 5, prepare and 

3 submit to the Secretary a management plan for the 

4 Heritage Area; 

5 (2) assist units of local government, regional 

6 planning organizations, and nonprofit organizations 

7 in carrying out the approved management plan by— 

8 (A) carrying out programs and projects 

9 that recognize, protect, and enhance important 

10 resource values located in the Heritage Area; 

11 (B) establishing and maintaining interpre12 tive exhibits and programs in the Heritage 

13 Area; 

14 (C) developing recreational and educational 

15 opportunities in the Heritage Area; 

16 (D) increasing public awareness of, and 

17 appreciation for, the natural, historical, scenic, 

18 and cultural resources of the Heritage Area; 

19 (E) protecting and restoring historic sites 

20 and buildings in the Heritage Area that are 

21 consistent with Heritage Area themes; 

22 (F) ensuring that clear, consistent, and ap23 propriate signs identifying points of public ac24 cess, and sites of interest, are posted through25 out the Heritage Area; and 


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1 (G) promoting a wide range of partner2 ships among governments, organizations, and 

3 individuals to further the Heritage Area; 

4 (3) consider the interests of diverse units of 

5 government, businesses, organizations, and individ6 uals in the Heritage Area in the preparation and im7 plementation of the management plan; 

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

9 semiannually regarding the development and imple10 mentation of the management plan; 

11 (5) for any year for which Federal funds have 

12 been received through the Heritage Partnership Pro13 gram— 

14 (A) submit an annual report to the Sec15 retary that describes the activities, expenses, 

16 and income of the local coordinating entity (in17 cluding grants to any other entities during the 

18 year that the report is made); 

19 (B) make available to the Secretary for 

20 audit all records relating to the expenditure of 

21 the funds and any matching funds; and 

22 (C) require, with respect to all agreements 

23 authorizing expenditure of Federal funds by 

24 other organizations, that the organizations re25 ceiving the funds make available to the SecVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:49 Mar 07, 2012 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4148.IH H4148

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1 retary for audit all records concerning the ex2 penditure of the funds; and 

3 (6) encourage by appropriate means economic 

4 viability that is consistent with the Heritage Area. 

5 (c) PROHIBITION ON THE ACQUISITION OF REAL

6 PROPERTY.—The local coordinating entity shall not use 

7 Federal funds made available through the Heritage Part8 nership Program to acquire real property or any interest 

9 in real property. 

10 SEC. 5. MANAGEMENT PLAN. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years after the 

12 date of enactment of this Act, the local coordinating entity 

13 shall submit to the Secretary for approval a proposed 

14 management plan for the Heritage Area. 

15 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—The management plan shall— 

16 (1) incorporate an integrated and cooperative 

17 approach for the protection, enhancement, and inter18 pretation of the natural, cultural, historic, scenic, 

19 educational, and recreational resources of the Herit20 age Area; 

21 (2) take into consideration State and local 

22 plans; 

23 (3) include— 

24 (A) an inventory of the resources located 

25 in the Heritage Area; 


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1 (B) comprehensive policies, strategies, and 

2 recommendations for conservation, funding, 

3 management, and development of the Heritage 

4 Area; 

5 (C) a description of actions that govern6 ments, private organizations, and individuals 

7 have agreed to take to protect the natural, cul8 tural, historic, scenic, educational, and rec9 reational resources of the Heritage Area; 

10 (D) a program of implementation for the 

11 management plan by the local coordinating en12 tity that includes a description of— 

13 (i) actions to facilitate ongoing col14 laboration among partners to promote 

15 plans for resource protection, restoration, 

16 and construction; and 

17 (ii) specific commitments for imple18 mentation that have been made by the 

19 local coordinating entity or any govern20 ment, organization, or individual for the 

21 first 5 years of operation; 

22 (E) the identification of sources of funding 

23 for carrying out the management plan; 

24 (F) analysis and recommendations for 

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1 grams, including the role of the National Park 

2 Service in the Heritage Area, may best be co3 ordinated to carry out this Act; 

4 (G) an interpretive plan for the Heritage 

5 Area; and 

6 (H) a map of the Heritage Area; and 

7 (4) recommend policies and strategies for re8 source management that consider and detail the ap9 plication of appropriate land and water management 

10 techniques, including the development of intergov11 ernmental and interagency cooperative agreements 

12 to protect the natural, cultural, historic, scenic, edu13 cational, and recreational resources of the Heritage 

14 Area. 

15 (c) DEADLINE.—If a proposed management plan is 

16 not submitted to the Secretary by the date that is 3 years 

17 after the date of enactment of this Act, the local coordi18 nating entity shall be ineligible to receive additional fund19 ing through the Heritage Partnership Program until the 

20 date on which the Secretary approves a management plan. 

21 (d) APPROVAL OR DISAPPROVAL OF MANAGEMENT

22 PLAN.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

24 after the date of receipt of the management plan 

25 under subsection (a), the Secretary, in consultation 


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1 with the State, shall approve or disapprove the man2 agement plan. 

3 (2) CRITERIA FOR APPROVAL.—In determining 

4 whether to approve the management plan, the Sec5 retary shall consider whether— 

6 (A) the local coordinating entity is rep7 resentative of the diverse interests of the Herit8 age Area, including governments, natural and 

9 historic resource protection organizations, edu10 cational institutions, businesses, and rec11 reational organizations; 

12 (B) the local coordinating entity has af13 forded adequate opportunity, including public 

14 hearings, for public and governmental involve15 ment in the preparation of the management 

16 plan; and 

17 (C) the resource protection and interpreta18 tion strategies contained in the management 

19 plan, if implemented, would adequately protect 

20 the natural, cultural, historic, scenic, edu21 cational, and recreational resources of the Her22 itage Area. 

23 (3) ACTION FOLLOWING DISAPPROVAL.—If the 

24 Secretary disapproves the management plan under 

25 paragraph (1), the Secretary shall— 


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1 (A) advise the local coordinating entity in 

2 writing of the reasons for the disapproval; 

3 (B) make recommendations for revisions to 

4 the management plan; and 

5 (C) not later than 180 days after the date 

6 of receipt of any proposed revision of the man7 agement plan from the local coordinating entity, 

8 approve or disapprove the proposed revision. 

9 (4) AMENDMENTS.— 

10 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall ap11 prove or disapprove each amendment to the 

12 management plan that the Secretary determines 

13 would make a substantial change to the man14 agement plan. 

15 (B) USE OF FUNDS.—The local coordi16 nating entity shall not use Federal funds made 

17 available through the Heritage Partnership Pro18 gram to carry out any amendments to the man19 agement plan until the Secretary has approved 

20 the amendments. 

21 SEC. 6. RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER FEDERAL AGENCIES. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this Act affects the au23 thority of a Federal agency to provide technical or finan24 cial assistance under any other law (including regula25 tions). 


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1 (b) CONSULTATION AND COORDINATION.—To the 

2 maximum extent practicable, the head of any Federal 

3 agency planning to conduct activities that may have an 

4 impact on the Heritage Area is encouraged to consult and 

5 coordinate the activities with the Secretary and the local 

6 coordinating entity. 

7 (c) OTHER FEDERAL AGENCIES.—Nothing in this 

8 Act— 

9 (1) modifies, alters, or amends any law (includ10 ing any regulation) authorizing a Federal agency to 

11 manage Federal land under the jurisdiction of the 

12 Federal agency; 

13 (2) limits the discretion of a Federal land man14 ager to implement an approved land use plan within 

15 the boundaries of the Heritage Area; or 

16 (3) modifies, alters, or amends any authorized 

17 use of Federal land under the jurisdiction of a Fed18 eral agency. 

19 SEC. 7. PRIVATE PROPERTY AND REGULATORY PROTEC20 TIONS. 

21 Nothing in this Act— 

22 (1) abridges the rights of any public or private 

23 property owner, including the right to refrain from 

24 participating in any plan, project, program, or activ25 ity conducted within the Heritage Area; 


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1 (2) requires any property owner— 

2 (A) to permit public access (including ac3 cess by Federal, State, tribal, or local agencies) 

4 to the property of the property owner; or 

5 (B) to modify public access or use of prop6 erty of the property owner under any other 

7 Federal, State, or local law; 

8 (3) alters any duly adopted land use regulation, 

9 approved land use plan, or other regulatory author10 ity of any Federal, State, or local agency; 

11 (4) conveys any land use or other regulatory 

12 authority to the local coordinating entity; 

13 (5) authorizes or implies the reservation or ap14 propriation of water or water rights; 

15 (6) diminishes the authority of the State to 

16 manage fish and wildlife, including the regulation of 

17 fishing and hunting within the Heritage Area; or 

18 (7) creates any liability, or affects any liability 

19 under any other law (including regulations), of any 

20 private property owner with respect to any individual 

21 injured on the private property. 

22 SEC. 8. EVALUATION; REPORT. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years before the 

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1 itage Partnership Program terminates for the Heritage 

2 Area, the Secretary shall— 

3 (1) conduct an evaluation of the accomplish4 ments of the Heritage Area; and 

5 (2) prepare a report in accordance with sub6 section (c). 

7 (b) EVALUATION.—An evaluation conducted under 

8 subsection (a)(1) shall— 

9 (1) assess the progress of the local coordinating 

10 entity with respect to— 

11 (A) accomplishing the purposes of this Act 

12 for the Heritage Area; and 

13 (B) achieving the goals and objectives of 

14 the approved management plan for the Heritage 

15 Area; 

16 (2) analyze the Federal, State, local, and pri17 vate investments in the Heritage Area to determine 

18 the leverage and impact of the investments; and 

19 (3) review the management structure, partner20 ship relationships, and funding of the Heritage Area 

21 to identify the critical components for sustainability 

22 of the Heritage Area. 

23 (c) REPORT.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—Based on the evaluation con25 ducted under subsection (a)(1), the Secretary shall 


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1 prepare a report that includes recommendations for 

2 the future role of the National Park Service, if any, 

3 with respect to the Heritage Area. 

4 (2) REQUIRED ANALYSIS.—If the report pre5 pared under paragraph (1) recommends that Fed6 eral funding for the Heritage Area be continued, the 

7 report shall include an analysis of— 

8 (A) ways in which Heritage Partnership 

9 Program funding for the Heritage Area may be 

10 reduced or eliminated; and 

11 (B) the appropriate time period necessary 

12 to achieve the recommended reduction or elimi13 nation. 

14 (3) SUBMISSION TO CONGRESS.—On completion 

15 of the report, the Secretary shall submit the report 

16 to— 

17 (A) the Committee on Energy and Natural 

18 Resources of the Senate; and 

19 (B) the Committee on Natural Resources 

20 of the House of Representatives. 

21 SEC. 9. FUNDING. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Heritage Area shall be eligi23 ble to compete for funds made available to the National 

24 Park Service through the Heritage Partnership Program, 

25 though not for more than $1,000,000 in any fiscal year. 


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1 (b) COST-SHARING REQUIREMENT.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Federal share of the 

3 cost of any activity carried out using any assistance 

4 made available through the Heritage Partnership 

5 Program shall be not more than 50 percent. 

6 (2) NON-FEDERAL SHARE.—The non-Federal 

7 share— 

8 (A) shall be from non-Federal sources; and 

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

11 SEC. 10. TERMINATION OF AUTHORITY. 

12 The authority of the Secretary to provide assistance 

13 under this Act terminates on the date that is 15 years 

14 after the date of enactment of this Act. 

Æ 


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