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[106th Congress Public Law 307]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office]

<DOC>
[DOCID: f:publ307.106]

[[Page 1073]]

      EL CAMINO REAL DE TIERRA ADENTRO NATIONAL HISTORIC TRAIL ACT

[[Page 114 STAT. 1074]]

Public Law 106-307
106th Congress

                                 An Act

 
 To amend the National Trails System Act to designate El Camino Real de 
     Tierra Adentro as a National Historic Trail. <<NOTE: Oct. 13, 
                           2000 -  [S. 366]>> 

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress <<NOTE: El Camino Real de Tierra 
Adentro National Historic Trail Act. New Mexico. Texas.>>  assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. <<NOTE: 16 USC 1241 note.>> 

    This Act may be cited as the ``El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro 
National Historic Trail Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (1) El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro (the Royal Road of the 
        Interior), served as the primary route between the colonial 
        Spanish capital of Mexico City and the Spanish provincial 
        capitals at San Juan de Los Caballeros (1598-1600), San Gabriel 
        (1600-1609) and then Santa Fe (1610-1821).
            (2) The portion of El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro that 
        resided in what is now the United States extended between El 
        Paso, Texas and present San Juan Pueblo, New Mexico, a distance 
        of 404 miles;
            (3) El Camino Real is a symbol of the cultural interaction 
        between nations and ethnic groups and of the commercial exchange 
        that made possible the development and growth of the borderland;
            (4) American Indian groups, especially the Pueblo Indians of 
        the Rio Grande, developed trails for trade long before Europeans 
        arrived;
            (5) In 1598, Juan de Onate led a Spanish military expedition 
        along those trails to establish the northern portion of El 
        Camino Real;
            (6) During the Mexican National Period and part of the 
        United States Territorial Period, El Camino Real de Tierra 
        Adentro facilitated the emigration of people to New Mexico and 
        other areas that would become the United States;
            (7) The exploration, conquest, colonization, settlement, 
        religious conversion, and military occupation of a large area of 
        the borderlands was made possible by this route, whose 
        historical period extended from 1598 to 1882;

[[Page 114 STAT. 1075]]

            (8) American Indians, European emigrants, miners, ranchers, 
        soldiers, and missionaries used El Camino Real during the 
        historic development of the borderlands. These travelers 
        promoted cultural interaction among Spaniards, other Europeans, 
        American Indians, Mexicans, and Americans;
            (9) El Camino Real fostered the spread of Catholicism, 
        mining, an extensive network of commerce, and ethnic and 
        cultural traditions including music, folklore, medicine, foods, 
        architecture, language, place names, irrigation systems, and 
        Spanish law.

SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION AND ADMINISTRATION.

    Section 5(a) of the National Trails System Act (16 U.S.C. 1244(a)) 
is amended--
            (1) by designating the paragraphs relating to the California 
        National Historic Trail, the Pony Express National Historic 
        Trail, and the Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail as 
        paragraphs (18), (19), and (20), respectively; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(21) El camino real de tierra adentro.--
                    ``(A) El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro (the Royal 
                Road of the Interior) National Historic Trail, a 404 
                mile long trail from the Rio Grande near El Paso, Texas 
                to San Juan Pueblo, New Mexico, as generally depicted on 
                the maps entitled `United States Route: El Camino Real 
                de Tierra Adentro', contained in the report prepared 
                pursuant to subsection (b) entitled `National Historic 
                Trail Feasibility Study and Environmental Assessment: El 
                Camino Real de Tierra Adentro, Texas-New Mexico', dated 
                March 1997.
                    ``(B) Map.--A map generally depicting the trail 
                shall be on file and available for public inspection in 
                the Office of the National Park Service, Department of 
                the Interior.
                    ``(C) Administration.--The Trail shall be 
                administered by the Secretary of the Interior.
                    ``(D) Land acquisition.--No lands or interests 
                therein outside the exterior boundaries of any federally 
                administered area may be acquired by the Federal 
                Government for El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro except 
                with the consent of the owner thereof.
                    ``(E) Volunteer groups; consultation.--The Secretary 
                of the Interior shall--
                          ``(i) encourage volunteer trail groups to 
                      participate in the development and maintenance of 
                      the trail; and
                          ``(ii) consult with other affected Federal, 
                      State, local governmental, and tribal agencies in 
                      the administration of the trail.

[[Page 114 STAT. 1076]]

                    ``(F) Coordination of activities.--The Secretary of 
                the Interior may coordinate with United States and 
                Mexican public and non-governmental organizations, 
                academic institutions, and, in consultation with the 
                Secretary of State, the government of Mexico and its 
                political subdivisions, for the purpose of exchanging 
                trail information and research, fostering trail 
                preservation and educational programs, providing 
                technical assistance, and working to establish an 
                international historic trail with complementary 
                preservation and education programs in each nation.''.

    Approved October 13, 2000.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY--S. 366:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

SENATE REPORTS: No. 106-22 (Comm. on Energy and Natural Resources).
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD:
                                                        Vol. 145 (1999):
                                    Nov. 19, considered and passed 
                                        Senate.
                                                        Vol. 146 (2000):
                                    Oct. 3, considered and passed House.

                                  <all>
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