II 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 301 

To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to provide assistance in implementing cultural heritage, conservation, and recreational activities in 

the Connecticut River watershed of the States of New Hampshire and 

Vermont. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 7, 2005 

Mr. LEAHY (for himself, Mr. JEFFORDS, Mr. GREGG, and Mr. SUNUNU) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to provide assistance in implementing cultural heritage, conservation, and 

recreational activities in the Connecticut River watershed 

of the States of New Hampshire and Vermont. 

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 Connecticut 

5 River Partnership Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 
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1 (1) the upper Connecticut River watershed in 

2 the States of New Hampshire and Vermont is a sce3 nic region of historic villages located in a working 

4 landscape of farms, forests, and the mountainous 

5 headwaters and broad fertile floodplains of New 

6 England’s longest river, the Connecticut River; 

7 (2) the River provides outstanding fish and 

8 wildlife habitat, recreation, and hydropower genera9 tion for the New England region; 

10 (3) the upper Connecticut River watershed has 

11 been recognized by Congress as part of the Silvio O. 

12 Conte National Fish and Wildlife Refuge, estab13 lished by the Silvio O. Conte National Fish and 

14 Wildlife Refuge Act (16 U.S.C. 668dd note; Public 

15 Law 102–212); 

16 (4) the demonstrated interest in stewardship of 

17 the River by the citizens living in the watershed led 

18 to the Presidential designation of the River as 1 of 

19 14 American Heritage Rivers on July 30, 1998; 

20 (5) the River is home to the bistate Connecticut 

21 River Scenic Byway, which will foster heritage tour22 ism in the region; 

23 (6) each of the legislatures of the States of 

24 Vermont and New Hampshire has established a 

25 commission for the Connecticut River watershed, 
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1 and the 2 commissions, known collectively as the 

2 ‘‘Connecticut River Joint Commissions’’— 

3 (A) have worked together since 1989; and 

4 (B) serve as the focal point for cooperation 

5 between Federal agencies, States, communities, 

6 and citizens; 

7 (7) in 1997, as directed by the legislatures, the 

8 Connecticut River Joint Commissions, with the sub9 stantial involvement of 5 bistate local river sub10 committees appointed to represent riverfront towns, 

11 produced the 6-volume Connecticut River Corridor 

12 Management Plan, to be used as a blueprint in edu13 cating agencies, communities, and the public in how 

14 to be good neighbors to a great river; 

15 (8) this year, by Joint Legislative Resolution, 

16 the legislatures have requested that Congress pro17 vide for continuation of cooperative partnerships and 

18 support for the Connecticut River Joint Commis19 sions from the New England Federal Partners for 

20 Natural Resources, a consortium of Federal agen21 cies, in carrying out recommendations of the Con22 necticut River Corridor Management Plan; 

23 (9) this Act effectuates certain recommenda24 tions of the Connecticut River Corridor Management 

25 Plan that are most appropriately directed by the 
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1 States through the Connecticut River Joint Commis2 sions, with assistance from the National Park Serv3 ice and United States Fish and Wildlife Service; and 

4 (10) where implementation of those rec5 ommendations involves partnership with local com6 munities and organizations, support for the partner7 ship should be provided by the Secretary. 

8 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to author9 ize the Secretary to provide to the States of New Hamp10 shire and Vermont (including communities in those 

11 States), through the Connecticut River Joint Commis12 sions, technical and financial assistance for management 

13 of the River. 

14 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

15 In this Act: 

16 (1) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

17 the Secretary of the Interior. 

18 (2) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means— 

19 (A) the State of New Hampshire; or 

20 (B) the State of Vermont. 

21 SEC. 4. CONNECTICUT RIVER GRANTS AND TECHNICAL AS22 SISTANCE PROGRAM. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish a 

24 Connecticut River Grants and Technical Assistance Pro25 gram to provide grants and technical assistance to State 
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1 and local governments, nonprofit organizations, and the 

2 private sector to carry out projects for the conservation, 

3 restoration, and interpretation of historic, cultural, rec4 reational, and natural resources in the Connecticut River 

5 watershed. 

6 (b) CRITERIA.—The Secretary, in consultation with 

7 the Connecticut River Joint Commissions, shall develop 

8 criteria for determining the eligibility of applicants for, 

9 and reviewing and prioritizing applications for, grants or 

10 technical assistance under the program. 

11 (c) COST-SHARING.— 

12 (1) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share of 

13 the cost of carrying out a grant project under sub14 section (a) shall not exceed 75 percent. 

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

16 share of the cost of a project may be provided in the 

17 form of in-kind contributions of services or mate18 rials. 

19 SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

20 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

21 this Act $1,000,000 for each fiscal year. 

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