II 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 322 

To establish the Champlain Valley National Heritage Partnership in the 

States of Vermont and New York, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 8, 2005 

Mr. JEFFORDS (for himself, Mr. LEAHY, Mrs. CLINTON, and Mr. SCHUMER) 

introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 

Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To establish the Champlain Valley National Heritage Partnership in the States of Vermont and New York, 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 ‘‘Champlain Valley Na5 tional Heritage Partnership Act of 2005’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 

8 (1) the Champlain Valley and its extensive cul9 tural and natural resources have played a significant 
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1 role in the history of the United States and the indi2 vidual States of Vermont and New York; 

3 (2) archaeological evidence indicates that the 

4 Champlain Valley has been inhabited by humans 

5 since the last retreat of the glaciers, with the Native 

6 Americans living in the area at the time of Euro7 pean discovery being primarily of Iroquois and 

8 Algonquin descent; 

9 (3) the linked waterways of the Champlain Val10 ley, including the Richelieu River in Canada, played 

11 a unique and significant role in the establishment 

12 and development of the United States and Canada 

13 through several distinct eras, including— 

14 (A) the era of European exploration, dur15 ing which Samuel de Champlain and other ex16 plorers used the waterways as a means of ac17 cess through the wilderness; 

18 (B) the era of military campaigns, includ19 ing highly significant military campaigns of the 

20 French and Indian War, the American Revolu21 tion, and the War of 1812; and 

22 (C) the era of maritime commerce, during 

23 which canals boats, schooners, and steamships 

24 formed the backbone of commercial transpor25 tation for the region; 
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1 (4) those unique and significant eras are best 

2 described by the theme ‘‘The Making of Nations and 

3 Corridors of Commerce’’; 

4 (5) the artifacts and structures associated with 

5 those eras are unusually well-preserved; 

6 (6) the Champlain Valley is recognized as hav7 ing one of the richest collections of historical re8 sources in North America; 

9 (7) the history and cultural heritage of the 

10 Champlain Valley are shared with Canada and the 

11 Province of Quebec; 

12 (8) there are benefits in celebrating and pro13 moting this mutual heritage; 

14 (9) tourism is among the most important indus15 tries in the Champlain Valley, and heritage tourism 

16 in particular plays a significant role in the economy 

17 of the Champlain Valley; 

18 (10) it is important to enhance heritage tourism 

19 in the Champlain Valley while ensuring that in20 creased visitation will not impair the historical and 

21 cultural resources of the region; 

22 (11) according to the 1999 report of the Na23 tional Park Service entitled ‘‘Champlain Valley Her24 itage Corridor Project’’, ‘‘the Champlain Valley con25 tains resources and represents a theme ‘The Making 
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1 of Nations and Corridors of Commerce’, that is of 

2 outstanding importance in U.S. history’’; and 

3 (12) it is in the interest of the United States 

4 to preserve and interpret the historical and cultural 

5 resources of the Champlain Valley for the education 

6 and benefit of present and future generations. 

7 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are— 

8 (1) to establish the Champlain Valley National 

9 Heritage Partnership in the States of Vermont and 

10 New York to recognize the importance of the histor11 ical, cultural, and recreational resources of the 

12 Champlain Valley region to the United States; 

13 (2) to assist the State of Vermont and New 

14 York, including units of local government and non15 governmental organizations in the States, in pre16 serving, protecting, and interpreting those resources 

17 for the benefit of the people of the United States; 

18 (3) to use those resources and the theme ‘‘The 

19 Making of Nations and Corridors of Commerce’’ 

20 to— 

21 (A) revitalize the economy of communities 

22 in the Champlain Valley; and 

23 (B) generate and sustain increased levels 

24 of tourism in the Champlain Valley; 

25 (4) to encourage— 
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1 (A) partnerships among State and local 

2 governments and nongovernmental organiza3 tions in the United States; and 

4 (B) collaboration with Canada and the 

5 Province of Quebec to— 

6 (i) interpret and promote the history 

7 of the waterways of the Champlain Valley 

8 region; 

9 (ii) form stronger bonds between the 

10 United States and Canada; and 

11 (iii) promote the international aspects 

12 of the Champlain Valley region; and 

13 (5) to provide financial and technical assistance 

14 for the purposes described in paragraphs (1) 

15 through (4). 

16 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

17 In this Act: 

18 (1) HERITAGE PARTNERSHIP.—The term ‘‘Her19 itage Partnership’’ means the Champlain Valley Na20 tional Heritage Partnership established by section 

21 4(a). 

22 (2) MANAGEMENT ENTITY.—The term ‘‘man23 agement entity’’ means the Lake Champlain Basin 

24 Program. 
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1 (3) MANAGEMENT PLAN.—The term ‘‘manage2 ment plan’’ means the management plan developed 

3 under section 4(b)(B)(i). 

4 (4) REGION.— 

5 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘region’’ 

6 means any area or community in 1 of the 

7 States in which a physical, cultural, or histor8 ical resource that represents the theme is lo9 cated. 

10 (B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘region’’ in11 cludes 

12 (i) the linked navigable waterways 

13 of— 

14 (I) Lake Champlain; 

15 (II) Lake George; 

16 (III) the Champlain Canal; and 

17 (IV) the portion of the Upper 

18 Hudson River extending south to 

19 Saratoga; 

20 (ii) portions of Grand Isle, Franklin, 

21 Chittenden, Addison, Rutland, and 

22 Bennington Counties in the State of 

23 Vermont; and 
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1 (iii) portions of Clinton, Essex, War2 ren, Saratoga and Washington Counties in 

3 the State of New York. 

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

5 the Secretary of the Interior. 

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

7 (A) the State of Vermont; and 

8 (B) the State of New York. 

9 (7) THEME.—The term ‘‘theme’’ means the 

10 theme ‘‘The Making of Nations and Corridors of 

11 Commerce’’, as the term is used in the 1999 report 

12 of the National Park Service entitled ‘‘Champlain 

13 Valley Heritage Corridor Project’’, that describes the 

14 periods of international conflict and maritime com15 merce during which the region played a unique and 

16 significant role in the development of the United 

17 States and Canada. 

18 SEC. 4. HERITAGE PARTNERSHIP. 

19 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the re20 gional the Champlain Valley National Heritage Partner21 ship. 

22 (b) MANAGEMENT ENTITY.— 

23 (1) DUTIES.— 

24 (A) IN GENERAL.—The management entity 

25 shall implement the Act. 
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1 (B) MANAGEMENT PLAN.— 

2 (i) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 

3 years after the date of enactment of this 

4 Act, the management entity shall develop a 

5 management plan for the Heritage Part6 nership. 

7 (ii) EXISTING PLAN.—Pending the 

8 completion and approval of the manage9 ment plan, the management entity may im10 plement the provisions of this Act based on 

11 its federally authorized plan ‘‘Opportuni12 ties for Action, an Evolving Plan For Lake 

13 Champlain’’. 

14 (iii) CONTENTS.—The management 

15 plan shall include— 

16 (I) recommendations for funding, 

17 managing, and developing the Herit18 age Partnership; 

19 (II) a description of activities to 

20 be carried out by public and private 

21 organizations to protect the resources 

22 of the Heritage Partnership; 

23 (III) a list of specific, potential 

24 sources of funding for the protection, 
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1 management, and development of the 

2 Heritage Partnership; 

3 (IV) an assessment of the organi4 zational capacity of the management 

5 entity to achieve the goals for imple6 mentation; and 

7 (V) recommendations of ways in 

8 which to encourage collaboration with 

9 Canada and the Province of Quebec in 

10 implementing this Act. 

11 (iv) CONSIDERATIONS.—In developing 

12 the management plan under clause (i), the 

13 management entity shall take into consid14 eration existing Federal, State, and local 

15 plans relating to the region. 

16 (v) SUBMISSION TO SECRETARY FOR

17 APPROVAL.— 

18 (I) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 

19 3 years after the date of enactment of 

20 this Act, the management entity shall 

21 submit the management plan to the 

22 Secretary for approval. 

23 (II) EFFECT OF FAILURE TO

24 SUBMIT.—If a management plan is 

25 not submitted to the Secretary by the 
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1 date specified in paragraph (I), the 

2 Secretary shall not provide any addi3 tional funding under this Act until a 

4 management plan for the Heritage 

5 Partnership is submitted to the Sec6 retary. 

7 (vi) APPROVAL.—Not later than 90 

8 days after receiving the management plan 

9 submitted under subparagraph (V)(I), the 

10 Secretary, in consultation with the States, 

11 shall approve or disapprove the manage12 ment plan. 

13 (vii) ACTION FOLLOWING DIS14 APPROVAL.— 

15 (I) GENERAL.—If the Secretary 

16 disapproves a management plan under 

17 subparagraph (vi), the Secretary 

18 shall— 

19 (aa) advise the management 

20 entity in writing of the reasons 

21 for the disapproval; 

22 (bb) make recommendations 

23 for revisions to the management 

24 plan; and 
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1 (cc) allow the management 

2 entity to submit to the Secretary 

3 revisions to the management 

4 plan. 

5 (II) DEADLINE FOR APPROVAL

6 OF REVISION.—Not later than 90 

7 days after the date on which a revi8 sion is submitted under subparagraph 

9 (vii)(I)(cc), the Secretary shall ap10 prove or disapprove the revision. 

11 (viii) AMENDMENT.— 

12 (I) IN GENERAL.—After approval 

13 by the Secretary of the management 

14 plan, the management entity shall pe15 riodically— 

16 (aa) review the management 

17 plan; and 

18 (bb) submit to the Sec19 retary, for review and approval 

20 by the Secretary, the rec21 ommendations of the manage22 ment entity for any amendments 

23 to the management plan that the 

24 management entity considers to 

25 be appropriate. 
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1 (II) EXPENDITURE OF FUNDS.— 

2 No funds made available under this 

3 Act shall be used to implement any 

4 amendment proposed by the manage5 ment entity under subparagraph 

6 (viii)(1) until the Secretary approves 

7 the amendments. 

8 (2) PARTNERSHIPS.— 

9 (A) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out this 

10 Act, the management entity may enter into 

11 partnerships with— 

12 (i) the States, including units of local 

13 governments in the States; 

14 (ii) nongovernmental organizations; 

15 (iii) Indian Tribes; and 

16 (iv) other persons in the Heritage 

17 Partnership. 

18 (B) GRANTS.—Subject to the availability 

19 of funds, the management entity may provide 

20 grants to partners under subparagraph (A) to 

21 assist in implementing this Act. 

22 (3) PROHIBITION ON THE ACQUISITION OF

23 REAL PROPERTY.—The management entity shall not 

24 use Federal funds made available under this Act to 
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1 acquire real property or any interest in real prop2 erty. 

3 (c) ASSISTANCE FROM SECRETARY.—To carry out 

4 the purposes of this Act, the Secretary may provide tech5 nical and financial assistance to the management entity. 

6 SEC. 5. EFFECT. 

7 Nothing in this Act— 

8 (1) grants powers of zoning or land use to the 

9 management entity; 

10 (2) modifies, enlarges, or diminishes the author11 ity of the Federal Government or a State or local 

12 government to manage or regulate any use of land 

13 under any law (including regulations); or 

14 (3) obstructs or limits private business develop15 ment activities or resource development activities. 

16 SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be appro18 priated to carry out this Act not more than a total of 

19 $10,000,000, of which not more than $1,000,000 may be 

20 made available for any fiscal year. 

21 (b) NON-FEDERAL SHARE.—The non-Federal share 

22 of the cost of any activities carried out using Federal 

23 funds made available under subsection (a) not be less than 

24 50 percent. 
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1 SEC. 7. TERMINATION OF AUTHORITY. 

2 The authority of the Secretary to provide assistance 

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

4 after the date of enactment of this Act. 

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