II 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3035 

To direct the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study to determine 

the feasibility of establishing the Columbia-Pacific National Heritage 

Area in the States of Washington and Oregon, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 25, 2006 

Mr. SMITH (for himself and Mrs. MURRAY) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study 

to determine the feasibility of establishing the ColumbiaPacific National Heritage Area in the States of Washington and Oregon, 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 ‘‘Columbia-Pacific Na5 tional Heritage Area Study Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds that— 

8 (1) the Chinookan people have— 


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1 (A) lived in the Columbia-Pacific region for 

2 over 6,000 years; 

3 (B) developed a wealthy and vibrant cul4 ture from the abundance of the Columbia River 

5 and the sophisticated trade economy of the peo6 ple; and 

7 (C) established cultural centers in Chinook, 

8 Washington, and Seaside, Oregon; 

9 (2) early European explorers, including Heceta, 

10 Vitus Bering, Sir Francis Drake, and Captain Cook, 

11 began to explore and chart the region in search of 

12 the Great River of the West, the last remaining 

13 major land feature mapped by Europeans; 

14 (3) many people travel from around the world 

15 to the Columbia-Pacific region to— 

16 (A) experience the rich historical culture of 

17 the region; and 

18 (B) search for new business opportunities 

19 in the region; 

20 (4) in 1792 Boston-based Captain Robert Gray 

21 was the first to bring a sailing ship into the River, 

22 naming the River after his ship, the COLUMBIA 

23 REDIVIVA; 


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1 (5) Gray’s trip through the Columbia River 

2 opened up the River to trade with east coast cities, 

3 European countries, and Asian kingdoms; 

4 (6) during the 13 years before the Lewis and 

5 Clark Corps of Discovery arrived overland, more 

6 than 88 ships entered the Columbia River as part of 

7 a sophisticated global trade network that became 

8 known as the ‘‘Golden Round’’, which stimulated the 

9 economy of the newly freed colonies and accelerated 

10 the development of the international fur trade; 

11 (7) ports and communities along the Columbia 

12 River continue to support the traditional industries 

13 of fishing, seafood processing, timber harvesting, 

14 and trade; 

15 (8) in 1805 Lewis and Clark, seeking an all 

16 water route to the Pacific Ocean for commerce to ex17 pand the American claim to the Pacific Ocean, ar18 rived at the mouth of the Columbia River where the 

19 group built a fort to spend the winter; 

20 (9) the legacy of Lewis and Clark continues to 

21 be available to the public at the newly expanded 

22 units of the Lewis and Clark National Historical 

23 Park; 

24 (10) in 1811 John Jacob Astor established a 

25 permanent settlement for commerce at the mouth of 


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1 the Columbia River known as ‘‘Astoria’’, which be2 came the first American city west of the Rocky 

3 Mountains; 

4 (11) Astoria was sold to the Hudson Bay Com5 pany and during the period from 1812 to 1828, was 

6 a British territory; 

7 (12) Astoria was ultimately returned to the 

8 United States making Astoria the only city in the 

9 United States to become the territory of another 

10 country and then revert back to the United States; 

11 (13) for several thousand years the approaches 

12 to the mouth of the Columbia River have served as 

13 the original homeland defense system as the 

14 Chinookan people established villages on headlands 

15 and promontories of the River in order to watch the 

16 traffic entering, leaving, and traveling on the River; 

17 (14) with the start of the Civil War, the native 

18 villages were replaced with forts operated by the 

19 United States Army; 

20 (15) the Army forts at Cape Disappointment, 

21 Fort Columbia, and Fort Stevens were in continuous 

22 operation through the end of World War II; 

23 (16) the United States Coast Guard maintains 

24 a large homeland security operation through Group 

25 Astoria with the Cape Disappointment Motor LifeVerDate Aug 31 2005 03:41 May 31, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3035.IS S3035

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1 boat Station, Astoria Air Station, 2 cutters oper2 ating out of Astoria, and the Tongue Point mainte3 nance yard; 

4 (17) through the United States Coast Guard 

5 operations, the Columbia River continues to serve as 

6 the guard post for the protection of international 

7 commerce of the largest river transport system on 

8 the west coast; 

9 (18) the water offshore Clatsop County, Or10 egon, and Pacific County, Washington, is known as 

11 the ‘‘Graveyard of the Pacific’’, because thousands 

12 of vessels and lives have been lost in the water, with 

13 survivors struggling ashore and seeking refuge in the 

14 historic beach communities of Cannon Beach, Sea15 side, Gearhart, Seaview, Long Beach, Ocean Park, 

16 and Oysterville; 

17 (19) shipwrecks and storm waters are still a 

18 threat to commercial and recreational boaters in the 

19 area; 

20 (20) modern navigation aids include light21 houses, lightships, and lifesaving stations; 

22 (21) the United States Coast Guard continues 

23 to operate the Cape Disappointment Lifesaving Sta24 tion and the National Motor Lifeboat School; 


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1 (22) members of the United States Coast 

2 Guard from throughout the United States are sent 

3 to the ‘‘Top Gun’’ training center to— 

4 (A) challenge some of the most dangerous 

5 waters in the world; and 

6 (B) prepare for service at stations 

7 throughout the United States; 

8 (23) the Columbia River is home to 1 of the 

9 most abundant commercial and sport fisheries in the 

10 world; 

11 (24) for centuries, the people in the Columbia12 Pacific region have made a living from the Columbia 

13 River, including— 

14 (A) the Chinookan people, who developed a 

15 sophisticated and vibrant culture using the re16 sources of the River; and 

17 (B) beginning in the 1840’s, American set18 tlers and European and Asian immigrants, who 

19 developed a vibrant economy around the salmon 

20 fisheries; 

21 (25) the communities of Astoria, Warrenton, 

22 Hammond, Chinook, and Ilwaco— 

23 (A) have their roots in the development of 

24 the early fishing industry; and 


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1 (B) continue to support both commercial 

2 and sport fisheries that— 

3 (i) provide— 

4 (I) economic opportunities for 

5 residents; and 

6 (II) recreational opportunities for 

7 visitors; and 

8 (ii) preserve over a century of cultural 

9 traditions; 

10 (26) commercial timber harvesting has been an 

11 important component of the culture of the Columbia 

12 River for over 150 years; 

13 (27) timber has been harvested and used in 

14 local mills or transported, primarily along the Co15 lumbia River to the Pacific Ocean; and 

16 (28) raw logs and forest products continue to 

17 be transported along the Columbia River and across 

18 the Bar to markets around the world. 

19 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

20 In this Act: 

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

22 Area’’ means the Columbia-Pacific National Herit23 age Area. 

24 (2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

25 the Secretary of the Interior. 


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1 (3) STUDY AREA.—The term ‘‘study area’’ 

2 means— 

3 (A) the coastal areas of Clatsop County, 

4 Oregon, and Pacific County, Washington, which 

5 are known as the ‘‘North Beach Peninsula’’; 

6 and 

7 (B) areas relating to Native American his8 tory, local history, Euro-American settlement 

9 culture, and related economic activities of the 

10 Columbia River within a corridor along the Co11 lumbia River eastward in Clatsop County, Or12 egon, and Pacific, Columbia, and Wahkiakum 

13 Counties, Washington. 

14 SEC. 4. COLUMBIA-PACIFIC NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA 

15 STUDY. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consultation 

17 with the managers of any Federal land within the Herit18 age Area, appropriate State and local governmental agen19 cies, and any interested organizations, shall conduct a 

20 study to determine the feasibility of designating the study 

21 area as the Columbia-Pacific National Heritage Area. 

22 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—The study shall include anal23 ysis, documentation, and determinations on whether— 

24 (1) the study area— 


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1 (A) has an assemblage of natural, historic, 

2 cultural, educational, scenic, or recreational re3 sources that together are nationally important 

4 to the heritage of the United States; 

5 (B) represent distinctive aspects of the 

6 heritage of the United States worthy of recogni7 tion, conservation, interpretation, and con8 tinuing use; 

9 (C) are best managed through agreements 

10 between public and private entities at the local 

11 or regional level; 

12 (D) reflects traditions, customs, beliefs, 

13 and folklife that are a valuable part of the her14 itage of the United States; 

15 (E) provides outstanding opportunities to 

16 conserve natural, historical, cultural, or scenic 

17 features; 

18 (F) provides outstanding recreational and 

19 educational opportunities; and 

20 (G) has resources and traditional uses that 

21 have national importance; 

22 (2) residents, business interests, nonprofit orga23 nizations, the Federal Government (including rel24 evant Federal land management agencies), and 


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1 State, local, and tribal governments within the study 

2 area— 

3 (A) are involved in the planning; and 

4 (B) have demonstrated significant support 

5 through letters and other means for designation 

6 and management of the Heritage Area; and 

7 (3) the study area— 

8 (A) has been identified; and 

9 (B) is supported by State and local agen10 cies, the public, and private businesses. 

11 SEC. 5. REPORT. 

12 Not later than 3 fiscal years after the date on which 

13 funds are made available to carry out the study, the Sec14 retary shall submit to the Committee on Energy and Nat15 ural Resources of the Senate and the Committee on Re16 sources of the House of Representatives a report that de17 scribes the findings, conclusions, and recommendations of 

18 the Secretary with respect to the study. 

19 SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

20 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec21 retary such sums as are necessary to carry out this Act. 

Æ 


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