I 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1949 

To amend the Quinebaug and Shetucket Rivers Valley National Heritage 

Corridor Act of 1994, to increase the authorization of appropriations 

and modify the date on which the authority of the Secretary of the 

Interior terminates under the Act. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 19, 2007 

Mr. COURTNEY (for himself and Mr. NEAL of Massachusetts) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To amend the Quinebaug and Shetucket Rivers Valley National Heritage Corridor Act of 1994, to increase the 

authorization of appropriations and modify the date on 

which the authority of the Secretary of the Interior terminates under the Act. 

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 ‘‘Quinebaug and 

5 Shetucket Rivers Valley National Heritage Corridor 

6 Amendments Act of 2007’’. 


pwalker on PROD1PC71 with BILLS
2 

•HR 1949 IH

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds as follows: 

3 (1) Thousands of individuals, hundreds of non4 profit organizations, businesses, local and regional 

5 organizations, 35 towns, and 2 States have worked 

6 to preserve and enhance the significant natural, his7 toric, cultural, and scenic resources of the 

8 Quinebaug and Shetucket Rivers Valley National 

9 Heritage Corridor, and area which is commonly 

10 known as ‘‘The Last Green Valley’’. 

11 (2) The Green Valley Institute, a partnership 

12 between the University of Connecticut and the coop13 erative extension system of the University of Massa14 chusetts, has significantly improved the information 

15 base available to the primarily volunteer municipal 

16 officials that are responsible for making land use 

17 and natural resource conservation decisions with re18 spect to the Last Green Valley. 

19 (3) During the 5 years preceding the date of 

20 the enactment of this Act, the Green Valley Institute 

21 was recognized with 8 State or national awards for 

22 public education. 

23 (4) Significant historic structures have been 

24 identified and restored under the programs carried 

25 out in the Heritage Corridor. 


pwalker on PROD1PC71 with BILLS
3 

•HR 1949 IH

1 (5) Museums, attractions, landscapes, and busi2 nesses have been assembled into cohesive interpre3 tive projects that tell the stories of The Last Green 

4 Valley for residents and tourists. 

5 (6) As part of the vision to sustain the tradi6 tional land-based economy of the region, the Herit7 age Corridor has— 

8 (A) developed agritourism and continuing 

9 education programs for the region; and 

10 (B) collected and analyzed data relating to 

11 the vision. 

12 (7) Recreational tourism has been enhanced by 

13 the many trails, greenways, river access, and inter14 pretive projects in the Heritage Corridor. 

15 (8) Each of the 35 municipal governments with16 in the Heritage Corridor has signed a voluntary and 

17 non-binding community compact in which the gov18 ernments— 

19 (A) accept the goals and objectives of the 

20 management plan for the Heritage Corridor; 

21 and 

22 (B) formalize the commitment of the gov23 ernments to balance conservation and growth 

24 and the collective vision for the watershed. 


pwalker on PROD1PC71 with BILLS
4 

•HR 1949 IH

1 (9) During the past 11 years, the Heritage Cor2 ridor has consistently leveraged an average of $19 

3 for every Federal dollar invested in the Heritage 

4 Corridor. 

5 (10) The Heritage Corridor has adopted, and is 

6 implementing, a comprehensive plan, titled ‘‘The 

7 Trail to 2015, A Sustainability Plan for The Last 

8 Green Valley’’, to become self-sufficient by the year 

9 2015. 

10 (11) Reauthorizing the Heritage Corridor would 

11 leverage significant multi-year commitments and en12 sure self-sufficiency by 2015 for the programs and 

13 projects that are fulfilling the mission of the Herit14 age Corridor. 

15 SEC. 3. QUINEBAUG AND SHETUCKET RIVERS VALLEY NA16 TIONAL HERITAGE CORRIDOR. 

17 (a) TERMINATION OF AUTHORITY.—Section 106(b) 

18 of the Quinebaug and Shetucket Rivers Valley National 

19 Heritage corridor Act of 1994 (16 U.S.C. 461 note; Public 

20 Law 103–449) is amended by striking ‘‘September 30, 

21 2009’’ and inserting ‘‘September 30, 2015’’. 

22 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 

23 109(a) of the Quinebaug and Shetucket Rivers Valley Na24 tional Heritage Corridor Act of 1994 (16 U.S.C. 461 note; 


pwalker on PROD1PC71 with BILLS
5 

•HR 1949 IH

1 Public Law 103–449) is amended by striking 

2 ‘‘$10,000,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$16,000,000’’. 

Æ 


pwalker on PROD1PC71 with BILLS