I

107TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 980

To establish the Moccasin Bend National Historic Site in the State of

Tennessee as a unit of the National Park System.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MARCH 13, 2001

Mr. WAMP (for himself, Mr. DUNCAN, Mr. JENKINS, Mr. BRYANT, Mr.

HILLEARY, Mr. DEAL of Georgia, Mr. CLEMENT, Mr. GORDON, Mr. TANNER, and Mr. FORD) introduced the following bill; which was referred to

the Committee on Resources

A BILL

To establish the Moccasin Bend National Historic Site in

the State of Tennessee as a unit of the National Park

System.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. MOCCASIN BEND NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE,

4 TENNESSEE.

5 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:

6 (1) HISTORIC SITE.—The term ‘‘historic site’’

7 means the Moccasin Bend National Historic Site es8 tablished by subsection (b).
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1 (2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means

2 the Secretary of the Interior.

3 (b) ESTABLISHMENT OF HISTORIC SITE.—In order

4 to preserve for the benefit and education of the people of

5 the United States certain archaeological and historic re6 sources located on a portion of the peninsula bounded by

7 the Tennessee River and known as Moccasin Bend near

8 Chattanooga, Tennessee, there is established the Moccasin

9 Bend National Historic Site as a unit of the National

10 Park System. No other unit of the National Park System

11 possesses the extensive range of historic themes and cul12 tural resources available for interpretation at the historic

13 site, and the establishment of the historic site enhances

14 the collective significance and interpretive potential of

15 these resources.

16 (c) BOUNDARIES.—

17 (1) MAIN AREA.—The historic site shall consist

18 of approximately 911.5 acres, as depicted on the

19 map entitled ‘‘Boundary Map, lllll’’, num20 bered ll, and dated ll.

21 (2) TRAIL OF TEARS AND CIVIL WAR COR22 RIDOR.—The historic site shall also consist of the

23 97-acre parcel of land known as the Rock-Tenn

24 property, containing the Federal Road (designated

25 in 1807) between Ross Landing and Browns Ferry
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1 that served as a portion of the overland route trav2 eled by the Cherokee during their removal from an3 cestral lands to Oklahoma during 1838 and 1839

4 and was used by the Union Army to break the Con5 federate siege of Chattanooga, Tennessee, in 1863.

6 (3) SERODINO AND KLIMSCH PROPERTY.—The

7 lands encompassed by the boundaries of the historic

8 site described in paragraph (1) include the 14.5-acre

9 parcel known as the Serodino and Klimsch property.

10 (4) FILING AND AVAILABILITY OF MAPS.—The

11 map referred to in paragraph (1) shall be on file and

12 available for public inspection in appropriate offices

13 of the National Park Service. The Secretary may

14 make minor revisions in the boundaries of the his15 toric site in accordance with section 7(c) of the Land

16 and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 (16

17 U.S.C. 460l–4(c)).

18 (d) ACQUISITION AUTHORITY.—

19 (1) ACCEPTANCE OF LANDS.—The Secretary

20 may accept, on behalf of the United States, lands

21 within the boundaries of the historic site that are

22 donated by the State of Tennessee, the county of

23 Hamilton, Tennessee, the city of Chattanooga, Ten24 nessee, or any individual, corporation, organization,

25 or other entity.
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1 (2) DELAYED ACCEPTANCE OF INCOMPATIBLE

2 USE.—In the case of the parcel of land within the

3 boundaries of the historic site containing the Moc4 casin Bend Mental Health Institute, the Secretary

5 may accept donation of the parcel for inclusion in

6 the historic site only after the facility is no longer

7 used to provide health care services.

8 (3) PURCHASE AUTHORITY.—Private lands

9 within the boundaries of the historic site may be ac10 quired by the Secretary only by purchase from will11 ing sellers with appropriated or donated funds, by

12 donation, or by exchange.

13 (e) ADMINISTRATION.—The Secretary shall admin14 ister the historic site in accordance with this section and

15 the laws generally applicable to units of the National Park

16 System, including the Act of August 25, 1916 (commonly

17 known as the National Park Service Organic Act; 16

18 U.S.C. 1 et seq.), and the Act of August 21, 1935 (com19 monly known as the Historic Sites, Buildings, and Antiq20 uities Act; 16 U.S.C. 461 et seq.).

21 (f) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.—

22 (1) AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary may consult

23 with and enter into cooperative agreements with in24 terested entities and individuals to provide for the
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1 preservation, development, interpretation, and use of

2 the historic site.

3 (2) CONDITIONS.—Any payment made by the

4 Secretary pursuant to such a cooperative agreement

5 shall be subject to an agreement that conversion,

6 use, or disposal of the project assisted under the co7 operative agreement for purposes contrary to the

8 purposes of the historic site, as determined by the

9 Secretary, shall result in a right of the United

10 States to reimbursement of all funds made available

11 to such project or the proportion of the increased

12 value of the project attributable to such finds as de13 termined at the time of such conversion, use, or dis14 posal, whichever is greater.

15 (g) MOCCASIN BEND GOLF COURSE.—The Moccasin

16 Bend Golf Course of the city of Chattanooga is not within

17 the boundaries of the historic site described in paragraph

18 (1) or (2) of subsection (c). The golf course is managed

19 under a lease that is set to expire in 2005, but that may

20 be renewed or extended. Until such time as the lands cov21 ered by the golf course are no longer used as either a pub22 lic or municipal golf course, the Secretary may not request

23 an adjustment in the boundaries of the historic site to in24 clude the lands and permit possible future acquisition of

25 the lands.
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1 (h) VISITOR INTERPRETIVE CENTER.—The Sec2 retary may use a portion of the visitor center established

3 for the historic site as an additional interpretive center

4 for the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail and to inter5 pret the forcible removal of southeastern Indian tribes to

6 Oklahoma. To assist in the establishment and operation

7 of the visitor center, the Secretary may accept and use

8 gifts, bequests, or devises of services, funds, and real and

9 personal property.

10 (i) REPEAL OF PREVIOUS ACQUISITION AUTHOR11 ITY.—The Act of August 3, 1950 (Chapter 532; 16 U.S.C.

12 424a–4), is repealed.

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