II 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 206 

To designate the Ice Age Floods National Geologic Trail, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 31, 2005 

Ms. CANTWELL (for herself, Mr. CRAIG, Mrs. MURRAY, and Mr. SMITH) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To designate the Ice Age Floods National Geologic Trail, 

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 ‘‘Ice Age Floods Na5 tional Geologic Trail Designation Act of 2005’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 

8 (1) at the end of the last Ice Age, some 12,000 

9 to 17,000 years ago, a series of cataclysmic floods 

10 occurred in what is now the northwest region of the 
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1 United States, leaving a lasting mark of dramatic 

2 and distinguishing features on the landscape of 

3 parts of the States of Montana, Idaho, Washington 

4 and Oregon; 

5 (2) geological features that have exceptional 

6 value and quality to illustrate and interpret this ex7 traordinary natural phenomenon are present on Fed8 eral, State, tribal, county, municipal, and private 

9 land in the region; and 

10 (3) in 2001, a joint study team headed by the 

11 National Park Service that included about 70 mem12 bers from public and private entities completed a 

13 study endorsing the establishment of an Ice Age 

14 Floods National Geologic Trail— 

15 (A) to recognize the national significance 

16 of this phenomenon; and 

17 (B) to coordinate public and private sector 

18 entities in the presentation of the story of the 

19 Ice Age floods. 

20 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to des21 ignate the Ice Age Floods National Geologic Trail in the 

22 States of Montana, Idaho, Washington, and Oregon, ena23 bling the public to view, experience, and learn about the 

24 features and story of the Ice Age floods through the col25 laborative efforts of public and private entities. 
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1 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 

3 (1) ICE AGE FLOODS; FLOODS.—The term ‘‘Ice 

4 Age floods’’ or ‘‘floods’’ means the cataclysmic floods 

5 that occurred in what is now the northwestern 

6 United States during the last Ice Age from massive, 

7 rapid and recurring drainage of Glacial Lake in Mis8 soula, Montana. 

9 (2) PLAN.—The term ‘‘plan’’ means the cooper10 ative management and interpretation plan author11 ized under section 5(f). 

12 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

13 the Secretary of the Interior. 

14 (4) TRAIL.—The term ‘‘Trail’’ means the Ice 

15 Age Floods National Geologic Trail designated by 

16 section 4(a). 

17 SEC. 4. ICE AGE FLOODS NATIONAL GEOLOGIC TRAIL. 

18 (a) DESIGNATION.—In order to provide for public ap19 preciation, understanding, and enjoyment of the nationally 

20 significant natural and cultural features of the Ice Age 

21 floods and to promote collaborative efforts for interpreta22 tion and education among public and private entities lo23 cated along the pathways of the floods, there is designated 

24 the Ice Age Floods National Geologic Trail. 

25 (b) LOCATION.— 
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1 (1) MAP.—The route of the Trail shall be gen2 erally depicted on the map entitled ‘‘Ice Age Floods 

3 National Geologic Trail,’’ numbered lllll, 

4 and dated lllll. 

5 (2) ROUTE.—The route shall generally follow 

6 public roads and highways— 

7 (A) from the vicinity of Missoula in west8 ern Montana; 

9 (B) across northern Idaho; 

10 (C) through eastern and southern sections 

11 of Washington; 

12 (D) across northern Oregon in the vicinity 

13 of the Willamette Valley and the Columbia 

14 River; and 

15 (E) to the Pacific Ocean. 

16 (3) REVISION.—The Secretary may revise the 

17 map by publication in the Federal Register of a no18 tice of availability of a new map as part of the plan. 

19 (c) MAP AVAILABILITY.—Any map referred to in sub20 section (b) shall be on file and available for public inspec21 tion in the appropriate offices of the National Park Serv22 ice. 
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1 SEC. 5. ADMINISTRATION. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting through the 

3 Director of the National Park Service, shall administer the 

4 Trail in accordance with this Act. 

5 (b) TRAIL MANAGEMENT OFFICE.—In order for the 

6 National Park Service to manage the Trail and coordinate 

7 Trail activities with other public agencies and private enti8 ties, the Secretary may establish and operate a trail man9 agement office within the vicinity of the Trail. 

10 (c) LAND ACQUISITION.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—If the acquisition is con12 sistent with the plan, the Secretary may acquire 

13 land, in a quantity not to exceed 25 acres, for ad14 ministrative and public information purposes to fa15 cilitate the geographic diversity of the Trail through16 out the States of Montana, Idaho, Washington, and 

17 Oregon. 

18 (2) METHODS.— 

19 (A) PRIVATE LAND.—Private land may be 

20 acquired from a willing seller under this Act 

21 only by donation, purchase with donated or ap22 propriated funds, or exchange. 

23 (B) NON-FEDERAL PUBLIC LAND.—Non24 Federal public land may be acquired from a 

25 willing seller under this Act— 

26 (i) only by donation or exchange; and 
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1 (ii) after consultation with the af2 fected unit of local government. 

3 (d) INTERPRETIVE FACILITIES.—The Secretary may 

4 plan, design, and construct interpretive facilities for sites 

5 associated with the Trail if the facilities are constructed 

6 in partnership with State, local, tribal, or non-profit enti7 ties and are consistent with the plan. 

8 (e) INTERAGENCY TECHNICAL COMMITTEE.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish 

10 an interagency technical committee to advise the 

11 trail management office on the technical planning 

12 for the development of the plan. 

13 (2) COMPOSITION.—The committee— 

14 (A) shall include— 

15 (i) representatives from Federal, 

16 State, local, and tribal agencies with inter17 ests in the floods; and 

18 (ii) representatives from the Ice Age 

19 Floods Institute; and 

20 (B) may include private property owners, 

21 business owners, and nonprofit organizations. 

22 (f) MANAGEMENT PLAN.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years after 

24 funds are made available to carry out this Act under 
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1 section 6, the Secretary shall prepare a cooperative 

2 management and interpretation plan for the Trail. 

3 (2) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary shall pre4 pare the plan in consultation with— 

5 (A) State, local, and tribal governments; 

6 (B) the Ice Age Floods Institute; 

7 (C) private property owners; and 

8 (D) other interested parties. 

9 (3) CONTENTS.—The plan shall— 

10 (A) confirm and, if appropriate, expand on 

11 the inventory of features of the floods contained 

12 in the National Park Service study entitled ‘‘Ice 

13 Age Floods, Study of Alternatives and Environ14 mental Assessment’’ (February 2001) by— 

15 (i) locating features more accurately; 

16 (ii) improving the description of fea17 tures; and 

18 (iii) reevaluating the features in terms 

19 of their interpretive potential; 

20 (B) review and, if appropriate, modify the 

21 map of the Trail referred to in section 4(b); 

22 (C) describe strategies for the coordinated 

23 development of the Trail, including an interpre24 tive plan for facilities, waysides, roadside pull25 outs, exhibits, media, and programs that 
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1 present the story of the floods to the public ef2 fectively; and 

3 (D) identify potential partnering opportu4 nities in the development of interpretive facili5 ties and educational programs to educate the 

6 public about the story of the floods. 

7 (g) COOPERATIVE MANAGEMENT.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—In order to facilitate the de9 velopment of coordinated interpretation, education, 

10 resource stewardship, visitor facility development 

11 and operation, and scientific research associated 

12 with the Trail and to promote more efficient admin13 istration of the sites associated with the Trail, the 

14 Secretary may enter into cooperative management 

15 agreements with appropriate officials in the States 

16 of Montana, Idaho, Washington, and Oregon in ac17 cordance with the authority provided for units of the 

18 National Park System under section 3(l) of Public 

19 Law 91–383 (16 U.S.C. 1a–2(l)). 

20 (2) UNIT OF NATIONAL PARK SYSTEM.—For 

21 purposes of this subsection, the Trail shall be con22 sidered a unit of the National Park System. 

23 (h) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.—The Secretary 

24 may enter into cooperative agreements with public or pri25 vate entities to carry out this Act. 
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1 (i) EFFECT ON PRIVATE PROPERTY RIGHTS.—Noth2 ing in this Act— 

3 (1) requires any private property owner to allow 

4 public access (including Federal, State, or local gov5 ernment access) to private property; or 

6 (2) modifies any provision of Federal, State, or 

7 local law with respect to public access to or use of 

8 private land. 

9 (j) LIABILITY.—Designation of the Trail by section 

10 4(a) does not create any liability for, or affect any liability 

11 under any law of, any private property owner with respect 

12 to any person injured on the private property. 

13 SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

14 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums 

15 as are necessary to carry out this Act, of which not more 

16 than $500,000 may be used for each fiscal year for the 

17 administration of the Trail. 

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