II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2742 

To establish the Fort Ontario National Monument in the State of New 

York as a unit of the National Park System, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 7, 2023 

Mrs. GILLIBRAND (for herself 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 Fort Ontario National Monument in the 

State of New York as a unit of the National Park 

System, 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 ‘‘Fort Ontario National 

5 Monument Establishment Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 


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1 (1) NATIONAL MONUMENT.—The term ‘‘Na2 tional Monument’’ means the Fort Ontario National 

3 Monument established by section 3(a)(1). 

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

5 the Secretary of the Interior. 

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

7 of New York. 

8 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF FORT ONTARIO NATIONAL 

9 MONUMENT. 

10 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (3), 

12 there is established in the State as a unit of the Na13 tional Park System the Fort Ontario National 

14 Monument. 

15 (2) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the National 

16 Monument is to preserve, protect, and interpret for 

17 the benefit of present and future generations re18 sources associated with— 

19 (A) acknowledging, documenting, and hon20 oring the history of Indigenous people who once 

21 inhabited the land on which Fort Ontario is lo22 cated; 

23 (B) Fort Ontario and the history of the 3 

24 previous fortifications at the site of Fort On25 tario, at which 3 battles of the French and InVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:06 Sep 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2742.IS S2742

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1 dian War and 2 battles of the War of 1812 oc2 curred; and 

3 (C) memorializing the stories of the 982 

4 refugees from World War II who were housed 

5 at Fort Ontario from August of 1944 until 

6 February of 1946. 

7 (3) CONDITIONS OF ESTABLISHMENT.— 

8 (A) DETERMINATION BY THE SEC9 RETARY.—The National Monument shall not be 

10 established until the date on which the Sec11 retary determines that a sufficient quantity of 

12 land or interests in land has been acquired to 

13 constitute a manageable park unit. 

14 (B) NOTICE.—Not later than 30 days 

15 after the date on which the Secretary makes a 

16 determination under subparagraph (A), the 

17 Secretary shall publish in the Federal Register 

18 notice of the establishment of the National 

19 Monument. 

20 (4) MAP; BOUNDARY.— 

21 (A) MAP.— 

22 (i) IN GENERAL.—As soon as prac23 ticable after the date of enactment of this 

24 Act, the Secretary, in consultation with the 

25 State and the city of Oswego, New York, 


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1 shall prepare a map of the National Monu2 ment. 

3 (ii) AVAILABILITY.—The map pre4 pared under clause (i) shall be on file and 

5 available for public inspection in the appro6 priate offices of the National Park Service. 

7 (B) BOUNDARY.—The boundary of the 

8 National Monument shall be as generally de9 picted on the map prepared under subpara10 graph (A)(i). 

11 (b) ADMINISTRATION.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall admin13 ister the National Monument in accordance with— 

14 (A) this section; and 

15 (B) the laws generally applicable to units 

16 of the National Park System, including— 

17 (i) section 100101(a), chapter 1003, 

18 and sections 100751(a), 100752, 100753, 

19 and 102101 of title 54, United States 

20 Code; and 

21 (ii) chapter 3201 of title 54, United 

22 States Code. 

23 (2) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may 

2 enter into cooperative agreements with the 

3 State or other public and private entities— 

4 (i) to provide interpretive and edu5 cational services within the National 

6 Monument; and 

7 (ii) to identify, interpret, and provide 

8 assistance for the maintenance of— 

9 (I) non-Federal land within the 

10 boundary of the National Monument; 

11 and 

12 (II) sites in close proximity to 

13 the National Monument that are lo14 cated outside the boundary of the Na15 tional Monument. 

16 (B) PUBLIC ACCESS.—Any cooperative 

17 agreement entered into under subparagraph (A) 

18 to provide assistance to non-Federal land shall 

19 provide for reasonable public access to the non20 Federal land. 

21 (3) ACQUISITION OF LAND.— 

22 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara23 graph (B), the Secretary may acquire land and 

24 interests in land located within the boundary of 

25 the National Monument by— 


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1 (i) donation; 

2 (ii) purchase with donated or appro3 priated funds; or 

4 (iii) exchange. 

5 (B) LIMITATION.—Any land owned by the 

6 State or a political subdivision of the State may 

7 be acquired for inclusion in the National Monu8 ment only by donation. 

9 (4) TECHNICAL AND ASSISTANCE.—The Sec10 retary may provide public interpretation and tech11 nical assistance relating to the National Monument 

12 within the boundaries of the National Monument. 

13 (5) MANAGEMENT PLAN.—Not later than 3 fis14 cal years after the date on which funds are first 

15 made available to carry out this section, the Sec16 retary, in consultation with the State, shall complete 

17 a general management plan for the National Monu18 ment in accordance with— 

19 (A) section 100502 of title 54, United 

20 States Code; and 

21 (B) any other applicable laws. 

22 (6) ACCESS TO CERTAIN ATHLETIC FACILI23 TIES.—The establishment of the National Monument 

24 shall not affect the use of, or public access to, any 

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1 tional Monument with respect to which the use or 

2 public access is authorized as of the date of enact3 ment of this Act. 

Æ 


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