II 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 503 

To establish the Sangre de Cristo National Historical Park, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 7, 2013 

Mr. UDALL of Colorado introduced the following bill; which was read twice 

and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To establish the Sangre de Cristo National Historical Park, 

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 ‘‘Sangre de Cristo Na5 tional Historical Park Establishment Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 

7 The purpose of this Act is to establish the Sangre 

8 de Cristo National Historical Park— 

9 (1) to help preserve, protect, and interpret the 

10 nationally significant historical and cultural reVerDate Mar 15 2010 02:13 Mar 09, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S503.IS S503

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1 sources of the Sangre de Cristo Mountain Range2 San Luis Valley region of southern Colorado for the 

3 benefit and inspiration of future generations; 

4 (2) to support the preservation, protection, and 

5 interpretation of the urban, rural, and agricultural 

6 landscape features of the region; 

7 (3) to educate the public about— 

8 (A) nationally significant sites and districts 

9 that convey the history of the northern migra10 tions and the other migrations of diverse peo11 ples that settled in the Sangre de Cristo Moun12 tain Range-San Luis Valley region; 

13 (B) the exploration and development of the 

14 region under Spanish rule from 1598 through 

15 1821; 

16 (C) the history of communities under 

17 Mexican rule between 1821 and 1848, the date 

18 of the conclusion of the Mexican American War; 

19 (D) the post-1848 settlement history of the 

20 area under United States jurisdiction, and the 

21 creation of the State of Colorado; and 

22 (E) the rich and distinctive folklore, reli23 gions, and languages of the cultures in the area 

24 today; and 


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1 (4) to support and enhance the network of part2 ners, including the State and local governments, pri3 vate entities, and nonprofit entities, that will engage 

4 in the protection, improvement, management, and 

5 operation of key resources and facilities in the Park 

6 and throughout the National Heritage Area. 

7 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

8 In this Act: 

9 (1) NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA.—The term 

10 ‘‘National Heritage Area’’ means the Sangre de 

11 Cristo National Heritage Area established by section 

12 8001 of the Omnibus Public Land Management Act 

13 of 2009 (16 U.S.C. 461 note; Public Law 111–11). 

14 (2) PARK.—The term ‘‘Park’’ means the 

15 Sangre de Cristo National Historical Park estab16 lished under section 4. 

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

18 the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Di19 rector of the National Park Service. 

20 (4) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means the State 

21 of Colorado. 

22 SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF SANGRE DE CRISTO NATIONAL 

23 HISTORICAL PARK. 

24 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Subject to valid and existing 

25 rights, there is established in the State a unit of the NaVerDate Mar 15 2010 02:13 Mar 09, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S503.IS S503

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1 tional Park System to be known as the ‘‘Sangre de Cristo 

2 National Historical Park’’. 

3 (b) BOUNDARIES.—Subject to valid existing rights, 

4 the Park shall be comprised of the following cultural and 

5 historical sites and byways within the Sangre de Cristo 

6 Mountain Range-San Luis Valley region of southern Colo7 rado: 

8 (1) The Sangre de Cristo Heritage Center, San 

9 Luis, Costilla County. 

10 (2) The Sociedad Proteccion Mutua de 

11 Trabajadores Unidos building, Antonito, Conejos 

12 County. 

13 (3) The Fort Garland Museum, Fort Garland, 

14 Costilla County. 

15 (4) The Denver & Rio Grande Antonito Depot, 

16 Antonito, Conejos County. 

17 (5) The Los Caminos Antiguos Scenic and His18 toric Byway. 

19 (6) Dario Gallegos House, San Luis, Costilla 

20 County. 

21 (7) Trujillo Homesteads, Alamosa County. 

22 (8) Pike’s Stockade, Conejos County. 

23 (9) The portions of the Old Spanish National 

24 Historic Trail located in the areas of Alamosa, 


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1 Conejos, Costilla, Rio Grande, and Saguache coun2 ties where the trail crosses federally owned land. 

3 (c) ADDITIONAL SITES.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—An additional site may not 

5 be added to the Park unless— 

6 (A) the Secretary determines, based on 

7 further research and planning, that the site 

8 meets the applicable criteria for national signifi9 cance, suitability, and feasibility; and 

10 (B) notification of the proposed addition of 

11 the site has been submitted to— 

12 (i) the Committee on Energy and 

13 Natural Resources of the Senate; and 

14 (ii) the Committee on Natural Re15 sources of the House of Representatives. 

16 (2) STUDY.—The Secretary shall conduct a 

17 study to determine the feasibility of including in the 

18 Park additional cultural and historical sites located 

19 in the following counties: 

20 (A) Huerfano County. 

21 (B) Las Animas County. 

22 (d) ACQUISITION OF LAND.—The Secretary may— 

23 (1) acquire land or interests in land within the 

24 boundaries of the Park by— 

25 (A) donation; 


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1 (B) purchase from willing sellers with do2 nated or appropriated funds; or 

3 (C) exchange; and 

4 (2) enter into cooperative management agree5 ments in accordance with section 3(l) of the Na6 tional Park System General Authorities Act (16 

7 U.S.C. 1a–2(l)). 

8 (e) ACQUISITION OF WATER RIGHTS.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may acquire 

10 water rights by— 

11 (A) donation; or 

12 (B) purchase from willing sellers. 

13 (2) LIMITATION.—The Secretary may not ac14 quire water rights by means other than the means 

15 described in paragraph (1). 

16 (f) ADMINISTRATION.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall admin18 ister the Park in accordance with— 

19 (A) this Act; and 

20 (B) the laws generally applicable to units 

21 of the National Park System, including— 

22 (i) the National Park Service Organic 

23 Act (16 U.S.C. 1 et seq.); and 

24 (ii) the Act of August 21, 1935 (16 

25 U.S.C. 461 et seq.). 


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1 (2) GENERAL MANAGEMENT PLAN.— 

2 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years 

3 after the date on which funds are made avail4 able to carry out this Act, the Secretary shall 

5 prepare a general management plan for the 

6 Park— 

7 (i) in consultation with applicable 

8 State and local governments, owners of 

9 property within the boundaries of the 

10 Park, and other interested parties; and 

11 (ii) in accordance with section 12(b) 

12 of the National Park System General Au13 thorities Act (16 U.S.C. 1a–7(b)). 

14 (B) REQUIREMENTS.—To the maximum 

15 extent practicable, the plan prepared under sub16 paragraph (A) shall— 

17 (i) consider ways to use existing vis18 itor facilities and recreational opportunities 

19 developed in the National Heritage Area; 

20 and 

21 (ii) develop programs and manage22 ment actions cooperatively with the Na23 tional Heritage Area. 

24 (g) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—To further the purposes of 

2 this Act and notwithstanding chapter 63 of title 31, 

3 United States Code, the Secretary may provide 

4 grants and technical assistance to, and may enter 

5 into cooperative agreements with, the State, political 

6 subdivisions of the State, nonprofit organizations, 

7 and private property owners— 

8 (A) to provide technical assistance, inter9 pretation, public access, and other visitor serv10 ices in the Park; and 

11 (B) subject to the availability of appropria12 tions, to provide not more than 50 percent of 

13 the cost of any natural, historic, or cultural re14 source protection project in the Park and the 

15 National Heritage Area that is consistent with 

16 the general management plan prepared under 

17 subsection (f). 

18 (2) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.—As a condition 

19 of the receipt of funds under paragraph (1), the Sec20 retary shall require that any Federal funds made 

21 available under a grant or cooperative agreement en22 tered into under that paragraph are matched on a 

23 1-to-1 basis by non-Federal funds. 

24 (3) REIMBURSEMENT.—Any payment made by 

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1 ject to an agreement that the conversion, use, or dis2 posal of the project for purposes that are incon3 sistent with the purposes of this Act, as determined 

4 by the Secretary, shall result in a right of the 

5 United States to reimbursement of the greater of— 

6 (A) the amount provided by the Secretary 

7 to the project under paragraph (1)(B); or 

8 (B) an amount equal to the increased 

9 value of the project that is attributable to the 

10 funds, as determined by the Secretary at the 

11 time of the conversion, use, or disposal. 

12 (h) MANAGEMENT OF OLD SPANISH TRAIL.—Not13 withstanding any other provision of this Act, the head of 

14 the Federal agency with jurisdiction over a portion of the 

15 Old Spanish Trail included within the boundaries of the 

16 Park under subsection (b)(9), as determined under the ap17 plicable management plan for the Old Spanish Trail, shall 

18 continue to manage that portion of the Old Spanish Trail. 

19 (i) LIMITATION.—Nothing in this Act expands or di20 minishes any right of access to any private land within 

21 the boundaries of the Park. 

22 SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

23 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums 

24 as are necessary to carry out this Act. 

Æ 


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