II 

Calendar No. 594 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 1596 

[Report No. 111–308] 

To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to acquire the Gold Hill Ranch 

in Coloma, California. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

AUGUST 6, 2009 

Mrs. BOXER (for herself and Mr. INOUYE) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural 

Resources 

SEPTEMBER 27, 2010 

Reported by Mr. BINGAMAN, with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

A BILL 

To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to acquire the 

Gold Hill Ranch in Coloma, California. 

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 ‘‘Gold Hill-Wakamatsu 

5 Preservation Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds that— 

3 (1) the Gold Hill Ranch in Coloma, California, 

4 was the location of the founding of the Wakamatsu 

5 Tea and Silk Farm Colony in 1869; 

6 (2) the Ranch is— 

7 (A) the oldest property in North America 

8 to be associated with Japanese immigration; 

9 and 

10 (B) the only property associated with the 

11 immigration of samurai following the Meiji Res12 toration; 

13 (3) the Ranch includes— 

14 (A) an 1860s home that was occupied by 

15 the Wakamatsu settlers; 

16 (B) mulberry trees planted by the silk 

17 farmers; and 

18 (C) the grave stone of Okei Ito, which is 

19 the oldest Japanese immigrant grave in the 

20 United States; and 

21 (4) a variety of non-Federal funds have been 

22 obligated with respect to the acquisition and restora23 tion of the Ranch, including— 

24 (A) $485,000 from the Farm and Ranch25 land Protection Program and $515,000 from 


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1 private donations to be applied toward acquisi2 tion of the Ranch; and 

3 (B) $483,750 from the California Cultural 

4 and Historical Endowment to be applied toward 

5 restoration of the Graner farmhouse. 

6 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 

8 (1) MAP.—The term ‘‘map’’ means the map en9 titled ‘‘Gold Hill-Wakamatsu Site’’ and dated May 

10 7, 2009. 

11 (2) RANCH.— 

12 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘Ranch’’ 

13 means the Gold Hill Ranch in Coloma, Cali14 fornia (El Dorado County Assessor’s Parcel No. 

15 089–010–06), comprising approximately 272 

16 acres, which is more particularly described as 

the SW1⁄4 and the SW 1⁄2 of the SE 1 17 ⁄4 of Sec. 

29 and the N1⁄2NE1 18 ⁄4 of Sec. 32, T. 11 N., R. 

19 10 E., of El Dorado County, California. 

20 (B) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘‘Ranch’’ ex21 cludes the small inholding of the Gold Trail 

22 School District, as depicted on the map. 

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

24 the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Di25 rector of the Bureau of Land Management. 


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1 SEC. 4. ACQUISITION OF GOLD HILL RANCH, COLOMA, 

2 CALIFORNIA. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (b), the Sec4 retary may acquire the Ranch in exchange for consider5 ation in an amount not to exceed $3,290,000. 

6 (b) LIMITATION ON ACQUISITION.—The acquisition 

7 of the Ranch under subsection (a) shall only be from will8 ing sellers and not through eminent domain. 

9 (c) NON-FEDERAL CONTRIBUTIONS.—For the con10 sideration required under subsection (a), the American 

11 River Conservancy and the Gold Hill Wakamatsu Colony 

12 Foundation shall contribute any private funds or State or 

13 Federal grants received by the Conservancy and the Foun14 dation for the acquisition of the Ranch. 

15 (d) VISITOR CENTER.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—On acquisition of the 

17 Wakamatsu Colony site, the Secretary may work 

18 with the American River Conservancy and the Gold 

19 Hill Wakamatsu Colony Foundation to design and 

20 develop a visitor center that provides for the inter21 pretation of— 

22 (A) the Wakamatsu Colony; 

23 (B) early pioneer history; and 

24 (C) the contribution of traditional Japa25 nese crops and practices to the extensive agri26 cultural economy of the State of California. 


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1 (2) COSTS.—To the maximum extent prac2 ticable, the costs of constructing the visitor center 

3 and conducting restoration activities at the Ranch 

4 shall be leveraged by amounts received by the Amer5 ican River Conservancy and the Gold Hill 

6 Wakamatsu Colony Foundation in the form of pri7 vate funds and State or Federal grants provided for 

8 those purposes. 

9 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

10 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are nec11 essary to carry out this Act. 

12 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

13 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Gold Hill-Wakamatsu 

14 Preservation Act’’. 

15 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

16 In this Act: 

17 (1) GOLD HILL RANCH.—The term ‘‘Gold Hill 

18 Ranch’’ means the approximately 272 acres of land 

19 located in Coloma, California, as generally depicted 

20 on the map entitled ‘‘Gold Hill–Wakamatsu Site’’ 

21 and dated May 7, 2009. 

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

23 the Secretary of the Interior. 


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1 SEC. 3. GOLD HILL RANCH. 

2 (a) ACQUISITION.—The Secretary may acquire the 

3 Gold Hill Ranch, including any interest in the Gold Hill 

4 Ranch, by purchase from a willing seller with donated or 

5 appropriated funds, donation, or exchange. 

6 (b) MANAGEMENT.—The Secretary shall manage any 

7 land or interest in land acquired under subsection (a) in 

8 accordance with— 

9 (1) this Act; 

10 (2) the Federal Land Policy and Management 

11 Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.); and 

12 (3) any other applicable laws. 

13 (c) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may enter into 

15 a cooperative agreement with public or nonprofit en16 tities to interpret the history of the Wakamatsu Tea 

17 and Silk Farm Colony and related pioneer history as18 sociated with Japanese immigration to the area, in19 cluding the history of traditional Japanese crops and 

20 farming practices and the contribution of those prac21 tices to the agricultural economy of the State of Cali22 fornia. 

23 (2) INCLUSIONS.—The cooperative agreement re24 ferred to in paragraph (1) may include provisions for 

25 the design and development of a visitor center to furVerDate Mar 15 2010 04:46 Sep 28, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S1596.RS S1596

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1 ther public education and interpretation of the Gold 

2 Hill Ranch. 

3 SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

4 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as 

5 are necessary to carry out this Act. 


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Calendar No. 594 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 1596 

[Report No. 111–308] 

A BILL 

To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to 

acquire the Gold Hill Ranch in Coloma, California. 

SEPTEMBER 27, 2010 

Reported with an amendment 


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