II 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 186 

To establish the South Park National Heritage Area in the State of Colorado, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 8, 2009 

Mr. SALAZAR (for himself and 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 South Park National Heritage Area in the 

State of Colorado, 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 ‘‘South Park National 

5 Heritage Area Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 

8 (1) BOARD.—The term ‘‘Board’’ means the 

9 Board of Directors of the South Park National Her10 itage Area, comprised initially of the individuals, 


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1 agencies, organizations, and governments that were 

2 involved in the planning and development of the 

3 Heritage Area before the date of enactment of this 

4 Act. 

5 (2) HERITAGE AREA.—The term ‘‘Heritage 

6 Area’’ means the South Park National Heritage 

7 Area established by section 3(a). 

8 (3) MANAGEMENT ENTITY.—The term ‘‘man9 agement entity’’ means the management entity for 

10 the Heritage Area designated by section 3(d)(1). 

11 (4) MANAGEMENT PLAN.—The term ‘‘manage12 ment plan’’ means the management plan for the 

13 Heritage Area required by section 5. 

14 (5) MAP.—The term ‘‘map’’ means the map en15 titled ‘‘South Park National Heritage Area Map 

16 (Proposed)’’, dated January 30, 2006. 

17 (6) PARTNER.—The term ‘‘partner’’ means a 

18 Federal, State, or local governmental entity, organi19 zation, private industry, educational institution, or 

20 individual involved in the conservation, preservation, 

21 interpretation, development or promotion of heritage 

22 sites or resources of the Heritage Area. 

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

24 the Secretary of the Interior. 


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1 (8) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means the State 

2 of Colorado. 

3 (9) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The term ‘‘tech4 nical assistance’’ means any guidance, advice, help, 

5 or aid, other than financial assistance, provided by 

6 the Secretary. 

7 SEC. 3. SOUTH PARK NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA. 

8 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 

9 State the South Park National Heritage Area. 

10 (b) BOUNDARIES.—The Heritage Area shall consist 

11 of the areas included in the map. 

12 (c) MAP.—A map of the Heritage Area shall be— 

13 (1) included in the management plan; and 

14 (2) on file and available for public inspection in 

15 the appropriate offices of the National Park Service. 

16 (d) MANAGEMENT ENTITY.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The management entity for 

18 the Heritage Area shall be the Park County Tourism 

19 & Community Development Office, in conjunction 

20 with the South Park National Heritage Area Board 

21 of Directors. 

22 (2) MEMBERSHIP REQUIREMENTS.—Members 

23 of the Board shall include representatives from a 

24 broad cross-section of individuals, agencies, organi25 zations, and governments that were involved in the 


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1 planning and development of the Heritage Area be2 fore the date of enactment of this Act. 

3 SEC. 4. ADMINISTRATION. 

4 (a) PROHIBITION ON THE ACQUISITION OF REAL

5 PROPERTY.—The management entity shall not use Fed6 eral funds made available under this Act to acquire real 

7 property or any interest in real property. 

8 (b) AUTHORITIES.—For purposes of carrying out the 

9 management plan, the Secretary, acting through the man10 agement entity, may use amounts made available under 

11 this Act to— 

12 (1) make grants to the State or a political sub13 division of the State, nonprofit organizations, and 

14 other persons; 

15 (2) enter into cooperative agreements with, or 

16 provide technical assistance to, the State or a polit17 ical subdivision of the State, nonprofit organizations, 

18 and other interested parties; 

19 (3) hire and compensate staff, which shall in20 clude individuals with expertise in natural, cultural, 

21 and historical resources protection, fundraising, her22 itage facility planning and development, and heritage 

23 tourism programming; 


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1 (4) obtain funds or services from any source, 

2 including funds or services that are provided under 

3 any other Federal law or program; 

4 (5) enter into contracts for goods or services; 

5 and 

6 (6) to facilitate the conduct of other projects 

7 and activities that further the Heritage Area and are 

8 consistent with the approved management plan. 

9 (c) DUTIES.—The management entity shall— 

10 (1) in accordance with section 5, prepare and 

11 submit a management plan for the Heritage Area to 

12 the Secretary; 

13 (2) assist units of local government, local prop14 erty owners and businesses, and nonprofit organiza15 tions in carrying out the approved management plan 

16 by— 

17 (A) carrying out programs and projects 

18 that recognize, protect, enhance, and promote 

19 important resource values in the Heritage Area; 

20 (B) establishing and maintaining interpre21 tive exhibits and programs in the Heritage 

22 Area; 

23 (C) developing economic, recreational and 

24 educational opportunities in the Heritage Area; 


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1 (D) increasing public awareness of, and 

2 appreciation for, historical, cultural, scenic, rec3 reational, agricultural, and natural resources of 

4 the Heritage Area; 

5 (E) protecting and restoring historic sites 

6 and buildings in the Heritage Area that are 

7 consistent with Heritage Area themes; 

8 (F) ensuring that clear, consistent, and ap9 propriate signs identifying points of public ac10 cess, and sites of interest are posted throughout 

11 the Heritage Area; 

12 (G) promoting a wide range of partner13 ships among governments, organizations, and 

14 individuals to further the Heritage Area; and 

15 (H) planning and developing new heritage 

16 attractions, products and services; 

17 (3) consider the interests of diverse units of 

18 government, businesses, organizations, and individ19 uals in the Heritage Area in the preparation and im20 plementation of the management plan; 

21 (4) conduct meetings open to the public at least 

22 semiannually regarding the development and imple23 mentation of the management plan; 

24 (5) for any year for which Federal funds have 

25 been received under this Act— 


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1 (A) submit to the Secretary an annual re2 port that describes the activities, expenses, and 

3 income of the management entity (including 

4 grants to any other entities during the year 

5 that the report is made); 

6 (B) make available to the Secretary for 

7 audit all records relating to the expenditure of 

8 the Federal funds and any matching funds; and 

9 (C) require, with respect to all agreements 

10 authorizing expenditure of Federal funds by 

11 other organizations, that the organizations re12 ceiving the funds make available to the Sec13 retary for audit all records concerning the ex14 penditure of the funds; and 

15 (6) encourage by appropriate means economic 

16 viability that is consistent with the Heritage Area. 

17 (d) COST-SHARING REQUIREMENT.—The Federal 

18 share of the cost of any activity carried out using any as19 sistance made available under this Act shall be 50 percent. 

20 SEC. 5. MANAGEMENT PLAN. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years after the 

22 date of enactment of this Act, the management entity, 

23 with public participation, shall submit to the Secretary for 

24 approval a proposed management plan for the Heritage 

25 Area. 


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1 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—The management plan shall— 

2 (1) incorporate an integrated and cooperative 

3 approach for the protection, enhancement, interpre4 tation, development, and promotion of the historical, 

5 cultural, scenic, recreational, agricultural, and nat6 ural resources of the Heritage Area; 

7 (2) take into consideration State and local 

8 plans; 

9 (3) include— 

10 (A) an inventory of— 

11 (i) the resources located within the 

12 areas included in the map; and 

13 (ii) any other eligible and partici14 pating property within the areas included 

15 in the map that— 

16 (I) is related to the themes of the 

17 Heritage Area; and 

18 (II) should be preserved, re19 stored, managed, maintained, devel20 oped, or promoted because of the sig21 nificance of the property; 

22 (B) comprehensive policies, strategies, and 

23 recommendations for conservation, funding, 

24 management, development, and promotion of 

25 the Heritage Area; 


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1 (C) a description of actions that govern2 ments, private organizations, and individuals 

3 have agreed to take to manage protect the his4 torical, cultural, scenic, recreational, agricul5 tural, and natural resources of the Heritage 

6 Area; 

7 (D) a program of implementation for the 

8 management plan by the management entity 

9 that includes a description of— 

10 (i) actions to facilitate ongoing and ef11 fective collaboration among partners to 

12 promote plans for resource protection, en13 hancement, interpretation, restoration, and 

14 construction; and 

15 (ii) specific commitments for imple16 mentation that have been made by the 

17 management entity or any government, or18 ganization, or individual for the first 5 

19 years of operation; 

20 (E) the identification of sources of funding 

21 for carrying out the management plan; 

22 (F) an analysis of and recommendations 

23 for means by which Federal, State, and local 

24 programs, including the role of the National 


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1 Park Service in the Heritage Area, may best be 

2 coordinated to carry out this Act; and 

3 (G) an interpretive plan for the Heritage 

4 Area; and 

5 (4) recommend policies and strategies for re6 source management that consider and detail the ap7 plication of appropriate land and water management 

8 techniques, including the development of intergov9 ernmental and interagency cooperative agreements 

10 to protect the historical, cultural, scenic, rec11 reational, agricultural, and natural resources of the 

12 Heritage Area. 

13 (c) DEADLINE.—If a proposed management plan is 

14 not submitted to the Secretary by the date that is 3 years 

15 after the date of enactment of this Act, the management 

16 entity shall be ineligible to receive additional funding 

17 under this Act until the date on which the Secretary re18 ceives and approves the management plan. 

19 (d) APPROVAL OR DISAPPROVAL OF MANAGEMENT

20 PLAN.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

22 after the date of receipt of the management plan 

23 under subsection (a), the Secretary, in consultation 

24 with the State, shall approve or disapprove the man25 agement plan. 


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1 (2) CRITERIA FOR APPROVAL.—In determining 

2 whether to approve the management plan, the Sec3 retary shall consider whether— 

4 (A) the management entity is representa5 tive of the diverse interests of the Heritage 

6 Area, including governments, natural and his7 torical resource protection organizations, edu8 cational institutions, local businesses and indus9 tries, community organizations, recreational or10 ganizations, and tourism organizations; 

11 (B) the management entity has afforded 

12 adequate opportunity, including public hearings, 

13 for public and governmental involvement in the 

14 preparation of the management plan; and 

15 (C) strategies contained in the manage16 ment plan, if implemented, would adequately 

17 balance the voluntary protection, development, 

18 and interpretation of the natural, historical, 

19 cultural, scenic, recreational, and agricultural 

20 resources of the Heritage Area. 

21 (3) ACTION FOLLOWING DISAPPROVAL.—If the 

22 Secretary disapproves the management plan under 

23 paragraph (1), the Secretary shall— 

24 (A) advise the management entity in writ25 ing of the reasons for the disapproval; 


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1 (B) make recommendations for revisions to 

2 the management plan; and 

3 (C) not later than 180 days after the re4 ceipt of any proposed revision of the manage5 ment plan from the management entity, ap6 prove or disapprove the proposed revision. 

7 (4) AMENDMENTS.— 

8 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall ap9 prove or disapprove each amendment to the 

10 management plan that the Secretary determines 

11 makes a substantial change to the management 

12 plan. 

13 (B) USE OF FUNDS.—The management 

14 entity shall not use Federal funds authorized by 

15 this Act to carry out any amendments to the 

16 management plan until the Secretary has ap17 proved the amendments. 

18 SEC. 6. RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER FEDERAL AGENCIES. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this Act affects the au20 thority of a Federal agency to provide technical or finan21 cial assistance under any other law. 

22 (b) CONSULTATION AND COORDINATION.—The head 

23 of any Federal agency planning to conduct activities that 

24 may have an impact on the Heritage Area is encouraged 

25 to consult and coordinate the activities with the Secretary 


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1 and the management entity to the maximum extent prac2 ticable. 

3 (c) OTHER FEDERAL AGENCIES.—Nothing in this 

4 Act— 

5 (1) modifies, alters, or amends any law or regu6 lation authorizing a Federal agency to manage Fed7 eral land under the jurisdiction of the Federal agen8 cy; 

9 (2) limits the discretion of a Federal land man10 ager to implement an approved land use plan within 

11 the boundaries of the Heritage Area; or 

12 (3) modifies, alters, or amends any authorized 

13 use of Federal land under the jurisdiction of a Fed14 eral agency. 

15 SEC. 7. PRIVATE PROPERTY AND REGULATORY PROTEC16 TIONS. 

17 Nothing in this Act— 

18 (1) abridges the rights of any property owner 

19 (whether public or private), including the right to re20 frain from participating in any plan, project, pro21 gram, or activity conducted within the Heritage 

22 Area; 

23 (2) requires any property owner to permit pub24 lic access (including access by Federal, State, or 

25 local agencies) to the property of the property 


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1 owner, or to modify public access or use of property 

2 of the property owner under any other Federal, 

3 State, or local law; 

4 (3) alters any duly adopted land use regulation, 

5 approved land use plan, or other regulatory author6 ity of any Federal, State or local agency, or conveys 

7 any land use or other regulatory authority to the 

8 management entity; 

9 (4) authorizes or implies the reservation or ap10 propriation of water or water rights; 

11 (5) diminishes the authority of the State to 

12 manage fish and wildlife, including the regulation of 

13 fishing and hunting within the Heritage Area; or 

14 (6) creates any liability, or affects any liability 

15 under any other law, of any private property owner 

16 with respect to any person injured on the private 

17 property. 

18 SEC. 8. EVALUATION; REPORT. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years before the 

20 date on which authority for Federal funding terminates 

21 for the Heritage Area, the Secretary shall— 

22 (1) conduct an evaluation of the accomplish23 ments of the Heritage Area; and 

24 (2) prepare a report in accordance with sub25 section (c). 


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1 (b) EVALUATION.—An evaluation conducted under 

2 subsection (a)(1) shall— 

3 (1) assess the progress of the management enti4 ty with respect to— 

5 (A) accomplishing the purposes of this Act 

6 for the Heritage Area; and 

7 (B) achieving the goals and objectives of 

8 the approved management plan for the Heritage 

9 Area; 

10 (2) analyze the Federal, State, local, and pri11 vate investments in the Heritage Area to determine 

12 the leverage and impact of the investments; and 

13 (3) review the management structure, partner14 ship relationships, and funding of the Heritage Area 

15 for purposes of identifying the critical components 

16 for sustainability of the Heritage Area. 

17 (c) REPORT.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Based on the evaluation con19 ducted under subsection (a)(1), the Secretary shall 

20 prepare a report that includes recommendations for 

21 the future role of the National Park Service, if any, 

22 with respect to the Heritage Area. 

23 (2) REQUIRED ANALYSIS.—If the report pre24 pared under paragraph (1) recommends that FedVerDate Nov 24 2008 21:53 Jan 11, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S186.IS S186

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1 eral funding for the Heritage Area be reauthorized, 

2 the report shall include an analysis of— 

3 (A) ways in which Federal funding for the 

4 Heritage Area may be reduced or eliminated; 

5 and 

6 (B) the appropriate time period necessary 

7 to achieve the recommended reduction or elimi8 nation. 

9 (3) SUBMISSION TO CONGRESS.—On completion 

10 of the report, the Secretary shall submit the report 

11 to— 

12 (A) the Committee on Energy and Natural 

13 Resources of the Senate; and 

14 (B) the Committee on Natural Resources 

15 of the House of Representatives. 

16 SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

17 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

18 this Act $10,000,000, of which not more than $1,000,000 

19 may be made available for any fiscal year. 

20 SEC. 10. TERMINATION OF AUTHORITY. 

21 The authority of the Secretary to provide assistance 

22 under this Act terminates on the date that is 15 years 

23 after the date of enactment of this Act. 

Æ 


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