I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1154 

To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study to assess 

the suitability and feasibility of designating certain land as the Great 

Dismal Swamp National Heritage Area, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 18, 2021 

Mr. MCEACHIN (for himself, Mr. BUTTERFIELD, Mrs. LURIA, and Mr. SCOTT

of Virginia) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a 

study to assess the suitability and feasibility of designating certain land as the Great Dismal Swamp National 

Heritage Area, 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 ‘‘Great Dismal Swamp 

5 National Heritage Area Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 


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1 (1) HERITAGE AREA.—The term ‘‘Heritage 

2 Area’’ means the Great Dismal Swamp National 

3 Heritage Area. 

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

5 the Secretary of the Interior. 

6 (3) STATES.—The term ‘‘States’’ means the 

7 States of Virginia and North Carolina. 

8 (4) STUDY AREA.—The term ‘‘study area’’ 

9 means— 

10 (A) the cities of Chesapeake, Norfolk, 

11 Portsmouth, and Suffolk in the State of Vir12 ginia; 

13 (B) Isle of Wight County in the State of 

14 Virginia; 

15 (C) Camden, Currituck, Gates, and 

16 Pasquotank counties in the State of North 

17 Carolina; and 

18 (D) any other areas in the States that— 

19 (i) have heritage aspects that are 

20 similar to the areas described in subpara21 graphs (A), (B), or (C); and 

22 (ii) are adjacent to, or in the vicinity 

23 of, those areas. 


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1 SEC. 3. STUDY. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consultation 

3 with State and local organizations and governmental agen4 cies, Tribal governments, non-profit organizations, and 

5 other appropriate entities, shall conduct a study to assess 

6 the suitability and feasibility of designating the study area 

7 as a National Heritage Area, to be known as the ‘‘Great 

8 Dismal Swamp National Heritage Area’’. 

9 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—The study shall include anal10 ysis, documentation, and determinations on whether the 

11 study area— 

12 (1) has an assemblage of natural, historic, and 

13 cultural resources that— 

14 (A) represent distinctive aspects of the 

15 people and cultures of the United States; 

16 (B) are worthy of recognition, conserva17 tion, interpretation, and continuing use; and 

18 (C) would be best managed— 

19 (i) through partnerships among public 

20 and private entities; and 

21 (ii) by linking diverse and sometimes 

22 noncontiguous resources and active com23 munities; 

24 (2) reflects traditions, customs, beliefs, and 

25 folklife that are a valuable part of the story of the 

26 United States; 


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1 (3) provides outstanding opportunities— 

2 (A) to conserve natural, historic, cultural, 

3 or scenic features; and 

4 (B) for recreation and education; 

5 (4) contains resources that— 

6 (A) are important to any identified themes 

7 of the study area; and 

8 (B) retain a degree of integrity capable of 

9 supporting interpretation; 

10 (5) includes residents, business interests, non11 profit organizations, and State, local, and Tribal 

12 governments, and other appropriate entities that— 

13 (A) are involved in the planning of the 

14 Heritage Area; 

15 (B) have developed a conceptual financial 

16 plan that outlines the roles of all participants in 

17 the Heritage Area, including the Federal Gov18 ernment; and 

19 (C) have demonstrated support for the des20 ignation of the Heritage Area; 

21 (6) has a potential management entity to work 

22 in partnership with the individuals and entities de23 scribed in paragraph (5) to develop the Heritage 

24 Area while encouraging State and local economic ac25 tivity; and 


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1 (7) has a conceptual boundary map that is sup2 ported by the public. 

3 SEC. 4. REPORT. 

4 Not later than 3 years after the date on which funds 

5 are first made available to carry out this Act, the Sec6 retary shall submit to the Committee on Natural Re7 sources of the House of Representatives and the Com8 mittee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate 

9 a report that describes— 

10 (1) the findings of the study under section 3; 

11 and 

12 (2) any conclusions and recommendations of the 

13 Secretary. 

Æ 


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