I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 825 

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

the suitability and feasibility of designating certain land as the Finger 

Lakes National Heritage Area, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 28, 2019 

Mr. REED (for himself, Mr. HIGGINS of New York, Mr. TONKO, Mr. COLLINS

of New York, Mr. MORELLE, and Ms. STEFANIK) 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 Finger Lakes 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 ‘‘Finger Lakes National 

5 Heritage Area Study Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 


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

2 Area’’ means the Finger Lakes National Heritage 

3 Area. 

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

9 means— 

10 (A) the counties in the State of Cayuga, 

11 Chemung, Cortland, Livingston, Monroe, Onon12 daga, Ontario, Schuyler, Seneca, Steuben, 

13 Tioga, Tompkins, Wayne, and Yates; and 

14 (B) any other areas in the State that— 

15 (i) have heritage aspects that are 

16 similar to the areas described in subpara17 graph (A); and 

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

19 of, those areas. 

20 SEC. 3. STUDY. 

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

22 with State and local historic preservation officers, State 

23 and local historical societies, State and local tourism of24 fices, and other appropriate organizations and govern25 mental agencies, shall conduct a study to assess the suitVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:13 Feb 05, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H825.IH H825

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1 ability and feasibility of designating the study area as a 

2 National Heritage Area, to be known as the ‘‘Finger 

3 Lakes National Heritage Area’’. 

4 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—The study shall include anal5 ysis, documentation, and determinations on whether the 

6 study area— 

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

8 cultural resources that— 

9 (A) represent distinctive aspects of the her10 itage of the United States; 

11 (B) are worthy of recognition, conserva12 tion, interpretation, and continuing use; and 

13 (C) would be best managed— 

14 (i) through partnerships among public 

15 and private entities; and 

16 (ii) by linking diverse and sometimes 

17 noncontiguous resources and active com18 munities; 

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

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

21 United States; 

22 (3) provides outstanding opportunities— 

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

24 or scenic features; and 

25 (B) for recreation and education; 


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1 (4) contains resources that— 

2 (A) are important to any identified themes 

3 of the study area; and 

4 (B) retain a degree of integrity capable of 

5 supporting interpretation; 

6 (5) includes residents, business interests, non7 profit organizations, and State and local govern8 ments that— 

9 (A) are involved in the planning of the 

10 Heritage Area; 

11 (B) have developed a conceptual financial 

12 plan that outlines the roles of all participants in 

13 the Heritage Area, including the Federal Gov14 ernment; and 

15 (C) have demonstrated support for the des16 ignation of the Heritage Area; 

17 (6) has a potential management entity to work 

18 in partnership with the individuals and entities de19 scribed in paragraph (5) to develop the Heritage 

20 Area while encouraging State and local economic ac21 tivity; 

22 (7) could impact the rights of private property 

23 owners with respect to their private property; and 

24 (8) has a conceptual boundary map that is sup25 ported by the public. 


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1 SEC. 4. REPORT. 

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

3 are first made available to carry out this Act, the Sec4 retary shall submit to the Committee on Natural Re5 sources of the House of Representatives and the Com6 mittee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate 

7 a report that describes— 

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

9 and 

10 (2) any conclusions and recommendations of the 

11 Secretary. 

Æ 


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