109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5311

AN ACT

To establish the Upper Housatonic Valley National Heritage 

Area.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Upper Housatonic Val3 ley National Heritage Area Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 

5 (a) Findings.—Congress finds the following: 

6 (1) The upper Housatonic Valley, encompassing 

7 29 towns in the hilly terrain of western Massachu8 setts and northwestern Connecticut, is a singular 

9 geographical and cultural region that has made sig10 nificant national contributions through its literary, 

11 artistic, musical, and architectural achievements, its 

12 iron, paper, and electrical equipment industries, and 

13 its scenic beautification and environmental conserva14 tion efforts. 

15 (2) The upper Housatonic Valley has 139 prop16 erties and historic districts listed on the National 

17 Register of Historic Places, including—

18 (A) five National Historic Landmarks—

19 (i) Edith Wharton’s home, The 

20 Mount, Lenox, Massachusetts; 

21 (ii) Herman Melville’s home, Arrow22 head, Pittsfield, Massachusetts; 

23 (iii) W.E.B. DuBois’ Boyhood Home24 site, Great Barrington, Massachusetts; 

25 (iv) Mission House, Stockbridge, Mas26 sachusetts; and 
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1 (v) Crane and Company Old Stone 

2 Mill Rag Room, Dalton, Massachusetts; 

3 and 

4 (B) four National Natural Landmarks—

5 (i) Bartholomew’s Cobble, Sheffield, 

6 Massachusetts, and Salisbury, Connecticut; 

7 (ii) Beckley Bog, Norfolk, Con8 necticut; 

9 (iii) Bingham Bog, Salisbury, Con10 necticut; and 

11 (iv) Cathedral Pines, Cornwall, Con12 necticut. 

13 (3) Writers, artists, musicians, and vacationers 

14 have visited the region for more than 150 years to 

15 enjoy its scenic wonders, making it one of the coun16 try’s leading cultural resorts. 

17 (4) The upper Housatonic Valley has made sig18 nificant national cultural contributions through such 

19 writers as Herman Melville, Nathaniel Hawthorne, 

20 Edith Wharton, and W.E.B. DuBois, artists Daniel 

21 Chester French and Norman Rockwell, and the per22 forming arts centers of Tanglewood, Music Moun23 tain, Norfolk (Connecticut) Chamber Music Festival, 

24 Jacob’s Pillow, and Shakespeare & Company. 
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1 (5) The upper Housatonic Valley is noted for 

2 its pioneering achievements in the iron, paper, and 

3 electrical generation industries and has cultural re4 sources to interpret those industries. 

5 (6) The region became a national leader in sce6 nic beautification and environmental conservation ef7 forts following the era of industrialization and defor8 estation and maintains a fabric of significant con9 servation areas including the meandering 

10 Housatonic River. 

11 (7) Important historical events related to the 

12 American Revolution, Shays’ Rebellion, and early 

13 civil rights took place in the upper Housatonic Val14 ley. 

15 (8) The region had an American Indian pres16 ence going back 10,000 years and Mohicans had a 

17 formative role in contact with Europeans during the 

18 seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. 

19 (9) The Upper Housatonic Valley National 

20 Heritage Area has been proposed in order to height21 en appreciation of the region, preserve its natural 

22 and historical resources, and improve the quality of 

23 life and economy of the area. 

24 (b) Purposes.—The purposes of this Act are as fol25 lows: 
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1 (1) To establish the Upper Housatonic Valley 

2 National Heritage Area in the State of Connecticut 

3 and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. 

4 (2) To implement the national heritage area al5 ternative as described in the document entitled 

6 ‘‘Upper Housatonic Valley National Heritage Area 

7 Feasibility Study, 2003’’. 

8 (3) To provide a management framework to 

9 foster a close working relationship with all levels of 

10 government, the private sector, and the local com11 munities in the upper Housatonic Valley region to 

12 conserve the region’s heritage while continuing to 

13 pursue compatible economic opportunities. 

14 (4) To assist communities, organizations, and 

15 citizens in the State of Connecticut and the Com16 monwealth of Massachusetts in identifying, pre17 serving, interpreting, and developing the historical, 

18 cultural, scenic, and natural resources of the region 

19 for the educational and inspirational benefit of cur20 rent and future generations. 

21 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

22 In this Act: 

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

24 Area’’ means the Upper Housatonic Valley National 

25 Heritage Area, established in section 4. 
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1 (2) MANAGEMENT ENTITY.—The term ‘‘Man2 agement Entity’’ means the management entity for 

3 the Heritage Area designated by section 4(d). 

4 (3) MANAGEMENT PLAN.—The term ‘‘Manage5 ment Plan’’ means the management plan for the 

6 Heritage Area specified in section 6. 

7 (4) MAP.—The term ‘‘map’’ means the map en8 titled ‘‘Boundary Map Upper Housatonic Valley Na9 tional Heritage Area’’, numbered P17/80,000, and 

10 dated February 2003. 

11 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

12 the Secretary of the Interior. 

13 (6) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means the State 

14 of Connecticut and the Commonwealth of Massachu15 setts. 

16 SEC. 4. UPPER HOUSATONIC VALLEY NATIONAL HERITAGE 

17 AREA. 

18 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established the 

19 Upper Housatonic Valley National Heritage Area. 

20 (b) BOUNDARIES.—The Heritage Area shall be com21 prised of—

22 (1) part of the Housatonic River’s watershed, 

23 which extends 60 miles from Lanesboro, Massachu24 setts to Kent, Connecticut; 
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1 (2) the towns of Canaan, Colebrook, Cornwall, 

2 Kent, Norfolk, North Canaan, Salisbury, Sharon, 

3 and Warren in Connecticut; and 

4 (3) the towns of Alford, Becket, Dalton, 

5 Egremont, Great Barrington, Hancock, Hinsdale, 

6 Lanesboro, Lee, Lenox, Monterey, Mount Wash7 ington, New Marlboro, Pittsfield, Richmond, Shef8 field, Stockbridge, Tyringham, Washington, and 

9 West Stockbridge in Massachusetts. 

10 (c) AVAILABILITY OF MAP.—The map shall be on file 

11 and available for public inspection in the appropriate of12 fices of the National Park Service, Department of the In13 terior. 

14 (d) MANAGEMENT ENTITY.—The Upper Housatonic 

15 Valley National Heritage Area, Inc. shall be the manage16 ment entity for the Heritage Area. 

17 SEC. 5. AUTHORITIES, PROHIBITIONS, AND DUTIES OF THE 

18 MANAGEMENT ENTITY. 

19 (a) DUTIES OF THE MANAGEMENT ENTITY.—To fur20 ther the purposes of the Heritage Area, the management 

21 entity shall—

22 (1) prepare and submit a management plan for 

23 the Heritage Area to the Secretary in accordance 

24 with section 6; 
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1 (2) assist units of local government, regional 

2 planning organizations, and nonprofit organizations 

3 in implementing the approved management plan 

4 by—

5 (A) carrying out programs and projects 

6 that recognize, protect and enhance important 

7 resource values within the Heritage Area; 

8 (B) establishing and maintaining interpre9 tive exhibits and programs within the Heritage 

10 Area; 

11 (C) developing recreational and educational 

12 opportunities in the Heritage Area; 

13 (D) increasing public awareness of and ap14 preciation for natural, historical, scenic, and 

15 cultural resources of the Heritage Area; 

16 (E) protecting and restoring historic sites 

17 and buildings in the Heritage Area that are 

18 consistent with heritage area themes; 

19 (F) ensuring that signs identifying points 

20 of public access and sites of interest are posted 

21 throughout the Heritage Area; and 

22 (G) promoting a wide range of partner23 ships among governments, organizations and in24 dividuals to further the purposes of the Herit25 age Area; 
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1 (3) consider the interests of diverse units of 

2 government, businesses, organizations and individ3 uals in the Heritage Area in the preparation and im4 plementation of the management plan; 

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

6 semi-annually regarding the development and imple7 mentation of the management plan; 

8 (5) submit an annual report to the Secretary 

9 for any fiscal year in which the management entity 

10 receives Federal funds under this Act, setting forth 

11 its accomplishments, expenses, and income, includ12 ing grants to any other entities during the year for 

13 which the report is made; 

14 (6) make available for audit for any fiscal year 

15 in which it receives Federal funds under this Act, all 

16 information pertaining to the expenditure of such 

17 funds and any matching funds, and require in all 

18 agreements authorizing expenditures of Federal 

19 funds by other organizations, that the receiving or20 ganizations make available for such audit all records 

21 and other information pertaining to the expenditure 

22 of such funds; and 

23 (7) encourage by appropriate means economic 

24 development that is consistent with the purposes of 

25 the Heritage Area. 
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1 (b) AUTHORITIES.—The management entity may, for 

2 the purposes of preparing and implementing the manage3 ment plan for the Heritage Area, use Federal funds made 

4 available through this Act to—

5 (1) make grants to the State of Connecticut 

6 and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, their po7 litical subdivisions, nonprofit organizations and other 

8 persons; 

9 (2) enter into cooperative agreements with or 

10 provide technical assistance to the State of Con11 necticut and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, 

12 their subdivisions, nonprofit organizations, and other 

13 interested parties; 

14 (3) hire and compensate staff, which shall in15 clude individuals with expertise in natural, cultural, 

16 and historical resources protection, and heritage pro17 gramming; 

18 (4) obtain money or services from any source 

19 including any that are provided under any other 

20 Federal law or program; 

21 (5) contract for goods or services; and 

22 (6) undertake to be a catalyst for any other ac23 tivity that furthers the purposes of the Heritage 

24 Area and is consistent with the approved manage25 ment plan. 
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1 (c) PROHIBITIONS ON THE ACQUISITION OF REAL

2 PROPERTY.—The management entity may not use Fed3 eral funds received under this Act to acquire real property, 

4 but may use any other source of funding, including other 

5 Federal funding outside this authority, intended for the 

6 acquisition of real property. 

7 SEC. 6. MANAGEMENT PLAN. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—The management plan for the 

9 Heritage Area shall—

10 (1) include comprehensive policies, strategies 

11 and recommendations for conservation, funding, 

12 management and development of the Heritage Area; 

13 (2) take into consideration existing State, coun14 ty, and local plans in the development of the man15 agement plan and its implementation; 

16 (3) include a description of actions that govern17 ments, private organizations, and individuals have 

18 agreed to take to protect the natural, historical and 

19 cultural resources of the Heritage Area; 

20 (4) specify the existing and potential sources of 

21 funding to protect, manage, and develop the Herit22 age Area in the first 5 years of implementation; 

23 (5) include an inventory of the natural, histor24 ical, cultural, educational, scenic, and recreational 

25 resources of the Heritage Area related to the themes 
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1 of the Heritage Area that should be preserved, re2 stored, managed, developed, or maintained; 

3 (6) describe a program of implementation for 

4 the management plan including plans for resource 

5 protection, restoration, construction, and specific 

6 commitments for implementation that have been 

7 made by the management entity or any government, 

8 organization, or individual for the first 5 years of 

9 implementation; and 

10 (7) include an interpretive plan for the Heritage 

11 Area. 

12 (b) DEADLINE AND TERMINATION OF FUNDING.—

13 (1) DEADLINE.—The management entity shall 

14 submit the management plan to the Secretary for 

15 approval within 3 years after funds are made avail16 able for this Act. 

17 (2) TERMINATION OF FUNDING.—If the man18 agement plan is not submitted to the Secretary in 

19 accordance with this subsection, the management en20 tity shall not qualify for Federal funding under this 

21 Act until such time as the management plan is sub22 mitted to the Secretary. 

23 SEC. 7. DUTIES AND AUTHORITIES OF THE SECRETARY. 

24 (a) TECHNICAL AND FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.—The 

25 Secretary may, upon the request of the management enti-
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1 ty, provide technical assistance on a reimbursable or non2 reimbursable basis and financial assistance to the Herit3 age Area to develop and implement the approved manage4 ment plan. The Secretary is authorized to enter into coop5 erative agreements with the management entity and other 

6 public or private entities for this purpose. In assisting the 

7 Heritage Area, the Secretary shall give priority to actions 

8 that in general assist in—

9 (1) conserving the significant natural, histor10 ical, cultural, and scenic resources of the Heritage 

11 Area; and 

12 (2) providing educational, interpretive, and rec13 reational opportunities consistent with the purposes 

14 of the Heritage Area. 

15 (b) APPROVAL AND DISAPPROVAL OF MANAGEMENT

16 PLAN.—

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall approve 

18 or disapprove the management plan not later than 

19 90 days after receiving the management plan. 

20 (2) CRITERIA FOR APPROVAL.—In determining 

21 the approval of the management plan, the Secretary 

22 shall consider whether—

23 (A) the management entity is representa24 tive of the diverse interests of the Heritage 

25 Area, including governments, natural and his-
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1 toric resource protection organizations, edu2 cational institutions, businesses, and rec3 reational organizations; 

4 (B) the management entity has afforded 

5 adequate opportunity, including public hearings, 

6 for public and governmental involvement in the 

7 preparation of the management plan; 

8 (C) the resource protection and interpreta9 tion strategies contained in the management 

10 plan, if implemented, would adequately protect 

11 the natural, historical, and cultural resources of 

12 the Heritage Area; and 

13 (D) the management plan is supported by 

14 the appropriate State and local officials whose 

15 cooperation is needed to ensure the effective im16 plementation of the State and local aspects of 

17 the management plan. 

18 (3) ACTION FOLLOWING DISAPPROVAL.—If the 

19 Secretary disapproves the management plan, the 

20 Secretary shall advise the management entity in 

21 writing of the reasons therefore and shall make rec22 ommendations for revisions to the management plan. 

23 The Secretary shall approve or disapprove a pro24 posed revision within 60 days after the date it is 

25 submitted. 
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1 (4) APPROVAL OF AMENDMENTS.—Substantial 

2 amendments to the management plan shall be re3 viewed by the Secretary and approved in the same 

4 manner as provided for the original management 

5 plan. The management entity shall not use Federal 

6 funds authorized by this Act to implement any 

7 amendments until the Secretary has approved the 

8 amendments. 

9 SEC. 8. DUTIES OF OTHER FEDERAL AGENCIES. 

10 Any Federal agency conducting or supporting activi11 ties directly affecting the Heritage Area shall—

12 (1) consult with the Secretary and the manage13 ment entity with respect to such activities; 

14 (2) cooperate with the Secretary and the man15 agement entity in carrying out their duties under 

16 this Act and, to the maximum extent practicable, co17 ordinate such activities with the carrying out of such 

18 duties; and 

19 (3) to the maximum extent practicable, conduct 

20 or support such activities in a manner which the 

21 management entity determines will not have an ad22 verse effect on the Heritage Area. 
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1 SEC. 9. REQUIREMENTS FOR INCLUSION OF PRIVATE 

2 PROPERTY. 

3 (a) NOTIFICATION AND CONSENT OF PROPERTY

4 OWNERS REQUIRED.—No privately owned property shall 

5 be preserved, conserved, or promoted by the management 

6 plan for the Heritage Area until the owner of that private 

7 property has been notified in writing by the management 

8 entity and has given written consent for such preservation, 

9 conservation, or promotion to the management entity. 

10 (b) LANDOWNER WITHDRAW.—Any owner of private 

11 property included within the boundary of the Heritage 

12 Area shall have their property immediately removed from 

13 the boundary by submitting a written request to the man14 agement entity. 

15 SEC. 10. PRIVATE PROPERTY PROTECTION. 

16 (a) ACCESS TO PRIVATE PROPERTY.—Nothing in 

17 this Act shall be construed to—

18 (1) require any private property owner to allow 

19 public access (including Federal, State, or local gov20 ernment access) to such private property; or 

21 (2) modify any provision of Federal, State, or 

22 local law with regard to public access to or use of 

23 private property. 

24 (b) LIABILITY.—Designation of the Heritage Area 

25 shall not be considered to create any liability, or to have 

26 any effect on any liability under any other law, of any pri-
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1 vate property owner with respect to any persons injured 

2 on such private property. 

3 (c) RECOGNITION OF AUTHORITY TO CONTROL LAND

4 USE.—Nothing in this Act shall be construed to modify 

5 the authority of Federal, State, or local governments to 

6 regulate land use. 

7 (d) PARTICIPATION OF PRIVATE PROPERTY OWNERS

8 IN HERITAGE AREA.—Nothing in this Act shall be con9 strued to require the owner of any private property located 

10 within the boundaries of the Heritage Area to participate 

11 in or be associated with the Heritage Area. 

12 (e) EFFECT OF ESTABLISHMENT.—The boundaries 

13 designated for the Heritage Area represent the area within 

14 which Federal funds appropriated for the purpose of this 

15 Act may be expended. The establishment of the Heritage 

16 Area and its boundaries shall not be construed to provide 

17 any nonexisting regulatory authority on land use within 

18 the Heritage Area or its viewshed by the Secretary, the 

19 National Park Service, or the management entity. 

20 SEC. 11. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be appro22 priated for the purposes of this Act not more than 

23 $1,000,000 for any fiscal year. Not more than a total of 

24 $10,000,000 may be appropriated for the Heritage Area 

25 under this Act. 
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1 (b) MATCHING FUNDS.—Federal funding provided 

2 under this Act may not exceed 50 percent of the total cost 

3 of any assistance or grant provided or authorized under 

4 this Act. 

5 SEC. 12. SUNSET. 

6 The authority of the Secretary to provide assistance 

7 under this Act shall terminate on the day occurring 15 

8 years after the date of the enactment of this Act.

Passed the House of Representatives May 9, 2006. 

Attest:

Clerk. 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5311

AN ACT

To establish the Upper Housatonic Valley National 

Heritage Area.