I 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5485 

To direct the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study to determine 

the feasibility of establishing the Columbia-Pacific National Heritage 

Area in the States of Washington and Oregon, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 25, 2006 

Mr. BAIRD (for himself and Mr. WU) introduced the following bill; which was 

referred to the Committee on Resources 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study 

to determine the feasibility of establishing the ColumbiaPacific National Heritage Area in the States of Washington and Oregon, 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 ‘‘Columbia-Pacific Na5 tional Heritage Area Study Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds that— 

8 (1) the Chinookan people have— 


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1 (A) lived in the Columbia-Pacific region for 

2 over 6,000 years; 

3 (B) developed a wealthy and vibrant cul4 ture from the abundance of the Columbia River 

5 and the sophisticated trade economy of the peo6 ple; and 

7 (C) established cultural centers in Chinook, 

8 Washington, and Seaside, Oregon; 

9 (2) early European explorers, including Heceta, 

10 Vitus Bering, Sir Francis Drake, and Captain Cook, 

11 began to explore and chart the region in search of 

12 the Great River of the West, the last remaining 

13 major land feature mapped by Europeans; 

14 (3) many people travel from around the world 

15 to the Columbia-Pacific region to— 

16 (A) experience the rich historical culture of 

17 the region; and 

18 (B) search for new business opportunities 

19 in the region; 

20 (4) in 1792 Boston-based Captain Robert Gray 

21 was the first to bring a sailing ship into the River, 

22 naming the River after his ship, the COLUMBIA 

23 REDIVIVA; 


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1 (5) Gray’s trip through the River opened up the 

2 River to trade with east coast cities, European coun3 tries, and Asian kingdoms; 

4 (6) during the 13 years before the Lewis and 

5 Clark Corps of Discovery arrived overland, more 

6 than 88 ships entered the River as part of a sophis7 ticated global trade network that became known as 

8 the ‘‘Golden Round’’, which stimulated the economy 

9 of the newly freed colonies and accelerated the devel10 opment of the international fur trade; 

11 (7) ports and communities along the River con12 tinue to support the traditional industries of fishing, 

13 seafood processing, timber harvesting, and trade; 

14 (8) in 1805 Lewis and Clark, seeking an all 

15 water route to the Pacific Ocean for commerce to ex16 pand the American claim to the Pacific Ocean, ar17 rived at the mouth of the Columbia River where the 

18 group built a fort to spend the winter; 

19 (9) the legacy of Lewis and Clark continues to 

20 be available to the public at the newly expanded 

21 units of the Lewis and Clark National Historical 

22 Park; 

23 (10) in 1811 John Jacob Astor established a 

24 permanent settlement for commerce at the mouth of 

25 the Columbia River known as ‘‘Astoria’’, which beVerDate Aug 31 2005 04:29 Jun 01, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5485.IH H5485

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1 came the first American city west of the Rocky 

2 Mountains; 

3 (11) Astoria was sold to the Hudson Bay Com4 pany and during the period from 1812 to 1828, was 

5 a British territory; 

6 (12) Astoria was ultimately returned to the 

7 United States making Astoria the only city in the 

8 United States to become the territory of another 

9 country and then revert back to the United States; 

10 (13) for several thousand years the approaches 

11 to the mouth of the River have served as the original 

12 homeland defense system as the Chinookan people 

13 established villages on headlands and promontories 

14 of the River in order to watch the traffic entering, 

15 leaving, and traveling on the River; 

16 (14) with the start of the Civil War, the native 

17 villages were replaced with forts operated by the 

18 United States Army; 

19 (15) the Army forts at Cape Disappointment, 

20 Fort Columbia, and Fort Stevens were in continuous 

21 operation through the end of World War II; 

22 (16) the United States Coast Guard maintains 

23 a large homeland security operation through Group 

24 Astoria with the Cape Disappointment Motor Life25 boat Station, Astoria Air Station, 2 cutters operVerDate Aug 31 2005 04:29 Jun 01, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5485.IH H5485

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1 ating out of Astoria, and the Tongue Point mainte2 nance yard; 

3 (17) through the United States Coast Guard 

4 operations, the River continues to serve as the guard 

5 post for the protection of international commerce of 

6 the largest river transport system on the west coast; 

7 (18) the water offshore Clatsop County, Or8 egon, and Pacific County, Washington, is known as 

9 the ‘‘Graveyard of the Pacific’’, because thousands 

10 of vessels and lives have been lost in the water, with 

11 survivors struggling ashore and seeking refuge in the 

12 historic beach communities of Cannon Beach, Sea13 side, Gearhart, Seaview, Long Beach, Ocean Park, 

14 and Oysterville; 

15 (19) shipwrecks and storm waters are still a 

16 threat to commercial and recreational boaters in the 

17 area; 

18 (20) modern navigation aids include light19 houses, lightships, and lifesaving stations; 

20 (21) the United States Coast Guard continues 

21 to operate the Cape Disappointment Lifesaving Sta22 tion and the National Motor Lifeboat School; 

23 (22) members of the United States Coast 

24 Guard from throughout the United States are sent 

25 to the ‘‘Top Gun’’ training center to— 


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1 (A) challenge some of the most dangerous 

2 waters in the world; and 

3 (B) prepare for service at stations 

4 throughout the United States; 

5 (23) the River is home to one of the most abun6 dant commercial and sport fisheries in the world; 

7 (24) for centuries, the people in the Columbia8 Pacific region have made a living from the River, in9 cluding— 

10 (A) the Chinookan people, who developed a 

11 sophisticated and vibrant culture using the re12 sources of the River; and 

13 (B) beginning in the 1840’s, American set14 tlers and European and Asian immigrants, who 

15 developed a vibrant economy around the salmon 

16 fisheries; 

17 (25) the communities of Astoria, Warrenton, 

18 Hammond, Chinook, and Ilwaco— 

19 (A) have their roots in the development of 

20 the early fishing industry; and 

21 (B) continue to support both commercial 

22 and sport fisheries that— 

23 (i) provide— 

24 (I) economic opportunities for 

25 residents; and 


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1 (II) recreational opportunities for 

2 visitors; and 

3 (ii) preserve over a century of cultural 

4 traditions; 

5 (26) commercial timber harvesting has been an 

6 important component of the culture of the River for 

7 over 150 years; 

8 (27) timber has been harvested and used in 

9 local mills or transported, primarily along the River 

10 to the Pacific Ocean; and 

11 (28) raw logs and forest products continue to 

12 be transported along the River and across the Bar 

13 to markets around the world. 

14 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

15 In this Act: 

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

17 Area’’ means the Columbia-Pacific National Herit18 age Area. 

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

20 the Secretary of the Interior. 

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

22 means— 

23 (A) the coastal areas of Clatsop and Pa24 cific Counties (also known as the North Beach 

25 Peninsula); and 


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1 (B) areas relating to Native American his2 tory, local history, Euro-American settlement 

3 culture, and related economic activities of the 

4 Columbia River within a corridor along the Co5 lumbia River eastward in Clatsop, Pacific, Co6 lumbia, and Wahkiakum Counties. 

7 SEC. 4. COLUMBIA-PACIFIC NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA 

8 STUDY. 

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

10 with the managers of any Federal land within the Herit11 age Area, appropriate State and local governmental agen12 cies, and any interested organizations, shall conduct a 

13 study to determine the feasibility of designating the study 

14 area as the Columbia-Pacific National Heritage Area. 

15 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—The study shall include anal16 ysis, documentation, and determinations on whether— 

17 (1) the study area— 

18 (A) has an assemblage of natural, historic, 

19 cultural, educational, scenic, or recreational re20 sources that together are nationally important 

21 to the heritage of the United States; 

22 (B) represent distinctive aspects of the 

23 heritage of the United States worthy of recogni24 tion, conservation, interpretation, and con25 tinuing use; 


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1 (C) are best managed through agreements 

2 between public and private entities at the local 

3 or regional level; 

4 (D) reflects traditions, customs, beliefs, 

5 and folklife that are a valuable part of the her6 itage of the United States; 

7 (E) provides outstanding opportunities to 

8 conserve natural, historical, cultural, or scenic 

9 features; 

10 (F) provides outstanding recreational and 

11 educational opportunities; and 

12 (G) has resources and traditional uses that 

13 have national importance; 

14 (2) residents, business interests, nonprofit orga15 nizations, the Federal Government (including rel16 evant Federal land management agencies), and 

17 State, local, and tribal governments within the study 

18 area— 

19 (A) are involved in the planning; and 

20 (B) have demonstrated significant support 

21 through letters and other means for designation 

22 and management of the Heritage Area; and 

23 (3) the study area has been identified and sup24 ported by the public, private business, and local and 

25 State agencies. 


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1 SEC. 5. REPORT. 

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

3 funds are made available to carry out the study, the Sec4 retary shall submit to the Committee on Energy and Nat5 ural Resources of the Senate and the Committee on Re6 sources of the House of Representatives a report that de7 scribes the findings, conclusions, and recommendations of 

8 the Secretary with respect to the study. 

9 SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

10 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Sec11 retary such sums as may be necessary to carry out this 

12 Act. 

Æ 


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