I 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5311 

To establish the Upper Housatonic Valley National Heritage Area. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 8, 2006 

Mrs. JOHNSON of Connecticut (for herself and Mr. OLVER) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Resources 

A BILL 

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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Upper Housatonic Val5 ley National Heritage Area Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) The upper Housatonic Valley, encompassing 

9 29 towns in the hilly terrain of western Massachu10 setts and northwestern Connecticut, is a singular 

11 geographical and cultural region that has made sigVerDate Aug 31 2005 22:37 May 08, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5311.IH H5311

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1 nificant national contributions through its literary, 

2 artistic, musical, and architectural achievements, its 

3 iron, paper, and electrical equipment industries, and 

4 its scenic beautification and environmental conserva5 tion efforts. 

6 (2) The upper Housatonic Valley has 139 prop7 erties and historic districts listed on the National 

8 Register of Historic Places, including— 

9 (A) five National Historic Landmarks— 

10 (i) Edith Wharton’s home, The 

11 Mount, Lenox, Massachusetts; 

12 (ii) Herman Melville’s home, Arrow13 head, Pittsfield, Massachusetts; 

14 (iii) W.E.B. DuBois’ Boyhood Home15 site, Great Barrington, Massachusetts; 

16 (iv) Mission House, Stockbridge, Mas17 sachusetts; and 

18 (v) Crane and Company Old Stone 

19 Mill Rag Room, Dalton, Massachusetts; 

20 and 

21 (B) four National Natural Landmarks— 

22 (i) Bartholomew’s Cobble, Sheffield, 

23 Massachusetts, and Salisbury, Connecticut; 

24 (ii) Beckley Bog, Norfolk, Con25 necticut; 


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1 (iii) Bingham Bog, Salisbury, Con2 necticut; and 

3 (iv) Cathedral Pines, Cornwall, Con4 necticut. 

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

6 have visited the region for more than 150 years to 

7 enjoy its scenic wonders, making it one of the coun8 try’s leading cultural resorts. 

9 (4) The upper Housatonic Valley has made sig10 nificant national cultural contributions through such 

11 writers as Herman Melville, Nathaniel Hawthorne, 

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

13 Chester French and Norman Rockwell, and the per14 forming arts centers of Tanglewood, Music Moun15 tain, Norfolk (Connecticut) Chamber Music Festival, 

16 Jacob’s Pillow, and Shakespeare & Company. 

17 (5) The upper Housatonic Valley is noted for 

18 its pioneering achievements in the iron, paper, and 

19 electrical generation industries and has cultural re20 sources to interpret those industries. 

21 (6) The region became a national leader in sce22 nic beautification and environmental conservation ef23 forts following the era of industrialization and defor24 estation and maintains a fabric of significant conVerDate Aug 31 2005 22:37 May 08, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5311.IH H5311

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1 servation areas including the meandering 

2 Housatonic River. 

3 (7) Important historical events related to the 

4 American Revolution, Shays’ Rebellion, and early 

5 civil rights took place in the upper Housatonic Val6 ley. 

7 (8) The region had an American Indian pres8 ence going back 10,000 years and Mohicans had a 

9 formative role in contact with Europeans during the 

10 seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. 

11 (9) The Upper Housatonic Valley National 

12 Heritage Area has been proposed in order to height13 en appreciation of the region, preserve its natural 

14 and historical resources, and improve the quality of 

15 life and economy of the area. 

16 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are as fol17 lows: 

18 (1) To establish the Upper Housatonic Valley 

19 National Heritage Area in the State of Connecticut 

20 and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. 

21 (2) To implement the national heritage area al22 ternative as described in the document entitled 

23 ‘‘Upper Housatonic Valley National Heritage Area 

24 Feasibility Study, 2003’’. 


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1 (3) To provide a management framework to 

2 foster a close working relationship with all levels of 

3 government, the private sector, and the local com4 munities in the upper Housatonic Valley region to 

5 conserve the region’s heritage while continuing to 

6 pursue compatible economic opportunities. 

7 (4) To assist communities, organizations, and 

8 citizens in the State of Connecticut and the Com9 monwealth of Massachusetts in identifying, pre10 serving, interpreting, and developing the historical, 

11 cultural, scenic, and natural resources of the region 

12 for the educational and inspirational benefit of cur13 rent and future generations. 

14 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

15 In this Act: 

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

17 Area’’ means the Upper Housatonic Valley National 

18 Heritage Area, established in section 4. 

19 (2) MANAGEMENT ENTITY.—The term ‘‘Man20 agement Entity’’ means the management entity for 

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

22 (3) MANAGEMENT PLAN.—The term ‘‘Manage23 ment Plan’’ means the management plan for the 

24 Heritage Area specified in section 6. 


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1 (4) MAP.—The term ‘‘map’’ means the map en2 titled ‘‘Boundary Map Upper Housatonic Valley Na3 tional Heritage Area’’, numbered P17/80,000, and 

4 dated February 2003. 

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

6 the Secretary of the Interior. 

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

8 of Connecticut and the Commonwealth of Massachu9 setts. 

10 SEC. 4. UPPER HOUSATONIC VALLEY NATIONAL HERITAGE 

11 AREA. 

12 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established the 

13 Upper Housatonic Valley National Heritage Area. 

14 (b) BOUNDARIES.—The Heritage Area shall be com15 prised of— 

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

17 which extends 60 miles from Lanesboro, Massachu18 setts to Kent, Connecticut; 

19 (2) the towns of Canaan, Colebrook, Cornwall, 

20 Kent, Norfolk, North Canaan, Salisbury, Sharon, 

21 and Warren in Connecticut; and 

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

23 Egremont, Great Barrington, Hancock, Hinsdale, 

24 Lanesboro, Lee, Lenox, Monterey, Mount Wash25 ington, New Marlboro, Pittsfield, Richmond, ShefVerDate Aug 31 2005 22:37 May 08, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5311.IH H5311

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1 field, Stockbridge, Tyringham, Washington, and 

2 West Stockbridge in Massachusetts. 

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

4 and available for public inspection in the appropriate of5 fices of the National Park Service, Department of the In6 terior. 

7 (d) MANAGEMENT ENTITY.—The Upper Housatonic 

8 Valley National Heritage Area, Inc. shall be the manage9 ment entity for the Heritage Area. 

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

11 MANAGEMENT ENTITY. 

12 (a) DUTIES OF THE MANAGEMENT ENTITY.—To fur13 ther the purposes of the Heritage Area, the management 

14 entity shall— 

15 (1) prepare and submit a management plan for 

16 the Heritage Area to the Secretary in accordance 

17 with section 6; 

18 (2) assist units of local government, regional 

19 planning organizations, and nonprofit organizations 

20 in implementing the approved management plan 

21 by— 

22 (A) carrying out programs and projects 

23 that recognize, protect and enhance important 

24 resource values within the Heritage Area; 


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1 (B) establishing and maintaining interpre2 tive exhibits and programs within the Heritage 

3 Area; 

4 (C) developing recreational and educational 

5 opportunities in the Heritage Area; 

6 (D) increasing public awareness of and ap7 preciation for natural, historical, scenic, and 

8 cultural resources of the Heritage Area; 

9 (E) protecting and restoring historic sites 

10 and buildings in the Heritage Area that are 

11 consistent with heritage area themes; 

12 (F) ensuring that signs identifying points 

13 of public access and sites of interest are posted 

14 throughout the Heritage Area; and 

15 (G) promoting a wide range of partner16 ships among governments, organizations and in17 dividuals to further the purposes of the Herit18 age Area; 

19 (3) consider the interests of diverse units of 

20 government, businesses, organizations and individ21 uals in the Heritage Area in the preparation and im22 plementation of the management plan; 

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

24 semi-annually regarding the development and imple25 mentation of the management plan; 


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1 (5) submit an annual report to the Secretary 

2 for any fiscal year in which the management entity 

3 receives Federal funds under this Act, setting forth 

4 its accomplishments, expenses, and income, includ5 ing grants to any other entities during the year for 

6 which the report is made; 

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

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

9 information pertaining to the expenditure of such 

10 funds and any matching funds, and require in all 

11 agreements authorizing expenditures of Federal 

12 funds by other organizations, that the receiving or13 ganizations make available for such audit all records 

14 and other information pertaining to the expenditure 

15 of such funds; and 

16 (7) encourage by appropriate means economic 

17 development that is consistent with the purposes of 

18 the Heritage Area. 

19 (b) AUTHORITIES.—The management entity may, for 

20 the purposes of preparing and implementing the manage21 ment plan for the Heritage Area, use Federal funds made 

22 available through this Act to— 

23 (1) make grants to the State of Connecticut 

24 and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, their poVerDate Aug 31 2005 22:37 May 08, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5311.IH H5311

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1 litical subdivisions, nonprofit organizations and other 

2 persons; 

3 (2) enter into cooperative agreements with or 

4 provide technical assistance to the State of Con5 necticut and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, 

6 their subdivisions, nonprofit organizations, and other 

7 interested parties; 

8 (3) hire and compensate staff, which shall in9 clude individuals with expertise in natural, cultural, 

10 and historical resources protection, and heritage pro11 gramming; 

12 (4) obtain money or services from any source 

13 including any that are provided under any other 

14 Federal law or program; 

15 (5) contract for goods or services; and 

16 (6) undertake to be a catalyst for any other ac17 tivity that furthers the purposes of the Heritage 

18 Area and is consistent with the approved manage19 ment plan. 

20 (c) PROHIBITIONS ON THE ACQUISITION OF REAL

21 PROPERTY.—The management entity may not use Fed22 eral funds received under this Act to acquire real property, 

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

24 Federal funding outside this authority, intended for the 

25 acquisition of real property. 


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1 SEC. 6. MANAGEMENT PLAN. 

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

3 Heritage Area shall— 

4 (1) include comprehensive policies, strategies 

5 and recommendations for conservation, funding, 

6 management and development of the Heritage Area; 

7 (2) take into consideration existing State, coun8 ty, and local plans in the development of the man9 agement plan and its implementation; 

10 (3) include a description of actions that govern11 ments, private organizations, and individuals have 

12 agreed to take to protect the natural, historical and 

13 cultural resources of the Heritage Area; 

14 (4) specify the existing and potential sources of 

15 funding to protect, manage, and develop the Herit16 age Area in the first 5 years of implementation; 

17 (5) include an inventory of the natural, histor18 ical, cultural, educational, scenic, and recreational 

19 resources of the Heritage Area related to the themes 

20 of the Heritage Area that should be preserved, re21 stored, managed, developed, or maintained; 

22 (6) describe a program of implementation for 

23 the management plan including plans for resource 

24 protection, restoration, construction, and specific 

25 commitments for implementation that have been 

26 made by the management entity or any government, 


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1 organization, or individual for the first 5 years of 

2 implementation; and 

3 (7) include an interpretive plan for the Heritage 

4 Area. 

5 (b) DEADLINE AND TERMINATION OF FUNDING.— 

6 (1) DEADLINE.—The management entity shall 

7 submit the management plan to the Secretary for 

8 approval within 3 years after funds are made avail9 able for this Act. 

10 (2) TERMINATION OF FUNDING.—If the man11 agement plan is not submitted to the Secretary in 

12 accordance with this subsection, the management en13 tity shall not qualify for Federal funding under this 

14 Act until such time as the management plan is sub15 mitted to the Secretary. 

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

17 (a) TECHNICAL AND FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.—The 

18 Secretary may, upon the request of the management enti19 ty, provide technical assistance on a reimbursable or non20 reimbursable basis and financial assistance to the Herit21 age Area to develop and implement the approved manage22 ment plan. The Secretary is authorized to enter into coop23 erative agreements with the management entity and other 

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


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1 Heritage Area, the Secretary shall give priority to actions 

2 that in general assist in— 

3 (1) conserving the significant natural, histor4 ical, cultural, and scenic resources of the Heritage 

5 Area; and 

6 (2) providing educational, interpretive, and rec7 reational opportunities consistent with the purposes 

8 of the Heritage Area. 

9 (b) APPROVAL AND DISAPPROVAL OF MANAGEMENT

10 PLAN.— 

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

12 or disapprove the management plan not later than 

13 90 days after receiving the management plan. 

14 (2) CRITERIA FOR APPROVAL.—In determining 

15 the approval of the management plan, the Secretary 

16 shall consider whether— 

17 (A) the management entity is representa18 tive of the diverse interests of the Heritage 

19 Area, including governments, natural and his20 toric resource protection organizations, edu21 cational institutions, businesses, and rec22 reational organizations; 

23 (B) the management entity has afforded 

24 adequate opportunity, including public hearings, 


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1 for public and governmental involvement in the 

2 preparation of the management plan; 

3 (C) the resource protection and interpreta4 tion strategies contained in the management 

5 plan, if implemented, would adequately protect 

6 the natural, historical, and cultural resources of 

7 the Heritage Area; and 

8 (D) the management plan is supported by 

9 the appropriate State and local officials whose 

10 cooperation is needed to ensure the effective im11 plementation of the State and local aspects of 

12 the management plan. 

13 (3) ACTION FOLLOWING DISAPPROVAL.—If the 

14 Secretary disapproves the management plan, the 

15 Secretary shall advise the management entity in 

16 writing of the reasons therefore and shall make rec17 ommendations for revisions to the management plan. 

18 The Secretary shall approve or disapprove a pro19 posed revision within 60 days after the date it is 

20 submitted. 

21 (4) APPROVAL OF AMENDMENTS.—Substantial 

22 amendments to the management plan shall be re23 viewed by the Secretary and approved in the same 

24 manner as provided for the original management 

25 plan. The management entity shall not use Federal 


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1 funds authorized by this Act to implement any 

2 amendments until the Secretary has approved the 

3 amendments. 

4 SEC. 8. DUTIES OF OTHER FEDERAL AGENCIES. 

5 Any Federal agency conducting or supporting activi6 ties directly affecting the Heritage Area shall— 

7 (1) consult with the Secretary and the manage8 ment entity with respect to such activities; 

9 (2) cooperate with the Secretary and the man10 agement entity in carrying out their duties under 

11 this Act and, to the maximum extent practicable, co12 ordinate such activities with the carrying out of such 

13 duties; and 

14 (3) to the maximum extent practicable, conduct 

15 or support such activities in a manner which the 

16 management entity determines will not have an ad17 verse effect on the Heritage Area. 

18 SEC. 9. REQUIREMENTS FOR INCLUSION OF PRIVATE 

19 PROPERTY. 

20 (a) NOTIFICATION AND CONSENT OF PROPERTY

21 OWNERS REQUIRED.—No privately owned property shall 

22 be preserved, conserved, or promoted by the management 

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

24 property has been notified in writing by the management 


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1 entity and has given written consent for such preservation, 

2 conservation, or promotion to the management entity. 

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

4 property included within the boundary of the Heritage 

5 Area shall have their property immediately removed from 

6 the boundary by submitting a written request to the man7 agement entity. 

8 SEC. 10. PRIVATE PROPERTY PROTECTION. 

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

10 this Act shall be construed to— 

11 (1) require any private property owner to allow 

12 public access (including Federal, State, or local gov13 ernment access) to such private property; or 

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

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

16 private property. 

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

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

19 any effect on any liability under any other law, of any pri20 vate property owner with respect to any persons injured 

21 on such private property. 

22 (c) RECOGNITION OF AUTHORITY TO CONTROL LAND

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

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

25 regulate land use. 


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1 (d) PARTICIPATION OF PRIVATE PROPERTY OWNERS

2 IN HERITAGE AREA.—Nothing in this Act shall be con3 strued to require the owner of any private property located 

4 within the boundaries of the Heritage Area to participate 

5 in or be associated with the Heritage Area. 

6 (e) EFFECT OF ESTABLISHMENT.—The boundaries 

7 designated for the Heritage Area represent the area within 

8 which Federal funds appropriated for the purpose of this 

9 Act may be expended. The establishment of the Heritage 

10 Area and its boundaries shall not be construed to provide 

11 any nonexisting regulatory authority on land use within 

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

13 National Park Service, or the management entity. 

14 SEC. 11. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be appro16 priated for the purposes of this Act not more than 

17 $1,000,000 for any fiscal year. Not more than a total of 

18 $10,000,000 may be appropriated for the Heritage Area 

19 under this Act. 

20 (b) MATCHING FUNDS.—Federal funding provided 

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

22 of any assistance or grant provided or authorized under 

23 this Act. 


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1 SEC. 12. SUNSET. 

2 The authority of the Secretary to provide assistance 

3 under this Act shall terminate on the day occurring 15 

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

Æ 


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