I

105TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2039

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

OCTOBER 14, 1998

Referred to the Committee on Resources

AN ACT

To amend the National Trails System Act to designate El

Camino Real de Tierra Adentro as a National Historic Trail.

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 ‘‘El Camino Real de

5 Tierra Adentro National Historic Trail Act’’.
2

S 2039 RFH

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

2 Congress finds that—

3 (1) El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro (the

4 Royal Road of the Interior), served as the primary

5 route between the colonial Spanish capital of Mexico

6 City and the Spanish provincial capitals at San Juan

7 de Los Caballeros (1598–1600), San Gabriel (1600–

8 1609) and Santa Fe (1610–1821);

9 (2) the portion of El Camino Real in what is

10 now the United States extended between El Paso,

11 Texas, and present San Juan Pueblo, New Mexico,

12 a distance of 404 miles;

13 (3) El Camino Real is a symbol of the cultural

14 interaction between nations and ethnic groups and

15 of the commercial exchange that made possible the

16 development and growth of the borderland;

17 (4) American Indian groups, especially the

18 Pueblo Indians of the Rio Grande, developed trails

19 for trade long before Europeans arrived;

20 (5) in 1598, Juan de On ̃ate led a Spanish mili21 tary expedition along those trails to establish the

22 northern portion of El Camino Real;

23 (6) during the Mexican National Period and

24 part of the United States Territorial Period, El Ca25 mino Real facilitated the emigration of people to
3

S 2039 RFH

1 New Mexico and other areas that were to become

2 part of the United States;

3 (7) the exploration, conquest, colonization, set4 tlement, religious conversion, and military occupa5 tion of a large area of the borderland was made pos6 sible by El Camino Real, the historical period of

7 which extended from 1598 to 1882;

8 (8) American Indians, European emigrants,

9 miners, ranchers, soldiers, and missionaries used El

10 Camino Real during the historic development of the

11 borderland, promoting cultural interaction among

12 Spaniards, other Europeans, American Indians,

13 Mexicans, and Americans; and

14 (9) El Camino Real fostered the spread of Ca15 tholicism, mining, an extensive network of com16 merce, and ethnic and cultural traditions including

17 music, folklore, medicine, foods, architecture, lan18 guage, place names, irrigation systems, and Spanish

19 law.

20 SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION AND ADMINISTRATION.

21 Section 5(a) of the National Trails System Act (16

22 U.S.C. 1244(a)) is amended—

23 (1) by designating the paragraphs relating to

24 the California National Historic Trail, the Pony Ex25 press National Historic Trail, and the Selma to
4

S 2039 RFH

1 Montgomery National Historic Trail as paragraphs

2 (18), (19), and (20), respectively; and

3 (2) by adding at the end the following:

4 ‘‘(21) EL CAMINO REAL DE TIERRA

5 ADENTRO.—

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—El Camino Real de

7 Tierra Adentro (the Royal Road of the Interior)

8 National Historic Trail, a 404 mile long trail

9 from the Rio Grande near El Paso, Texas to

10 San Juan Pueblo, New Mexico, as generally de11 picted on the maps entitled ‘United States

12 Route: El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro’, con13 tained in the report prepared pursuant to sub14 section (b) entitled ‘National Historic Trail

15 Feasibility Study and Environmental Assess16 ment: El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro,

17 Texas-New Mexico’, dated March 1997.

18 ‘‘(B) MAP.—A map generally depicting the

19 trail shall be on file and available for public in20 spection in the Office of the National Park

21 Service, Department of the Interior.

22 ‘‘(C) ADMINISTRATION.—The trail shall be

23 administered by the Secretary of the Interior.

24 ‘‘(D) LAND ACQUISITION.—No land or in25 terest in land outside the exterior boundaries of
5

S 2039 RFH

1 any federally administered area may be ac2 quired by the United States for the trail except

3 with the consent of the owner of the land or in4 terest in land.

5 ‘‘(E) VOLUNTEER GROUPS; CONSULTA6 TION.—The Secretary of the Interior shall—

7 ‘‘(i) encourage volunteer trail groups

8 to participate in the development and

9 maintenance of the trail; and

10 ‘‘(ii) consult with affected Federal,

11 State, and tribal agencies in the adminis12 tration of the trail.

13 ‘‘(F) COORDINATION OF ACTIVITIES.—The

14 Secretary of the Interior may coordinate with

15 United States and Mexican public and non-gov16 ernmental organizations, academic institutions,

17 and, in consultation with the Secretary of State,

18 the government of Mexico and its political sub19 divisions, for the purpose of exchanging trail in20 formation and research, fostering trail preserva21 tion and educational programs, providing tech22 nical assistance, and working to establish an

23 international historic trail with complementary
6

S 2039 RFH

1 preservation and education programs in each

2 nation.’’.

Passed the Senate October 14 (legislative day, October 2), 1998.

Attest: GARY SISCO,

Secretary.