I

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1384

To authorize an interpretive center and related visitor facilities within the

Four Corners Monument Tribal Park, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

APRIL 13, 1999

Mr. CANNON (for himself, Mr. MCINNIS, and Mr. HAYWORTH) introduced the

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Resources

A BILL

To authorize an interpretive center and related visitor facilities within the Four Corners Monument Tribal Park,

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 ‘‘Four Corners Interpre5 tive Center Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that—

8 (1) the Four Corners Monument is nationally

9 significant as the only geographic location in the

10 United States where 4 State boundaries meet;
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1 (2) the States with boundaries that meet at the

2 Four Corners area are Arizona, Colorado, New Mex3 ico, and Utah;

4 (3) between 1868 and 1875 the boundary lines

5 that created the Four Corners were drawn, and in

6 1899 a monument was erected at the site;

7 (4) a United States postal stamp will be issued

8 in 1999 to commemorate the centennial of the origi9 nal boundary marker;

10 (5) the Four Corners area is distinct in char11 acter and possesses important historical, cultural,

12 and prehistoric values and resources within the sur13 rounding cultural landscape;

14 (6) although there are no permanent facilities

15 or utilities at the Four Corners Monument Tribal

16 Park, each year the park attracts approximately

17 250,000 visitors;

18 (7) the area of the Four Corners Monument

19 Tribal Park falls entirely within the Navajo Nation

20 or Ute Mountain Ute Tribe reservations;

21 (8) the Navajo Nation and the Ute Mountain

22 Ute Tribe have entered into a Memorandum of Un23 derstanding governing the planning and future de24 velopment of the Four Corners Monument Tribal

25 Park;
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1 (9) in 1992, through agreements executed by

2 the governors of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico,

3 and Utah, the Four Corners Heritage Council was

4 established as a coalition of State, Federal, tribal,

5 and private interests;

6 (10) the State of Arizona has obligated $45,000

7 for planning efforts and $250,000 for construction

8 of an interpretive center at the Four Corners Monu9 ment Tribal Park;

10 (11) numerous studies and extensive consulta11 tion with American Indians have demonstrated that

12 development at the Four Corners Monument Tribal

13 Park would greatly benefit the people of the Navajo

14 Nation and the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe;

15 (12) the Arizona Department of Transportation

16 has completed preliminary cost estimates that are

17 based on field experience with rest-area development

18 for the construction for a Four Corners Monument

19 Interpretive Center and surrounding infrastructure,

20 including restrooms, roadways, parking, water, elec21 trical, telephone, and sewage facilities;

22 (13) an interpretive center would provide im23 portant educational and enrichment opportunities

24 for all Americans; and
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1 (14) Federal financial assistance and technical

2 expertise are needed for the construction of an inter3 pretive center.

4 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are—

5 (1) to recognize the importance of the Four

6 Corners Monument and surrounding landscape as a

7 distinct area in the heritage of the United States

8 that is worthy of interpretation and preservation;

9 (2) to assist the Navajo Nation and the Ute

10 Mountain Ute Tribe in establishing the Four Cor11 ners Interpretive Center and related facilities to

12 meet the needs of the general public;

13 (3) to highlight and showcase the collaborative

14 resource stewardship of private individuals, Indian

15 tribes, universities, federal agencies, and the govern16 ments of States and political subdivisions thereof

17 (including counties); and

18 (4) to promote knowledge of the life, art, cul19 ture, politics, and history of the culturally diverse

20 groups of the Four Corners region.

21 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

22 As used in this Act:

23 (1) CENTER.—The term ‘‘Center’’ means the

24 Four Corners Interpretive Center established under

25 section 4, including restrooms, parking areas, vendor
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1 facilities, sidewalks, utilities, exhibits, and other vis2 itor facilities.

3 (2) FOUR CORNERS HERITAGE COUNCIL.—The

4 term ‘‘Four Corners Heritage Council’’ means the

5 nonprofit coalition of Federal, State, and tribal enti6 ties established in 1992 by agreements of the Gov7 ernors of the States of Arizona, Colorado, New Mex8 ico, and Utah.

9 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means

10 the Secretary of the Interior.

11 (4) RECIPIENT.—The term ‘‘Recipient’’ means

12 the State of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, or

13 Utah, or any consortium of two or more of these

14 states.

15 (5) FOUR CORNERS MONUMENT.—The term

16 ‘‘Four Corners Monument’’ means the physical

17 monument where the boundaries of the states of Ari18 zona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah meet.

19 (6) FOUR CORNERS MONUMENT TRIBAL

20 PARK.—The term ‘‘Four Corners Monument Tribal

21 Park’’ means lands within the legally defined bound22 ary of the Four Corners Monument Tribal Park.
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1 SEC. 4. FOUR CORNERS MONUMENT INTERPRETIVE CEN2 TER.

3 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Subject to the availability of

4 appropriations, the Secretary is authorized to establish

5 within the boundaries of the Four Corners Monument

6 Tribal Park a center for the interpretation and commemo7 ration of the Four Corners Monument, to be known as

8 the ‘‘Four Corners Interpretive Center’’.

9 (b) LAND DESIGNATED AND MADE AVAILABLE.—

10 Land for the Center shall be designated and made avail11 able by the Navajo Nation or the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe

12 within the boundary of the Four Corners Monument Trib13 al Park in consultation with the Four Corners Heritage

14 Council and in accordance with—

15 (1) the memorandum of understanding between

16 the Navajo Nation and the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe

17 that was entered into on October 22, 1996; and

18 (2) applicable supplemental agreements with

19 the Bureau of Land Management, the National Park

20 Service, the United States Forest Service.

21 (c) CONCURRENCE.—Notwithstanding any other pro22 vision of this act, no such center shall be established with23 out the consent of the Navajo Nation and the Ute Moun24 tain Ute Tribe.

25 (d) COMPONENTS OF CENTER.—The Center shall

26 include—
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1 (1) a location for permanent and temporary ex2 hibits depicting the archaeological, cultural, and nat3 ural heritage of the Four Corners region;

4 (2) a venue for public education programs;

5 (3) a location to highlight the importance of ef6 forts to preserve southwestern archaeological sites

7 and museum collections;

8 (4) a location to provide information to the gen9 eral public about cultural and natural resources,

10 parks, museums, and travel in the Four Corners re11 gion; and

12 (5) visitor amenities including restrooms, public

13 telephones, and other basic facilities.

14 SEC. 5. CONSTRUCTION GRANT.

15 (a) GRANT.—The Secretary is authorized to award

16 a Federal grant to the recipient described in section 3(4)

17 for up to 50 percent of the cost to construct the Center.

18 To be eligible for the grant, the recipient shall provide as19 surances that—

20 (1) the non-Federal share of the costs of con21 struction is paid from non-Federal sources. The non22 Federal sources may include contributions made by

23 States, private sources, the Navajo Nation and the

24 Ute Mountain Ute Tribe for planning, design, con-
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1 struction, furnishing, startup, and operational ex2 penses;

3 (2) the aggregate amount of non-Federal funds

4 contributed by the States used to carry out the ac5 tivities specified in subparagraph (A) will not be less

6 than $2,000,000, of which each of the states that is

7 party to the grant will contribute equally in cash or

8 in kind;

9 (3) States may use private funds to meet the

10 requirements of paragraph (2); and

11 (4) the State of Arizona may apply $45,000 au12 thorized by the State of Arizona during fiscal year

13 1998 or fiscal year 1999 for planning and $250,000

14 that is held in reserve by that State for construction

15 towards the Arizona share.

16 (b) GRANT REQUIREMENTS.—In order to receive a

17 grant under this act, the recipient shall—

18 (1) submit to the Secretary a proposal that

19 meets all applicable—

20 (A) laws, including building codes and reg21 ulations;

22 (B) requirements under the Memorandum

23 of Understanding described in paragraph (2) of

24 this subsection; and
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1 (C) provides such information and assur2 ances as the Secretary may require;

3 (2) enter into a Memorandum of Understanding

4 (MOU) with the Secretary providing—

5 (A) a timetable for completion of construc6 tion and opening of the Center;

7 (B) assurances that design, architectural

8 and construction contracts will be competitively

9 awarded;

10 (C) specifications meeting all applicable

11 Federal, State, and local building codes and

12 laws;

13 (D) arrangements for operations and

14 maintenance upon completion of construction;

15 (E) a description of center collections and

16 educational programming;

17 (F) a plan for design of exhibits including,

18 but not limited to, collections to be exhibited,

19 security, preservation, protection, environmental

20 controls, and presentations in accordance with

21 professional museum standards;

22 (G) an agreement with the Navajo Nation

23 and the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe relative to site

24 selection and public access to the facilities; and
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1 (H) a financing plan developed jointly by

2 the Navajo Nation and the Ute Mountain Ute

3 Tribe outlining the long-term management of

4 the Center, including but not limited to—

5 (i) the acceptance and use of funds

6 derived from public and private sources to

7 minimize the use of appropriated or bor8 rowed funds;

9 (ii) the payment of the operating costs

10 of the Center through the assessment of

11 fees or other income generated by the Cen12 ter;

13 (iii) a strategy for achieving financial

14 self-sufficiency with respect to the Center

15 by not later than 5 years after the date of

16 enactment of this Act; and

17 (iv) appropriate vendor standards and

18 business activities at the Four Corners

19 Monument Tribal Park.

20 SEC. 6. SELECTION OF GRANT RECIPIENT.

21 The Secretary is authorized to award a grant in ac22 cordance with the provisions of this Act. The Four Cor23 ners Heritage Council may make recommendations to the

24 Secretary on grant proposals regarding the design of fa25 cilities at the Four Corners Monument Tribal Park.
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1 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

2 (a) AUTHORIZATION.—There are authorized to be ap3 propriated to carry out this Act—

4 (1) $2,000,000 for fiscal year 2000; and

5 (2) $50,000 for each of fiscal years 2001–2005

6 for maintenance and operation of the center, pro7 gram development, or staffing in a manner con8 sistent with the requirements of section 5(b).

9 (b) CARRYOVER.—Funds made available under this

10 section that are unexpended at the end of the fiscal year

11 for which those funds are appropriated may be used by

12 the Secretary through fiscal year 2002 for the purposes

13 for which those funds were made available.

14 (c) RESERVATION OF FUNDS.—The Secretary may

15 reserve funds appropriated to carry out this Act until a

16 proposal meeting the requirements of this Act is sub17 mitted, but no later than September 30, 2001.

18 SEC. 8. DONATIONS.

19 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, for pur20 poses of the planning, construction, and operation of the

21 Center, the Secretary may accept, retain, and expand do22 nations of funds, and use property or services donated

23 from private persons and entities or from public entities.

24 SEC. 9. STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.

25 Nothing in this Act is intended to abrogate, modify,

26 or impair any right or claim of the Navajo Nation or the
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1 Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, that is based on any law (in2 cluding any treaty, Executive order, agreement, or Act of

3 Congress).

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