106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 2271

AN ACT

To amend the National Trails System Act to designate El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro as a

National Historic Trail.

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 2271

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,
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘El Camino Real de

3 Tierra Adentro National Historic Trail Act’’.

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

5 The Congress finds the following:

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

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

8 route between the colonial Spanish capital of Mexico

9 City and the Spanish provincial capitals at San Juan

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

11 1609) and then Santa Fe (1610–1821).

12 (2) The portion of El Camino Real de Tierra

13 Adentro that resided in what is now the United

14 States extended between El Paso, Texas and present

15 San Juan Pueblo, New Mexico, a distance of 404

16 miles;

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

18 interaction between nations and ethnic groups and

19 of the commercial exchange that made possible the

20 development and growth of the borderland;

21 (4) American Indian groups, especially the

22 Pueblo Indians of the Rio Grande, developed trails

23 for trade long before Europeans arrived;

(5) In 1598, Juan de On ̃ 24 ate led a Spanish mili25 tary expedition along those trails to establish the

26 northern portion of El Camino Real;
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1 (6) During the Mexican National Period and

2 part of the U.S. Territorial Period, El Camino Real

3 de Tierra Adentro facilitated the emigration of peo4 ple to New Mexico and other areas that would be5 come the United States;

6 (7) The exploration, conquest, colonization, set7 tlement, religious conversion, and military occupa8 tion of a large area of the borderlands was made

9 possible by this route, whose historical period ex10 tended from 1598 to 1882;

11 (8) American Indians, European emigrants,

12 miners, ranchers, soldiers, and missionaries used El

13 Camino Real during the historic development of the

14 borderlands. These travelers promoted cultural inter15 action among Spaniards, other Europeans, American

16 Indians, Mexicans, and Americans;

17 (9) El Camino Real fostered the spread of Ca18 tholicism, mining, an extensive network of com19 merce, and ethnic and cultural traditions including

20 music, folklore, medicine, foods, architecture, lan21 guage, place names, irrigation systems, and Spanish

22 law.

23 SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION AND ADMINISTRATION.

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

25 U.S.C. 1244(a)) is amended—
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1 (1) by designating the paragraphs relating to

2 the California National Historic Trail, the Pony Ex3 press National Historic Trail, and the Selma to

4 Montgomery National Historic Trail as paragraphs

5 (18), (19), and (20), respectively; and

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

7 ‘‘(21) EL CAMINO REAL DE TIERRA ADENTRO.—

8 ‘‘(A) El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro (the

9 Royal Road of the Interior) National Historic Trail,

10 a 404 mile long trail from the Rio Grande near El

11 Paso, Texas to San Juan Pueblo, New Mexico, as

12 generally depicted on the maps entitled ‘United

13 States Route: El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro’,

14 contained in the report prepared pursuant to sub15 section (b) entitled ‘National Historic Trail Feasi16 bility Study and Environmental Assessment: El Ca17 mino Real de Tierra Adentro, Texas-New Mexico’,

18 dated March 1997.

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

20 shall be on file and available for public inspection in

21 the Office of the National Park Service, Department

22 of Interior.

23 ‘‘(C) ADMINISTRATION.—The trail shall be ad24 ministered by the Secretary of the Interior.
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1 ‘‘(D) LAND ACQUISITION.—No lands or inter2 ests therein outside the exterior boundaries of any

3 federally administered area may be acquired by the

4 Federal Government for El Camino Real de Tierra

5 Adentro.

6 ‘‘(E) VOLUNTEER GROUPS; CONSULTATION.—

7 The Secretary of the Interior shall—

8 ‘‘(i) encourage volunteer trail groups to

9 participate in the development and maintenance

10 of the trail; and

11 ‘‘(ii) consult with other affected Federal,

12 State, local governmental, and tribal agencies in

13 the administration of the trail.

14 ‘‘(F) COORDINATION OF ACTIVITIES.—The Sec15 retary of the Interior may coordinate with United

16 States and Mexican public and non-governmental or17 ganizations, academic institutions, and, in consulta18 tion with the Secretary of State, the Government of

19 Mexico and its political subdivisions, for the purpose

20 of exchanging trail information and research, fos21 tering trail preservation and educational programs,

22 providing technical assistance, and working to estab23 lish an international historic trail with complemen-
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1 tary preservation and education programs in each

2 nation.’’.

Passed the House of Representatives September 18,

2000.

Attest:

Clerk.