II 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 444 

To establish the South Park National Heritage Area in the State of Colorado, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 31, 2007 

Mr. SALAZAR introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To establish the South Park National Heritage Area in the 

State of Colorado, 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 ‘‘South Park National 

5 Heritage Area Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 

8 (1) the rich natural resources, the variety of 

9 recreational opportunities, the cultural legacy, and 

10 the unparalleled history of South Park, Colorado, 


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1 are of national importance and are deserving of rec2 ognition, conservation, interpretation, and con3 tinuing use; 

4 (2) the people of South Park respect, protect 

5 and defend the rights and desires of private property 

6 owners, and support the power and right of individ7 uals to shape their own destiny; 

8 (3) the South Park National Heritage Area 

9 builds upon existing local initiatives to spur eco10 nomic development while conserving, preserving and 

11 interpreting the resources on which the local econ12 omy depends; 

13 (4) in 1997 the Governor of Colorado des14 ignated South Park as Colorado’s second State Her15 itage Area; 

16 (5) in 2006 the President of the United States 

17 recognized and designated South Park as a Preserve 

18 America Community that protects and celebrates its 

19 heritage, uses its historic assets for economic devel20 opment and community revitalization, and encour21 ages people to experience and appreciate local his22 toric resources through education and heritage tour23 ism programs; 

24 (6) the Federal, State, and local governments, 

25 organizations, and residents of South Park broadly 


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1 support the establishment of a national heritage 

2 area to coordinate and assist in the conservation, in3 terpretation, and continuing use of the heritage re4 sources of South Park; 

5 (7) the agrarian landscape, culture, and histor6 ical resources of South Park assist citizens in experi7 encing how native peoples, early explorers, trappers, 

8 miners, ranchers, and settlers lived on the frontier 

9 of the United States; 

10 (8) the ideals of self governance and individ11 ualism of the United States gave rise to laws that— 

12 (A) were developed within the remote land13 scape of South Park; 

14 (B) were among the first legislative initia15 tives of the western settlers; and 

16 (C) reinforced the democratic traditions of 

17 the United States; 

18 (9) the average elevation of South Park exceeds 

19 9,000 feet and ranks among the highest basins in 

20 North America; 

21 (10) native peoples have inhabited the land22 scape of South Park for over 10,000 years; 

23 (11) Porcupine Cave and its wealth of animal 

24 fossils, including a now-extinct North American 

25 cheetah, is one of the most important paleontological 


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1 sites for the study of Ice Age vertebrates in the 

2 world, and contains the richest and most diverse 

3 vertebrate fauna known from the middle Pleistocene 

4 on the North American continent; 

5 (12) in addition to high summits, pristine 

6 streams, and open prairies, the unmatched landscape 

7 of the Heritage Area also contains— 

8 (A) portions of the Lost Creek Wilderness 

9 and Buffalo Peaks Wilderness Areas, featuring 

10 disappearing streams, ancient pine trees, glob11 ally rare plants, and State-endangered boreal 

12 toads; 

13 (B) the Lost Creek National Natural 

14 Landmark, characterized by stunning rock 

15 spires and pinnacles, narrow ridges, steep nar16 row gorges, and a stream that disappears and 

17 reappears at the surface at least nine times; 

18 (C) National Forest System lands that are 

19 home to the federally-threatened Penland alpine 

20 fen mustard, Canada lynx and greenback cut21 throat trout; 

22 (D) 12 State wildlife areas that protect 

23 large herds of elk, deer, pronghorn antelope; 

24 and many other species; 


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1 (E) 45 miles of ‘‘Gold Medal’’ trout water 

2 that provide world-class trout fishing opportuni3 ties; 

4 (F) nationally rare and unusual high-alti5 tude wetlands known as extreme rich fens; and 

6 (G) 4 majestic mountain peaks that stand 

7 higher than 14,000 feet above sea level; 

8 (13) the South Park National Heritage Area of9 fers outstanding recreational opportunities for hik10 ing, fishing, camping, climbing, sightseeing, hunting, 

11 wildlife viewing, and off-highway vehicle use; 

12 (14) the South Park National Heritage Area 

13 contains buildings, structures, sites, and stories that 

14 preserve and interpret the frontier heritage of the 

15 United States, including— 

16 (A) the Salt Works Ranch, Colorado Salt 

17 Works, EM Ranch, Buckley Ranch, Wahl 

18 Ranch, Jefferson Depot, Como Depot, Como 

19 Roundhouse, Como Hotel, Como School, Boreas 

20 Pass Railroad Station, Summer Saloon, South 

21 Park Brewery, Park County Courthouse, South 

22 Park Community Church, and Tarryall School, 

23 each of which is listed in the National Register 

24 of Historic Places; 


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1 (B) the Colorado Midland Railroad, the 

2 Denver, South Park & Pacific Railroad, and 

3 their associated stations, depots, and passes; 

4 (C) the Paris Mill and Snowstorm Dredge, 

5 which are among the last intact structures of 

6 their type in the United States, and are in7 cluded on Colorado’s ‘‘most endangered places’’ 

8 list; 

9 (D) the Present Help Mine which, being 

10 located at an elevation of 14,157 feet, qualifies 

11 as the highest gold mine ever to operate in the 

12 United States; and 

13 (E) the highest incorporated town (Alma), 

14 vehicular mountain pass (Mosquito), and cattle 

15 ranches in the United States; and 

16 (15) the globally-rare grassland of the valley 

17 floor of South Park, composed primarily of Arizona 

18 fescue and slimstem muhly, is the largest docu19 mented natural montane grassland community of 

20 that type. 

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

22 (1) establish the Heritage Area in the State of 

23 Colorado; 

24 (2) carry out the national heritage area alter25 native as described in the document entitled ‘‘South 


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1 Park National Heritage Area Feasibility Study, 

2 2006’’; 

3 (3) provide a management framework to foster 

4 an effective working relationship with all levels of 

5 government, not for profit organizations, the private 

6 sector, and the local communities in South Park 

7 to— 

8 (A) preserve the outstanding heritage of 

9 the region; 

10 (B) develop new heritage tourism pro11 grams, attractions and opportunities; and 

12 (C) continue to pursue the development of 

13 compatible economic opportunities and heritage 

14 products; and 

15 (4) assist communities, organizations, and citi16 zens in the State of Colorado in identifying, pre17 serving, interpreting, developing, and promoting the 

18 historical, cultural, scenic, recreational, agricultural, 

19 and natural resources of the region for the edu20 cational, inspirational, and economic benefit of cur21 rent and future generations. 

22 SEC. 3. PRIVATE PROPERTY RIGHTS PROTECTION. 

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

24 this Act— 


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1 (1) requires any private property owner to allow 

2 public access (including Federal, State, or local gov3 ernment access) to private property; or 

4 (2) modifies any provision of Federal, State, or 

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

6 private property. 

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

8 shall not impose any liability on, or have any effect on 

9 any liability under any other law on, any private property 

10 owner with respect to any person injured on the private 

11 property. 

12 (c) RECOGNITION OF AUTHORITY TO CONTROL LAND

13 USE.—Nothing in this Act modifies, enlarges, or dimin14 ishes the authority of the Federal Government or State 

15 or local governments to regulate land use. 

16 (d) VOLUNTARY PARTICIPATION OF PRIVATE PROP17 ERTY OWNERS IN HERITAGE AREA.—Nothing in this Act 

18 requires the owner of any private property located within 

19 the boundaries of the Heritage Area to participate in or 

20 be associated with the Heritage Area; participation by in21 dividual landowners is strictly on a voluntary basis only. 

22 (e) EFFECT OF ESTABLISHMENT.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—The boundaries designated 

24 for the Heritage Area shall constitute the area withVerDate Aug 31 2005 04:19 Feb 02, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S444.IS S444

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1 in which Federal funds made available to carry out 

2 this Act may be expended. 

3 (2) REGULATORY AUTHORITY.—The establish4 ment of the Heritage Area and the boundaries of the 

5 Heritage Area shall not provide any regulatory au6 thority that would not otherwise apply to govern 

7 land use within the Heritage Area or the viewshed 

8 of the Heritage Area by the Secretary, the National 

9 Park Service, the management entity, or any other 

10 governmental entity. 

11 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 

12 In this Act: 

13 (1) BOARD.—The term ‘‘Board’’ means the 

14 Board of Directors of the South Park National Her15 itage Area, comprised initially of the individuals, 

16 agencies, organizations, and governments that were 

17 involved in the planning and development of the 

18 Heritage Area before the date of enactment of this 

19 Act. 

20 (2) HERITAGE AREA.—The term ‘‘Heritage 

21 Area’’ means the South Park National Heritage 

22 Area established by section 5(a). 

23 (3) MANAGEMENT ENTITY.—The term ‘‘man24 agement entity’’ means the management entity for 

25 the Heritage Area designated by section 5(d)(1). 


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1 (4) MANAGEMENT PLAN.—The term ‘‘manage2 ment plan’’ means the management plan for the 

3 Heritage Area required by section 7. 

4 (5) MAP.—The term ‘‘map’’ means the map en5 titled ‘‘South Park National Heritage Area Map 

6 (Proposed)’’, dated January 30, 2006. 

7 (6) PARTNER.—The term ‘‘partner’’ means a 

8 Federal, State, or local governmental entity, organi9 zation, private industry, educational institution, or 

10 individual involved in the conservation, preservation, 

11 interpretation, development or promotion of heritage 

12 sites or resources of the Heritage Area. 

13 (7) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

14 the Secretary of the Interior. 

15 (8) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means the State 

16 of Colorado. 

17 (9) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The term ‘‘tech18 nical assistance’’ means any guidance, advice, help, 

19 or aid, other than financial assistance, provided by 

20 the Secretary. 

21 SEC. 5. SOUTH PARK NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA. 

22 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 

23 State the South Park National Heritage Area. 

24 (b) BOUNDARIES.—The Heritage Area shall consist 

25 of the areas included in the map. 


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1 (c) MAP.—A map of the Heritage Area shall be— 

2 (1) included in the management plan; and 

3 (2) on file and available for public inspection in 

4 the appropriate offices of the National Park Service. 

5 (d) MANAGEMENT ENTITY.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—The management entity for 

7 the Heritage Area shall be the Park County Tourism 

8 & Community Development Office, in conjunction 

9 with the South Park National Heritage Area Board 

10 of Directors. 

11 (2) MEMBERSHIP REQUIREMENTS.—Members 

12 of the Board shall include representatives from a 

13 broad cross-section of individuals, agencies, organi14 zations, and governments that were involved in the 

15 planning and development of the Heritage Area be16 fore the date of enactment of this Act. 

17 SEC. 6. ADMINISTRATION. 

18 (a) PROHIBITION ON THE ACQUISITION OF REAL

19 PROPERTY.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 

21 the management entity shall not use Federal funds 

22 made available under this Act to acquire real prop23 erty or any interest in real property. 

24 (2) ACQUISITION OF CONSERVATION EASE25 MENTS.—The management entity may use Federal 


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1 funds made available under this Act to acquire con2 servation easements from willing sellers. 

3 (b) AUTHORITIES.—For purposes of carrying out the 

4 management plan, the Secretary, acting through the man5 agement entity, may use amounts made available under 

6 this Act to— 

7 (1) make grants to the State or a political sub8 division of the State, nonprofit organizations, and 

9 other persons; 

10 (2) enter into cooperative agreements with, or 

11 provide technical assistance to, the State or a polit12 ical subdivision of the State, nonprofit organizations, 

13 and other interested parties; 

14 (3) hire and compensate staff, which shall in15 clude individuals with expertise in natural, cultural, 

16 and historical resources protection, fundraising, her17 itage facility planning and development, and heritage 

18 tourism programming; 

19 (4) obtain funds or services from any source, 

20 including funds or services that are provided under 

21 any other Federal law or program; 

22 (5) enter into contracts for goods or services; 

23 and 


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1 (6) to facilitate the conduct of other projects 

2 and activities that further the Heritage Area and are 

3 consistent with the approved management plan. 

4 (c) DUTIES.—The management entity shall— 

5 (1) in accordance with section 6, prepare and 

6 submit a management plan for the Heritage Area to 

7 the Secretary; 

8 (2) assist units of local government, local prop9 erty owners and businesses, and nonprofit organiza10 tions in carrying out the approved management plan 

11 by— 

12 (A) carrying out programs and projects 

13 that recognize, protect, enhance, and promote 

14 important resource values in the Heritage Area; 

15 (B) establishing and maintaining interpre16 tive exhibits and programs in the Heritage 

17 Area; 

18 (C) developing economic, recreational and 

19 educational opportunities in the Heritage Area; 

20 (D) increasing public awareness of, and 

21 appreciation for, historical, cultural, scenic, rec22 reational, agricultural, and natural resources of 

23 the Heritage Area; 


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1 (E) protecting and restoring historic sites 

2 and buildings in the Heritage Area that are 

3 consistent with Heritage Area themes; 

4 (F) ensuring that clear, consistent, and ap5 propriate signs identifying points of public ac6 cess, and sites of interest are posted throughout 

7 the Heritage Area; 

8 (G) promoting a wide range of partner9 ships among governments, organizations, and 

10 individuals to further the Heritage Area; and 

11 (H) planning and developing new heritage 

12 attractions, products and services. 

13 (3) consider the interests of diverse units of 

14 government, businesses, organizations, and individ15 uals in the Heritage Area in the preparation and im16 plementation of the management plan; 

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

18 semiannually regarding the development and imple19 mentation of the management plan; 

20 (5) for any year for which Federal funds have 

21 been received under this Act— 

22 (A) submit to the Secretary an annual re23 port that describes the activities, expenses, and 

24 income of the management entity (including 


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1 grants to any other entities during the year 

2 that the report is made); 

3 (B) make available to the Secretary for 

4 audit all records relating to the expenditure of 

5 the Federal funds and any matching funds; and 

6 (C) require, with respect to all agreements 

7 authorizing expenditure of Federal funds by 

8 other organizations, that the organizations re9 ceiving the funds make available to the Sec10 retary for audit all records concerning the ex11 penditure of the funds; and 

12 (6) encourage by appropriate means economic 

13 viability that is consistent with the Heritage Area. 

14 (d) COST-SHARING REQUIREMENT.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para16 graph (2), the Federal share of the cost of any activ17 ity carried out using any assistance made available 

18 under this Act shall be 50 percent. 

19 (2) EXCEPTION.—Before the date on which the 

20 management entity completes the management plan, 

21 the Federal share of the cost of any activity de22 scribed in paragraph (1) may be 100 percent. 

23 SEC. 7. MANAGEMENT PLAN. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years after the 

25 date of enactment of this Act, the management entity, 


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1 with public participation, shall submit to the Secretary for 

2 approval a proposed management plan for the Heritage 

3 Area. 

4 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—The management plan shall— 

5 (1) incorporate an integrated and cooperative 

6 approach for the protection, enhancement, interpre7 tation, development, and promotion of the historical, 

8 cultural, scenic, recreational, agricultural, and nat9 ural resources of the Heritage Area; 

10 (2) take into consideration State and local 

11 plans; 

12 (3) include— 

13 (A) an inventory of— 

14 (i) the resources located in the core 

15 area described in section 5(b); and 

16 (ii) any other eligible and partici17 pating property in the core area that— 

18 (I) is related to the themes of the 

19 Heritage Area; and 

20 (II) should be preserved, re21 stored, managed, maintained, devel22 oped, or promoted because of the sig23 nificance of the property; 

24 (B) comprehensive policies, strategies, and 

25 recommendations for conservation, funding, 


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1 management, development, and promotion of 

2 the Heritage Area; 

3 (C) a description of actions that govern4 ments, private organizations, and individuals 

5 have agreed to take to manage protect the his6 torical, cultural, scenic, recreational, agricul7 tural, and natural resources of the Heritage 

8 Area; 

9 (D) a program of implementation for the 

10 management plan by the management entity 

11 that includes a description of— 

12 (i) actions to facilitate ongoing and ef13 fective collaboration among partners to 

14 promote plans for resource protection, en15 hancement, interpretation, restoration, and 

16 construction; and 

17 (ii) specific commitments for imple18 mentation that have been made by the 

19 management entity or any government, or20 ganization, or individual for the first 5 

21 years of operation; 

22 (E) the identification of sources of funding 

23 for carrying out the management plan; 

24 (F) an analysis of and recommendations 

25 for means by which Federal, State, and local 


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1 programs, including the role of the National 

2 Park Service in the Heritage Area, may best be 

3 coordinated to carry out this Act; and 

4 (G) an interpretive plan for the Heritage 

5 Area; and 

6 (4) recommend policies and strategies for re7 source management that consider and detail the ap8 plication of appropriate land and water management 

9 techniques, including the development of intergov10 ernmental and interagency cooperative agreements 

11 to protect the historical, cultural, scenic, rec12 reational, agricultural, and natural resources of the 

13 Heritage Area. 

14 (c) DEADLINE.—If a proposed management plan is 

15 not submitted to the Secretary by the date that is 3 years 

16 after the date of enactment of this Act, the management 

17 entity shall be ineligible to receive additional funding 

18 under this Act until the date on which the Secretary re19 ceives and approves the management plan. 

20 (d) APPROVAL OR DISAPPROVAL OF MANAGEMENT

21 PLAN.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after 

23 the date of receipt of the management plan under 

24 subsection (a), the Secretary, in consultation with 


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1 the State, shall approve or disapprove the manage2 ment plan. 

3 (2) CRITERIA FOR APPROVAL.—In determining 

4 whether to approve the management plan, the Sec5 retary shall consider whether— 

6 (A) the management entity is representa7 tive of the diverse interests of the Heritage 

8 Area, including governments, natural and his9 torical resource protection organizations, edu10 cational institutions, local businesses and indus11 tries, community organizations, recreational or12 ganizations, and tourism organizations; 

13 (B) the management entity has afforded 

14 adequate opportunity, including public hearings, 

15 for public and governmental involvement in the 

16 preparation of the management plan; and 

17 (C) strategies contained in the manage18 ment plan, if implemented, would adequately 

19 balance the voluntary protection, development, 

20 and interpretation of the natural, historical, 

21 cultural, scenic, recreational, and agricultural 

22 resources of the Heritage Area. 

23 (3) ACTION FOLLOWING DISAPPROVAL.—If the 

24 Secretary disapproves the management plan under 

25 paragraph (1), the Secretary shall— 


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1 (A) advise the management entity in writ2 ing of the reasons for the disapproval; 

3 (B) make recommendations for revisions to 

4 the management plan; and 

5 (C) not later than 60 days after the receipt 

6 of any proposed revision of the management 

7 plan from the management entity, approve or 

8 disapprove the proposed revision. 

9 (4) AMENDMENTS.— 

10 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall ap11 prove or disapprove each amendment to the 

12 management plan that the Secretary determines 

13 makes a substantial change to the management 

14 plan. 

15 (B) USE OF FUNDS.—The management 

16 entity shall not use Federal funds authorized by 

17 this Act to carry out any amendments to the 

18 management plan until the Secretary has ap19 proved the amendments. 

20 SEC. 8. DUTIES OF OTHER FEDERAL AGENCIES. 

21 Any Federal agency conducting or supporting an ac22 tivity that directly affects the Heritage Area as designated 

23 by the Secretary shall— 

24 (1) consult with the Secretary and the manage25 ment entity regarding the activity; 


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1 (2) cooperate with the Secretary and the man2 agement entity in carrying out the duties of the 

3 Federal agency under this Act; 

4 (3) to the maximum extent practicable, coordi5 nate the activity with carrying out those duties; and 

6 (4) to the maximum extent practicable, conduct 

7 the activity in a manner that the management entity 

8 determines will not have an adverse effect on the 

9 Heritage Area. 

10 SEC. 9. WATER RIGHTS. 

11 Nothing in this Act— 

12 (1) authorizes the regulation of private land in 

13 the Heritage Area; 

14 (2) authorizes the imposition of any mandatory 

15 streamflow requirements; 

16 (3) creates an express or implied Federal re17 served water right; 

18 (4) imposes any Federal water quality standard 

19 within or upstream of the Heritage Area that is 

20 more restrictive than would be applicable had the 

21 Heritage Area not been established; or 

22 (5) prevents the State of Colorado from acquir23 ing an instream flow through the Heritage Area 

24 under the terms, conditions, and limitations of State 

25 law to assist in protecting the natural environment 


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1 to the extent and for the purposes authorized by 

2 State law. 

3 SEC. 10. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

4 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

5 this Act $6,110,000, of which not more than $1,000,000 

6 may be made available for any fiscal year. 

7 SEC. 11. TERMINATION OF AUTHORITY. 

8 The authority of the Secretary to provide assistance 

9 under this Act terminates on the date that is 15 years 

10 after the date on which funds are first made available to 

11 carry out this Act. 

Æ 


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