S. 2485

One Hundred Sixth Congress

of the

United States of America

AT THE SECOND SESSION

Begun and held at the City of Washington on Monday,

the twenty-fourth day of January, two thousand

An Act

To direct the Secretary of the Interior to provide assistance in planning and constructing a regional heritage center in Calais, Maine.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of

the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Saint Croix Island Heritage

Act’’.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that—

(1) Saint Croix Island is located in the Saint Croix River,

a river that is the boundary between the State of Maine and

Canada;

(2) the Island is the only international historic site in

the National Park System;

(3) in 1604, French nobleman Pierre Dugua Sieur de Mons,

accompanied by a courageous group of adventurers that

included Samuel Champlain, landed on the Island and began

the construction of a settlement;

(4) the French settlement on the Island in 1604 and 1605

was the initial site of the first permanent settlement in the

New World, predating the English settlement of 1607 at Jamestown, Virginia;

(5) many people view the expedition that settled on the

Island in 1604 as the beginning of the Acadian culture in

North America;

(6) in October, 1998, the National Park Service completed

a general management plan to manage and interpret the Saint

Croix Island International Historic Site;

(7) the plan addresses a variety of management alternatives, and concludes that the best management strategy

entails developing an interpretive trail and ranger station at

Red Beach, Maine, and a regional heritage center in downtown

Calais, Maine, in cooperation with Federal, State, and local

agencies;

(8) a 1982 memorandum of understanding, signed by the

Department of the Interior and the Canadian Department for

the Environment, outlines a cooperative program to commemorate the international heritage of the Saint Croix Island site

and specifically to prepare for the 400th anniversary of the

settlement in 2004; and
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(9) only 4 years remain before the 400th anniversary of

the settlement at Saint Croix Island, an occasion that should

be appropriately commemorated.

(b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to direct the Secretary

of the Interior to take all necessary and appropriate steps to work

with Federal, State, and local agencies, historical societies, and

nonprofit organizations to facilitate the development of a regional

heritage center in downtown Calais, Maine before the 400th

anniversary of the settlement of Saint Croix Island.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

In this Act:

(1) ISLAND.—The term ‘‘Island’’ means Saint Croix Island,

located in the Saint Croix River, between Canada and the

State of Maine.

(2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary

of the Interior, acting through the Director of the National

Park Service.

SEC. 4. SAINT CROIX ISLAND REGIONAL HERITAGE CENTER.

(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall provide assistance in

planning, constructing, and operating a regional heritage center

in downtown Calais, Maine, to facilitate the management and

interpretation of the Saint Croix Island International Historic Site.

(b) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.—To carry out subsection (a),

in administering the Saint Croix Island International Historic Site,

the Secretary may enter into cooperative agreements under appropriate terms and conditions with other Federal agencies, State

and local agencies and nonprofit organizations—

(1) to provide exhibits, interpretive services (including

employing individuals to provide such services), and technical

assistance;

(2) to conduct activities that facilitate the dissemination

of information relating to the Saint Croix Island International

Historic Site;

(3) to provide financial assistance for the construction of

the regional heritage center in exchange for space in the center

that is sufficient to interpret the Saint Croix Island International Historic Site; and

(4) to assist with the operation and maintenance of the

regional heritage center.

SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

(a) DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION.—

(1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be appropriated

to carry out this Act (including the design and construction

of the regional heritage center) $2,000,000.

(2) EXPENDITURE.—Paragraph (1) authorizes funds to be

appropriated on the condition that any expenditure of those

funds shall be matched on a dollar-for-dollar basis by funds

from non-Federal sources.
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(b) OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE.—There are authorized to

be appropriated such sums as are necessary to maintain and operate

interpretive exhibits in the regional heritage center.

Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Vice President of the United States and

President of the Senate.