II

Calendar No. 667

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2511

[Report No. 106–333]

To establish the Kenai Mountains-Turnagain Arm National Heritage Area

in the State of Alaska, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

MAY 4, 2000

Mr. MURKOWSKI (for himself and Mr. STEVENS) introduced the following bill;

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

JULY 10, 2000

Reported by Mr. MURKOWSKI, with amendments

[Omit the part struck through and insert the part printed in italic]

A BILL

To establish the Kenai Mountains-Turnagain Arm National

Heritage Area in the State of Alaska, 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,
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Kenai Mountains3 Turnagain Arm National Heritage Corridor Area Act of

4 2000’’.

5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

6 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that—

7 (1) the Kenai Mountains-Turnagain Arm trans8 portation corridor is a major gateway to Alaska and

9 includes a range of transportation routes used first

10 by indigenous people who were followed by pioneers

11 who settled the Nation’s last frontier;

12 (2) the natural history and scenic splendor of

13 the region are equally outstanding; vistas of nature’s

14 power include evidence of earthquake subsidence, re15 cent avalanches, retreating glaciers, and tidal action

16 along Turnagain Arm, which has the world’s second

17 greatest tidal range;

18 (3) the cultural landscape formed by indigenous

19 people and then by settlement, transportation, and

20 modern resource development in this rugged and

21 often treacherous natural setting stands as powerful

22 testimony to the human fortitude, perseverance, and

23 resourcefulness that is America’s proudest heritage

24 from the people who settled the frontier;
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1 (4) there is a national interest in recognizing,

2 preserving, promoting, and interpreting these re3 sources;

4 (5) the Kenai Mountains-Turnagain Arm region

5 is geographically and culturally cohesive because it is

6 defined by a corridor of historical routes-trail, water,

7 railroad, and roadways through a distinct landscape

8 of mountains, lakes, and fjords;

9 (6) national significance of separate elements of

10 the region include, but are not limited to, the

11 Iditarod National Historic Trail, the Seward High12 way National Scenic Byway, and the Alaska Rail13 road National Scenic Railroad;

14 (7) national heritage area designation provides

15 for the interpretation of these routes, as well as the

16 national historic districts and numerous historic

17 routes in the region as part of the whole picture of

18 human history in the wider transportation corridor

19 including early Native trade routes, connections by

20 waterway, mining trail, and other routes;

21 (8) national heritage area designation also pro22 vides communities within the region with the motiva23 tion and means for ‘‘grassroots’’ regional coordina24 tion and partnerships with each other and with bor25 ough, State, and Federal agencies; and
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1 (9) resolution and letters of support have been

2 received from national heritage area designation is

3 supported by the Kenai Peninsula Historical Associa4 tion, the Seward Historical Commission, the Seward

5 City Council, the Hope and Sunrise Historical Soci6 ety, the Hope Chamber of Commerce, the Alaska

7 Association for Historic Preservation, the Cooper

8 Landing Community Club, the Alaska Wilderness

9 Recreation and Tourism Association, Anchorage

10 Historic Properties, the Anchorage Convention and

11 Visitors Bureau, the Cook Inlet Historical Society,

12 the Moose Pass Sportsman’s Club, the Alaska His13 torical Commission, the Gridwood Board of Super14 visors, the Kenai River Special Management Area

15 Advisory Board, the Bird/Indian Community Coun16 cil, the Kenai Peninsula Borough Trails Commis17 sion, the Alaska Division of Parks and Recreation,

18 the Kenai Peninsula Borough, the Kenai Peninsula

19 Tourism Marketing Council, and the Anchorage Mu20 nicipal Assembly.

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

22 (1) to recognize, preserve, and interpret the his23 toric and modern resource development and cultural

24 landscapes of the Kenai Mountains-Turnagain Arm

25 historic transportation corridor, and to promote and
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1 facilitate the public enjoyment of these resources;

2 and

3 (2) to foster, through financial and technical

4 assistance, the development of cooperative planning

5 and partnerships among the communities and bor6 ough, State, and Federal Government entities.

7 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

8 In this Act:

9 (1) HERITAGE AREA.—The term ‘‘Heritage

10 Area’’ means the Kenai Mountains-Turnagain Arm

11 National Heritage Area establish established by sec12 tion 4(a) of this Act.

13 (2) MANAGEMENT ENTITY.—The term ‘‘man14 agement entity’’ means the 11 member Board of Di15 rectors of the Kenai Mountains-Turnagain Arm Na16 tional Heritage Area Commission. the management

17 entity established by section 5.

18 (3) MANAGEMENT PLAN.—The term ‘‘manage19 ment plan’’ means the management plan for the

20 Heritage Area.

21 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means

22 the Secretary of the Interior.
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1 SEC. 4. KENAI MOUNTAINS-TURNAGAIN ARM NATIONAL

2 HERITAGE AREA.

3 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established the

4 Kenai Mountains-Turnagain Arm National Heritage Area.

5 (b) BOUNDARIES.—The Heritage Area shall comprise

6 the lands in the Kenai Mountains and upper Turnagain

7 Arm region generally depicted on the map entitled ‘‘Kenai

8 Peninsula/Turnagain Arm National Heritage Corridor’’,

9 numbered ‘‘Map #KMTA–1’’, and dated ‘‘August 1999’’.

10 The map shall be on file and available for public inspection

11 in the offices of the Alaska Regional Office of the National

12 Park Service and in the offices of the Alaska State Herit13 age Preservation Officer.

14 SEC. 5. MANAGEMENT ENTITY.

15 (a) The management entity shall consist of 7 rep16 resentatives, appointed by the Secretary from a list of rec17 ommendations submitted by the Governor of Alaska, from

18 the communities of Seward, Lawing, Moose Pass, Cooper

19 Landing, Hope, Gridwood, Bird-Indian and 4 at large rep20 resentatives, from such organizations as Native Associa21 tions, the Iditarod Trail Committee, historical societies,

22 visitor associations, and private or business entities. Upon

23 appointment, the Commission shall establish itself as a

24 non-profit corporation under laws of the State of Alaska.

25 (1) TERMS.—Members of the management enti26 ty appointed under section 5(a) shall each serve for
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1 a term of 5 years, except that of the members first

2 appointed 3 shall serve for a term of 4 years and 2

3 shall serve for a term of 3 years; however, upon the

4 expiration of his or her term, an appointed member

5 may continue to serve until his or her successor has

6 been appointed.

7 (2) VACANCIES.—Any vacancy in the Commis8 sion shall be filled in the same manner in which the

9 original appointment was made, and any member

10 appointed to fill a vacancy shall serve for the re11 mainder of that term for which his or her prede12 cessor was appointed.

13 (b) Non-voting ex-officio representatives, invited by

14 the nonprofit corporation from such organizations as the

15 State Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation, State Di16 vision Mining, Land and Water, Forest Service, State His17 toric Preservation Office, Kenai Peninsula Borough, Mu18 nicipality of Anchorage, Alaska Railroad, Alaska Depart19 ment of Transportation, and the National Park Service.

20 (b) Representatives of other organizations shall be in21 vited and encouraged to participate with the management

22 entity and in the development and implementation of the

23 management plan, including but not limited to: the State

24 Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation; the State Divi25 sion of Mining, Land and Water; the Forest Service; the
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1 State Historic Preservation Office; the Kenai Peninsula

2 Borough; the Municipality of Anchorage; the Alaska Rail3 road; the Alaska Department of Transportation, and the

4 National Park Service.

5 (c) Representation of ex-officio members in the non6 profit corporation shall be established under the by-laws

7 of the management entity.

8 SEC. 6. AUTHORITIES AND DUTIES OF MANAGEMENT

9 ENTITY.

10 (a) MANAGEMENT PLAN.—

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years after

12 the Secretary enters into a cooperative agreement

13 with the management entity, the management entity

14 shall develop a management plan for the Heritage

15 Area, taking into consideration existing Federal,

16 State, borough, and local plans.

17 (2) CONTENTS.—The management plan shall

18 include, but not be limited to—

19 (A) comprehensive recommendations for

20 conservation, funding, management, and devel21 opment of the Heritage Area;

22 (B) a description of agreements on actions

23 to be carried out by Government and private or24 ganizations to protect the resources of the Her25 itage Area;
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1 (C) a list of specific and potential sources

2 of funding to protect, manage, and develop the

3 Heritage Area;

4 (D) an inventory of resources contained in

5 the Heritage Area; and

6 (E) a description of the role and participa7 tion of other Federal, State and local agencies

8 that have jurisdiction on lands within the Herit9 age Area.

10 (b) PRIORITIES.—The management entity shall give

11 priority to the implementation of actions, goals, and poli12 cies set forth in the cooperative agreement with the Sec13 retary and the heritage plan, including assisting commu14 nities within the region in—

15 (1) carrying out programs which recognize im16 portant resource values in the heritage corridor area;

17 (2) encouraging economic viability in the af18 fected communities;

19 (3) establishing and maintaining interpretive

20 exhibits in the Heritage Area;

21 (4) improving and interpreting heritage trails;

22 (5) increasing public awareness and apprecia23 tion for the natural, historical, and cultural re24 sources and modern resource development of the

25 Heritage Area;
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1 (6) restoring historic buildings and structures

2 that are located within the boundaries of the herit3 age corridor; and

4 (7) ensuring that clear, consistent, and appro5 priate signs identifying public access points and sites

6 of interest are placed throughout the Heritage Area.

7 (c) CONSIDERATION OF INTEREST OF LOCAL

8 GROUPS.—Projects incorporated in the heritage plan by

9 the management entity shall be initiated by local groups

10 and developed with the participation and support of the

11 affected local communities. Other organizations may sub12 mit projects or proposals to the local groups for consider13 ation.

14 (d) (c) PUBLIC MEETINGS.—The management entity

15 shall conduct 2 or more public meetings each year regard16 ing the initiation and implementation of the management

17 plan for the Heritage Area. The management entity shall

18 place a notice of each such meeting in a newspaper of gen19 eral circulation in the Heritage Area and shall make the

20 minutes of the meeting available to the public.

21 SEC. 7. DUTIES OF THE SECRETARY.

22 (a) The Secretary, in consultation with the Governor

23 of Alaska, or his designee, is authorized to enter into a

24 cooperative agreement with the management entity. The
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1 cooperative agreement shall be prepared with public par2 ticipation.

3 (b) In accordance with the terms and conditions of

4 the cooperative agreement and upon the request of the

5 management entity, subject and subject to the availability

6 of funds, the Secretary shall may provide administrative,

7 technical, financial, design, development, and operations

8 assistance to carry out the purposes of this Act.

9 SEC. 8. SAVINGS PROVISIONS.

10 (a) REGULATORY AUTHORITY.—Nothing in this Act

11 shall be construed to grant powers of zoning or manage12 ment of land use to the management entity of the Herit13 age Area.

14 (b) EFFECT ON AUTHORITY OF GOVERNMENTS.—

15 Nothing in this Act shall be construed to modify, enlarge,

16 or diminish any authority of the Federal, State, or local

17 governments to to manage or regulate any use of land as

18 provided for by law or regulation.

19 (c) EFFECT ON BUSINESS.—Nothing in this Act shall

20 be construed to obstruct or limit business activity on pri21 vate development or resource development activities.
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1 SEC. 9. PROHIBITION ON THE ACQUISITION OF REAL

2 PROPERTY.

3 The management entity may not use funds appro4 priated to carry out the purposes of this Act to acquire

5 real property or interest in real property.

6 SEC. 10. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

7 (a) FIRST YEAR.—For the first year $350,000 is au8 thorized to be appropriated to carry out the purposes of

9 this Act, and is made available upon the Secretary and

10 the management entity completing a cooperative agree11 ment.

12 (b) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be appro13 priated not more than $1,000,000 to carry out the pur14 poses of this Act for any fiscal year after the first year.

15 Not more than $10,000,000, in the aggregate, may be ap16 propriated for the Heritage Area.

17 (c) MATCHING FUNDS.—Federal funding provided

18 under this Act shall be matched at least 25 percent by

19 other funds or in-kind services.

20 (d) SUNSET PROVISION.—The Secretary may not

21 make any grant or provide any assistance under this Act

22 beyond 15 years from the date that the Secretary and

23 management entity complete a cooperative agreement.

Calendar No. 667

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2511

[Report No. 106–333]

A BILL

To establish the Kenai Mountains-Turnagain Arm

National Heritage Area in the State of Alaska,and for other purposes.

JULY 10, 2000

Reported with amendments