II

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2511

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

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,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Kenai Mountains5 Turnagain Arm National Heritage Corridor Area Act of

6 2000’’.

7 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

8 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that—

9 (1) the Kenai Mountains-Turnagain Arm trans10 portation corridor is a major gateway to Alaska and
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1 includes a range of transportation routes used first

2 by indigenous people who were followed by pioneers

3 who settled the Nation’s last frontier;

4 (2) the natural history and scenic splendor of

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

6 power include evidence of earthquake subsidence, re7 cent avalanches, retreating glaciers, and tidal action

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

9 greatest tidal range;

10 (3) the cultural landscape formed by indigenous

11 people and then by settlement, transportation, and

12 modern resource development in this rugged and

13 often treacherous natural setting stands as powerful

14 testimony to the human fortitude, perseverance, and

15 resourcefulness that is America’s proudest heritage

16 from the people who settled the frontier;

17 (4) there is a national interest in recognizing,

18 preserving, promoting, and interpreting these re19 sources;

20 (5) the Kenai Mountains-Turnagain Arm region

21 is geographically and culturally cohesive because it is

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

23 railroad, and roadways through a distinct landscape

24 of mountains, lakes, and fjords;
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1 (6) national significance of separate elements of

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

3 Iditarod National Historic Trail, the Seward High4 way National Scenic Byway, and the Alaska Rail5 road National Scenic Railroad;

6 (7) national heritage area designation provides

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

8 national historic districts and numerous historic

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

10 human history in the wider transportation corridor

11 including early Native trade routes, connections by

12 waterway, mining trail, and other routes;

13 (8) national heritage area designation also pro14 vides communities within the region with the motiva15 tion and means for ‘‘grassroots’’ regional coordina16 tion and partnerships with each other and with bor17 ough, State, and Federal agencies; and

18 (9) resolution and letters of support have been

19 received from the Kenai Peninsula Historical Asso20 ciation, the Seward Historical Commission, the Sew21 ard City Council, the Hope and Sunrise Historical

22 Society, the Hope Chamber of Commerce, the Alas23 ka Association for Historic Preservation, the Cooper

24 Landing Community Club, the Alaska Wilderness

25 Recreation and Tourism Association, Anchorage
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1 Historic Properties, the Anchorage Convention and

2 Visitors Bureau, the Cook Inlet Historical Society,

3 the Moose Pass Sportsman’s Club, the Alaska His4 torical Commission, the Gridwood Board of Super5 visors, the Kenai River Special Management Area

6 Advisory Board, the Bird/Indian Community Coun7 cil, the Kenai Peninsula Borough Trails Commis8 sion, the Alaska Division of Parks and Recreation,

9 the Kenai Peninsula Borough, the Kenai Peninsula

10 Tourism Marketing Council, and the Anchorage Mu11 nicipal Assembly.

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

13 (1) to recognize, preserve, and interpret the his14 toric and modern resource development and cultural

15 landscapes of the Kenai Mountains-Turnagain Arm

16 historic transportation corridor, and to promote and

17 facilitate the public enjoyment of these resources;

18 and

19 (2) to foster, through financial and technical

20 assistance, the development of cooperative planning

21 and partnerships among the communities and bor22 ough, State, and Federal Government entities.

23 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

24 In this Act:
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1 (1) HERITAGE AREA.—The term ‘‘Heritage

2 Area’’ means the Kenai Mountains-Turnagain Arm

3 National Heritage Area establish by section 4(a) of

4 this Act.

5 (2) MANAGEMENT ENTITY.—The term ‘‘man6 agement entity’’ means the 11 member Board of Di7 rectors of the Kenai Mountains-Turnagain Arm Na8 tional Heritage Area Commission.

9 (3) MANAGEMENT PLAN.—The term ‘‘manage10 ment plan’’ means the management plan for the

11 Heritage Area.

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

13 the Secretary of the Interior.

14 SEC. 4. KENAI MOUNTAINS-TURNAGAIN ARM NATIONAL

15 HERITAGE AREA.

16 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established the

17 Kenai Mountains-Turnagain Arm National Heritage Area.

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

19 the lands in the Kenai Mountains and upper Turnagain

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

21 Peninsula/Turnagain Arm National Heritage Corridor’’,

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

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

24 in the offices of the Alaska Regional Office of the National
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1 Park Service and in the offices of the Alaska State Herit2 age Preservation Officer.

3 SEC. 5. MANAGEMENT ENTITY.

4 (a) The management entity shall consist of 7 rep5 resentatives, appointed by the Secretary from a list of rec6 ommendations submitted by the Governor of Alaska, from

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

8 Landing, Hope, Gridwood, Bird-Indian and 4 at large rep9 resentatives, from such organizations as Native Associa10 tions, the Iditarod Trail Committee, historical societies,

11 visitor associations, and private or business entities. Upon

12 appointment, the Commission shall establish itself as a

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

14 (1) TERMS.—Members of the management enti15 ty appointed under section 5(a) shall each serve for

16 a term of 5 years, except that of the members first

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

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

19 expiration of his or her term, an appointed member

20 may continue to serve until his or her successor has

21 been appointed.

22 (2) VACANCIES.—Any vacancy in the Commis23 sion shall be filled in the same manner in which the

24 original appointment was made, and any member

25 appointed to fill a vacancy shall serve for the re-
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1 mainder of that term for which his or her prede2 cessor was appointed.

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

4 the nonprofit corporation from such organizations as the

5 State Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation, State Di6 vision Mining, Land and Water, Forest Service, State His7 toric Preservation Office, Kenai Peninsula Borough, Mu8 nicipality of Anchorage, Alaska Railroad, Alaska Depart9 ment of Transportation, and the National Park Service.

10 (c) Representation of ex-officio members in the non11 profit corporation shall be established under the by-laws

12 of the management entity.

13 SEC. 6. AUTHORITIES AND DUTIES OF MANAGEMENT

14 ENTITY.

15 (a) MANAGEMENT PLAN.—

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

17 the Secretary enters into a cooperative agreement

18 with the management entity, the management entity

19 shall develop a management plan for the Heritage

20 Area, taking into consideration existing Federal,

21 State, borough, and local plans.

22 (2) CONTENTS.—The management plan shall

23 include, but not be limited to—
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1 (A) comprehensive recommendations for

2 conservation, funding, management, and devel3 opment of the Heritage Area;

4 (B) a description of agreements on actions

5 to be carried out by Government and private or6 ganizations to protect the resources of the Her7 itage Area;

8 (C) a list of specific and potential sources

9 of funding to protect, manage, and develop the

10 Heritage Area;

11 (D) an inventory of resources contained in

12 the Heritage Area; and

13 (E) a description of the role and participa14 tion of other Federal, State and local agencies

15 that have jurisdiction on lands within the Herit16 age Area.

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

18 priority to the implementation of actions, goals, and poli19 cies set forth in the cooperative agreement with the Sec20 retary and the heritage plan, including assisting commu21 nities within the region in—

22 (1) carrying out programs which recognize im23 portant resource values in the heritage corridor;

24 (2) encouraging economic viability in the af25 fected communities;
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1 (3) establishing and maintaining interpretive

2 exhibits in the Heritage Area;

3 (4) improving and interpreting heritage trails;

4 (5) increasing public awareness and apprecia5 tion for the natural, historical, and cultural re6 sources and modern resource development of the

7 Heritage Area;

8 (6) restoring historic buildings and structures

9 that are located within the boundaries of the herit10 age corridor; and

11 (7) ensuring that clear, consistent, and appro12 priate signs identifying public access points and sites

13 of interest are placed throughout the Heritage Area.

14 (c) CONSIDERATION OF INTEREST OF LOCAL

15 GROUPS.—Projects incorporated in the heritage plan by

16 the management entity shall be initiated by local groups

17 and developed with the participation and support of the

18 affected local communities. Other organizations may sub19 mit projects or proposals to the local groups for consider20 ation.

21 (d) PUBLIC MEETINGS.—The management entity

22 shall conduct 2 or more public meetings each year regard23 ing the initiation and implementation of the management

24 plan for the Heritage Area. The management entity shall

25 place a notice of each such meeting in a newspaper of gen-
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1 eral circulation in the Heritage Area and shall make the

2 minutes of the meeting available to the public.

3 SEC. 7. DUTIES OF THE SECRETARY.

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

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

6 cooperative agreement with the management entity. The

7 cooperative agreement shall be prepared with public par8 ticipation.

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

10 the cooperative agreement and upon the request of the

11 management entity, subject to the availability of funds,

12 the Secretary shall provide administrative, technical, fi13 nancial, design, development, and operations assistance to

14 carry out the purposes of this Act.

15 SEC. 8. SAVINGS PROVISIONS.

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

17 shall be construed to grant powers of zoning or manage18 ment of land use to the management entity of the Herit19 age Area.

20 (b) EFFECT ON AUTHORITY OF GOVERNMENTS.—

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

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

23 governments to regulate any use of land as provided for

24 by law or regulation.
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1 (c) EFFECT ON BUSINESS.—Nothing in this Act shall

2 be construed to obstruct or limit business activity on pri3 vate development or resource development activities.

4 SEC. 9. PROHIBITION ON THE ACQUISITION OF REAL PROP5 ERTY.

6 The management entity may not use funds appro7 priated to carry out the purposes of this Act to acquire

8 real property or interest in real property.

9 SEC. 10. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

10 (a) FIRST YEAR.—For the first year $350,000 is au11 thorized to be appropriated to carry out the purposes of

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

13 the management entity completing a cooperative agree14 ment.

15 (b) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be appro16 priated not more than $1,000,000 to carry out the pur17 poses of this Act for any fiscal year after the first year.

18 Not more than $10,000,000, in the aggregate, may be ap19 propriated for the Heritage Area.

20 (c) MATCHING FUNDS.—Federal funding provided

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

22 other funds or in-kind services.

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

24 make any grant or provide any assistance under this Act
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1 beyond 15 years from the date that the Secretary and

2 management entity complete a cooperative agreement.

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