I

104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 4241

To amend the National Parks and Recreation Act of 1978 to designate

the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Wilderness, to amend the Everglades

National Park Protection and Expansion Act of 1989 to designate the

Ernest F. Coe Visitor Center, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

SEPTEMBER 27, 1996

Mr. DEUTSCH (for himself and Mr. GOSS) introduced the following bill; which

was referred to the Committee on Resources

A BILL

To amend the National Parks and Recreation Act of 1978

to designate the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Wilderness,

to amend the Everglades National Park Protection and

Expansion Act of 1989 to designate the Ernest F. Coe

Visitor Center, 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. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

4 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds the following:

5 (1) Marjory Stoneman Douglas, through her

6 book, ‘‘The Everglades: River of Grass’’ (1947), de7 fined the Everglades for the American people and
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1 for the world. Her book was the first to stimulate

2 widespread understanding of the Everglades eco3 system and ultimately served to awaken the desire to

4 restore its health.

5 (2) In her 106th year, Mrs. Douglas is the sole

6 surviving member of the original group of people

7 who devoted decades of selfless effort to establish

8 Everglades National Park.

9 (3) When the water supply and ecology of the

10 Everglades, both within and outside the park, be11 came threatened by drainage and development, Mrs.

12 Douglas dedicated the balance of her life to the de13 fense of the Everglades through extraordinary per14 sonal effort and by inspiring countless others to take

15 action.

16 (4) For these and many other accomplishments,

17 the President awarded Mrs. Douglas the Medal of

18 Freedom on Earth Day, 1994.

19 (5) Ernest F. Coe (1886–1951) was a leader in

20 the creation of Everglades National Park. He orga21 nized the Tropic Everglades National Park Associa22 tion in 1928 and was widely regarded as the ‘‘Fa23 ther of Everglades National Park’’.

24 (6) As a landscape architect, Mr. Coe’s vision

25 for the park recognized the need to protect south
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1 Florida’s diverse wildlife and their habitats for fu2 ture generations. His original park proposal included

3 lands and waters subsequently protected within Ev4 erglades National Park, the Big Cypress National

5 Preserve, and the Florida Keys National Marine

6 Sanctuary.

7 (7) Mr. Coe’s leadership, selfless devotion, and

8 commitment to achieving this vision culminated in

9 the authorization of Everglades National Park by

10 Congress in 1934. Afterwards, Mr. Coe fought tire11 lessly and lobbied strenuously for establishment of

12 the park, finally realizing his dream in 1947. He ac13 complished much of this work at his own expense,

14 which dramatically demonstrated his commitment to

15 establishment of the park.

16 (b) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this Act to com17 memorate the vision, leadership, and enduring contribu18 tions of Marjory Stoneman Douglas and Ernest F. Coe

19 in the protection of the Everglades and the establishment

20 of Everglades National Park.

21 SEC. 2. MARJORY STONEMAN DOUGLAS WILDERNESS.

22 Section 401(3) of the National Parks and Recreation

23 Act of 1978 (Public Law 95–625; 92 Stat. 3490) is hereby

24 amended by striking out ‘‘to be known as the Everglades

25 Wilderness’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘to be known
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1 as the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Wilderness’’ to com2 memorate the vision and leadership shown by Mrs. Doug3 las in the protection of the Everglades and the establish4 ment of Everglades National Park.

5 SEC. 3. ERNEST F. COE VISITOR CENTER.

6 Section 103 of the Everglades National Park Protec7 tion and Expansion Act of 1989 (Public Law 101–229)

8 is hereby amended by adding at the end thereof the follow9 ing new subsection:

10 ‘‘(f) ERNEST F. COE VISITOR CENTER.—Upon com11 pletion of construction of the main visitor center facility

12 at Everglades National Park headquarters, the Secretary

13 of the Interior shall designate the visitor center facility

14 as ‘The Ernest F. Coe Visitor Center’ to commemorate

15 the vision and leadership shown by Mr. Coe in the estab16 lishment and protection of Everglades National Park.’’.

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