S. 2052

One Hundred Eighth Congress

of the

United States of America

AT THE SECOND SESSION

Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday,

the twentieth day of January, two thousand and four

An Act

To amend the National Trails System Act to designate El Camino Real de los

Tejas as a National Historic Trail.

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 ‘‘El Camino Real de los Tejas

National Historic Trail Act’’.

SEC. 2. DESIGNATION OF EL CAMINO REAL DE LOS TEJAS NATIONAL

HISTORIC TRAIL.

Section 5(a) of the National Trails System Act (16 U.S.C.

1244(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following:

‘‘(24) EL CAMINO REAL DE LOS TEJAS NATIONAL HISTORIC TRAIL.—

‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—El Camino Real de los Tejas (the Royal

Road to the Tejas) National Historic Trail, a combination of

historic routes (including the Old San Antonio Road) totaling

approximately 2,580 miles, extending from the Rio Grande

near Eagle Pass and Laredo, Texas, to Natchitoches, Louisiana,

as generally depicted on the map entitled ‘El Camino Real

de los Tejas’ contained in the report entitled ‘National Historic

Trail Feasibility Study and Environmental Assessment: El

Camino Real de los Tejas, Texas-Louisiana’, dated July 1998.

‘‘(B) MAP.—A map generally depicting the trail shall be

on file and available for public inspection in the appropriate

offices of the National Park Service.

‘‘(C) ADMINISTRATION.—(i) The Secretary of the Interior

(referred to in this paragraph as ‘the Secretary’) shall administer the trail.

‘‘(ii) The Secretary shall administer those portions of the

trail on non-Federal land only with the consent of the owner

of such land and when such trail portion qualifies for certification as an officially established component of the trail, consistent with section 3(a)(3). An owner’s approval of a certification agreement shall satisfy the consent requirement. A certification agreement may be terminated at any time.

‘‘(iii) The designation of the trail does not authorize any

person to enter private property without the consent of the

owner.

‘‘(D) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary shall consult with

appropriate State and local agencies in the planning and

development of the trail.
S. 2052—2

‘‘(E) COORDINATION OF ACTIVITIES.—The Secretary may

coordinate with United States and Mexican public and nongovernmental organizations, academic institutions, and, in consultation with the Secretary of State, the Government of Mexico

and its political subdivisions, for the purpose of exchanging

trail information and research, fostering trail preservation and

educational programs, providing technical assistance, and

working to establish an international historic trail with complementary preservation and education programs in each

nation.

‘‘(F) LAND ACQUISITION.—The United States shall not

acquire for the trail any land or interest in land outside the

exterior boundary of any federally-administered area without

the consent of the owner of the land or interest in land.’’.

Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Vice President of the United States and

President of the Senate.