II 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2951 

To authorize funding to protect and conserve lands contiguous with the 

Blue Ridge Parkway to serve the public, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 26, 2010 

Mr. BURR (for himself, Mrs. HAGAN, Mr. WARNER, and Mr. WEBB) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To authorize funding to protect and conserve lands contiguous with the Blue Ridge Parkway to serve the public, 

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 ‘‘Blue Ridge Parkway 

5 Protection Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act— 

8 (1) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 

9 the Director of the National Park Service. 


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1 (2) PARKWAY.—The term ‘‘Parkway’’ means 

2 the Blue Ridge Parkway. 

3 (3) PLAN.—The term ‘‘Plan’’ means the Na4 tional Park Service’s Blue Ridge Parkway Land 

5 Protection Plan. 

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

7 the Secretary of the Interior. 

8 (5) SUPERINTENDENT.—The term ‘‘Super9 intendent’’ means the Superintendent of the Blue 

10 Ridge Parkway. 

11 SEC. 3. FINDINGS. 

12 Congress finds that— 

13 (1) it is in the national interest to preserve and 

14 protect the Blue Ridge Parkway, the most visited 

15 unit of the National Park System; 

16 (2) the 75th anniversary of the Blue Ridge 

17 Parkway is in September 2010; 

18 (3) the Parkway, including 469 miles in North 

19 Carolina and Virginia linking the Great Smoky 

20 Mountains National Park to the Shenandoah Na21 tional Park, has nearly 19,000,000 visitors each 

22 year and is vital to the economic well-being of com23 munities along the Parkway; 

24 (4) the Parkway’s renowned scenic vistas are 

25 threatened by encroaching development, and surveys 


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1 of visitors to the Parkway have found that fewer 

2 people would frequent the Parkway if scenic views 

3 are compromised; 

4 (5) the protection and conservation of land 

5 along the Parkway helps preserve farmland, intact 

6 forests, wildlife habitat, and drinking water supplies 

7 downstream; and 

8 (6) in order to preserve the natural beauty, eco9 logical integrity, and cultural heritage of the Park10 way and to commemorate its 75th anniversary, it is 

11 vital that certain lands contiguous to the Parkway 

12 are conserved for the enjoyment of future genera13 tions. 

14 SEC. 4. LAND ACQUISITION. 

15 (a) ACQUISITION AUTHORITY.—The Secretary is au16 thorized to acquire land and interests in land from willing 

17 sellers by donation, by purchase with donated or appro18 priated funds, or by exchange to protect up to 50,000 

19 acres of land that are identified in the Plan or that meets 

20 the Plan’s amendment criteria. 

21 (b) ACQUISITION OF LAND.—Lands and interests in 

22 lands to be acquired with funds made available under this 

23 Act shall be— 

24 (1) contiguous with the Parkway; and 


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1 (2) identified by the Superintendent as a pri2 ority for acquisition by the Federal Government. 

3 (c) AVAILABILITY OF PLAN.—The Plan shall be on 

4 file and available for public inspection in the appropriate 

5 offices of the National Park Service. 

6 (d) BOUNDARY ADJUSTMENT.—Upon acquisition of 

7 lands and interests in land under this Act, the Secretary 

8 shall adjust the boundary of the Parkway to reflect the 

9 acquisition. 

10 (e) ADMINISTRATION.—Lands or interests in land ac11 quired for the Parkway shall be administered by the Sec12 retary, through the National Park Service, as part of the 

13 Parkway in accordance with all applicable laws and regu14 lations. 

15 SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appro17 priated to the Secretary to carry out this Act $15,000,000 

18 for each of fiscal years 2011 through 2015. Unobligated 

19 funding in each of these fiscal years shall be available until 

20 expended. 

21 (b) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—From the funds made 

22 available under this Act, the Secretary may award grants 

23 for the following: 

24 (1) To acquire land and interests in lands. 


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1 (2) To provide technical expense assistance 

2 (such as costs for title reports, recordable surveys, 

3 hazardous material surveys, and appraisals, and 

4 other costs normally associated with land acquisi5 tion) by entering into cooperative agreements with 

6 qualified non-profit conservation organizations for 

7 acquiring lands or interests in lands from willing 

8 sellers that have been specifically identified by the 

9 Superintendent as a priority. 

10 (c) SITE RESTORATION AND SURVEYS.—The Sec11 retary is authorized to expend not more than 10 percent 

12 of funds made available under this section in any fiscal 

13 year for site restoration and for resource surveys. 

14 (d) REIMBURSEMENT OF EXPENSES FOR QUALIFIED

15 NON-PROFIT CONSERVATION ORGANIZATIONS.—From 

16 funds made available under this Act, not more than 

17 $250,000 may be used in each of fiscal years 2011 

18 through 2015 for the reimbursement of administrative ex19 penses for qualified non-profit conservation organizations 

20 involved directly in land acquisition projects in which lands 

21 and interests in lands are conveyed to the Parkway. Such 

22 funds shall be disbursed according to cooperative agree23 ment arrangements established with qualified non-profit 

24 conservation organizations for the purpose of acquiring 


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1 lands or interests in lands for the protection of the Park2 way and shall remain available until expended. 

3 SEC. 6. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. 

4 For each fiscal year that funds are made available 

5 under this Act, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a 

6 report that includes— 

7 (1) a description of the condition of the Park8 way, including threats and land preservation needs; 

9 (2) a list of land acquisitions that have been 

10 completed or are underway under this Act; and 

11 (3) a list of priority land acquisitions that 

12 should be made to accomplish the purpose of this 

13 Act, notwithstanding the addition of other priority 

14 lands that become available throughout the year. 

Æ 


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