SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘El Camino Real de
Tierra Adentro National Historic Trail Act’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds the following:
(1) El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro (the
Royal Road of the Interior), served as the primary
route between the colonial Spanish capital of Mexico
City and the Spanish provincial capitals at San Juan
de Los Caballeros (1598–1600), San Gabriel (1600–
1609) and then Santa Fe (1610–1821).
(2) The portion of El Camino Real de Tierra
Adentro that resided in what is now the United
States extended between El Paso, Texas and present
San Juan Pueblo, New Mexico, a distance of 404
miles;
(3) El Camino Real is a symbol of the cultural
interaction between nations and ethnic groups and
of the commercial exchange that made possible the
development and growth of the borderland;
(4) American Indian groups, especially the
Pueblo Indians of the Rio Grande, developed trails
for trade long before Europeans arrived;
(5) In 1598, Juan de On˜ate led a Spanish mili-
tary expedition along those trails to establish the
northern portion of El Camino Real;
(6) During the Mexican National Period and
part of the U.S. Territorial Period, El Camino Real
de Tierra Adentro facilitated the emigration of peo-
ple to New Mexico and other areas that would be-
come the United States;
(7) The exploration, conquest, colonization, set-
tlement, religious conversion, and military occupa-
tion of a large area of the borderlands was made
possible by this route, whose historical period ex-
tended from 1598 to 1882;
(8) American Indians, European emigrants,
miners, ranchers, soldiers, and missionaries used El
Camino Real during the historic development of the
borderlands. These travelers promoted cultural inter-
action among Spaniards, other Europeans, American
Indians, Mexicans, and Americans;
(9) El Camino Real fostered the spread of Ca-
tholicism, mining, an extensive network of com-
merce, and ethnic and cultural traditions including
music, folklore, medicine, foods, architecture, lan-
guage, place names, irrigation systems, and Spanish
law.
SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION AND ADMINISTRATION.
Section 5(a) of the National Trails System Act (16
U.S.C. 1244(a)) is amended—
(1) by designating the paragraphs relating to
the California National Historic Trail, the Pony Ex-
press National Historic Trail, and the Selma to
Montgomery National Historic Trail as paragraphs
(18), (19), and (20), respectively; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(21) EL CAMINO REAL DE TIERRA ADENTRO.—
‘‘(A) El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro (the
Royal Road of the Interior) National Historic Trail,
a 404 mile long trail from the Rio Grande near El
Paso, Texas to San Juan Pueblo, New Mexico, as
generally depicted on the maps entitled ‘United
States Route: El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro’,
contained in the report prepared pursuant to sub-
section (b) entitled ‘National Historic Trail Feasi-
bility Study and Environmental Assessment: El Ca-
mino Real de Tierra Adentro, Texas-New Mexico’,
dated March 1997.
‘‘(B) MAP.—A map generally depicting the trail
shall be on file and available for public inspection in
the Office of the National Park Service, Department
of Interior.
‘‘(C) ADMINISTRATION.—The trail shall be ad-
ministered by the Secretary of the Interior.
‘‘(D) LAND ACQUISITION.—No lands or inter-
ests therein outside the exterior boundaries of any
federally administered area may be acquired by the
Federal Government for El Camino Real de Tierra
Adentro.
‘‘(E) VOLUNTEER
GROUPS; CONSULTATION.—
The Secretary of the Interior shall—
‘‘(i) encourage volunteer trail groups to
participate in the development and maintenance
of the trail; and
‘‘(ii) consult with other affected Federal,
State, local governmental, and tribal agencies in
the administration of the trail.
‘‘(F) COORDINATION OF ACTIVITIES.—The Sec-
retary of the Interior may coordinate with United
States and Mexican public and non-governmental or-
ganizations, academic institutions, and, in consulta-
tion with the Secretary of State, the Government of
Mexico and its political subdivisions, for the purpose
of exchanging trail information and research, fos-
tering trail preservation and educational programs,
providing technical assistance, and working to estab-
lish an international historic trail with complemen-
tary preservation and education programs in each
nation.’’.
Passed the House of Representatives September 18,
2000.
Attest:
Clerk.