I 
108TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 3909
To establish the Bleeding Kansas and the Enduring Struggle for Freedom 
National Heritage Area, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 4, 2004
Mr. RYUN of Kansas (for himself, Mr. TIAHRT, Mr. MORAN of Kansas, and 
Mr. MOORE) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Resources 
A BILL 
To establish the Bleeding Kansas and the Enduring Struggle 
for Freedom National Heritage Area, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Bleeding Kansas Na-
tional Heritage Area Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 
(1) The Bleeding Kansas National Heritage 
Area is a cohesive assemblage of natural, historic, 
cultural, and recreational resources that—
(A) together represent distinctive aspects 
of American heritage worthy of recognition, 
conservation, interpretation, and continuing 
use; 
(B) are best managed through partner-
ships between private and public entities; 
(C) will build upon the Kansas rural devel-
opment policy and the new homestead act to 
recognize inherent strengths of small towns and 
rural 
communities—close-knit 
communities, 
strong local business networks, and a tradition 
of entrepreneurial creativity. 
(2) The Bleeding Kansas National Heritage 
Area reflects traditions, customs, beliefs, folk life, or 
some combination thereof, that are a valuable part 
of the heritage of the United States. 
(3) The Bleeding Kansas National Heritage 
Area provides outstanding opportunities to conserve 
natural, cultural, or historic features, or some com-
bination thereof. 
(4) The Bleeding Kansas National Heritage 
Area provides outstanding recreational and interpre-
tive opportunities. 
(5) The Bleeding Kansas National Heritage 
Area has an identifiable theme, and resources impor-
tant to the theme retain integrity capable of sup-
porting interpretation. 
(6) Residents, nonprofit organizations, other 
private entities, and units of local government 
throughout the Bleeding Kansas National Heritage 
Area demonstrate support for designation of the 
Bleeding Kansas National Heritage Area as a na-
tional heritage area and for management of the 
Bleeding Kansas National Heritage Area as appro-
priate for such designation. 
(7) Capturing these interconnected stories 
through partnerships with National Park Service 
sites, Kansas State Historical Society sites, local or-
ganizations, and citizens will augment the story op-
portunities within the prospective boundary for the 
educational and recreational benefit of this and fu-
ture generations of Americans. 
(8) Communities throughout this region know 
the value of their Bleeding Kansas legacy, but re-
quire expansion of the existing cooperative frame-
work to achieve key preservation, education, and 
other significant goals by working more closely to-
gether. 
(9) The State of Kansas officially recognized 
the national significance of the Bleeding Kansas
story when it designated the heritage area develop-
ment as a significant strategic goal within the state-
wide economic development plan. 
(10) Territorial Kansas Heritage Alliance is a 
nonprofit corporation created for the purposes of 
preserving, interpreting, developing, promoting and, 
making available to the public the story and re-
sources related to the story of Bleeding Kansas and 
the Enduring Struggle for Freedom. 
(11) Territorial Kansas Heritage Alliance has 
completed a study that—
(A) describes in detail the role, operation, 
financing, and functions of Territorial Kansas 
Heritage Alliance, the management entity; and 
(B) provides adequate assurances that 
Territorial Kansas Heritage Alliance, the man-
agement entity, is likely to have the financial 
resources necessary to implement the manage-
ment plan for the Heritage Area, including re-
sources to meet matching requirement for 
grants. 
(12) There are at least 7 National Historic 
Landmarks, 32 National Register properties, 3 Kan-
sas Register properties, and 7 properties listed on 
the National Underground Railroad Network to
Freedom that contribute to the Heritage Area as 
well as other significant properties that have not 
been designated at this time. 
(13) There is an interest in interpreting all 
sides of the Bleeding Kansas story that requires fur-
ther work with several counties in Missouri inter-
ested in joining the area. 
(14) In 2004, the State of Kansas is commemo-
rating the Sesquicentennial of the signing of the 
Kansas-Nebraska Act, opening the territory to set-
tlement. 
(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are as fol-
lows: 
(1) To designate a region in eastern Kansas 
and western Missouri containing nationally impor-
tant natural, historic, and cultural resources and 
recreational and educational opportunities that are 
geographically assembled and thematically related as 
areas that provide unique frameworks for under-
standing the great and diverse character of the 
United States and the development of communities 
and their surroundings as the Bleeding Kansas Na-
tional Heritage Area. 
(2) To strengthen, complement, and support 
the Fort Scott, Brown v. Board of Education,
Nicodemus and Tallgrass Prairie sites through the 
interpretation and conservation of the associated liv-
ing landscapes outside of the boundaries of these 
units of the National Park System. 
(3) To describe the extent of Federal respon-
sibilities and duties in regard to the Heritage Area. 
(4) To further collaboration and partnerships 
among Federal, State, and local governments, non-
profit organizations, and the private sector, or com-
binations thereof, to conserve and manage the re-
sources and opportunities in the Heritage Area 
through grants, technical assistance, training and 
other means. 
(5) To authorize Federal financial and technical 
assistance to management entity to assist in the con-
servation and interpretation of the Heritage Area. 
(6) To empower communities and organizations 
in Kansas to preserve the special historic identity of 
Bleeding Kansas and with it the identity of the Na-
tion. 
(7) To provide for the management, preserva-
tion, protection, and interpretation of the natural, 
historical, and cultural resources within the region 
for the educational and inspirational benefit of cur-
rent and future generations.
(8) To provide greater community capacity 
through inter-local cooperation. 
(9) To provide a vehicle, particularly in the four 
counties with high out-migration of population, to 
recognize that self-reliance and resilience will be the 
keys to their economic future. 
(10) To build upon the Kansas rural develop-
ment policy, the Kansas agritourism initiative and 
the new homestead act to recognize inherent 
strengths of small towns and rural communities—
close-knit communities, strong local business net-
works, and a tradition of entrepreneurial creativity. 
(11) To educate and cultivate among its citi-
zens, particularly its youth, the stories and cultural 
resources of the region’s legacy that—
(A) reflect the popular phrase ‘‘Bleeding 
Kansas’’ describing the conflict over slavery 
that became nationally prominent in Kansas 
just before and during the American Civil War; 
(B) reflect the commitment of American 
settlers who first fought and killed to uphold 
their different and irreconcilable principles of 
freedom and equality during the years of the 
Kansas Conflict;
(C) reflect the struggle for freedom, experi-
enced during the ‘‘Bleeding Kansas’’ era, that 
continues to be a vital and pressing issue asso-
ciated with the real problem of democratic na-
tion building; and 
(D) recreate the physical environment re-
vealing its impact on agriculture, transpor-
tation, trade and business, and social and cul-
tural patterns in urban and rural settings. 
(12) To interpret the effect of the era’s demo-
cratic ethos on the development of America’s distinc-
tive political culture. 
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 
For the purposes of this Act: 
(1) MANAGEMENT ENTITY.—The term ‘‘man-
agement entity’’ means Territorial Kansas Heritage 
Alliance, recognized by the Secretary, in consultation 
with the chief executive officer of the State of Kan-
sas, that agrees to perform the duties of a local co-
ordinating entity under this Act. 
(2) HERITAGE
AREA.—The term ‘‘Heritage 
Area’’ means the Bleeding Kansas and the Enduring 
Struggle for Freedom National Heritage Area in 
eastern Kansas and western Missouri.
(3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of the Interior. 
(4) UNIT OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT.—The term 
‘‘unit of local government’’ means the government of 
a State, a political subdivision of a State, or an In-
dian tribe. 
SEC. 4. BLEEDING KANSAS AND THE ENDURING STRUGGLE 
FOR FREEDOM NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 
State of Kansas the Bleeding Kansas and the Enduring 
Struggle for Freedom National Heritage Area. 
(b) BOUNDARIES.—The Heritage Area shall include 
the following: 
(1) An area located in eastern Kansas and 
western Missouri, consisting currently of Allen, An-
derson, Bourbon, Cherokee, Clay, Coffey, Crawford, 
Douglas, Franklin, Geary, Johnson, Labette, Leav-
enworth, Linn, Miami, Neosho, Pottawatomie, Riley, 
Shawnee, Wabaunsee, Wilson, Woodson, Wyandotte 
Counties in Kansas and tentatively including addi-
tional counties in Kansas and western Missouri to be 
included in the development of the management 
plan.
(2) Contributing sites, buildings, and districts 
within the area will be recommended by the manage-
ment plan. 
(c) MAP.—Final boundary will be defined during the 
management plan development. A map of the Heritage 
Area shall be included in the management plan. The map 
shall be on file in the appropriate offices of the National 
Park Service, Department of the Interior. 
(d) MANAGEMENT ENTITY.—The management entity 
for the Heritage Area shall be Territorial Kansas Heritage 
Alliance, a nonprofit organization established in the State 
of Kansas, recognized by the Secretary, in consultation 
with the chief executive officer of the State of Kansas, that 
agrees to perform the duties of a local coordinating entity 
under this Act. 
SEC. 5. AUTHORITIES, DUTIES, AND PROHIBITIONS OF THE 
MANAGEMENT ENTITY. 
(a) AUTHORITIES.—The management entity may, for 
purposes of preparing and implementing the management 
plan, use funds made available under this Act to—
(1) prepare a management plan for the Herit-
age Area; 
(2) prepare reports, studies, interpretive exhib-
its and programs, historic preservation projects, and
other activities recommended in the management 
plan for the Heritage Area; 
(3) pay for operational expenses of the manage-
ment entity incurred within the first 10 fiscal years 
beginning after the date of the enactment of this Act 
designating the Heritage Area; 
(4) make grants or loans to entities defined in 
the management plan; 
(5) enter into cooperative agreements with the 
State of Kansas, its political subdivisions, nonprofit 
organizations, and other organizations; 
(6) hire and compensate staff; 
(7) obtain money from any source under any 
program or law to be used for a regrant program re-
quiring the recipient of such money to make a con-
tribution in order to receive it; 
(8) contract for goods and services; and 
(9) offer a competitive grants program to con-
tributing partners requiring a dollar-for-dollar match 
of Federal funds. 
(b) DUTIES OF THE MANAGEMENT ENTITY.—In ad-
dition to developing the management plan, the manage-
ment entity shall—
(1) give priority to the implementation of ac-
tions, goals, strategies, and standards set forth in
the management plan, including assisting units of 
government and other persons in—
(A) encouraging economic viability in the 
Heritage Area in accordance with the goals of 
the management plan; 
(B) establishing interpretive exhibits in the 
Heritage Area; 
(C) increasing public awareness of and ap-
preciation for the cultural, historical, and nat-
ural resources of the Heritage Area; 
(D) supporting the restoration of historic 
buildings that are—
(i) located in the Heritage Area; and 
(ii) related to the themes of the Herit-
age Area; 
(E) the conservation of contributing land-
scapes and natural resources; and 
(F) the installation throughout the Herit-
age Area of signs identifying public access 
points and sites of interest; 
(2) prepare and implement the management 
plan while considering the interests of diverse units 
of government, businesses, private property owners, 
and nonprofit groups within the Heritage Area;
audit all records pertaining to the expenditure 
of their funds. 
(c) PROHIBITION OF ACQUISITION OF REAL PROP-
ERTY.—The management entity shall not use Federal 
funds received under this Act to acquire real property or 
an interest in real property. 
(d) OTHER SOURCES.—Nothing in this Act precludes 
the management entity from using Federal funds from 
other sources for authorized purposes. 
SEC. 6. MANAGEMENT PLAN. 
(a) REQUIREMENTS.—The management entity shall: 
(1) MANAGEMENT
PLAN.—Not later than 3 
years after the date funds are made available for 
this purpose, prepare and submit a management 
plan reviewed by participating units of local govern-
ment within the boundaries of the proposed Heritage 
Area. 
(2) COLLABORATION.—Collaborate with and 
consider the interests of diverse units of government, 
businesses, tourism officials, private property own-
ers, and nonprofit groups within the geographic area 
of the Heritage Area in developing and imple-
menting such a management plan. 
(3) PUBLIC
INVOLVEMENT.—Ensure regular 
public involvement, including public meetings at
least annually, regarding the implementation of the 
management plan. 
(b) CONTENTS OF MANAGEMENT PLAN.—The man-
agement plan prepared for the Heritage Area shall—
(1) present a comprehensive program for the 
conservation, interpretation, funding, management, 
and development of the Heritage Area, in a manner 
consistent with the existing local, State, and Federal 
land use laws and compatible economic viability of 
the Heritage Area; 
(2) establish criteria or standards to measure 
what is selected for conservation, interpretation, 
funding, management, and development; 
(3) involve residents, public agencies, and pri-
vate organizations working in the Heritage Area; 
(4) specify and coordinate, as of the date of the 
management plan, existing and potential sources of 
technical and financial assistance under this and 
other Federal laws to protect, manage, and develop 
the Heritage Area; and 
(5) include—
(A) actions to be undertaken by units of 
government and private organizations to pro-
tect, conserve, and interpret the resources of 
the Heritage Area;
(B) an inventory of the resources con-
tained in the Heritage Area, including a list of 
any property in the Heritage Area that is re-
lated to the themes of the Heritage Area and 
that meets the establishing criteria (such as, 
but not exclusive to, visitor readiness) to merit 
preservation, restoration, management, develop-
ment, or maintenance because of its natural, 
cultural, historical, or recreational significance; 
(C) policies for resource management in-
cluding the development of intergovernmental 
cooperative agreements, private sector agree-
ments, or any combination thereof, to protect 
the historical, cultural, recreational, and natural 
resources of the Heritage Area in a manner 
consistent with supporting appropriate and 
compatible economic viability; 
(D) a program for implementation of the 
management plan by the designated manage-
ment entity, in cooperation with its partners 
and units of local government; 
(E) evidence that relevant State, county, 
and local plans applicable to the Heritage Area 
have been taken into consideration;
(F) an analysis of ways in which local, 
State, and Federal programs may best be co-
ordinated to promote the purposes of this Act; 
and 
(G) a business plan that—
(i) describes in detail the role, oper-
ation, financing, and functions of the man-
agement entity for each activity included in 
the recommendations contained in the 
management plan; and 
(ii) provides, to the satisfaction of the 
Secretary, adequate assurances that the 
management entity is likely to have the fi-
nancial resources necessary to implement 
the management plan for the Heritage 
Area, including resources to meet matching 
requirement for grants awarded under this 
Act. 
(c) PUBLIC NOTICE.—The management entity shall 
place a notice of each of its public meetings in a newspaper 
of general circulation in the Heritage Area and shall make 
the minutes of the meeting available to the public. 
(d) DISQUALIFICATION FROM FUNDING.—If a pro-
posed management plan is not submitted to the Secretary 
within 4 years of the date of the enactment of this Act,
the management entity shall be ineligible to receive addi-
tional funding under this title until the date on which the 
Secretary receives the proposed management plan. 
(e) APPROVAL AND DISAPPROVAL OF MANAGEMENT 
PLAN.—The Secretary shall approve or disapprove the 
proposed management plan submitted under this title not 
later than 90 days after receiving such proposed manage-
ment plan. 
(f) ACTION FOLLOWING DISAPPROVAL.—If the Sec-
retary disapproves a proposed management plan, the Sec-
retary shall advise the management entity in writing of 
the reasons for the disapproval and shall make rec-
ommendations for revisions to the proposed management 
plan. The Secretary shall approve or disapprove a pro-
posed revision within 90 days after the date it is sub-
mitted. 
(g) APPROVAL
OF AMENDMENTS.—The Secretary 
shall review and approve substantial amendments to the 
management plan. Funds appropriated under this title 
may not be expended to implement any changes made by 
such amendment until the Secretary approves the amend-
ment. 
SEC. 7. TECHNICAL AND FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE; OTHER 
FEDERAL AGENCIES. 
(a) TECHNICAL AND FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—On the request of the man-
agement entity, the Secretary may provide technical 
and financial assistance for the development and im-
plementation of the management plan. 
(2) PRIORITY FOR ASSISTANCE.—In providing 
assistance under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall 
give priority to actions that assist in—
(A) conserving the significant cultural, his-
toric, and natural resources of the Heritage 
Area; and 
(B) providing educational, interpretive, and 
recreational opportunities consistent with the 
purposes of the Heritage Area. 
(3) SPENDING FOR NON-FEDERAL PROPERTY.—
The management entity may expend Federal funds 
made available under this Act on non-Federal prop-
erty that—
(A) meets the criteria in the approved 
management plan; or 
(B) is listed or eligible for listing on the 
National Register of Historic Places. 
(4) OTHER ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary may 
enter into cooperative agreements with public and 
private organizations to carry out this subsection.
(b) OTHER FEDERAL AGENCIES.—Any Federal enti-
ty conducting or supporting an activity that directly af-
fects the Heritage Area shall—
(1) consider the potential effect of the activity 
on the purposes of the Heritage Area and the man-
agement plan; 
(2) consult with the management entity regard-
ing the activity; and 
(3) to the maximum extent practicable, conduct 
or support the activity to avoid adverse effects on 
the Heritage Area. 
(c) OTHER ASSISTANCE NOT AFFECTED.—This Act 
does not affect the authority of any Federal official to pro-
vide technical or financial assistance under any other law. 
(d) NOTIFICATION
OF OTHER FEDERAL ACTIVI-
TIES.—The head of each Federal agency shall provide to 
the Secretary and the management entity, to the extent 
practicable, advance notice of all activities that may have 
an impact on the Heritage Area. 
SEC. 8. PRIVATE PROPERTY PROTECTION. 
(a) ACCESS
TO PRIVATE PROPERTY.—Nothing in 
this Act shall be construed to require any private property 
owner to permit public access (including Federal, State, 
or local government access) to such private property. 
Nothing in this Act shall be construed to modify any provi-
sion of Federal, State, or local law with regard to public 
access to or use of private lands. 
(b) LIABILITY.—Designation of the Heritage Area 
shall not be considered to create any liability, or to have 
any effect on any liability under any other law, of any pri-
vate property owner with respect to any persons injured 
on such private property. 
(c) RECOGNITION OF AUTHORITY TO CONTROL LAND 
USE.—Nothing in this Act shall be construed to modify 
any authority of Federal, State, or local governments to 
regulate land use. 
(d) PARTICIPATION OF PRIVATE PROPERTY OWNERS 
IN HERITAGE AREAS.—Nothing in this Act shall be con-
strued to require the owner of any private property located 
within the boundaries of the Heritage Area to participate 
in or be associated with the Heritage Area. 
(e) LAND USE REGULATION.—
(1) IN
GENERAL.—The management entity 
shall provide assistance and encouragement to State 
and local governments, private organizations, and 
persons to protect and promote the resources and 
values of the Heritage Area. 
(2) EFFECT.—Nothing in this Act—
(A) affects the authority of the State or 
local governments to regulate under law any use 
of land; or 
(B) grants any power of zoning or land use 
to the management entity. 
(f) PRIVATE PROPERTY.—
(1) IN
GENERAL.—The management entity 
shall be an advocate for land management practices 
consistent with the purposes of the Heritage Area. 
(2) EFFECT.—Nothing in this Act—
(A) abridges the rights of any person with 
regard to private property; 
(B) affects the authority of the State or 
local government regarding private property; or 
(C) imposes any additional burden on any 
property owner. 
SEC. 9. REQUIREMENTS FOR INCLUSION OF PRIVATE 
PROPERTY. 
(a) NOTIFICATION
AND CONSENT
OF PROPERTY 
OWNERS REQUIRED.—No privately owned property shall 
be governed by the management plan for the Heritage 
Area until the owner of that private property has been 
notified in writing by the management entity and has 
given written consent for such inclusion to the manage-
ment entity.
(b) LANDOWNER WITHDRAW.—Any owner of private 
property included within the boundary of the Heritage 
Area, and not notified under subsection (a), shall have 
their property immediately removed from the boundary by 
submitting a written request to the management entity. 
SEC. 10. SAVINGS PROVISIONS. 
(a) RULES, REGULATIONS, STANDARDS, AND PER-
MIT PROCESSES.—Nothing in this Act shall be construed 
to impose any environmental, occupational, safety, or 
other rule, regulation, standard, or permit process in the 
Heritage Area that is different from those that would be 
applicable if the Heritage Area had not been established. 
(b) WATER AND WATER RIGHTS.—Nothing in this 
Act shall be construed to authorize or imply the reserva-
tion or appropriation of water or water rights. 
(c) NO DIMINISHMENT
OF STATE AUTHORITY.—
Nothing in this Act shall be construed to diminish the au-
thority of the State to manage fish and wildlife, including 
the regulation of fishing and hunting within the Heritage 
Area. 
(d) EXISTING NATIONAL HERITAGE AREAS.—Noth-
ing in this Act shall affect any national heritage area so 
designated before the date of the enactment of this Act.
SEC. 11. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be appro-
priated to carry out this Act $10,000,000, of which not 
more than $1,000,000 may be authorized to be appro-
priated for any fiscal year. 
(b) COST-SHARING REQUIREMENT.—The Federal 
share of the total cost of any activity assisted under this 
Act shall be not more than 50 percent. 
SEC. 12. TERMINATION OF AUTHORITY. 
The authority of the Secretary to provide assistance 
under this Act terminates on the date that is 10 years 
after the date of the enactment of this Act.
Æ