(2) pursue implementation of remaining rec-
ommendations of the Vision for Maumee Valley 
Stewardship prepared by the National Park Service 
in 1996; 
(3) raise awareness of the national significance 
of the Maumee Valley; 
(4) promote heritage, cultural, and recreational 
tourism, and to develop relevant educational and cul-
tural programs for visitors, residents and the general 
public; 
(5) recognize and interpret important events 
representing the role of the many Native Americans, 
European Americans, African-Americans, Hispanic 
Americans and other immigrants who populate the 
Valley; 
(6) provide a management framework to foster 
close working partnerships with all levels of govern-
ment, the private sector, and local communities in 
the region; and 
(7) provide appropriate leadership and linkages 
between units of the National Park System and 
communities, State and local governments, and area 
organizations with similar missions. 
SEC. 3. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
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(1) The Maumee River Valley is a distinctive 
landscape that preserves a rich, nationally signifi-
cant cultural heritage. The events that transpired in 
the Maumee Valley in the 18th and early 19th cen-
turies were critical to the Nation’s transformation 
from wilderness to Nation. The clash of cultures be-
tween Native peoples and Euro-Americans that took 
place here helped define United States history dur-
ing its formative years. 
(2) Humans have occupied the Maumee Valley 
for 12,000 years. By the 1770s, one of the largest 
Native 
American 
villages 
in 
North 
America, 
Kiihkayonki (Kekionga), was located at the head-
waters of the Maumee River at Ft. Wayne. This re-
gion was the home of Miami, Wyandot, Delaware, 
Shawnee, Ottawa, and Potawatomi, Kickapoo, and 
Chippewa Indian tribes. 
(3) Native American tribes and confederations, 
France, Britain, colonial militias, and United States 
armies under President Washington’s orders all vied 
with one another for control of the Maumee Valley 
as it became the crucible of an emerging Nation. 
Legendary Native Americans Pontiac, Tecumseh, 
Little Turtle, and Blue Jacket challenged the Amer-
ican military presence under Anthony Wayne, Wil-
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liam Henry Harrison, and William Clark. The 
Maumee Valley was the target of three unsuccessful 
invasions of the United States by the British and 
their Indian allies, leading the way to a treaty that 
created long-lasting peace between the United States 
and Canada along the longest unguarded boundary 
in the world. 
(4) Historic settlements such as Kekionga and 
strategic outposts along the Maumee River, includ-
ing Fort Wayne, Fort Defiance, Fort Winchester, 
Fort Meigs, and Fort Miamis (a British fort on 
United States soil), and the Fallen Timbers Battle-
field. 
(5) In 1999, Congress and the National Park 
Service recognized the national significance of the 
Maumee Valley’s early military history by desig-
nating Fallen Timbers Battlefield and Fort Miamis 
as affiliated units of the National Park System. 
(6) The Maumee Valley’s abundance of natural 
resources has also been widely recognized, and its 
network of rivers provided the key transportation 
system to the interior, and later aided construction 
and operation of the second longest canal in the 
world by the 1840s. The Maumee River was des-
ignated a State Scenic and Recreational River by the 
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Ohio Department of Natural Resources in the 
1960s. More recently, the vast Oak Openings region 
is recognized on the Nature Conservancy’s list of 
Last Great Places on Earth for its numerous endan-
gered species. In 1999, the Ohio Department of 
Transportation designated portions of the Maumee 
Valley as a State Scenic Byway. And in 2000, the 
Maumee Valley was one of the first three places des-
ignated as an Ohio Heritage Area by the Ohio De-
partment of Development. Once covered by the 
Great Black Swamp, it now contains some of the 
richest farmland in the world. 
(7) The Maumee Valley Heritage Area includes 
the counties of Allen, Indiana, and Paulding, Defi-
ance, Henry, Wood and Lucas, Ohio. Many local, re-
gional, and State agencies and organizations, includ-
ing the Maumee Valley Heritage Corridor, Inc., the 
Metropolitan Park District of Toledo, and the Allen 
County/Fort Wayne Historical Society have shown 
the desire and ability to work with Federal agencies 
to protect, preserve, and enhance the resources 
found within the Maumee Valley that reflect this 
unique heritage. 
(8) As the largest river flowing into the Great 
Lakes, the Maumee River is known for its ecological, 
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political, and historical importance in a region with 
84 percent of our Nation’s fresh water and over 20 
percent of the world’s freshwater resource. 
SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) HERITAGE
AREA.—The term ‘‘Heritage 
Area’’ means the Maumee Valley National Heritage 
Area, established in section 5. 
(2) LOCAL COORDINATING ENTITY.—The term 
‘‘local coordinating entity’’ means the local coordi-
nating entity for the Heritage Area designated by 
section 5(d). 
(3) MANAGEMENT PLAN.—The term ‘‘manage-
ment plan’’ means the management plan for the 
Heritage Area required by section 7. 
(4) MAP.—The term ‘‘map’’ means the map en-
titled ‘‘Maumee Valley National Heritage Area, Pro-
posed Boundary’’ numbered T16/80,001 and dated 
September 2008. 
(5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of the Interior. 
(6) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means Ohio and 
Indiana. 
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