SECTION 1. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.
(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds and declares the
following:
(1) The city of Casper, Wyoming, is nationally
significant as the only geographic location in the
western United States where 4 congressionally rec-
ognized historic trails (the Oregon Trail, the Mor-
mon Trail, the California Trail, and the Pony Ex-
press Trail), the Bridger Trail, the Bozeman Trail,
and many Indian routes converged.
(2) The historic trails that passed through the
Casper area are a distinctive part of the national
character and possess important historical and cul-
tural values representing themes of migration, settle-
ment, transportation, and commerce that shaped the
landscape of the West.
(3) The Bureau of Land Management has not
yet established a historic trails interpretive center in
Wyoming or in any adjacent State to educate and
focus national attention on the history of the mid-
19th century immigrant trails that crossed public
lands in the Intermountain West.
(4) At the invitation of the Bureau of Land
Management, the city of Casper and the National
Historic Trails Foundation, Inc. (a nonprofit cor-
poration established under the laws of the State of
Wyoming) entered into a memorandum of under-
standing in 1992, and have since signed an assist-
ance agreement in 1993 and a cooperative agree-
ment in 1997, to create, manage, and sustain a Na-
tional Historic Trails Interpretive Center to be lo-
cated in Casper, Wyoming, to professionally inter-
pret the historic trails in the Casper area for the
benefit of the public.
(5) The National Historic Trails Interpretive
Center authorized by this Act is consistent with the
purposes and objectives of the National Trails Sys-
tem Act (16 U.S.C. 1241 et seq.), which directs the
Secretary of the Interior to protect, interpret, and
manage the remnants of historic trails on public
lands.
(6) The State of Wyoming effectively joined the
partnership to establish the National Historic Trails
Interpretive Center through a legislative allocation of
supporting funds, and the citizens of the city of Cas-
per have increased local taxes to meet their financial
obligations under the assistance agreement and the
cooperative agreement referred to in paragraph (4).
(7) The National Historic Trails Foundation,
Inc. has secured most of the $5,000,000 of non-Fed-
eral funding pledged by State and local governments
and private interests pursuant to the cooperative
agreement referred to in paragraph (4).
(8) The Bureau of Land Management has com-
pleted the engineering and design phase of the Na-
tional Historic Trails Interpretive Center, and the
National Historic Trails Foundation, Inc. is ready
for Federal financial and technical assistance to con-
struct the Center pursuant to the cooperative agree-
ment referred to in paragraph (4).
(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are the fol-
lowing:
(1) To recognize the importance of the historic
trails that passed through the Casper, Wyoming,
area as a distinctive aspect of American heritage
worthy of interpretation and preservation.
(2) To assist the city of Casper, Wyoming, and
the National Historic Trails Foundation, Inc. in es-
tablishing the National Historic Trails Interpretive
Center to memorialize and interpret the significant
role of those historic trails in the history of the
United States.
(3) To highlight and showcase the Bureau of
Land Management’s stewardship of public lands in
Wyoming and the West.
SEC. 2. NATIONAL HISTORIC TRAILS INTERPRETIVE CEN-
TER.
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of the Interior,
acting through the Director of the Bureau of Land Man-
agement (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’),
shall establish in Casper, Wyoming, a center for the inter-
pretation of the historic trails in the vicinity of Casper,
including the Oregon Trail, the Mormon Trail, the Califor-
nia Trail, and the Pony Express Trail, the Bridger Trail,
the Bozeman Trail, and various Indian routes. The center
shall be known as the National Historic Trails Interpretive
Center (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Center’’).
(b) FACILITIES.—The Secretary, subject to the avail-
ability of appropriations, shall construct, operate, and
maintain facilities for the Center—
(1) on land provided by the city of Casper, Wy-
oming;
(2) in cooperation with the city of Casper and
the National Historic Trails Interpretive Center
Foundation, Inc. (a nonprofit corporation estab-
lished under the laws of the State of Wyoming); and
(3) in accordance with—
(A) the Memorandum of Understanding
entered into on March 4, 1993, by the city, the
foundation, and the Wyoming State Director of
the Bureau of Land Management; and
(B) the cooperative agreement between the
foundation and the Wyoming State Director of
the Bureau of Land Management, numbered
K910A970020.
(c) DONATIONS.—Notwithstanding any other provi-
sion of law, the Secretary may accept, retain, and, subject
to the availability of appropriations, expend donations of
funds, property, or services from individuals, foundations,
corporations, or public entities for the purpose of develop-
ment and operation of the Center.
(d) ENTRANCE FEE.—Notwithstanding section 4 of
the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 (16
U.S.C. 460l–6a), the Secretary may—
(1) collect an entrance fee from visitors to the
Center; and
(2) subject to appropriations, use amounts re-
ceived by the United States from that fee for ex-
penses of operation of the Center.
(e) CONCESSIONS.—The Secretary may—
(1) take actions to encourage and enable pri-
vate persons to provide and operate facilities and
services at the Center in the same manner and ex-
tent as the Secretary may take such actions, with re-
spect to areas administered by the National Park
Service, under the Public Law 89–249 (16 U.S.C.
20a et seq.), popularly known as the National Park
System Concessions Policy Act; and
(2) subject to appropriations, use amounts re-
ceived by the United States from such facilities and
services for development and operation of the Cen-
ter.
(f) AUTHORIZATION
OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There
are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary
$5,000,000 to carry out this section.
Passed the House of Representatives March 30,
1998.
Attest:
Clerk.