I 
119TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 6798 
To amend the John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recre-
ation Act to designate as a component of the National Heritage Area 
System the Calumet National Heritage Area in the States of Indiana 
and Illinois, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
DECEMBER 17, 2025 
Ms. KELLY of Illinois (for herself, Mr. YAKYM, Mr. MRVAN, Mr. DAVIS of Illi-
nois, Mr. CASTEN, and Mr. JACKSON of Illinois) introduced the following 
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 
A BILL 
To amend the John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Manage-
ment, and Recreation Act to designate as a component 
of the National Heritage Area System the Calumet Na-
tional Heritage Area in the States of Indiana and Illi-
nois, 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 ‘‘Calumet National Her-
itage Area Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds that— 
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(1) the Calumet region is composed of— 
(A) 3 counties in the State of Indiana; and 
(B) portions of 2 counties in the State of 
Illinois; 
(2) taken as a whole, the Calumet region— 
(A) possesses exceptional cultural, natural, 
and historical resources that form a cohesive 
and nationally distinctive landscape; 
(B) showcases landscapes that arose from 
the unprecedented encounter of United States 
industrial urbanization with a richly biodiverse 
natural region at the southern end of Lake 
Michigan; and 
(C) offers compelling educational opportu-
nities relating to— 
(i) the manner in which industrial 
progress forged dramatic changes to the 
natural world; 
(ii) the importance of environmental 
conservation and restoration, innovation, 
and change for industries and workers; 
and 
(iii) the range of cultural practices 
brought to the Calumet region by the large 
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numbers of immigrants and migrants who 
settled in the Calumet region; 
(3) there is a national interest in conserving, 
restoring, promoting, and interpreting the benefits 
of the Calumet National Heritage Area for— 
(A) the residents of the Calumet region; 
and 
(B) visitors to the Calumet National Herit-
age Area; 
(4) the nationally significant historical and cul-
tural resources located in the Calumet National Her-
itage Area represent unique aspects of the heritage 
of the United States; 
(5) the Calumet region— 
(A) was previously designated as a natural 
botanical preserve; and 
(B) was the site of early advances in the 
science of ecology; 
(6) with respect to the economic development of 
the United States— 
(A) the post-Civil War industrial boom in 
the Calumet region made the Calumet region 
the largest industrial district in the world dur-
ing the first half of the 20th century; 
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(B) the Calumet region remains the lead-
ing steel producing region in the United States; 
(C) the economic development took place 
at the water, rail, and highway transportation 
crossroads of the United States; and 
(D) industrialists pioneered new methods 
of housing employees in industrial towns at 
Pullman, Marktown, and Gary; 
(7) employees that were drawn to the Calumet 
region made the Calumet region a crucible of work-
ing class and ethnic cultures; 
(8) new approaches to natural resource man-
agement in an industrial region were developed in 
the Calumet region; 
(9) significant historical and cultural sites in 
the Calumet region include— 
(A) the ongoing presence of the steel in-
dustry in the United States, including the most 
recently constructed integrated steelworks and 
the largest operating integrated steelworks; 
(B) Pullman National Historical Park; 
(C) Indiana Dunes National Park; 
(D) a National Historic Landmark; 
(E) 4 Historic American Engineering 
Record sites; 
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(F) 5 Historic American Buildings Survey 
sites; 
(G) 2 National Scenic Byways; 
(H) 2 units of the National Water Trails 
System; and 
(I) 2 National Underground Railroad Net-
work to Freedom sites; 
(10) nationally significant natural and physical 
resources in the Calumet region include spectacular 
natural, scenic, and recreational assets, including— 
(A) Indiana Dunes National Park, 1 of the 
most species-rich units of the National Park 
System, including the critical conservation land 
that buffers the unit; 
(B) outstanding examples of glaciated 
landscapes that illustrate ecological succession; 
(C) 5 national natural landmarks; 
(D) 48,000 acres of land protected outside 
the boundary of the Indiana Dunes National 
Park, a significant record of urban conservation 
by land trusts, local park districts, and forest 
preserve districts; and 
(E) an active legacy of ecological restora-
tion, including on the Grand Calumet Area of 
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Concern and at hundreds of sites benefitting 
from volunteer contributions; 
(11) local public and private partnerships based 
on the visions of the community and region that are 
working together to promote the stewardship, en-
hancement, and interpretation of the resources of 
the Calumet National Heritage Area; 
(12) to promote the goals described in para-
graph (11), local residents, organizations, and gov-
ernments support the establishment of a national 
heritage area, as indicated in the Calumet National 
Heritage Area Feasibility Study approved by the 
National Park Service; and 
(13) the designation of the Calumet National 
Heritage Area would enhance the efforts to promote 
the cultural, natural, historical, and recreational re-
sources of the Calumet region that have been made 
by— 
(A) the States of Indiana and Illinois; 
(B) political subdivisions of the States of 
Indiana and Illinois; 
(C) the Field Museum of Natural History; 
(D) Indiana Dunes Tourism; 
(E) the South Shore Convention and Visi-
tors Authority; 
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(F) volunteer organizations; and 
(G) private businesses. 
SEC. 3. DESIGNATION OF CALUMET NATIONAL HERITAGE 
AREA. 
(a) DESIGNATION.—Section 6001(a) of the John D. 
Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation 
Act (Public Law 116–9; 133 Stat. 768; 136 Stat. 6163) 
is amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(14) CALUMET NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—There is established 
as a component of the National Heritage Area 
System the Calumet National Heritage Area in 
the States of Indiana and Illinois, as depicted 
on the map on page 25 of the Calumet National 
Heritage Area Feasibility Study, dated April 
14, 2018, as subsequently modified, the bound-
aries of which start at 71st Street and Lake 
Michigan in Chicago and proceed west along 
71st Street to Western Avenue, then south on 
Western Avenue to 95th Street, then west on 
95th Street to Pulaski Road, then south on Pu-
laski Road to I–57, then south on I–57 to 
Crete-Monee Road, then east on Crete-Monee 
Road, continuing on West New Monee Road to 
end at State Street, and then extend to the In-
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diana State Line, with Lake, Porter, and 
LaPorte Counties included. 
‘‘(B) LOCAL COORDINATING ENTITY.—The 
Calumet Heritage Partnership shall be the local 
coordinating entity for the National Heritage 
Area designated by subparagraph (A).’’. 
(b) MANAGEMENT PLAN.—For the purposes of sec-
tion 6001(c) of the John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, 
Management, and Recreation Act (Public Law 116–9; 133 
Stat. 772; 136 Stat. 6173), the local coordinating entity 
for the Calumet National Heritage Area designated under 
the amendment made by subsection (a) shall submit to 
the Secretary of the Interior for approval a proposed man-
agement plan for the Calumet National Heritage Area not 
later than 3 years after the date of enactment of this Act. 
(c) TERMINATION OF AUTHORITY.—For the purposes 
of subsection (g)(4) of section 6001 of the John D. Din-
gell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act 
(Public Law 116–9; 133 Stat. 776), the authority of the 
Secretary of the Interior to provide assistance under that 
section for the Calumet National Heritage Area des-
ignated under the amendment made by subsection (a) 
shall terminate on the date that is 15 years after the date 
of enactment of this Act. 
Æ 
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