St. Croix National Heritage Area Study Act

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 280, legislation to create the National Aviation Heritage Area and urge my colleagues to support its passage. H.R. 280 includes as one of its sections, my bill, H.R. 1594, to provide for a suitability and feasibility study of establishing a St. Croix National Heritage Area in the United States Virgin Islands.

The island of St. Croix has a long, distinguished, and varied history, including being the site where Christopher Columbus first stepped onto what is now American soil. There is significant interest in preserving and enhancing the natural, historical and cultural resources of the island on a cooperative basis and such a study would provide guidance on how we can best achieve those purposes.

National Heritage areas are places where natural, cultural, historical and recreational resources combine to form a nationally distinctive landscape arising from patterns of human activity shaped by geography.

While each island can make a good case for designation, the island of St. Croix with its two historic towns--Christiansted built in 1734 and Frederiksted built in 1752--is richly blessed with all of the attributes that would justify this designation.

The town's historic architecture matured over a 100-year period. The town of Christiansted is one of the finest examples of Danish architectural designs in this hemisphere. Its history can be traced back some 4,000 years to 2500 BC.

In 1493 Columbus arrived at what is now the Salt River National Historic Park and Ecological Preserve, making it the only site under the American flag where his men went ashore, as well as the first recorded hostile encounter between Europeans and Native Americans.

Frederiksted has the distinction of having been the first jurisdiction to have raised its flag in salute of the new republic of the United States of America, and indeed the first designed flag was done by a resident of that island.

Among the many strong ties of great national significance between St. Croix and the United States, perhaps the most significant one is that this island was the boyhood home of Alexander Hamilton, and where he began to develop the skills employed as the first Secretary of the Treasury of this country.

I want to thank Full Committee Chairman Pombo, Ranking Member Rahall as well as Subcommittee Chairman Radanovich for their support is getting H.R. 1594 and H.R. 280 to the floor of the House today.

My colleagues, H.R. 1549 is a good bill, which could serve as a catalyst for reinvigorating the lagging tourism sector on St. Croix. I urge its adoption.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. 211 to authorize a single new National Heritage Area in New Mexico. While the bill combines a number of Heritage Area in New Mexico. While the bill combines a number of Heritage Area proposals, I am particularly pleased to see my legislation, H.R. 1594, to provide for a study of the suitability and feasibility of establishing my home island of St. Croix as a National Heritage Area was also included in this package.

The island of St. Croix has a long, distinguished, and varied history, including being the site where Christopher Columbus first stepped onto what is now American soil. There is significant interest in preserving and enhancing the natural, historical and cultural resources of the island on a cooperative basis and such a study would provide guidance on how we can best achieve those purposes.

Even though each of the U.S. Islands can make a good case for designation as a National Heritage Area, the island of St. Croix with its two historic towns--Christiansted built in 1734 and Frederiksted built in 1752--is richly blessed with all of the attributes that would justify this designation.

The town's historic architecture matured over a 100-year period. The town of Christiansted is one of the finest examples of Danish architectural designs in this hemisphere. Its history can be traced back some 4,000 years to 2500 B.C.

In 1493 Columbus arrived at what is now the Salt River National Historic Park and Ecological Preserve, making it the only site under the American flag where his men went ashore, as well as the first recorded hostile encounter between Europeans and Native Americans.

Frederiksted has the distinction of having been the first jurisdiction to have raised its flag in salute of the new Republic of the U.S.A., and indeed the first designed flag was done by a resident of that Island.

Mr. Speaker, S. 211 as amended, also includes important legislation to conserve and interpret important cultural and historical resources in Pennsylvania, Ohio and South Carolina. Many of our colleagues, including Mike Doyle of Pennsylvania, Jim Clyburn of South Carolina and a new Member of this Congress, Tim Ryan of Ohio, have worked long and hard to shepherd these measures through the legislative process.

In conclusion, Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Full Committee Chairman Pombo, Ranking Member Rahall, as well as Subcommittee Chairman Radanovich for their efforts in moving S. 211 to the floor of the House today.

I urge our colleagues to support S. 211.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of S. 211, which includes language to establish the Northern Rio Grande National Heritage Area. I am pleased to have sponsored H.R. 505, companion legislation to S. 211 as introduced and passed in the Senate. That version of the Senate legislation only provided for establishment of the Northern Rio Grande National Heritage Area. The bill before us today, however, includes an additional 100 pages of legislative language pertaining to other heritage area designations. Nevertheless, I am pleased that we will be moving one step closer to making the Northern Rio Grande Heritage Area a reality.

The establishment of the Northern Rio Grande National Heritage Area is a citizen-driven effort to protect the remaining significant resources representative of the Spanish

and Pueblo colonial era in north-central New Mexico. The bill identifies the northern New Mexico counties of Rio Arriba, Santa Fe and Taos as a National Heritage Area--an elite designation from Congress reserved for areas regarded as a significant resource.

Northern New Mexico boasts many sites of historic and cultural significance. Our State is a blend of Pueblo and Hispanic cultures, making it a very unique and special place in our country. This legislation would identify many of the sites that tell northern New Mexico's story, help preserve them and, in the process, allow them to be more thoroughly enjoyed by New Mexicans and visitors to our State. Preservation would directly led to economic development of this area through enhanced tourism.

The legislation creates a non-profit corporation governed by a 15- to 25-member board of trustees charged with developing a management plan for the heritage area. The board will consist of representatives from the State, affected counties, tribes, cities and others. The corporation's plan would consist of recommendations for identifying, conserving and preserving cultural, historical and natural resources within the heritage area, along with strategies to promote tourism of the region's natural and cultural assets.

The Northern Rio Grande Heritage Area is supported by the city of Espanola, the city of Santa Fe, Santa Fe County, Rio Arriba County, Taos County, La Jicarita Enterprise Community, the Chimayo Cultural Preservation Association, and the Eight Northern Pueblos. I urge my colleagues to join me and these communities and organizations in support of this legislation by voting for its passage today.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the Senate bill (S. 211) to establish the Northern Rio Grande National Heritage Area in the State of New Mexico, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, S. 211, introduced by Senator Bingaman of New Mexico, and as amended by the Committee on Resources, contains 11 titles; however, eight of the 11 have already once passed this House. Therefore, in the interest of brevity, I will focus on the two titles that have not yet been considered by the full House, titles I and XI of the bill.

Title I would establish the Northern Rio Grande National Heritage Area across three counties within the State of New Mexico to commemorate the unique combination of cultures, languages, folk arts, customs, and architecture associated with the Spanish colonization of New Mexico beginning in 1598.

Finally, title XI contains language that would ensure the continued availability of the Utah Test and Training Range in northwestern Utah to support the readiness and training needs of the United States Armed Forces. That title takes advantage of the opportunity to make permanent the terms of military access and use, while also taking an important step towards resolving the outstanding Bureau of Land Management wilderness recommendations in Utah.

I urge adoption of the bill.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, we have no objection to consideration of this measure.

This bill, S. 211, authorizes a single new National Heritage Area in New Mexico. Over the course of this Congress, however, a number of Heritage Area proposals have moved forward, but unfortunately, few have actually been enacted into law. Therefore, consideration of Senate bill 211 provides an opportunity to combine several of these proposals.

Mr. Speaker, we have no objection to the consideration of this measure.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.