[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 634 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
108th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 634
To amend the National Trails System Act to direct the Secretary of the
Interior to carry out a study on the feasibility of designating the
Trail of the Ancients as a national historic trail.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 17, 2003
Mr. Hatch (for himself, Mr. Domenici, and Mr. Bingaman) introduced the
following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on
Energy and Natural Resources
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the National Trails System Act to direct the Secretary of the
Interior to carry out a study on the feasibility of designating the
Trail of the Ancients as a national historic trail.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. FINDINGS.
Congress finds that--
(1) the Trail of the Ancients in the Four Corners Area, one
of the areas of greatest archaeological interest in the United
States, provides access to numerous examples of the Ancestral
Puebloan culture;
(2) the Trail highlights areas and sites where--
(A) the earliest inhabitants were Paleo-Americans,
nomadic people who traveled through and lived in the
area as early as 10,000 B.C.; and
(B) the Ancestral Puebloan Indians lived from
approximately 1 to 1300 A.D.;
(3) the Trail features sites that chronicle the Ute and
Navajo Indian culture;
(4) the archaeological sites of the area have been well
preserved by the semi-arid climate of the area;
(5) national and international recognition of sites in the
area has contributed to the wealth of information about the
people who have inhabited the area;
(6) the Trail, which is officially designated a Scenic
Byway in the States of Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico,
intersects and shares stops with other Federal and State
designated byways and highways, including San Juan Skyway in
the State of Colorado and the Utah Bicentennial Highway; and
(7) designating the Trail of the Ancients as a national
historic trail--
(A) would link many of the cultural and
recreational sites in the area for the benefit of the
traveling public and communities along the Trail; and
(B) would not require acquisition of additional
land.
SEC. 2. TRAIL OF THE ANCIENTS FEASIBILITY STUDY.
Section 5(c) of the National Trails System Act (16 U.S.C. 1244(c))
is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(41) Trail of the ancients historic trail.--
``(A) In general.--The Trail of the Ancients,
extending approximately 710 miles through the States of
Utah, New Mexico, Colorado, and Arizona.
``(B) Report.--On completion of the study under
this paragraph, the Secretary shall submit to the
Committee on Resources of the House of Representatives
and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of
the Senate a copy of the study.
``(C) During the course of the study, the Secretary
shall gather the input of affected communities.''.
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