National Parks Subcommittee Legislative Hearing

October 6, 2021
10:00 AM
366 Dirksen Senate Office Building

The hearing will be held on Wednesday, October 6, 2021, at 10:00 am in Room 366 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, DC.

The purpose of this hearing is to receive testimony on the following bills: 

  • S. 336, to amend the Omnibus Parks and Public Lands Management Act of 1996 to reauthorize the Ohio & Erie National Heritage Canalway, and for other purposes;
  • S. 378, to reauthorize the Rivers of Steel National Heritage Area, the Lackawanna Valley National Heritage Area, the Delaware and Lehigh National Heritage Corridor, the Schuylkill River Valley National Heritage Area, and the Oil Region National Heritage Area, and for other purposes;
  • S. 511, to establish the Bronzeville-Black Metropolis National Heritage Area in the State of Illinois, and for other purposes;
  • S. 635, to reauthorize The Last Green Valley National Heritage Corridor and the Upper Housatonic Valley National Heritage Area, and for other purposes; 
  • S. 654, to reauthorize the Blue Ridge National Heritage Area, and for other purposes;
  • S. 787, to amend the Atchafalaya National Heritage Area Act to extend the authority of the Secretary of the Interior to provide assistance to the local coordinating entity for the Atchafalaya National Heritage Area under that Act;
  • S. 825, to establish the Southern Maryland National Heritage Area, and for other purposes;
  • S. 972, to reauthorize the Essex National Heritage Area, and for other purposes;
  • S. 990, to reauthorize the Northern Rio Grande National Heritage Area;
  • S. 1004, to extend the authorization of the Mormon Pioneer National Heritage Area, to designate the Great Basin National Heritage Route in the State of Nevada as the “Great Basin National Heritage Area”, to designate the Great Basin Heritage Route Partnership as the “Great Basin Heritage Area Partnership”, to extend the authorization of the Great Basin National Heritage Area, and for other purposes;
  • S. 1112, to amend the National Trails System Act to designate the Chisholm National Historic Trail and the Western National Historic Trail, and for other purposes. 
  • S. 1224, to reauthorize, and increase the total funding cap for, the America’s Agricultural Heritage Partnership, to redesignate the America's Agricultural Heritage Partnership as the “Silos & Smokestacks National Heritage Area”, and for other purposes;
  • S. 1258, to extend the authorization of each of the National Coal Heritage Area and the Wheeling National Heritage Area in the State of West Virginia, and for other purposes;
  • S. 1284 / H.R. 2497, to establish the Amache National Historic Site in the State of Colorado as a unit of the National Park System, and for other purposes;
  • S. 1318, to reauthorize the Yuma Crossing National Heritage Area;
  • S. 1329, to amend the National Aviation Heritage Area Act to reauthorize the National Aviation Heritage Area, and for other purposes;
  • S. 1620, to direct the Secretary of the Interior to convey to the city of Eunice, Louisiana, certain Federal land in the State of Louisiana, and for other purposes;
  • S. 1643, to establish the Alabama Black Belt National Heritage Area, and for other purposes;
  • S. 1942, to standardize the designation of National Heritage Areas, and for other purposes;
  • S. 1954, to reauthorize the John H. Chafee Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor, and for other purposes;
  • S. 2158, to extend the authorization of the Cape Cod National Seashore Advisory Commission;
  • S. 2296, to establish the Northern Neck National Heritage Area, and for other purposes;
  • S. 2438, to modify the boundary of the Cane River Creole National Historical Park in the State of Louisiana, and for other purposes;
  • S. 2441, to establish in the States of North Carolina and South Carolina the Southern Campaign of the Revolution National Heritage Corridor, and for other purposes;
  • S. 2482, to amend the Champlain Valley National Heritage Partnership Act of 2006 to reauthorize the Champlain Valley National Heritage Partnership, and for other purposes;
  • S. 2490, to establish the Blackwell School National Historic Site in Marfa, Texas, and for other purposes;
  • S. 2580, to direct the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture to make free National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Passes available to members of the Armed Forces, and for other purposes;
  • S. 2648, to amend the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 to reauthorize the Kenai Mountains-Turnagain Arm National Heritage Area in the State of Alaska, and for other purposes; and
  • S. 2763, to extend the authorization for the MotorCities National Heritage Area in the State of Michigan, and for other purposes.

The Committee will follow guidelines developed in consultation with the Office of the Attending Physician and the Senate Rules Committee to protect the health of members, staff, and the public. Pursuant to this guidance, Senate office buildings are not open to the public other than official business visitors and credentialed press at this time. Accordingly, in-person visitors cannot be accommodated at this hearing.

The hearing will be webcast live on the committee’s website, and an archived video will be available shortly after the hearing concludes. Witness testimony will be available on the website at the start of the hearing.

Archived Webcast

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Witness Panel 1

  • Ms. Joy Beasley

    Associate Director of Cultural Resources, Partnerships, and Science
    National Park Service
  • Ms. Sara Capen

    Chairwoman, Alliance of National Heritage Areas
    Executive Director, Niagara Falls National Heritage Area, Inc.