To amend the National Trails System Act to extend the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail.

March 18, 2003

Mr. BAYH introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

To amend the National Trails System Act to extend the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the `Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail Amendments Act of 2003'.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

Congress finds that--

(1) the National Trails System--

(A) was established in 1968 to--

(i) provide additional recreational opportunities to the people of the United States; and

(ii) preserve access to outdoor areas and historical resources of the United States; and

(B) since 1968, has been modified to--

(i) recognize new categories of trails; and

(ii) expand trails;

(2) the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail, as designated in 1978, omits several historically significant sites relating to the Lewis and Clark Expedition;

(3) Meriwether Lewis and William Clark gathered at the Falls of the Ohio, located in Clarksville, Indiana, and Louisville, Kentucky, to plan and prepare for the expedition;

(4) the Falls of the Ohio was also the site at which--

(A) Lewis and Clark selected the first enlisted members of the expedition; and

(B) those members were sworn into the Army at a ceremony witnessed by General George Rogers Clark;

(5) on July 13, 2001, the National Park Service certified the Falls of the Ohio as an official Lewis and Clark site associated with the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail;

(6) on July 22, 2002, the National Park Service certified historic Locust Grove in Louisville, Kentucky, as an official Lewis and Clark site associated with the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail;

(7) the National Council of the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial has designated the Falls of the Ohio as a national signature event site at which to commemorate, during October 2003, the bicentennial of events in the area relating to the Lewis and Clark Expedition; and

(8) the areas in and around Clarksville, Indiana, and Louisville, Kentucky, including the Falls of the Ohio--

(A) are the sites of events that were significant to the Lewis and Clark Expedition; and

(B) should be recognized and protected as components of the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail.

SEC. 3. EXTENSION OF LEWIS AND CLARK NATIONAL HISTORIC TRAIL.

Section 5(a)(6) of the National Trails System Act (16 U.S.C. 1244(a)(6)) is amended--

(1) by striking `(6) The' and inserting the following:

`(6) LEWIS AND CLARK NATIONAL HISTORIC TRAIL-

`(A) IN GENERAL- The'; and

(2) by inserting after subparagraph (A) (as designated by paragraph (1)) the following:

`(B) ADDITIONAL ROUTE- In addition to the route described in subparagraph (A), the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail shall include the route traveled by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark from the Falls of the Ohio, located in Clarksville, Indiana, and Louisville, Kentucky, to Wood River, Illinois.'.

END