Kentucky Wildlands National Heritage Area Study Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 5305 To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study to assess the suitability and feasibility of designating certain land as the Kentucky Wildlands National Heritage Area, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES DECEMBER 5, 2019 Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources A BILL To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study to assess the suitability and feasibility of desig- nating certain land as the Kentucky Wildlands National Heritage Area, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Kentucky Wildlands 4 National Heritage Area Study Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 6 In this Act: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:42 Dec 10, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5305.IH H5305 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 5305 IH (1) HERITAGE AREA.—The term ‘‘Heritage 1 Area’’ means the Kentucky Wildlands National Her- 2 itage Area. 3 (2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 4 the Secretary of the Interior. 5 (3) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means the State 6 of Kentucky. 7 (4) STUDY AREA.—The term ‘‘study area’’ 8 means— 9 (A) the counties in the State of Adair, 10 Bath, Bell, Boyd, Breathitt, Carter, Casey, 11 Clay, Clinton, Cumberland, Elliott, Floyd, 12 Green, Harlan, Jackson, Johnson, Knott, Knox, 13 Laurel, Lawrence, Lee, Leslie, Letcher, Lin- 14 coln, Magoffin, Martin, McCreary, Menifee, 15 Metcalfe, Monroe, Morgan, Owsley, Perry, Pike, 16 Pulaski, Rockcastle, Rowan, Russell, Wayne, 17 Whitley, and Wolfe Counties; and 18 (B) any other areas in the State that— 19 (i) have heritage aspects that are 20 similar to the areas described in paragraph 21 (1); and 22 (ii) are adjacent to, or in the vicinity 23 of, those areas. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:42 Dec 10, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5305.IH H5305 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 5305 IH SEC. 3. STUDY. 1 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consultation 2 with State and local historic preservation officers, State 3 and local historical societies, State and local tourism of- 4 fices, and other appropriate organizations and govern- 5 mental agencies, shall conduct a study to assess the suit- 6 ability and feasibility of designating the study area as a 7 National Heritage Area, to be known as the ‘‘Kentucky 8 National Heritage Area’’. 9 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—The study shall include anal- 10 ysis, documentation, and determinations on whether the 11 study area— 12 (1) has an assemblage of natural, historic, and 13 cultural resources that— 14 (A) represent distinctive aspects of the her- 15 itage of the United States; 16 (B) are worthy of recognition, conserva- 17 tion, interpretation, and continuing use; and 18 (C) would be best managed— 19 (i) through partnerships among public 20 and private entities; and 21 (ii) by linking diverse and sometimes 22 noncontiguous resources and active com- 23 munities; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:42 Dec 10, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5305.IH H5305 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 5305 IH (2) reflects traditions, customs, beliefs, and 1 folklife that are a valuable part of the story of the 2 United States; 3 (3) provides outstanding opportunities— 4 (A) to conserve natural, historic, cultural, 5 or scenic features; and 6 (B) for recreation and education; 7 (4) contains resources that— 8 (A) are important to any identified themes 9 of the study area; and 10 (B) retain a degree of integrity capable of 11 supporting interpretation; 12 (5) includes residents, business interests, non- 13 profit organizations, and State and local govern- 14 ments that— 15 (A) are involved in the planning of the 16 Heritage Area; 17 (B) have developed a conceptual financial 18 plan that outlines the roles of all participants in 19 the Heritage Area, including the Federal Gov- 20 ernment; and 21 (C) have demonstrated support for the des- 22 ignation of the Heritage Area; 23 (6) has a potential management entity to work 24 in partnership with the individuals and entities de- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:42 Dec 10, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5305.IH H5305 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •HR 5305 IH scribed in paragraph (5) to develop the Heritage 1 Area while encouraging State and local economic ac- 2 tivity; 3 (7) could impact the rights of private property 4 owners with respect to their private property; and 5 (8) has a conceptual boundary map that is sup- 6 ported by the public. 7 SEC. 4. REPORT. 8 Not later than 3 years after the date on which funds 9 are first made available to carry out this Act, the Sec- 10 retary shall submit to the Committee on Natural Re- 11 sources of the House of Representatives and the Com- 12 mittee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate 13 a report that describes— 14 (1) the findings of the study under section 3; 15 and 16 (2) any conclusions and recommendations of the 17 Secretary. 18 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:42 Dec 10, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H5305.IH H5305 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS