United States S 3932: Downeast Maine National Heritage Area Act

Bill Text

II
117TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION S. 3932
To establish the Downeast Maine National Heritage Area in the State of
Maine, and for other purposes.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
MARCH 28, 2022
Mr. KING (for himself and Ms. COLLINS) introduced the following bill; which
was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural
Resources
A BILL
To establish the Downeast Maine National Heritage Area
in the State of Maine, 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 ‘‘Downeast Maine Na-4
tional Heritage Area Act’’. 5
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6
Congress finds that— 7
(1) the area in Maine known as ‘‘Downeast 8
Maine’’ embodies a nationally important story of the 9
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longstanding human dependence on natural re-1
sources to survive and thrive; 2
(2) dramatic changes have occurred on many 3
levels over the last several centuries in Downeast 4
Maine, but even after 10,000 years— 5
(A) the economy and well-being of 6
Downeast Maine depends on the same natural 7
resources that have existed for centuries; and 8
(B) the culture of Downeast Maine con-9
tinues to be shaped by those resources; 10
(3) dependence on the natural resources in 11
Downeast Maine for economic, community, and envi-12
ronmental health has led to habitat conservation and 13
species restoration initiatives that allow natural sys-14
tems and cultural associations to remain intact in 15
Downeast Maine; 16
(4) coastal fisheries, forest products, agri-17
culture, wild blueberries, subsistence harvests, out-18
door recreation, tourism, and habitat conservation 19
are the heart of the culture and economy of 20
Downeast Maine; 21
(5) traditions of trade and culture from the 22
past can be experienced firsthand in Downeast 23
Maine; 24
(6) the Downeast Maine way of life is visible— 25
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(A) in historic districts, working water-1
fronts, and community festivals in Downeast 2
Maine; and 3
(B) at the 51 historical societies and muse-4
ums located in Downeast Maine; 5
(7) Passamaquoddy language and arts and tra-6
ditions from the fishing, logging, maritime, and wild 7
blueberry industries are preserved in audio and pho-8
tographic collections in Downeast Maine; 9
(8) markets and galleries in Downeast Maine 10
showcase arts, foods, and utilitarian products cre-11
ated with the natural resources of the area that can 12
be purchased directly from the producer; 13
(9) community festivals in Downeast Maine cel-14
ebrate the nature-based culture of Downeast Maine; 15
(10) lighthouses and watercraft dominate the 16
coastal scenery in Downeast Maine; and 17
(11) the scenic byways and network of land and 18
water trails in Downeast Maine provide a physical 19
experience of unique geologic features, waterways, 20
wildlife, and working landscapes, such as wild blue-21
berry fields and forests. 22
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 23
In this Act: 24
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(1) HERITAGE AREA.—The term ‘‘Heritage 1
Area’’ means the Downeast Maine National Heritage 2
Area established by section 4(a). 3
(2) LOCAL COORDINATING ENTITY.—The term 4
‘‘local coordinating entity’’ means the local coordi-5
nating entity for the Heritage Area designated by 6
section 5(a). 7
(3) MANAGEMENT PLAN.—The term ‘‘manage-8
ment plan’’ means the plan developed by the local 9
coordinating entity under section 6(a). 10
(4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 11
the Secretary of the Interior. 12
(5) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means the State 13
of Maine. 14
SEC. 4. DOWNEAST MAINE NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA. 15
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established the 16
Downeast Maine National Heritage Area in the State. 17
(b) BOUNDARIES.—The Heritage Area shall consist 18
of Hancock and Washington Counties in the State. 19
SEC. 5. DESIGNATION OF LOCAL COORDINATING ENTITY. 20
(a) LOCAL COORDINATING ENTITY.—The Sunrise 21
County Economic Council shall be the local coordinating 22
entity for the Heritage Area. 23
(b) AUTHORITIES OF LOCAL COORDINATING ENTI-24
TY.—The local coordinating entity may, for purposes of 25
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preparing and implementing the management plan, use 1
Federal funds made available under this Act— 2
(1) to prepare reports, studies, interpretive ex-3
hibits and programs, historic preservation projects, 4
and other activities recommended in the manage-5
ment plan f