Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions
STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS -- (Senate - February 01, 2007)
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By Mr. CRAPO (for himself and Mr. CRAIG):
S. 477. A bill to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to convey certain land and improvements of the Gooding Division of the Minidoka Project, Idaho; to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
Mr. CRAPO. Mr. President, I am pleased to reintroduce a bill today with my colleague, Senator CRAIG to formally convey title a portion of the American Falls Reservoir District from the Bureau of Reclamation to the National Park Service in our home State of Idaho.
The Minidoka Internment National Monument Draft General Management Plan and Environment Impact Statement proposes, the transfer of these two publicly owned parcels of land, which are both within and adjacent to the existing 73-acre NPS boundary, and have been identified as important for inclusion as part of the Monument. The sites were both within the original 33,000-acre Minidoka Relocation Center that was operated by the War Relocation Authority, where approximately 13,500 Japanese and Japanese Americans were held from 1942 through 1945.
The smaller 2.31-acre parcel is located in the center of the monument in the old warehouse area and includes three historical buildings and other important cultural features. The Draft General Management Plan proposes to use this site for visitor services, including a Visitor Contact Station within an original warehouse to greet visitors and provide orientation for the monument. The other, a 7.87-acre parcel, is on the east end of the monument and was undeveloped during WWII. The NPS proposes to use this area for special events and to provide a site for the development of a memorial for the Issei, first-generation Japanese immigrants. These two publicly-owned properties are critical for long-term development, visitor services, and protection and preservation of historical structures and features at Minidoka Internment National Monument.
I would like to add that this legislation was developed with and is strongly supported by both the agencies involved and the local communities. I ask my colleagues to join me in enacting this small land transfer that we might move a step closer toward properly memorializing an important, but often forgotten, chapter of our Nation's history.
I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the RECORD.
There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to printed in the Record, as follows:
S. 477
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