Bill Text: VA HJR566 | 2015 | Regular Session | Enrolled
Bill Title: Lewis & Clark Eastern Legacy Trail; designating as portion of Lewis & Clark National Historic Trail.
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Republican 36-14)
Status: (Passed) 2015-02-25 - Bill text as passed House and Senate (HJ566ER) [HJR566 Detail]
Download: Virginia-2015-HJR566-Enrolled.html
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WHEREAS, in 1978, Congress established the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail from Wood River, Illinois, to the mouth of the Columbia River in Oregon and Washington; in 2008 a feasibility study was authorized by Congress to determine whether the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail should be extended eastward to include routes and sites associated with the preparation and return phases of the Lewis and Clark Corps of Discovery expedition; and WHEREAS, the National Trails System Act provides for certification of other lands as protected segments of an historic trail upon the application from state or local governments if the segments meet the national historic trail criteria; and WHEREAS, on December 10, 2012, the Deputy Secretary of Natural Resources of the Commonwealth, on behalf of the Office of the Governor, confirmed Virginia's continued commitment to developing national historic trails; and WHEREAS, the National Park Service has collected a substantial amount of historical data concerning the travels of Captain Meriwether Lewis and Second Lieutenant William Clark in 84 sites along the Great Valley Corridor in Virginia pre-Expedition and post-Expedition, including their personal and business connections, and the identification of associated historic, natural, and cultural sites; and WHEREAS, information from the National Park Service indicates that Lewis and Clark traveled from 1803 to 1813 in the Counties of Albemarle, Augusta, Botetourt, Essex, Fairfax, Lee, Louisa, Montgomery, Orange, Pittsylvania, Pulaski, Rockbridge, Scott, Smyth, Washington, and Wythe and the Cities of Alexandria, Fredericksburg, Richmond, and Roanoke; and WHEREAS, extending the portion of the trail that runs through Virginia would have potential beneficial effects on the economic development and tourism industry of the region; affected localities have indicated their support of the expansion of the trail and passage of legislation requesting that Virginia apply to the National Park Service to be designated a Lewis and Clark Eastern Legacy State and express support of an eastward extension of the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly designate the portion of the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail that runs through the Commonwealth as the Lewis and Clark Eastern Legacy Trail in Virginia; and, be it RESOLVED FURTHER, That the National Park Service extend the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail eastward; and, be it RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates transmit a copy of this resolution to Margaret W. Crosson, president and chair of the Lewis and Clark Eastern Legacy Trail Regional Committee and the Mountain Valley Preservation Alliance, Inc., so that members of the Lewis and Clark Eastern Legacy Trail Regional Committee and the Mountain Valley Preservation Alliance, Inc., may be apprised of the sense of the General Assembly of Virginia in this matter; and, be it RESOLVED FINALLY, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates post the designation of the Lewis and Clark Eastern Legacy Trail in Virginia on the General Assembly's website. |
