16 U.S.C. § 450hh: Saint Croix Island International Historic Site; establishment; acceptance of land; size

For the purpose of establishing a Federal area of national historical importance for the benefit of the people of the United States, the Secretary of the Interior is authorized to accept, for national monument purposes, on behalf of the United States, the donation of all non-Federal lands and interests in land situated on Saint Croix (Dochet) Island, located in the Saint Croix River, in the State of Maine. The Secretary is authorized to acquire, in such manner as he may consider to be in the public interest, not to exceed fifty acres of land or interests therein situated on the mainland, such property to be used for general administrative purposes and for a landing dock in order to provide a suitable approach and ready access to the island. “This Act may be cited as the ‘Saint Croix Island Heritage Act’. Saint Croix Island is located in the Saint Croix River, a river that is the boundary between the State of Maine and Canada; the Island is the only international historic site in the National Park System; in 1604, French nobleman Pierre Dugua Sieur de Mons, accompanied by a courageous group of adventurers that included Samuel Champlain, landed on the Island and began the construction of a settlement; the French settlement on the Island in 1604 and 1605 was the initial site of the first permanent settlement in the New World, predating the English settlement of 1607 at Jamestown, Virginia; many people view the expedition that settled on the Island in 1604 as the beginning of the Acadian culture in North America; in October, 1998, the National Park Service completed a general management plan to manage and interpret the Saint Croix Island International Historic Site; the plan addresses a variety of management alternatives, and concludes that the best management strategy entails developing an interpretive trail and ranger station at Red Beach, Maine, and a regional heritage center in downtown Calais, Maine, in cooperation with Federal, State, and local agencies; a 1982 memorandum of understanding, signed by the Department of the Interior and the Canadian Department for the Environment, outlines a cooperative program to commemorate the international heritage of the Saint Croix Island site and specifically to prepare for the 400th anniversary of the settlement in 2004; and only 4 years remain before the 400th anniversary of the settlement at Saint Croix Island, an occasion that should be appropriately commemorated. The purpose of this Act is to direct the Secretary of the Interior to take all necessary and appropriate steps to work with Federal, State, and local agencies, historical societies, and nonprofit organizations to facilitate the development of a regional heritage center in downtown Calais, Maine[,] before the 400th anniversary of the settlement of Saint Croix Island. The term ‘Island’ means Saint Croix Island, located in the Saint Croix River, between Canada and the State of Maine. The term ‘Secretary’ means the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Director of the National Park Service. The Secretary shall provide assistance in planning, constructing, and operating a regional heritage center in downtown Calais, Maine, to facilitate the management and interpretation of the Saint Croix Island International Historic Site. to provide exhibits, interpretive services (including employing individuals to provide such services), and technical assistance; to conduct activities that facilitate the dissemination of information relating to the Saint Croix Island International Historic Site; to provide financial assistance for the construction of the regional heritage center in exchange for space in the center that is sufficient to interpret the Saint Croix Island International Historic Site; and to assist with the operation and maintenance of the regional heritage center. There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act (including the design and construction of the regional heritage center) $2,000,000. Paragraph (1) authorizes funds to be appropriated on the condition that any expenditure of those funds shall be matched on a dollar-for-dollar basis by funds from non-Federal sources. There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are necessary to maintain and operate interpretive exhibits in the regional heritage center.”