09.15.04

Senate Approves Cantwell Legislation to Create Lewis and Clark National Historic Park

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today the U.S. Senate approved U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell's (D-WA) bill to create a "Lewis and Clark National Historic Park," encompassing Fort Clatsop National Memorial, other state parks and the sites proposed for protection. The legislation would also protect three Washington state sites significant to Lewis and Clark's original expedition.

"Lewis and Clark's epic journey is the backbone of our state's story," Cantwell said. "The Lewis and Clark National Historic Park will ensure the Lewis and Clark story is told to future generations in a fresh and exciting way."

In preparation for next year's bicentennial celebration of Lewis and Clark's historic expedition, Cantwell's bill, the Lewis and Clark National Historical Park Act of 2004 (S. 2167), will protect three sites, totaling 560 acres, on the lower Columbia River that played crucial roles during the Corps of Discovery expedition's dramatic arrival at the Pacific Ocean. It will protect Clark's Dismal Nitch, where the expedition first viewed the ocean and was trapped during a horrific six-day storm. It will also set aside Station Camp, where the group held a historic vote among all group members – including Sacagawea and York – on where the expedition should stay for the winter. Finally, Cantwell's bill will preserve Cape Disappointment, marking the furthest point westward reached by Lewis and Clark.

The legislation designates these sites and Oregon's Fort Clatsop National Memorial as the "Lewis and Clark National Historic Park." The bill also authorizes management partnerships with Oregon's Ecola State Park and Fort Stevens State Park, and Washington's Fort Columbia State Park and Cape Disappointment State Park.

Cantwell's bill is supported by the U.S. Department of the Interior; state legislators, including State Sen. Mark L. Doumit, State Rep. Brian Hatfield, and State Rep. Brian Blake; and historian Rex Ziak, who Sen. Cantwell invited to testify at a hearing on the bill last month.

Cantwell's legislation comes after the National Park Service completed a year-long public process, determining these three sites of "national significance, suitability, and feasibility" and recommended they be added to Fort Clatsop. The study was a result of legislation Cantwell cosponsored in 2002, called the Fort Clatsop Expansion Act. The bill also expanded Fort Clatsop National Memorial from 125 acres to 1500 acres. The park is the only national park solely dedicated to Lewis and Clark.

Senators Gordon Smith (R-OR), Patty Murray (D-WA), and Ron Wyden (D-OR) co-sponsored Cantwell's bill when she introduced it in March of this year.

Rep. Brian Baird (D-WA-03) introduced a companion measure, which passed the U.S. House of Representatives.

Cantwell serves on the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and is a member of the Senate Lewis and Clark Bicentennial Congressional Caucus.