Forks of the Ohio National Scenic Trail Study Act of 2003

Forks of the Ohio National Scenic Trail Study Act of 2003 - Designates the Forks of the Ohio National Scenic Trail, tracing or approximating the historic transportation routes in Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, and Ohio that led to the forks of the Ohio River in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, for study for potential addition to the National Trail System.

[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1520 Introduced in House (IH)]







108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1520

   To amend the National Trails System Act to designate the historic 
  transportation routes in the States of Pennsylvania, Maryland, West 
     Virginia, and Ohio that led to the forks of the Ohio River in 
   Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, for study for potential addition to the 
                        National Trails System.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 31, 2003

  Mr. Murtha introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                         Committee on Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend the National Trails System Act to designate the historic 
  transportation routes in the States of Pennsylvania, Maryland, West 
     Virginia, and Ohio that led to the forks of the Ohio River in 
   Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, for study for potential addition to the 
                        National Trails System.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Forks of the Ohio National Scenic 
Trail Study Act of 2003''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) A key to the growth of the United States as a world 
        power was the opening of America's great heartland drained by 
        the Ohio River and continuing downstream to the Mississippi 
        River and Gulf of Mexico.
            (2) The significance of this region is evident in the fact 
        that the War for Empire was triggered by claims and counter-
        claims to the land by both the French and the British in the 
        1750's, and by the central role that the region played in 
        America's transformation from an agrarian to an industrial 
        society.
            (3) The Forks of the Ohio National Scenic Trail traces many 
        of these historical transportation routes to the beginning of 
        the Ohio River, including the efforts of George Washington to 
        find a primarily water-based route from Wills Creek (now 
        Cumberland, Maryland) to the Forks of the Ohio (now 
        Pittsburgh); the route used by the French from Lake Erie to 
        French Creek and down the Allegheny River to the Forks; the 
        route of the Pennsylvania Mainline Canal from Harrisburg to 
        Pittsburgh that greatly improved transportation to Pittsburgh a 
        century later; and the historic railroad corridors into the 
        region, several of which followed for the most part these 
        earlier routes.
            (4) Many of these rail corridors are now abandoned and have 
        been or are being converted into trails for hiking and 
        bicycling.
            (5) The designation of these trails as a national scenic 
        trail--
                    (A) would offer unique opportunities for 
                nonmotorized transportation and recreation that would 
                expose trail users to the rich history of the War for 
                Empire and development of transportation, coal mining, 
                rail building and other industries that made the United 
                States a rich and powerful Nation; and
                    (B) would give appropriate recognition to the 
                frontiersmen who explored the region; the French, 
                British and Indians who fought the War for Empire; the 
                pioneers and later the immigrants who settled the 
                region, built the transportation systems, mined the 
                coal, poured the steel, etc.

SEC. 3. DESIGNATION OF FORKS OF THE OHIO HISTORIC TRANSPORTATION ROUTES 
              FOR STUDY FOR POTENTIAL ADDITION TO THE NATIONAL TRAILS 
              SYSTEM.

    Section 5(c) of the National Trails System Act (16 U.S.C. 1244(c)) 
is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
                                    ``(XX) Forks of the ohio national 
                                scenic trail.--The Forks of the Ohio 
                                National Scenic Trail, tracing or 
                                approximating the historic 
                                transportation routes to the forks of 
                                the Ohio River in Pittsburgh, 
                                Pennsylvania, including routes used by 
                                British and French military forces 
                                before and during the French and Indian 
                                War, the route of the Pennsylvania 
                                Mainline Canal and subsequent canal 
                                systems, and various railroad 
                                corridors, including historic rail 
                                lines that were used primarily for coal 
                                hauling. The routes covered by the 
                                study cross portions of the States of 
                                Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, 
                                and Ohio.''.
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