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Wyden, Smith Introduce Bill to Create Lewis and Clark National
Historical Park
Park Will Welcome Bicentennial Visitors,
Increase Tourism
March 4, 2004
Washington, D.C. – Today,
Senators Gordon Smith (R-OR) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) introduced legislation
to create the Lewis and Clark National Historical Park, which
would expand the Fort Clatsop Memorial area near Astoria and incorporate
three historic sites in adjacent southwest Washington.
“Fort Clatsop is one of Oregon’s important tourism
treasures,” said Smith. “Further commemorating one
of Oregon’s great contributions to American history is a
special invitation to travelers far and wide.”
“Renaming and expanding Fort Clatsop will commemorate Lewis
and Clark’s great journey and allow tourists a historical
adventure of their own into the rich history of the Northwest,”
said Wyden. “I am pleased to have had the opportunity to
work with members of both the Oregon and Washington congressional
delegations in an effort to make this a bipartisan, regional success.”
Smith and Wyden previously introduced legislation authorizing
the National Park Service (NPS) to expand Fort Clatsop, where
explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark spent the winter
of 1805, and to study the inclusion of the three historic Washington
sites. After the bill passed Congress, the NPS conducted its study
and outlined the feasibility of the expansion in a report to the
Department of the Interior in July 2003. Last week, Interior Secretary
Gale Norton publicly supported the incorporation of the Washington
sites and called for legislation to authorize the expansion and
establishment of a National Historical Park. Historic Fort Clatsop
marked the conclusion of Lewis and Clark’s journey across
the continent and was their home for the winter of 1805.
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