Senator Maria Cantwell Lewis & Clark Washington State Sites Included in Senate Bill
WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) today announced that the Energy and Natural Resources Committee passed legislation to study whether several important Lewis and Clark sites in Washington state should become national parks. Senator Cantwell worked with Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) to include the Washington state sites in the Fort Clatsop National Memorial Expansion Act.
"Including the Station Camp site, Megler Rest Area and Fort Canby State Park in Senator Wyden's legislation is an important first step in determining the best ways for the National Park Service to support local efforts to commemorate the bicentennial," Cantwell said.
The bicentennial of Lewis and Clark's journey will be celebrated from the year 2003 through 2006 and is expected to increase tourism in the region.
Lewis and Clark spent 106 days during the winter of 1805 in Oregon at Fort Clatsop; a memorial was established in 1958 to commemorate their stay.
The Station Camp site in Washington state is across the river from the Fort Clatsop. Station Camp is the site where the expedition first saw the Pacific Ocean and of the historic vote about where the expedition should spend the winter. The Megler Rest Area is the location where the expedition was caught for five days before reaching Station Camp. Fort Canby State Park is where the expedition actually reached the Pacific Ocean. The state park already contains an interpretive center on military life and Chinook Indian culture, with Lewis & Clark displays and trails.
The National Park Service has been working since the 1950s to negotiate the purchase of Lewis and Clark's ocean trail lands. If designated national parks, the sites may include a partnership between the state and federal government.
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