Bright sponsors Chattahoochee Trace bill

Congressman Bobby Bright has sponsored his second bill since being sworn into Congress a little less than a month ago.

H.R. 867 would authorize a feasibility study for establishing a National Heritage Area in the Chattahoochee Trace Corridor of Alabama and Georgia. In the 110th Congress, former Congressman Terry Everett introduced the same bill, H.R. 1408. It has received support in the past from senators Richard Shelby and Jeff Sessions as well as members of the Georgia delegation who share the region with Alabama. Congressman Mike Rogers from Alabama’s Third District is an original co-sponsor of H.R. 867.

“The Chattahoochee Trace Corridor is a unique and special part of the country and it deserves federal recognition,” Bright said. “I am grateful for the bi-partisan support this legislation has received, and I am glad to be able to reintroduce legislation that my predecessor sponsored in the last Congress. While the Senate has already passed this legislation, I strongly believed it needed a champion in the House. I urge its quick passage.”

The feasibility study has already been included in S. 22, the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009, which the House is set to consider in the coming weeks. The region covered in the Chattahoochee Trace Corridor is an 18-county area in Alabama and Georgia, including Barbour, Dale, Henry, and Houston cin the Second District. Chambers, Lee, and Russell counties are also included in the area.

The Historic Chattahoochee Commission also voiced its support for HR 867.
“The passage of HR 867, the Chattahoochee Trace National Heritage Corridor Study Act bill, will have a tremendous impact on the future of the eighteen county bi-state area served by the Historic Chattahoochee Commission,” said the Commission’s Executive Director, Doug Purcell. “Once completed, the study will clearly show that the Chattahoochee Trace region meets the National Heritage Area Criteria as set forth by the National Park Service. The actual National Heritage Area designation will, over time, be a positive economic force for change in the region. In addition, this designation will be a major factor in improving the quality of life for many thousands of people who live along the lower Chattahoochee River in Alabama and Georgia.”

National Heritage Areas are regions designated by Congress for having significant geographical, cultural, or historical significance. In contrast to National Parks, National Heritage Areas are not federally owned or managed, but remain maintained and controlled by local entities. Communities designated as a National Heritage Areas are eligible for federal funding to be used for promoting tourism and conservation.