STATEMENT OF JEFFREY K. TAYLOR, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, OFFICE OF LEGISLATIVE AND CONGRESSIONAL AFFAIRS, NATIONAL PARK SERVICE, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON NATIONAL PARKS OF THE SENATE COMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND NATURAL RESOURCES, CONCERNING S. 2623, A BILL TO DESIGNATE THE CEDAR CREEK BATTLEFIELD AND BELLE GROVE PLANTATION NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK AS A UNIT OF THE NATIONAL PARK SYSTEM.

SEPTEMBER 19, 2002

While the Department recognizes the appropriateness of designating a Cedar Creek - Belle Grove unit of the National Park System, we recommend that the Committee defer action on S. 2623 during the remainder of the 107^th Congress. In order to meet the President's initiative to eliminate the deferred maintenance backlog, we need to continue to focus our resources on existing areas in the National Park System. Park units of a similar size, once fully operational, can have annual operational costs of $1-2 million, which is a significant amount compared to the $9.3 million that was requested in FY 2003 for park base operational increases across the entire National Park System.

S. 2623 would establish an approximately 3000-acre Cedar Creek Battlefield and Belle Grove Plantation National Historical Park in the Shenandoah Valley of Northwestern Virginia. The new park would encourage partnerships and build on years of local preservation efforts. Although originally conceived as a battlefield park, the purpose of the new park was expanded to include a much broader scope, while embracing the key goal of promoting the Civil War heritage of the Shenandoah Valley. S. 2623 would establish a boundary for the National Historical Park in which the existing partners would continue to own, operate, and manage visitor "anchor" sites within the park boundary. The Park Service would be authorized to acquire the remaining property from willing sellers.

The bill would also establish the Cedar Creek Battlefield and Belle Grove Plantation National Historical Park Advisory Commission to ensure local, regional, and national involvement in the preparation and implementation of a management plan for the national historical park and to identify additional sites of significance outside the park boundary. Finally, S. 2623 would authorize the Secretary to enter into cooperative agreements with private landowners, non-profit organizations, governmental entities, and others for the purpose of preserving, interpreting, operating, maintaining, and managing park resources.

For over 135 years, local efforts have been directed at protecting the Civil War heritage of the Shenandoah Valley. The Battle of Cedar Creek, also known as the Battle of Belle Grove, was a major event of the Civil War. It represented the end of the Shenandoah Valley campaign of 1864. This victory by Union forces had major political implications as well, in contributing to the reelection of President Abraham Lincoln. With President Lincoln's reelection, the resolve of the Union forces to continue the war was assured.

The Plantation of Belle Grove was at the center of the decisive battle of Cedar Creek. The site includes a significant Manor House and a slave cemetery, among many other important elements. The recognition in this legislation of both the battle and the way of life at that time adds to the appreciation of the significance and meaning of the Shenandoah Valley and the Civil War. The park boundary represents portions of the historical core of the battlefield and includes the remaining earthworks, the Vermont Monument, and the New York Monument.

The Belle Grove Plantation Manor House was built in 1797 with design assistance from President Thomas Jefferson. The Manor House was saved by the National Trust for Historic Preservation and has been open to the public as a National Trust Historic Site and private museum since 1967. Several other private historic homes within the boundary are listed on the National Register of Historic Places and the Virginia Historic Register. In addition, in 1969, the National Park Service formally honored the national significance of the Shenandoah Valley in the Civil War with the designation of the Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historic Landmark.

Due to a unique combination of natural features, the area around Cedar Creek has a nearly uninterrupted history of human occupation, as evidenced by archaeological remains. The park also memorializes the important stories of the area, including how Belle Grove Plantation was constructed and operated by African-American slaves who also used caves and caverns in and around Cedar Creek as part of the Underground Railroad.

The legislation would permit the Belle Grove Plantation and the Cedar Creek Battlefield Foundation to continue private ownership of their respective resources critical to the story of Cedar Creek, while permitting the National Park Service to acquire adjacent lands within the boundary from willing sellers. The Cedar Creek Battlefield Foundation may continue to conduct its reenactments, which is a primary purpose of the Foundation. The bill anticipates that these organizations would remain as full partners within the boundary, working collaboratively with the National Park Service and other partners.

Congress, in recognition of the significance of a number of battlefields in the Shenandoah Valley, responded with legislation to establish a national park unit that would have included potentially 12 battlefield units totaling in excess of 100,000 acres. The National Park Service, at that time, opposed this as the wrong approach to protecting this historic landscape and recommended a heritage partnership instead. As a result, Congress established both a National Historic District to function as the heritage partnership, and authorized the Secretary of the Interior to prepare a Special Resource Study to determine "whether the District or components thereof meet the criteria for designation as a unit of the National Park Service."

The Special Resource Study analyzed an approximately 93,000-acre region including 10 battlefield sites. The study concluded that there is a need for direct National Park Service management on core portions of the Cedar Creek Battlefield. The Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation and other non-profit and public entities will preserve lands at other battlefield sites in the National Historic District.

The legislation also fully implements the purposes of the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields National Historic District and Commission Act of 1996 (Public Law 104-333, Title VI, Section 606) and strengthens the partnership between the National Park Service and the recently created Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation. The bill is consistent with the findings of the previous Special Resources Study, prepared by the National Park Service, and the Foundation's approved management plan for the National Historic District.

Should the Committee proceed with the legislation, we believe some amendments are needed to clarify various provisions and to conform the language to that used for other units of the National Park System. We look forward to working with you and the sponsors if this bill moves forward.

Thank you for the opportunity to comment. This concludes my prepared remarks. I would be glad to answer any question that you or members of the subcommittee might have.