STATEMENT OF SUE MASICA, ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR FOR PARK PLANNING, FACILITIES, AND LANDS, NATIONAL PARK SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, BEFORE THE HOUSE RESOURCES COMMITTEE, SUBCOMMITTEE ON NATIONAL PARKS, RECREATION AND PUBLIC LANDS, ON H.R. 2237, A BILL TO ESTABLISH WITHIN THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE THE 225TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION COMMEMORATIVE PROGRAM, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.
September 14, 2004
Mr. Chairman, thank you for the opportunity to appear before your committee to present the views of the Department of the Interior on H.R. 2237, a bill to establish within the National Park Service the 225th Anniversary of the American Revolution Commemorative Program and for other purposes. The Department appreciates the interest in its ongoing efforts to commemorate the American Revolution but does not believe that this bill is needed. Indeed, creating a new program could divert resources from existing efforts at park units.
The purpose of H.R. 2237 is to recognize the enduring importance of the American Revolution to the lives of citizens of the United States, and to authorize the National Park Service to coordinate, connect, and facilitate Federal and non-Federal activities to commemorate, honor, and interpret the history of the American Revolution, its significance, and its relevance to the shape and spirit of American government and society. The bill would authorize the Secretary of the Interior to establish a program to 1) produce and disseminate educational materials; 2) enter into cooperative agreements and memoranda of understanding to provide technical assistance; 3) assist in the protection of resources associated with the American Revolution; 4) enhance communications, connections, and collaboration among the National Park Service units and programs related to the Revolutionary War; 5) expand the research base for American revolution interpretation and education; and 6) create and adopt an official symbol for the theme “Lighting Freedom’s Flame: American Revolution, 225th Anniversary” and issue regulations for its use. H.R. 2237 authorizes the appropriation of $500,000 for each of fiscal years 2004 through 2009 to carry out the program.
In light of current budget constraints and the President’s commitment to address the maintenance backlog, we recommend that no action be taken on this bill.
This bill would formalize and provide additional funding for a small initiative begun in 1998 by the Northeast and Southeast Regions of the National Park Service with managers of 17 Revolutionary War-related parks and several Washington programs. Now joined by related sites in the National Capital and Midwest Regions as well as Federal and non-Federal sites in 18 states, the initiative seeks to use the 225th anniversary to enhance public awareness of the various meanings and enduring legacy of the Revolution. While many parks are planning and carrying out a variety of activities and special events, the initiative’s role is to bring System-wide coordination and therefore a higher public profile to this important anniversary running from 2000 to 2008. These parks are working hard to address their shared challenges, which include coordinating and communicating among parks and partner sites, telling the comprehensive story of the Revolution, and addressing concerns that include a lack of current scholarship on key topics, outdated interpretive and educational programs and facilities, and resource threats.
In their 2001 Action Agenda for the National Park Service 225th Anniversary of the American Revolution, the authors of the initiative noted several notable accomplishments including production of a new brochure, American Revolution at a Glance, a new website at www.nps.gov/revwar giving an overview of the Revolutionary War period along with information on park and partner programs and events, as well as public symposia in Boston, Massachusetts and Greensboro, North Carolina, where prominent scholars shared their views on the “Changing Meanings of Freedom” and the “American Revolution in the South.” They are also working on several research projects and exhibit modules and producing an introductory film on the Revolutionary War for visitors and a children’s video in partnership with the History Channel and A&E Productions.
The Action Agenda articulates the initiative’s purposes, accomplishments, goals and vision for the future, and recommends activities in the areas of research, interpretation, education, partnerships, and resource protection. It notes that enhanced research is a vital starting point for improved interpretive, educational, and resource protection efforts, and lays out an approach that would place the Revolution in the broadest and most inclusive possible context. This would include enhancing educational programs, strengthening relationships with historical re-enactors, and establishing partnerships with local and state governments and others to protect threatened Revolutionary War sites. Recommendations include enhancing training to keep parks current with new scholarly research, encouraging park friends groups, and developing means for sharing research and information among sites. Interpretive recommendations include preparing a Revolutionary War handbook linking parks and themes, highlighting recent research on the African-American experience in the Revolutionary War period, and replacing outdated films and exhibits to reflect current scholarship.
As the Agenda states, “With each new generation, it is vital for the National Park Service to reevaluate its commemoration and interpretation of the American Revolution, to consider current scholarly and popular understandings of how and why this country was founded, and to strengthen its long-term plans for preserving sites associated with the Revolution. The Action Agenda outlined above will enable us to take a fresh, Servicewide look at an event that is crucial to the nation’s sense of itself.”
Thank you for the opportunity to share our comments with you and the committee. This concludes my prepared remarks. I would be glad to answer any questions that you or the members of the committee may have.