114 STAT. 3068 PUBLIC LAW 106-577—DEC. 28, 2000 Public Law 106-577 106th Congress An Act To establish the Galifomia Trail Interpretive Center in Elko, Nevada, to facilitate Dec. 28, 2000 the interpretation of the history of development and use of trails in the settling [S. 2749] of the western portion of the United States, and for other piuposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, California Trail TITLE I—CALIFORNIA TRAIL leuSc?JI/'* - INTERPRETIVE CENTER note. SEC. 101. SHORT TITLE. This title may be cited as the "California Trail Interpretive Act". SEC 102. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. (a) FINDINGS. —Congress finds that— (1) the nineteenth-century westward movement in the United States over the Cahfornia National Historic Trail, which occurred from 1840 until the completion of the transcontinental railroad in 1869, was an important cultural and historical event in— (A) the development of the western land of the United States; and (B) the prevention of colonization of the west coast by Russia and the British Empire; (2) the movement over the California Trail was completed by over 300,000 settlers, many of whom left records or stories of their journeys; and (3) additional recognition and interpretation of the movement over the California Trail is appropriate in light of— (A) the national scope of nineteenth-century westward movement in the United States; and (B) the strong interest expressed by people of the United States in understanding their history and heritage. (b) PURPOSES. — The purposes of this title are— (1) to recognize the California Trail, including the Hastings Cutoff and the trail of the ill-fated Donner-Reed Party, for its national, historical, and cultural significance; and (2) to provide the public with an interpretive facility devoted to the vital role of trails in the West in the development of the United States. SEC. 103. DEFINITIONS. In this title:
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