Regular Session 2015-2016 House Resolution 0949 P.N. 3682

PRINTER'S NO. 3682

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA

HOUSE RESOLUTION

No.

949

Session of

2015

INTRODUCED BY PETRARCA, READSHAW, SCHLOSSBERG, COHEN, SACCONE,

DRISCOLL, DiGIROLAMO, KIRKLAND, LONGIETTI, D. COSTA, ENGLISH,

MAHONEY, GIBBONS, MARSHALL, WHEELAND, DONATUCCI, HENNESSEY,

MILNE, MURT, PHILLIPS-HILL, SAYLOR AND BRADFORD,

JUNE 30, 2016

INTRODUCED AS NONCONTROVERSIAL RESOLUTION UNDER RULE 35,

JUNE 30, 2016

A RESOLUTION

Strongly urging the National Park Service to complete the

Eastern Legacy Special Resource Study mandated by the

Congress of the United States in 2008, and recommending

inclusion of the Eastern Legacy sites, including 67

Pennsylvania counties, in the Lewis and Clark National

Historic Trail.

WHEREAS, The Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail was

established by the Congress of the United States in 1978 and

extended to the West from Wood River, Illinois, to the mouth of

the Columbia River in Oregon and Washington; and

WHEREAS, Section 343 of the Consolidated Natural Resources

Act of 2008 directed the National Park Service to conduct a

special resource study to assess the suitability and feasibility

of extending the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail to

include Eastern Legacy sites, the historic routes and sites in

the east that were vital to the preparation and planning of the

Lewis and Clark Corps of Discovery expedition; and

WHEREAS, Extending the Lewis and Clark National Historic

Trail eastward fulfills the objectives of the National Trails

System, established in 1968, providing for the ever-increasing

outdoor recreation needs of an expanding population and

promoting the preservation of, public access to, travel within,

and the enjoyment and appreciation of open-air, outdoor areas

and historic resources of the nation; and

WHEREAS, Meriwether Lewis and the Lewis and Clark expedition

have strong ties to this Commonwealth; and

WHEREAS, Meriwether Lewis was mentored in Lancaster and

Philadelphia by leading scholars and scientists of the day,

including Andrew Ellicott, Robert Patterson, Benjamin Rush,

Benjamin Smith Barton and Caspar Wistar; and

WHEREAS, The expedition keelboat was built by Captain John

Walker from timber cut and sawed in Elizabeth before the final

fitting at Fort Lafayette in Pittsburgh; and

WHEREAS, Meriwether Lewis purchased his dog, Seaman, in

Pittsburgh; and

WHEREAS, The Lewis and Clark Journals were started August 30,

1803, in Pittsburgh; and

WHEREAS, Meriwether Lewis traveled Braddock's Road, known as

the National Road after 1806, from Charleston, Virginia, now

West Virginia, to Pittsburgh; and

WHEREAS, United States Secretary of the Treasury Albert

Gallatin of Friendship Hill in Fayette County advised Thomas

Jefferson that Meriwether Lewis should consider linguistics,

ethnology and geography during his exploration to the West; and

WHEREAS, Two historical markers in Pittsburgh note the site

of Fort Lafayette and the keelboat launch site beginning

Meriwether Lewis' journey down the Ohio River; and

WHEREAS, The Lewis and Clark Journals are preserved today at

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the American Philosophical Society in Philadelphia; and

WHEREAS, Plants and botanical material collected by Lewis and

Clark are preserved in the Academy of Natural Sciences in

Philadelphia; and

WHEREAS, The City Tavern, where Meriwether Lewis dined, has

been reconstructed within the National Park Service Independence

National Historical Park in Philadelphia; and

WHEREAS, The Woodlands, a National Historic Landmark District

in Philadelphia, has plants grown from seed harvested during the

Lewis and Clark expedition; and

WHEREAS, Contributions of Philadelphia to Lewis and Clark

History, Walk in the Footprints of Lewis and Clark in

Philadelphia and other maps and brochures have already been

printed and are available for distribution; and

WHEREAS, The Library Company of Philadelphia preserves the

copy of History of Louisiana by Antoine du Pratz that Meriwether

Lewis carried to the Pacific Ocean and back; and

WHEREAS, The Athenaeum of Philadelphia preserves one of the

telescopes that was carried on the expedition; and

WHEREAS, The First National Bank of the United States,

located in Philadelphia, exhibits portraits of Lewis and Clark

painted by Charles Willson Peale; and

WHEREAS, The journal of Corps of Discovery member Sergeant

Patrick Gass was published in Pittsburgh in 1807 and the

comprehensive journals of Lewis and Clark were published by

Nicholas Biddle in Philadelphia in 1814; and

WHEREAS, Tourism is a major component of Pennsylvania's

economy; and

WHEREAS, The addition of Pennsylvania's 67 counties to the

Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail would greatly benefit

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the tourism industry and overall economy of this Commonwealth;

therefore be it

RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives strongly urge the

National Park Service to complete the Eastern Legacy Special

Resource Study mandated by the Congress of the United States in

2008, and recommend inclusion of the Eastern Legacy sites,

including 67 Pennsylvania counties, in the Lewis and Clark

National Historic Trail; and be it further

RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to

the following:

(1) Governor Tom Wolf.

(2) Secretary of Community and Economic Development

Dennis M. Davin.

(3) Members of the Pennsylvania's Congressional

Delegation.

(4) Jonathan B. Jarvis, Director, National Park Service,

1849 C Street, NW, Washington, DC 20240.

(5) Cameron H. Sholly, Regional Director, Midwest

Region, National Park Service, 601 Riverfront Drive, Omaha,

NE 68102.

(6) James L. Mallory, Vice Chairman, Lewis and Clark

Trust, Inc., 1867 Bellefonte Drive, Lexington, KY 40503.

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