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Did Somebody Sneak Another Unit Into The National Park System?

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By NPT Staff - April 3rd, 2018

One of the buildings at Ste. Genevieve National Historical Park/NPS

It seems that while no one was really paying much attention that another unit was added to the National Park System. Apparently in that 2,200-page omnibus bill Congress passed the other week and the president signed into law there was an amendment that created Ste. Genevieve National Historical Park in Missouri. At least in name.

"Ste. Genevieve National Historical Park was authorized by the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2018 on March 23, 2018. The act incorporates by reference Section 7134 of Senate Bill 1460, which authorizes the establishment of Ste. Genevieve National Historical Park as a unit of the National Park System 'to preserve, protect, and interpret for the benefit of present and future generations the themes of French settlement, vernacular architecture, and community form and farming on the frontier associated with Ste. Genevieve,'" the National Park Service announced on its park planning website.

Read a bit further and you'll learn that the park, which is expected to cover less than 13 acres, won't officially be created until "(A) sufficient land has been acquired for the Historical Park to constitute a manageable unit; and (B) the (Interior) Secretary has entered into a written agreement providing that land owned by the State, the City of Ste. Genevieve, or other entity within the Historic District shall be managed consistent with the purposes of this section."

According to the National Parks Conservation Association, which supported the park, Ste. Genevieve, which was established in the mid-1700s, "was the first settlement on the west bank of the Mississippi River and is still the only surviving French Colonial village in the U.S."

It could be a while before you can visit and get your Park Passport stamped.

"The National Park Service and Department of Interior will work with state and local entities towards meeting the conditions for establishment of Ste. Genevieve National Historical Park," the quiet announcement added. "The establishment of a new national park can take time, as can making a site ready for NPS operation and visitation. We appreciate your continued interest in Ste. Genevieve as the newest authorized unit of the National Park System." 

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