César E. Chávez and the Farmworker Movement National Historical Park Act
This bill would redesignate and expand the existing Cesar E. Chavez National Monument into the Cesar E. Chavez and the Farmworker Movement National Historical Park, creating a multi-site, cross-state unit in California and Arizona. The park would include the original monument site in Keene, California, and, subject to land acquisition or binding agreements, additional sites such as the Forty Acres site in Delano (CA), the Santa Rita Center in Phoenix (AZ), and McDonnell Hall in San Jose (CA). It also authorizes the National Park Service (NPS) to acquire land or interests through donation, purchase, or exchange and to administer the park under NPS laws with opportunities for interpretation at related non-NPS sites. The bill requires a general management plan within three years and directs consideration of additional sites in California and beyond, plus the creation of the Farmworker Peregrinacion National Historic Trail (about 300 miles from Delano to Sacramento) as part of the National Trails System. In short, the bill elevates Chavez and the farmworker movement to a National Historical Park spanning multiple sites, expands boundaries over time, formalizes land acquisition and management processes, and adds a major historic trail to the federal trails system to help interpret this chapter of American labor history.
Key Points
- 1Redesignation and expansion: Converts the Cesar E. Chavez National Monument into the Cesar E. Chavez and the Farmworker Movement National Historical Park, encompassing sites in California and Arizona.
- 2Boundary and included sites: Establishes the park boundary around the Keene, CA monument and, with conditions, may include Forty Acres (Delano, CA), Santa Rita Center (Phoenix, AZ), and McDonnell Hall (San Jose, CA).
- 3Land acquisition and administration: Allows the Secretary of the Interior to acquire land or interests by donation, purchase (with donated or appropriated funds), or exchange; administration follows National Park System laws, with authority to interpret Chavez’s life and farmworker history on non-NPS land and to enter cooperative agreements.
- 4General Management Plan: Requires a park-wide plan within three years, including potential additions (e.g., Coachella Valley sites and other reviewed sites) and linking to related sites elsewhere; recommendations for additional sites to Congress after plan completion.
- 5Farmworker Peregrinacion National Historic Trail: Adds a new National Historic Trail to the National Trails System Act, outlining a roughly 300-mile route from Delano to Sacramento, CA, corresponding to the farmworkers’ 1966 pilgrimage.