César E. Chávez and the Farmworker Movement National Historical Park Act
This bill would redesignate and expand the Cesar E. Chavez National Monument in California into a new national historical park named the Cesar E. Chavez and the Farmworker Movement National Historical Park. The park would span sites in both California and Arizona (including the existing Keene site and additional properties such as Forty Acres in Delano, Santa Rita Center in Phoenix, and McDonnell Hall in San Jose), subject to land acquisition or agreements with owners. It would also authorize a broader management plan to determine other possible sites to include and to coordinate interpretation of the farmworker movement. In addition, the bill would add the Delano-to-Sacramento farmworker march route as a National Historic Trail under the National Trails System Act, reflecting a 1966 route associated with Cesar Chavez. The overall aim is to preserve, interpret, and expand access to resources related to Cesar Chavez and the farmworker movement, and to connect related sites into a broader interpretive network.
Key Points
- 1Redesignation and boundary expansion
- 2- The Cesar E. Chavez National Monument would be redesignated as the Cesar E. Chavez and the Farmworker Movement National Historical Park.
- 3- The park boundary would include the Keene, California monument site and may add Forty Acres (Delano, CA), Santa Rita Center (Phoenix, AZ), and McDonnell Hall (San Jose, CA), once land is acquired or an agreement is in place.
- 4- The Secretary must publish notice in the Federal Register within 30 days of adding any new site.
- 5Land acquisition and administration
- 6- The Secretary may acquire land or interests in land by donation, purchase, or exchange to establish and manage the park.
- 7- The park would be administered under the National Park System laws, with flexibility to interpret related sites not owned by the federal government and to enter cooperative agreements with various partners.
- 8General Management Plan and site expansion
- 9- A general management plan must be prepared within 3 years of funds becoming available, including consideration of additional sites (e.g., places in the Coachella Valley, other representative sites within or outside California) and potential links to sites outside the U.S.
- 10- The plan must be developed in consultation with landowners within the boundary and with relevant federal, state, tribal, and private organizations (including the National Chavez Center and Cesar Chavez Foundation), and then shared with Senate and House committees.
- 11Farmworker Peregrinacion National Historic Trail
- 12- The bill would add the 1966 Delano-to-Sacramento march route as the Farmworker Peregrinacion National Historic Trail to the National Trails System Act, covering about 300 miles and aligning with a specific alternative depicted in a National Park Service study.