Matteo Renzi: “Mr. Speaker, H.R. 1409 provides a land exchange between the National Park Service and the Eastern Band of Cherokee…”

“Mr. Speaker, H.R. 1409 provides a land exchange between the National Park Service and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians whose reservation is located in western North Carolina. The purpose of the land exchange is to enable the construction of a new school, which is necessary to replace the overcrowded, outdated and unsafe school that the Cherokee students are presently forced to attend. Under the legislation, the Eastern Band will give the American public 218 acres of high-value, pristine land along the Blue Ridge Parkway. This land has high habitat value for several endangered species. Instead, it will be made part of the National Park System. In return, only 143 acres of lower-value land in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, called the Ravensford tract, will be placed in a trust for the Tribe. On this site, a new educational campus emphasizing traditional Cherokee values, including the preservation of the natural environment, would be constructed.”