David Thomas: “I rise to discuss a project that is extremely important to the city of Casper and the State of Wyoming. The National…”

“I rise to discuss a project that is extremely important to the city of Casper and the State of Wyoming. The National Historic Trails Interpretive Center, located in Casper, is a unique project designed to showcase the importance of Wyoming as a center for a number of historic trails in the West. The site selected for the Center overlooks the place where the Oregon, California, Mormon and Pony Express Trails cross the North Platte River. In addition, the head of the Bridger Trail and a fork of the Bozeman Trail can be seen from the spot. The city of Casper and the State of Wyoming have been working very hard to build an interpretive center that will attract visitors from throughout the nation and provide them with a quality recreational and educational experience. The facility will showcase the important role historic trails played in the development of the West and the incredible hardships faced by settlers as they migrated to all of the western states. The project is strongly supported throughout Wyoming and would be funded through a unique ``public/private'' funding program using local, state and federal sources. Wyoming's congressional delegation has been working on obtaining federal funds for the Historic Trails Center for many years.”