Mr. Chairman, thank
you for the opportunity to present the Department’s views on H.R. 3747, a bill
to direct the Secretary of Interior to conduct a study of the site commonly
known as Eagledale Ferry dock at Taylor Avenue in the state of Washington for
potential inclusion in the National Park System.
The Department does
not oppose this bill. Presently, there
are 34 studies pending, of which we expect to transmit 4 to Congress by the end
of 2002. We have also testified this
Congress on 15 proposals that would authorize studies of new sites. To meet the President’s Initiative to
eliminate the deferred maintenance backlog, we must continue to focus our
resources on caring for existing areas in the National Park System. Thus, we have concerns about adding new
funding requirements for new park units, national trails, wild and scenic
rivers or heritage areas at the same time that we are trying to reduce the
deferred maintenance backlog. As such, the
Department will identify all acquisition, one time and operational costs of the
proposed site. At this time, those
costs are unknown.
Because of their
proximity to Fort Warden, a key Pacific theater listening post, the
Japanese-Americans from Bainbridge Island were the first group to be interned
under Civilian Exclusion Order No. 1.
On March 30, 1942 only six days after the order was issued, 227 men,
women, and children were forcibly removed from their homes, boarded the ferry
at Eagledale, bound for Manzanar, and later Minidoka Relocation Centers. Members of an exceptionally integrated
community on the small island, their internment was strongly protested by the
local newspaper editor and many members of the community; powerful historic
photographs record the passage of the internees as they were marched down
Taylor Avenue to the ferry dock. Many
of the internees returned to their Bainbridge Island home after the war to
rebuild their lives. Survivors and
their children and grandchildren, together with the larger Bainbridge
community, are today committed to creating an enduring memorial to honor the
internees and tell the story of internment.
The National Park Service has begun
developing a General Management Plan for the Minidoka Internment National
Monument established in 2001. Inasmuch
as the Eagledale Ferry dock was used as the embarkation point for Japanese and
Japanese-Americans forced to move to internment camps, the General Management
Plan will consider the relationship of sites such as the Eagledale Ferry Dock
to the Minidoka Internment National Monument.
The National Park Service has also been working with citizen groups and
the City of Bainbridge Island to document the significance of the Eagledale
Ferry Dock site as it relates to the story of the internment of Japanese and
Japanese Americans during World War II.
At the national
level, the National Park Service is sponsoring National Historic Landmark theme
studies related to the history of Japanese Americans and to the home front
during World War II. Both studies
should provide significant information on the history of the Japanese in the
Pacific Northwest, including those who settled on Bainbridge Island. In
addition, we serve as the stewards of two of the camps to which the Bainbridge
internees were sent – Manzanar National Historic Site and Minidoka Internment
National Monument.
This concludes my
testimony. Thank you for the opportunity to discuss this issue and I would be
willing to answer any questions you may have on this issue.