S. 1007

A bill to amend the Dayton Aviation Heritage Preservation Act of 1992 to rename a site of the Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park

STATEMENT OF DR. STEPHANIE TOOTHMAN, ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR, CULTURAL RESOURCES, PARTNERSHIPS AND SCIENCE, NATIONAL PARK SERVICE, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, BEFORE THE SENATE SUBCOMMITTEE ON NATIONAL PARKS, COMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND NATURAL RESOURCES, CONCERNING S. 1007 TO AMEND DAYTON AVIATION HERITAGE PRESERVATION ACT OF 1992 TO RENAME A SITE OF DAYTON HERITAGE NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK.

JUNE 15, 2016

Mr. Chairman and members of the subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to present the views of the Department of the Interior on S. 1007, a bill to amend the Dayton Aviation Heritage Preservation Act of 1992 to rename a site of the Dayton Heritage National Historical Park.

The Department does not object to S. 1007.  

This bill would amend the enabling act for the Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park (Park), a unit of the National Park System, to provide that the Park shall include a site known as the “John W. Berry, Sr. Wright Brothers National Museum” rather than the “John W. Berry, Sr. Wright Brothers Aviation Center.”

The John W. Berry, Sr. Wright Brothers Aviation Center is managed by Dayton History, a not-for-profit partner of the NPS, as part of the Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park. The center’s exhibits focus on the Wright brothers’ early printing and bicycle businesses, their family history, and their association with schoolmate, poet and author, Paul Laurence Dunbar.  The center also houses the 1905 Wright Flyer III, the only airplane in the United States designated as a National Historic Landmark.

The facility that is the subject of this legislation is a private parcel within the boundary of the Park. It is a major attraction within Carillon Historical Park, a larger attraction owned and managed by Dayton History. Dayton History is planning to change the name of the facility from the John W. Berry, Sr. Aviation Center to the John W. Berry, Sr. National Museum.  This bill would ensure that there is consistency between the actual name of the facility and the name used to identify it in the Park’s establishing legislation, which designates the site within the Park.

If the committee moves forward with this legislation, the Department would recommend amending the title of the bill to more accurately reflect the bill’s purpose.  The bill does not rename the site; rather the bill amends the act to reflect the new name of the site that Dayton History will be giving it. We recommend the bill be titled “to amend the Dayton Aviation Heritage Preservation Act of 1992 to reflect the renaming of a site of the park.”

If this bill is enacted, the costs for the National Park Service would be minimal.  We would need to modify or replace the park entrance sign and update interpretive materials, but these would be made in the course of normal replacement and updating of these items.

Mr. Chairman, this concludes my testimony.  I would be happy to answer any questions you or other members of the subcommittee may have.

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