A. In furtherance of the legislature's recognition, there is hereby created the Atchafalaya Trace Commission, referred to in this Chapter as the "commission", which shall be an agency of state government within the Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism. The legislature further establishes in the state of Louisiana the Atchafalaya National Heritage Area, referred to in this Chapter as "the heritage area". The heritage area shall consist of the territory in the following parishes: St. Mary, Iberia, St. Martin, St. Landry, Avoyelles, Pointe Coupee, Iberville, Assumption, Terrebonne, Lafayette, West Baton Rouge, Concordia, East Baton Rouge, Ascension, and Lafourche.
B. The purposes of the commission shall include the following:
(1) To protect the wet and wild nature of the Atchafalaya Basin.
(2) To promote nature-based, scenic, cultural, historic, and other forms of heritage tourism.
(3) To identify, strengthen, and link "gateway communities" surrounding the Atchafalaya Basin.
(4) To improve transportation and communication facilities and access within the heritage area.
(5) To further develop family-oriented recreational facilities.
(6) To preserve, enhance, protect, and interpret archaeological and historical sites and structures, architectural heritage, and cultural events, traditions, and lifeways.
(7) To communicate the unique maritime cultural history of the Atchafalaya Basin and Atchafalaya Bay.
(8) To develop environmental awareness and educational programs for residents and visitors.
(9) To seek recognition and federal funding for the heritage area as a National Heritage Area.
(10) To recognize and interpret the unique contributions to the regional landscape of the oil and gas, marine and maritime, fishing and aquaculture, sugarcane, and cypress timber industries.
(11) To promote and market the region through a variety of communications media including maps, guides, tapes, videos, advertisement, signage, and electronic media.
(12) To stimulate the development of necessary overnight accommodations and other conveniences.
(13) To promote scientific research and scholarly activities pertaining to the region's resources, economics, and lifeways.
(14) To develop an integrated natural, scenic, cultural, and historic resource management plan for the heritage area and assist appropriate federal, state, and local authorities in its implementation.
C. Repealed by Acts 2006, No. 713, §4, eff. July 1, 2006.