FINDINGS.

SEC. 202. FINDINGS. Congress finds the following:(1) The early defense lines for Fort Marion, Florida, today known as the Castillo de San Marcos National Monument, included defenses extending in a line due west to the Sebastian River, a distance of about one half mile.(2) In the 1830’s, during the Seminole Wars in Florida, these defensive lines were maintained, but as Florida became more settled they fell into disrepair and/or became obsolete.(3) In 1908 the War Department deeded much of the property running west to the Sebastian River to the St. Johns County Board of Public Instruction. The portion of this property remaining in federal ownership today is occupied by Orange Street, a City of St. Augustine, Florida street.(4) For nearly a century, the City of St. Augustine has maintained and managed Orange Street, a modern city street, and associated utilities in the Orange Street corridor.(5) Any archeological remains that are still present on the property overlaid by Orange Street are adequately protected by the City’s archeological ordinances, and by the City having an archeologist on staff.(6) Although the city currently operates Orange Street under a right-of-way from the National Park Service, from a management perspective it is appropriate for the City of St. Augustine to own Orange Street.