United States Civil Rights Trail Special Resource Study Act of 2009

Bill 111 HR 685, also known as the United States Civil Rights Trail Special Resource Study Act of 2009, was introduced in the 111th Congress on January 26, 2009 by Representative Bennie Thompson of Mississippi. The purpose of this bill was to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a special resource study of the United States Civil Rights Trail.

The United States Civil Rights Trail is a collection of historic sites that played a significant role in the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s. These sites include landmarks such as the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., and the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee.

The special resource study authorized by this bill would have evaluated the national significance of the United States Civil Rights Trail and determined whether it should be designated as a unit of the National Park System. The study would have also assessed the feasibility of establishing a national historic trail along the Civil Rights Trail route. If the study had found that the United States Civil Rights Trail met the criteria for inclusion in the National Park System, the Secretary of the Interior would have been authorized to make recommendations to Congress for its designation. The bill did not appropriate any funds for the study, but instead directed the Secretary to conduct the study using existing resources. Unfortunately, Bill 111 HR 685 did not pass and was not enacted into law. However, the United States Civil Rights Trail continues to be an important part of American history, and efforts to preserve and commemorate its significance are ongoing.