The U.S. House of Representatives has given final congressional approval to a public lands bill that includes language to expand the borders of Idaho’s Minidoka National Internment Site.

Minidoka was one of 10 detention camps in the West and Arkansas that the federal government operated between 1942 and 1946. The camps held thousands of West Coast residents who were deemed a security risk because they had at least 1/16th Japanese ancestry.

Bill sponsor Sen. Mike Crapo (R-ID) says the measure allows the Minidoka monument to stretch its borders through a series of acquisitions of adjacent public and private land.

US Senator Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) comments

Backers of the project have identified more than 200 acres to add, an amount that would more than triple the monument’s size. The legislation also clears the way to allow private groups to raise money for the expansion and pay to refurbish the camp and rebuild a block of barracks.

Crapo continues

Idaho Sen. Larry Craig and Reps. Bill Sali and Mike Simpson also supported the measure. The Senate passed the legislation earlier this month and it’s expected to be signed into law by President Bush.