Washington, D.C. - A $500,000 federal economic development grant to be used toward the Heart Mountain Interpretive Learning center in Park County has been included in appropriations legislation that passed the Senate last week, according to U.S. Senator Mike Enzi, R-Wyo.

Enzi said the funding was important to help preserve the history of the World War II Japanese-American internment camp site and to remind us of lessons learned. He and fellow Wyoming Senator Craig Thomas asked Senate appropriators to include the funding in the fiscal year 2001 Veterans Administration, Housing and Urban Development appropriations bill which passed the Senate Oct. 12.

The next step for the measure is a conference committee between the Senate and House to work out any differences in each body's version of the appropriations bill. If and when each chamber passes the conference committee's report, the bill must be signed by the president in order to become law.

The non-profit Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation is seeking an estimated $2 million in government and private donations to build a "technology-intensive" learning center to educate people about the internment camp's history.

Enzi said that in addition to preserving an important part of history for the whole nation, the Heart Mountain center could serve Wyoming's economic development interests as a tourist attraction.

Heart Mountain, located just west of U.S. Highway 14 between Powell and Cody, was the site of one of 10 relocation centers created during World War II to house Japanese and Japanese Americans who were forcibly relocated inland from the west coast. Learning center organizers would like to have the facility operating within three years.