Visitors to the International Peace Garden will not have to carry a passport.
Homeland Security officials have sided with Sen. Kent Conrad to waive the restriction.
In June 2009, U.S. citizens will be required to carry a passport to return from Canada by land. Without an exemption, the law would have mandated that American citizens would need a passport to come back into the country after visiting the Peace Garden even if they did not go into Canada.
"To require a passport to visit the Peace Garden would have caused an economic hardship on the facility and prevented visitors from exploring one of the Upper Midwest's best kept secrets," Conrad said in a news release.
He cited the popular International Music Camp hosted annually at the Peace Garden. "For a mother and father to simply drop their child off at the camp, they would each need passports at a cost of almost $200 between them," Conrad said. "Especially in these tough economic times, $200 is a prohibitive cost. I am pleased we were able to come up with a solution that will keep those parents from having to make a tough choice."
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More than 100,000 people visit the International Peace Garden every year.
