A rainbow is seen over Estuary Boardwalk Trail at the Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge in Washington. Photo by Michael Schramm / U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service / Facebook

The Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge will be changing its name to honor the late treaty rights activist Billy Frank Jr.

Congress passed H.R.2270, the Billy Frank Jr. Tell Your Story Act, last month. The new law designates the Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge and establishes the Medicine Creek Treaty National Historic Site to mark the signing of the 1854 Treaty of Medicine Creek, which Frank fought to protect through decades of work.

“People will drive through the Nisqually area, a stone’s throw from where my dad was raised, and see my dad’s name for the rest of time,” Willie Frank, Billy’s son, told Oregon Public Broadcasting. “He’s never going to be gone."

Signs are expected to go up this year, OPB reported. The change comes after President Barack Obama posthumously presented the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor, to Frank, who died in May 2014.

Frank was a member of the Nisqually Tribe. The tribe dedicated its new community building as the Billy Frank Jr. Community Services Center and observes March 9 -- Frank's birthday -- as "Billy Frank Jr. Day."

Get the Story:
Puget Sound Wildlife Refuge Renamed To Honor Tribal Leader Billy Frank Jr. (Oregon Public Broadcasting 1/12)
Nisqually Tribe names center after Billy Frank Jr. (The Olympian 1/9)

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