Title 16ConservationRelease 119-73

§410hhh–3 Great Sand Dunes National Preserve, Colorado

Title 16 › Chapter CHAPTER 1— - NATIONAL PARKS, MILITARY PARKS, MONUMENTS, AND SEASHORES › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER LIX–FF— - GREAT SAND DUNES NATIONAL PARK AND PRESERVE › § 410hhh–3

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

Creates the Great Sand Dunes National Preserve in Colorado and adds it to the National Park System. Lands inside the preserve that the Department of Agriculture managed are transferred to the Department of the Interior to be run as part of the preserve, and the Secretary of Agriculture must change the Rio Grande National Forest boundary to remove those lands. Any land already designated wilderness before November 22, 2000 stays governed by the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.) and the Colorado Wilderness Act of 1993 (Public Law 103–767). After the preserve is created, the Secretary of the Interior must file maps and a legal description with the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources and the House Committee on Resources. Those maps and the description count the same as if written into the law, but clerical or typographical errors may be fixed. The maps must be kept on file for public inspection in National Park Service offices. When funds are available, the Secretary must finish an official boundary survey.

Full Legal Text

Title 16, §410hhh–3

Conservation — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)(1)There is hereby established the Great Sand Dunes National Preserve in the State of Colorado, as generally depicted on the map, as a unit of the National Park System.
(2)Administrative jurisdiction of lands and interests therein administered by the Secretary of Agriculture within the boundaries of the preserve is transferred to the Secretary of the Interior, to be administered as part of the preserve. The Secretary of Agriculture shall modify the boundaries of the Rio Grande National Forest to exclude the transferred lands from the forest boundaries.
(3)Any lands within the preserve boundaries which were designated as wilderness prior to November 22, 2000, shall remain subject to the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.) and the Colorado Wilderness Act of 1993 (Public Law 103–767; 16 U.S.C. 539i note).
(b)(1)As soon as practicable after the establishment of the national park and the preserve, the Secretary shall file maps and a legal description of the national park and the preserve with the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate and the Committee on Resources of the House of Representatives.
(2)The map and legal description shall have the same force and effect as if included in this subchapter, except that the Secretary may correct clerical and typographical errors in the legal description and maps.
(3)The map and legal description shall be on file and available for public inspection in the appropriate offices of the National Park Service.
(c)As soon as practicable after the establishment of the national park and preserve and subject to the availability of funds, the Secretary shall complete an official boundary survey.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

The Wilderness Act, referred to in subsec. (a)(3), is Pub. L. 88–577, Sept. 3, 1964, 78 Stat. 890, which is classified generally to chapter 23 (§ 1131 et seq.) of this title. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see

Short Title

note set out under section 1131 of this title and Tables. The Colorado Wilderness Act of 1993, referred to in subsec. (a)(3), is Pub. L. 103–77, Aug. 13, 1993, 107 Stat. 756. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see

Short Title

note set out under section 539i of this title and Tables.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Change of Name

Committee on Resources of House of Representatives changed to Committee on Natural Resources of House of Representatives by House Resolution No. 6, One Hundred Tenth Congress, Jan. 5, 2007.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

16 U.S.C. § 410hhh–3

Title 16Conservation

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73