Title 16 — ConservationRelease 119-73
§460 Natchez Trace Parkway
Title 16 › Chapter CHAPTER 1— - NATIONAL PARKS, MILITARY PARKS, MONUMENTS, AND SEASHORES › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER LXV— - NATIONAL PARKWAYS › § 460
Summary
Lands and easements given now or later by Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee for a parkway from Natchez, Mississippi to Nashville, Tennessee, plus nearby recreation sites and a right-of-way wide enough for the road and its bridges and drainage, will be called the Natchez Trace Parkway. The right-of-way through Government land is normally up to 200 feet wide, but it can be made wider if needed for isolated parcels, terrain, or scenic reasons with written approval from the agency in charge. The Secretary of the Interior, through the National Park Service, must run and care for the parkway, and the National Park Service Act of August 25, 1916 applies. The Secretary of Agriculture, with the Interior Secretary’s agreement, may connect roads or trails from nearby national forests to the parkway when needed to protect or manage those forests. The Forest Service and the National Park Service must, as far as possible, plan and coordinate any recreational work on lands where they agree special treatment is needed.
Full Legal Text
Title 16, §460
Conservation — Source: USLM XML via OLRC
All lands and easements heretofore and hereafter conveyed to the United States by the States of Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee for the right-of-way for the projected parkway between Natchez, Mississippi, and Nashville, Tennessee, together with sites acquired or to be acquired for recreational areas in connection therewith, and a right-of-way for said parkway of a width sufficient to include the highway and all bridges, ditches, cuts, and fills appurtenant thereto, but not exceeding a maximum of two hundred feet through Government-owned lands (except that where small parcels of Government-owned lands would otherwise be isolated, or where topographic conditions or scenic requirements are such that bridges, ditches, cuts, fills, parking overlooks, and landscape development could not reasonably be confined to a width of two hundred feet, the said maximum may be increased to such width as may be necessary, with the written approval of the department or agency having jurisdiction over such lands) as designated on maps heretofore or hereafter approved by the Secretary of the Interior, shall be known as the Natchez Trace Parkway and shall be administered and maintained by the Secretary of the Interior through the National Park Service, subject to the provisions of the Act of Congress approved August 25, 1916 (39 Stat. 535), entitled “An Act to establish a National Park Service, and for other purposes”,11 See References in Text note below. the provisions of which Act, as amended and supplemented, are extended over and made applicable to said parkway: Provided, That the Secretary of Agriculture is authorized, with the concurrence of the Secretary of the Interior, to connect with said parkway such roads and trails as may be necessary for the protection, administration, or utilization of adjacent and nearby national forests and the resources thereof: And provided further, That the Forest Service and the National Park Service shall, insofar as practicable, coordinate and correlate such recreational developments as each may plan, construct, or permit to be constructed, on lands within their respective jurisdictions, which, by mutual agreement, should be given special treatment for recreational purposes.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Editorial Notes
References in Text
The Act of Congress approved August 25, 1916 (39 Stat. 535), entitled “An Act to establish a National Park Service, and for other purposes”, referred to in text, is act Aug. 25, 1916, ch. 408, 39 Stat. 535, known as the National Park Service Organic Act, which enacted section 1, 2, 3, and 4 of this title and provisions set out as a note under section 100101 of Title 54, National Park Service and Related Programs. Sections 1 to 4 of the Act were repealed and restated as section 1865(a) of Title 18, Crimes and Criminal Procedure, and section 100101(a), chapter 1003, and section 100751(a), 100752, 100753, and 102101 of Title 54 by Pub. L. 113–287, §§ 3, 4(a)(1), 7, Dec. 19, 2014, 128 Stat. 3094, 3260, 3272. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Tables. For disposition of former sections of this title, see Disposition Table preceding section 100101 of Title 54.
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Transfer of Functions
Functions of Federal Works Agency and of all agencies thereof, together with functions of Federal Works Administrator transferred to Administrator of General Services by section 103(a) of act June 30, 1949, ch. 288, title I, 63 Stat. 380. Both Federal Works Agency and office of Federal Works Administrator abolished by section 103(b) of that act. See
Historical and Revision Notes
under section 303(b) of Title 40, Public Buildings, Property, and Works. section 303(b) of Title 40 was amended generally by Pub. L. 109–313, § 2(a)(1), Oct. 6, 2006, 120 Stat. 1734, and, as so amended, no longer relates to the Federal Works Agency and Commissioner of Public Buildings. See 2006 Amendment note under section 303 of Title 40.
Effective Date
of
Transfer of Functions
by act
June 30, 1949, as effective
July 1, 1949, see section 605, formerly § 505, of act
June 30, 1949, ch. 288, 63 Stat. 403; renumbered by act Sept. 5, 1950, ch. 849, § 6(a), (b), 64 Stat. 583. Natchez Trace Parkway Land Conveyance Pub. L. 113–35, Sept. 18, 2013, 127 Stat. 519, known as the Natchez Trace Parkway Land Conveyance Act of 2013, required the Secretary of the Interior to convey to the State of Mississippi, by quitclaim deed and without consideration, all right, title, and interest of the United States in and to the 2 parcels of land totaling approximately 67 acres generally depicted as “Proposed Conveyance” on the map entitled “Natchez Trace Parkway, Proposed Boundary Change” on file and available for public inspection in the appropriate offices of the National Park Service. The deed of conveyance shall reserve an easement to the United States restricting the use of the parcel commonly known as the “bean field property” to only those uses which are compatible with the Natchez Trace Parkway. On completion of the conveyance the boundary of the Natchez Trace Parkway shall be adjusted to exclude the conveyed land and effective on Sept. 18, 2013, said boundary is adjusted to include the approximately 10 acres of land that is generally depicted as “Proposed Addition” on the above referenced map and such 10 acres shall be administered by the Secretary as part of the Natchez Trace Parkway. Adjustment of Boundary of Parkway Pub. L. 106–527, Nov. 22, 2000, 114 Stat. 2515, provided that: “section 1. DEFINITIONS.“In this Act:“(1) Parkway.—The term ‘Parkway’ means the Natchez Trace Parkway, Mississippi. “(2) Secretary.—The term ‘Secretary’ means the Secretary of the Interior. “SEC. 2. BOUNDARY ADJUSTMENT AND LAND ACQUISITION.“(a) In General.—The Secretary shall adjust the boundary of the Parkway to include approximately—“(1) 150 acres of land, as generally depicted on the map entitled ‘Alternative Alignments/Area’, numbered 604–20062A and dated May 1998; and “(2) 80 acres of land, as generally depicted on the map entitled ‘Emerald Mound Development Concept Plan’, numbered 604–20042E and dated August 1987. “(b) Maps.—The maps referred to in subsection (a) shall be on file and available for public inspection in the office of the Director of the National Park Service. “(c) Acquisition.—The Secretary may acquire the land described in subsection (a) by donation, purchase with donated or appropriated funds, or exchange (including exchange with the State of Mississippi, local governments, and private persons). “(d) Administration.—Land acquired under this section shall be administered by the Secretary as part of the Parkway. “SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF LEASING.“The Secretary, acting through the Superintendent of the Parkway, may lease land within the boundary of the Parkway to the city of Natchez, Mississippi, for any purpose compatible with the Parkway. “SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.“There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are necessary to carry out this Act.” Relocation of Portions of Parkway Pub. L. 85–746, Aug. 25, 1958, 72 Stat. 839, provided: “That the Secretary of the Interior is authorized to enter into an agreement with the Pearl River Valley Water Supply District which shall provide for the district, upon terms and conditions which the Secretary determines are in the public interest, to relocate those portions of section 3–O and 3–N of the Natchez Trace Parkway in Madison County, Mississippi, required in connection with the Pearl River Reservoir. “Sec. 2. To cooperate in the relocation, the Secretary of the Interior is authorized to transfer to the Pearl River Valley Water Supply District the aforesaid portions of the existing Natchez Trace Parkway lands and roadway in exchange for the contemporaneous transfer to the United States of relocated parkway lands and roadway situated and constructed in accordance with the terms and conditions of the agreement authorized by the first section of this Act: Provided, That such exchange shall be made on the basis of approximately equal values. “Sec. 3. The Secretary of the Interior is authorized to accept and to use until expended without additional authority any funds provided by the district for the purpose of this Act pursuant to agreement with the Secretary of the Interior, and any such funds shall be placed in a separate account in the Treasury which shall be available for such purpose.” Lands in French CampThe Secretary of the Interior was authorized to relinquish or modify certain restrictions upon the use of privately owned lands in the village of French Camp along the Natchez Trace Parkway by act Jan. 7, 1941, ch. 939, 54 Stat. 1227.
Executive Documents
Transfer of Functions
For
Transfer of Functions
of other officers, employees, and agencies of Department of the Interior, with certain exceptions, to Secretary of the Interior, with power to delegate, see Reorg. Plan No. 3 of 1950, §§ 1, 2, eff. May 24, 1950, 15 F.R. 3174, 64 Stat. 1262, set out in the Appendix to Title 5, Government Organization and Employees. Functions of Administrator of General Services transferred to Secretary of Commerce by Reorg. Plan No. 7 of 1949, § 2, eff. Aug. 20, 1949, 14 F.R. 5228, 63 Stat. 1070, set out in the Appendix to Title 5. Functions, powers, and duties of Secretary of Commerce and other officers and offices of Department of Commerce relating generally to highways under Reorg. Plan No. 7 of 1949 transferred to and vested in Secretary of Transportation by Pub. L. 89–670, § 6(a)(1)(M), Oct. 15, 1966, 80 Stat. 938. Reorg. Plan No. 7 of 1949 was amended by section 2(b) of Pub. L. 97–449, Jan. 12, 1983, 96 Stat. 2439, to reflect such transfer.
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
16 U.S.C. § 460
Title 16 — Conservation
Last Updated
Apr 6, 2026
Release point: 119-73