Title 16ConservationRelease 119-73

§698n Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve

Title 16 › Chapter CHAPTER 6— - GAME AND BIRD PRESERVES; PROTECTION › § 698n

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

Creates the Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve in the St. Johns River Valley of Florida, where the Timucuan Indians lived. The Preserve follows the boundary shown on map NA–TEHP 80,003–A dated July 1987, which is on file with the National Park Service. The Secretary of the Interior can make small boundary changes under the law. The Preserve also includes about 500 acres next to Fort Caroline called the Theodore Roosevelt Preserve, donated by Willie Brown to The Nature Conservancy, and about 8.5 acres in Nassau County shown on map 006/80012 dated June 2003. The Secretary must update the Preserve boundary to include the 8.5 acres and keep that map on file. The Secretary may get land inside the Preserve by donation, purchase with donated or appropriated funds, or by exchange. The Secretary cannot buy non-wetland land without the owner’s consent. “Wetlands” is defined in section 3902 of this title. State or local government land can be acquired only by donation or exchange. When land is added, the Secretary must not block legal water access or stop the use of legal rights of way. The Secretary must manage the area to protect its natural ecology and follow National Park rules. Boating, hunting, and fishing are allowed under federal and state law, but the Secretary can set places or times when hunting or fishing is not allowed for safety. The law does not affect a proposed multiunit residential/resort project on Fort George Island or the laws that apply to that project.

Full Legal Text

Title 16, §698n

Conservation — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)(1)There is established in the St. Johns River Valley, Florida, where the Timucuan Indians lived in prehistoric and historic times, the Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve (hereafter in sections 698n to 698p of this title referred to as the “Preserve”). The Preserve shall comprise the lands, waters, and interests therein within the boundaries generally depicted on a map of Duval County, Florida, entitled “Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve” numbered NA–TEHP 80,003–A and dated July 1987. The map shall be on file and available for public inspection in the Office of the National Park Service, Department of the Interior. The Secretary of the Interior may make minor revisions in the boundary of the Preserve in accordance with section 100506(c) of title 54. The Preserve shall also include within its boundaries all that land consisting of approximately 500 acres adjacent to Fort Caroline National Memorial and known as the Theodore Roosevelt Preserve, being land formerly owned by one Willie Brown and donated by him to The Nature Conservancy.
(2)(A)In addition to the land described in paragraph (1), the Preserve shall include approximately 8.5 acres of land located in Nassau County, Florida, as generally depicted on the map entitled “Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve American Beach Adjustment”, numbered 006/80012 and dated June 2003.
(B)The Secretary of the Interior shall—
(i)revise the boundaries of the Preserve so as to encompass the land described in subparagraph (A); and
(ii)maintain the map described in subparagraph (A) on file and available for public inspection in the appropriate offices of the National Park Service.
(b)The Secretary of the Interior (hereinafter in sections 698n to 698p of this title referred to as the “Secretary”) is authorized to acquire lands and interests therein within the Preserve by donation, purchase with donated or appropriated funds, or exchange, but no lands other than wetlands or interests therein may be acquired without the consent of the owner. For purposes of this subsection, the term “wetlands” has the same meaning as provided by section 3902 of this title. Lands, interests in lands, and improvements thereon within the boundaries of the Preserve which are owned by the State of Florida or any political subdivision thereof may be acquired only by donation or exchange. On lands acquired for inclusion within the Preserve, the Secretary shall not impair any legal riparian right of access nor shall he preclude the continued use of any legal right of way.
(c)The Secretary shall administer those lands acquired for inclusion within the Preserve in such a manner as to protect the natural ecology of such land and water areas in accordance with sections 698n to 698p of this title and the provisions of law generally applicable to units of the National Park System, including the Act of August 25, 1916 (39 Stat. 535; 16 U.S.C. 1, 2–4).11 See References in Text note below. The Secretary shall permit boating, boating-related activities, hunting, and fishing within the Preserve in accordance with applicable Federal and State laws. The Secretary may designate zones where, and establish periods when, no hunting or fishing shall be permitted for reasons of public safety.
(d)Nothing in sections 698n to 698p of this title shall affect development of a multiunit residential/resort project currently proposed for Fort George Island, nor shall any provision of sections 698n to 698p of this title be construed to affect any Federal, State or local law applicable to such project.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

The Act of August 25, 1916 (39 Stat. 535; 16 U.S.C. 1, 2–4), referred to in subsec. (c), 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. Codification In subsec. (a)(1), “section 100506(c) of title 54” substituted for “section 7(c) of the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965” on authority of Pub. L. 113–287, § 6(e), Dec. 19, 2014, 128 Stat. 3272, which Act enacted Title 54, National Park Service and Related Programs.

Amendments

2004—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 108–321 designated existing provisions as par. (1), inserted heading, substituted “There is” for “There is hereby”, and added par. (2).

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Short Title

of 2004 Amendment Pub. L. 108–321, § 1, Oct. 5, 2004, 118 Stat. 1214, provided that: “This Act [amending this section] may be cited as the ‘Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve Boundary Revision Act of 2004’.”

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

16 U.S.C. § 698n

Title 16Conservation

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73