§698u — Title 16 Conservation | U.S. Code

Summary

Requires the Park Service to acquire part of Spring Hill Ranch and manage it to protect a rare remnant of tallgrass prairie and its historic buildings. The tallgrass prairie once covered about 400,000 square miles, but now less than 1 percent remains, mostly in Kansas’s Flint Hills. A 1991 Park Service study found Spring Hill Ranch to be a nationally important example of that ecosystem and noted its buildings are on the National Register and show Second Empire and other 19th‑century styles. The National Park Trust, which owns the ranch, agreed to let the Park Service buy part of it and manage the land, buildings, and wildlife so people can enjoy them without harming them for future generations. The law’s purposes are to preserve, protect, and explain the tallgrass prairie at Spring Hill Ranch and to preserve and interpret the ranch’s historic and cultural values for the public.

Title 16, §698u

Conservation — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Congress finds that—

(1)of the 400,000 square miles of tallgrass prairie that once covered the North American Continent, less than 1 percent remains, primarily in the Flint Hills of Kansas;

(2)in 1991, the National Park Service conducted a special resource study of the Spring Hill Ranch, located in the Flint Hills of Kansas;

(3)the study concludes that the Spring Hill Ranch—

(A)is a nationally significant example of the once vast tallgrass ecosystem, and includes buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places pursuant to section 101 of the National Historic Preservation Act (16 U.S.C. 470a) 11 See References in Text note below. that represent outstanding examples of Second Empire and other 19th Century architectural styles; and

(B)is suitable and feasible as a potential addition to the National Park System; and

(4)the National Park Trust, which owns the Spring Hill Ranch, has agreed to permit the National Park Service—

(A)to acquire a portion of the ranch, as specified in sections 698u to 698u–7 of this title; and

(B)to manage the ranch in order to—

(i)conserve the scenery, natural and historic objects, and wildlife of the ranch; and

(ii)provide for the enjoyment of the ranch in such a manner and by such means as will leave the scenery, natural and historic objects, and wildlife unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations.

(b)The purposes of sections 698u to 698u–7 of this title are—

(1)to preserve, protect, and interpret for the public an example of a tallgrass prairie ecosystem on the Spring Hill Ranch, located in the Flint Hills of Kansas; and

(2)to preserve and interpret for the public the historic and cultural values represented on the Spring Hill Ranch.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

section 101 of the National Historic Preservation Act (16 U.S.C. 470a), referred to in subsec. (a)(3)(A), is section 101 of Pub. L. 89–665, which was repealed and restated as chapters 3021 to 3027 and section 302902(a), 302903(a), 302904 to 302909, 303902, 303903, and 306101(b) and (c) of Title 54, National Park Service and Related Programs, by Pub. L. 113–287, §§ 3, 7, Dec. 19, 2014, 128 Stat. 3094, 3272.

Amendments

2000—Subsec. (a)(4)(A). Pub. L. 106–176 substituted “to acquire” for “to purchase”.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Short Title

Pub. L. 104–333, div. I, title X, § 1001, Nov. 12, 1996, 110 Stat. 4204, provided that: “This subtitle [subtitle A (§§ 1001–1009) of title X of div. I of Pub. L. 104–333, enacting this section and sections 698u–1 to 698u–7 of this title] may be cited as the ‘Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve Act of 1996’.”

§698u Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve: findings and purposes