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Title 54 — National Park Service and Related ProgramsRelease 119-73

§102101 General provisions

Title 54 › Subtitle Subtitle I— - National Park System › Chapter CHAPTER 1021— - PRIVILEGES AND LEASES › § 102101

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

Natural attractions in a System unit cannot be leased or given in a way that blocks the public from reaching them. The Secretary may allow livestock grazing inside a System unit under rules the Secretary sets if it won’t harm the unit’s main purpose. That grazing rule does not apply to Yellowstone National Park. The Secretary can make those leases or related contracts without public advertising or competitive bids. Any lease, permit, or contract given this way cannot be transferred or assigned without the Secretary’s prior written approval.

Full Legal Text

Title 54, §102101

National Park Service and Related Programs — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)(1)No natural curiosity, wonder, or object of interest shall be leased or granted to anyone on such terms as to interfere with free access by the public to any System unit.
(2)The Secretary, under such regulations and on such terms as the Secretary may prescribe, may grant the privilege to graze livestock within a System unit when, in the Secretary’s judgment, the use is not detrimental to the primary purpose for which the System unit was created. This paragraph does not apply to Yellowstone National Park.
(b)The Secretary may grant privileges and enter into leases described in subsection (a), and enter into related contracts with responsible persons, firms, or corporations, without advertising and without securing competitive bids.
(c)No contract, lease, or privilege described in subsection (a) or (b) that is entered into or granted shall be assigned or transferred by the grantee, lessee, or licensee without the prior written approval of the Secretary.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Historical and Revision Notes

Revised SectionSource (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large) 10210116 U.S.C. 3 (last sentence).Aug. 25, 1916, ch. 408, § 3 (last sentence), 39 Stat. 535; Mar. 7, 1928, ch. 137, § 1 (matter relating to section 3 of the Act of August 25, 1916, in 12th undesignated par. under heading “NATIONAL PARK SERVICE”), 45 Stat. 235; Pub. L. 85–434, May 29, 1958, 72 Stat. 152; Pub. L. 105–391, title IV, § 415(b)(1), Nov. 13, 1998, 112 Stat. 3515. In subsection (a)(1), the word “rented” is omitted as included in “leases”. In subsections (b) and (c), the word “permit” is omitted for consistency because a permit is not mentioned earlier in the source provision. In subsection (c), the word “lessee” is substituted for “permittees” for consistency in the section.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

54 U.S.C. § 102101

Title 54 — National Park Service and Related Programs

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73