Title 16, ConservationRelease 119-110

§251j Property Retention Rights of Landowners; Use and Occupancy Improvements; Plan to Be Submitted to Secretary; Approval Evidenced by Issuance of Permit and Certificate; Limitation on Acquisition Power of Secretary

Title 16 › CHAPTER 1 — NATIONAL PARKS, MILITARY PARKS, MONUMENTS, AND SEASHORES › SUBCHAPTER XXVII — OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK › § 251j

Last updated Sep 23, 2026|Official source

Summary

Individual owners (not corporations) who owned land next to Lake Ozette on January 1, 1976 may keep title if they agree that the Secretary may acquire scenic easements or similar rights that only allow improvements the Secretary finds necessary for continued use and occupancy. If an owner wants to make improvements, they must give the Secretary a plan showing the work and how the land will be used. If the Secretary approves, a permit and a certificate may be issued. While the land is kept and used exactly as approved, the Secretary may not acquire it or those interests without the owner’s consent.

Full Legal Text

Title 16, §251j

Conservation, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

Notwithstanding the provisions of section 251i of this title, any noncorporate owner or owners, as of January 1, 1976, of property adjacent to Lake Ozette may retain title to such property: Provided, That such owner or owners consent to acquisition by the Secretary or scenic easements or other interests that allow only those improvements that the Secretary finds to be reasonably necessary for continued use and occupancy. Any such owner or owners who elects to improve his property or a portion thereof shall submit to the Secretary a plan which shall set forth the manner in which the property is to be improved and the use to which it is proposed to be put. If, upon review of such plan, the Secretary determines that it is compatible with the limitations of this section, he in his discretion may issue a permit to such owner and a certificate to that effect. Upon issuance of any such certificate and so long as such property is maintained and used in conformity therewith, the authority of the Secretary to acquire such property or interest therein without the consent of the owner shall be suspended.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

16 U.S.C. § 251j

Title 16, Conservation

Last Updated

Sep 23, 2026

Release point: 119-110