§410sss Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historical Park, Maryland

Summary

The law creates the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historical Park in Maryland. Historical park means that park. Map means the map called “Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historical Park, Proposed Boundary and Authorized Acquisition Areas”, number T20/80,001A, dated March 2014. Secretary means the Secretary of the Interior. The park includes the land shown on that map and any land the government later buys, accepts as a gift, or swaps into the park. The map must be kept on file where the public can see it. The park’s job is to protect and explain the places and stories tied to Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad. The government can only add land from willing sellers, donations, or exchanges and cannot take land by force. When land is added, the park boundary must be updated. The Secretary must run this park together with the part of the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Monument that the National Park Service manages, following this law, Presidential Proclamation Number 8943 (78 Fed. Reg. 18763), and other park laws. Within 1 year after December 19, 2014, the National Park Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service must agree on how the Park Service can do archaeology and public interpretation inside the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge in ways that fit the refuge’s rules. The Secretary may offer guided tours in Caroline, Dorchester, and Talbot Counties. The law does not change land inside Blackwater Refuge, existing private agreements about hunting, fishing, farming, or other uses, or private landowners’ rights near the park. The Secretary may partner with the State, local governments, colleges, nonprofits, and others to mark, restore, research, and interpret sites, and to build and run a joint visitor center on State land that also gives the Park Service office space at no extra cost. The federal share of costs for these projects cannot exceed 50 percent; other partners can contribute money or in-kind help. Not later than 3 years after funds are provided, the Secretary must make a general management plan with the State, hold at least one public meeting, publish the draft online for comment, and coordinate the plan with Blackwater Refuge, the nearby Harriet Tubman National Historical Park, and the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom.