16 U.S.C. § 459f–5: Administration of Seashore

Summary

The Secretary must manage Assateague Island National Seashore for public outdoor recreation and to protect the natural features people enjoy. The Secretary may use other National Park Service and resource-management powers as needed to meet these goals. Land and water that are part of the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge and also inside the seashore must be run as a wildlife refuge under the laws and rules that apply to national wildlife refuges, including the Act of September 28, 1962 (Public Law 87–714; 76 Stat. 653). The Secretary can make cooperative agreements with local, State, and Federal agencies, schools, and nonprofit groups to coordinate research and protect the seashore’s natural and cultural resources. The Secretary can also give technical help to those partners. Every two years the Secretary must send a report to Congress on the research results and on plans to carry out the recommendations.

Title 16, §459f–5

Conservation, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Public outdoor recreation and enjoyment; utilization of other authorities

Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, the Secretary shall administer the Assateague Island National Seashore for general purposes of public outdoor recreation, including conservation of natural features contributing to public enjoyment. In the administration of the seashore and the administrative site the Secretary may utilize such statutory authorities relating to areas administered and supervised by the Secretary through the National Park Service and such statutory authority otherwise available to him for the conservation and management of natural resources as he deems appropriate to carry out the purposes of sections 459f to 459f–11 of this title.

(b)Refuge land and waters; application of national wildlife refuge provisions; public recreation uses in accordance with provisions for national conservation recreational areas

Notwithstanding any other provision of sections 459f to 459f–11 of this title, land and waters in the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge, which are a part of the seashore, shall be administered for refuge purposes under laws and regulations applicable to national wildlife refuges, including administration for public recreation uses in accordance with the provisions of the Act of September 28, 1962 (Public law 87–714; 76 Stat. 653) [16 U.S.C. 460k et seq.].

(c)Cooperative agreements and technical assistance to protect seashore resources

The Secretary is authorized to enter into cooperative agreements with local, State, and Federal agencies and with educational institutions and nonprofit entities to coordinate research designed to ensure full protection of the natural and cultural resources of the seashore, consistent with the purposes for which the seashore was established, and other applicable law. The Secretary is also authorized to provide technical assistance to local, State, and Federal agencies and to educational institutions and non-profit entities in order to further such purposes. The Secretary shall submit a report every two years to the Congress on the results of the coordinated research program authorized by this section and plans to implement the recommendations arising from such research.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

Act of September 28, 1962, referred to in subsec. (b), popularly known as the Refuge Recreation Act, is classified generally to subchapter LXVIII (§ 460k et seq.) of this chapter.

Amendments

1992—Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 102–320 added subsec. (c).

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Designation of Center to Honor Herbert H. Bateman Pub. L. 106–480, Nov. 9, 2000, 114 Stat. 2186, provided that: “section 1. DESIGNATION.“A building proposed to be located within the boundaries of the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge, on Assateague Island, Virginia, shall be known and designated as the ‘Herbert H. Bateman Education and Administrative Center’. “SEC. 2. REFERENCES.“Any reference in a law, map, regulation, document, paper, or other record of the United States to the building referred to in section 1 shall be deemed to be a reference to the ‘Herbert H. Bateman Education and Administrative Center’.” Similar provisions were contained in Pub. L. 106–369, § 8, Oct. 27, 2000, 114 Stat. 1419. Pub. L. 106–291, title I, § 141, Oct. 11, 2000, 114 Stat. 949, provided that the building housing the visitors center within the boundaries of the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge on Assateague Island, Virginia, was to be known and designated as the “Herbert H. Bateman Educational and Administrative Center”.

§459f–5 Administration of Seashore