16 U.S.C. § 460gg: Establishment

Summary

Creates the Hells Canyon National Recreation Area to protect the natural beauty, historic and archaeological sites, and the seventy-one-mile stretch of the Snake River between Hells Canyon Dam and the Oregon–Washington border, plus parts of its tributaries and nearby lands. It is meant to preserve these places for now and for future generations and to improve recreation, ecology, and public enjoyment. The area includes Hells Canyon Wilderness, the river sections named in section 3, and the wilderness study areas named in section 460gg–5(d). Boundaries follow a map dated May 1978 on file with the Forest Service. The Secretary of Agriculture must publish a full boundary description in the Federal Register as soon as possible but no later than eighteen months after December 31, 1975.

Title 16, §460gg

Conservation, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)In general

To assure that the natural beauty, and historical and archeological values of the Hells Canyon area and the seventy-one-mile segment of the Snake River between Hells Canyon Dam and the Oregon-Washington border, together with portions of certain of its tributaries and adjacent lands, are preserved for this and future generations, and that the recreational and ecologic values and public enjoyment of the area are thereby enhanced, there is hereby established the Hells Canyon National Recreation Area.

(b)Boundaries; publication in Federal Register

The Hells Canyon National Recreation Area (hereinafter referred to as the “recreation area”), which includes the Hells Canyon Wilderness (hereinafter referred to as the “wilderness”), the components of the Wild and Scenic Rivers System designated in section 3 of this Act, and the wilderness study areas designated in section 460gg–5(d) of this title, shall comprise the lands and waters generally depicted on the map entitled “Hells Canyon National Recreation Area” dated May 1978, which shall be on file and available for public inspection in the office of the Chief, Forest Service, United States Department of Agriculture. The Secretary of Agriculture (hereinafter referred to as “the Secretary”), shall, as soon as practicable, but no later than eighteen months after December 31, 1975, publish a detailed boundary description of the recreation area, the wilderness study areas designated in section 460gg–5(d) of this title, and the wilderness established in section 460gg–1 of this title in the Federal Register.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

section 3 of this Act, referred to in subsec. (b), is section 3 of Pub. L. 94–199. Subsec. (a) of section 3 added pars. (11) and (12) of section 1274(a) of this title, relating to components of the national wild and scenic rivers system. Subsec. (b) of section 3, relating to the administration of those segments of the Snake and Rapid Rivers designated as wild or scenic river areas, is set out as a note under section 1274 of this title.

Amendments

1978—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 95–625 substituted “May 1978” for “September 1975” to clarify that the boundary between Saulsberry and Freezeout Saddles is the hydrologic divide.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Separability Pub. L. 94–199, § 17, Dec. 31, 1975, 89 Stat. 1123, provided that: “If any provision of this Act [this subchapter] is declared to be invalid, such declaration shall not affect the validity of any other provision hereof.”

§460gg Establishment