16 U.S.C. § 460l–12: Recreation and fish and…

Summary

When planning or studying any federal navigation, flood control, reclamation, hydroelectric, or multi-purpose water project, planners must fully consider if the project can provide outdoor recreation or improve fish and wildlife. If it can reasonably do that while following the rules here, the project must be built, run, and kept to support those uses. Recreation planning must be coordinated with existing and planned federal, State, or local public recreation areas. Project agencies must encourage non-federal public bodies to manage project lands and waters for recreation and fish and wildlife and to operate, maintain, and replace facilities for those purposes, unless the areas or facilities are (or will be) part of a national recreation area, the national forest system, public lands kept in federal ownership, or a federal fish and wildlife conservation program.

Title 16, §460l–12

Conservation, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

It is the policy of the Congress and the intent of this part (a) in investigating and planning any Federal navigation, flood control, reclamation, hydroelectric, or multiple-purpose water resource project, full consideration shall be given to the opportunities, if any, which the project affords for outdoor recreation and for fish and wildlife enhancement and that, wherever any such project can reasonably serve either or both of these purposes consistently with the provisions of this part, it shall be constructed, operated, and maintained accordingly; (b) planning with respect to the development of the recreation potential of any such project shall be based on the coordination of the recreational use of the project area with the use of existing and planned Federal, State, or local public recreation developments; and (c) project construction agencies shall encourage non-Federal public bodies to administer project land and water areas for recreation and fish and wildlife enhancement purposes and operate, maintain, and replace facilities provided for those purposes unless such areas or facilities are included or proposed for inclusion within a national recreation area, or are appropriate for administration by a Federal agency as a part of the national forest system, as a part of the public lands classified for retention in Federal ownership, or in connection with an authorized Federal program for the conservation and development of fish and wildlife.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

This part, referred to in text, was in the original “this Act”, meaning Pub. L. 89–72, which enacted sections 460l–12 to 460l–21 of this title and amended former section 460l–5(a) and section 662(d) of this title.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Short Title

Pub. L. 89–72, § 12, July 9, 1965, 79 Stat. 218, provided: “This Act [enacting this section and sections 460l–13 to 460l–21 of this title and amending section 460l–5(a) and 662(d) of this title], may be cited as the ‘Federal Water Project Recreation Act’.”

§460l–12 Recreation and Fish and Wildlife Benefits of Federal Multiple-purpose Water Resources Projects; Congressional Declaration of Policy