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Title 16, ConservationRelease 119-73not60

§460x–7 Acquisition of Property

Title 16 › Chapter 1— NATIONAL PARKS, MILITARY PARKS, MONUMENTS, AND SEASHORES › Subchapter LXXXII— SLEEPING BEAR DUNES NATIONAL LAKESHORE › § 460x–7

Last updated Apr 5, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Secretary may get land for this program by donation, by buying it with donated or appropriated money, by fund transfers, by receiving it from other federal agencies, or by exchanging land. If a parcel is partly inside the designated area, the Secretary can buy the whole parcel to avoid severance costs. Land bought outside the area can be swapped for non‑Federal land inside the area. Any leftover land not used in swaps can be disposed of under chapters 1–11 of title 40 and division C (except sections 3302, 3307(e), 3501(b), 3509, 3906, 4710, and 4711) of subtitle I of title 41. The Secretary must promptly consider any owner’s offer to sell property inside the lakeshore. An owner can say that keeping the property would cause hardship. If funds are available, the Secretary must consider the claim and, within one year of that notice, buy the property for no more than its fair market value. Property owned by Michigan or its local governments may only be accepted as a donation. Federal property owned on October 21, 1970, may be transferred to the Secretary without payment if the agency that controls it agrees. The Secretary must try every reasonable way to buy land before starting condemnation (eminent domain). A certificate that those steps were done is taken as proof. Condemnation may be used to secure a clear, marketable title free of liens.

Full Legal Text

Title 16, §460x–7

Conservation, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)The Secretary is authorized to acquire by donation, purchase with donated or appropriated funds, transfer funds, transfer from any Federal agency, or exchange lands and interests therein for the purposes of this subchapter. When an individual tract of land is only partly within the area designated, the Secretary may acquire the entire tract by any of the above methods to avoid the payment of severance costs. Land so acquired outside the designated area may be exchanged by the Secretary for non-Federal lands within such area, and any portion of the land not utilized for such exchanges may be disposed of in accordance with the provisions of chapters 1 to 11 of title 40 and division C (except section 3302, 3307(e), 3501(b), 3509, 3906, 4710, and 4711) of subtitle I of title 41.
(b)In exercising his authority to acquire property under this subchapter, the Secretary shall give immediate and careful consideration to any offer made by an individual owning property within the lakeshore to sell such property to the Secretary. An individual owning property within the lakeshore may notify the Secretary that the continued ownership by such individual of that property would result in hardship to him, and the Secretary shall immediately consider such evidence and shall within one year following the submission of such notice, subject to the availability of funds, purchase such property offered for a price which does not exceed its fair market value.
(c)Any property or interests therein, owned by the State of Michigan or any political subdivisions thereof, may be acquired only by donation. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any property owned by the United States on October 21, 1970, located within such area may, with the concurrence of the agency having custody thereof, be transferred without consideration to the administrative jurisdiction of the Secretary for use by him in carrying out the provisions of this subchapter.
(d)With respect to that property which the Secretary is authorized to acquire by condemnation under the terms of this subchapter, the Secretary shall initiate no condemnation proceedings until after he has made every reasonable effort to acquire such property by negotiation and purchase. The certificate of the determination by the Secretary or his designated representative that there has been compliance with the provisions of this subsection and of subsection (b) of this section shall be prima facie evidence of such compliance.
(e)Nothing in this subchapter shall be construed to prohibit the use of condemnation as a means of acquiring a clear and marketable title, free of any and all encumbrances.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Codification In subsec. (a), “chapters 1 to 11 of title 40 and division C (except section 3302, 3307(e), 3501(b), 3509, 3906, 4710, and 4711) of subtitle I of title 41” substituted for “the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 (63 Stat. 377), as amended (40 U.S.C. 471 et seq.)” on authority of Pub. L. 107–217, § 5(c), Aug. 21, 2002, 116 Stat. 1303, which Act enacted Title 40, Public Buildings, Property, and Works, and Pub. L. 111–350, § 6(c), Jan. 4, 2011, 124 Stat. 3854, which Act enacted Title 41, Public Contracts.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore Pub. L. 108–229,
May 28, 2004, 118 Stat. 645, provided that: “section 1. EXPANSION OF SLEEPING BEAR DUNES NATIONAL LAKESHORE.“(a) In General.—When title to the land described in subsection (b) has vested in the United States in fee simple, the boundary of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore is revised to include such land in that park. “(b) Land Described.—The land referred to in subsection (a) consists of approximately 104.45 acres of unimproved lands generally depicted on National Park Service map number 634/80078, entitled ‘Bayberry Mills, Inc. Crystal River, MI Proposed Expansion Unit to Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore’. The Secretary of the Interior shall keep such map on file and available for public inspection in the appropriate offices of the National Park Service. “(c) Purchase of Lands Authorized.—The Secretary of the Interior may acquire the land described in subsection (b), only by purchase from a willing seller. “SEC. 2. LIMITATION ON ACQUISITION BY EXCHANGE OR CONVEYANCE.“The Secretary of the Interior may not acquire any of the land described in subsection (b) of section 1 through any exchange or conveyance of lands that are within the boundary of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore as of the date of the enactment of this Act [
May 28, 2004].”

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

16 U.S.C. § 460x–7

Title 16, Conservation

Last Updated

Apr 5, 2026

Release point: 119-73not60