16 U.S.C. § 81e: Acquisition of property…

Summary

The Secretary of the Interior may take donations of land, buildings, other property, or money for buying or caring for park lands. Proof of ownership must meet the Secretary’s approval. The Secretary can also buy needed land if the price seems reasonable. If not, the Secretary may take land by condemnation (legal seizure) under section 3113 of title 40. Condemnation may not be used for land owned by the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities or by the city of Williamsburg, or for other lands in Williamsburg, except for a right-of-way up to 200 feet wide through the city to connect roads or parkways from Williamsburg to Jamestown and to Yorktown.

Title 16, §81e

Conservation, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

The Secretary of the Interior is authorized to accept donations of land, interest in land, buildings, structures, and other property within the boundaries of said park as determined and fixed hereunder and donations of funds for the purchase and/or maintenance thereof, the evidence of title to such lands to be satisfactory to the Secretary of the Interior: Provided, That he may acquire on behalf of the United States by purchase when purchasable at prices deemed by him reasonable, otherwise by condemnation under the provisions of section 3113 of title 40, such tracts of land within the said park as may be necessary for the completion thereof: Provided further, That condemnation proceedings herein provided for shall not be had, exercised, or resorted to as to lands belonging to the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities, a corporation chartered under the laws of Virginia, or to the city of Williamsburg, Virginia, or to any other lands in said city except such lands as may be required for a right-of-way not exceeding two hundred feet in width through the city of Williamsburg to connect with highways or parkways leading from Williamsburg to Jamestown and to Yorktown.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Codification “Section 3113 of title 40” substituted in text for “the Act of August 1, 1888 (U.S.C., title 40, secs. 257, 258; 25 Stat. 357)” on authority of Pub. L. 107–217, § 5(c), Aug. 21, 2002, 116 Stat. 1303, the first section of which enacted Title 40, Public Buildings, Property, and Works. Section was formerly classified to section 443b of this title.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Change of Name

Act June 5, 1936, changed “Colonial National Monument” to “Colonial National Historical Park.”

§81e Acquisition of Property; Condemnation Proceedings