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Title 54, National Park Service and Related ProgramsRelease 119-110

§102101 General Provisions

Title 54 › Subtitle I — National Park System › CHAPTER 1021 — PRIVILEGES AND LEASES › § 102101

Last updated Sep 22, 2026|Official source

Summary

No lease or special right can be given over a natural curiosity, wonder, or object of interest if it would block the public’s free access to any System unit. The Secretary may allow livestock grazing in a System unit under set rules if it won’t harm the unit’s main purpose (Yellowstone is excluded). Such leases and contracts can be made without advertising or bids and cannot be transferred without the Secretary’s written approval.

Full Legal Text

Title 54, §102101

National Park Service and Related Programs, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Limitation.—
(1)No lease or grant of a privilege that interferes with free access.—
No natural curiosity, wonder, or object of interest shall be leased or granted to anyone on such terms as to interfere with free access by the public to any System unit.
(2)Exception for grazing livestock.—
The Secretary, under such regulations and on such terms as the Secretary may prescribe, may grant the privilege to graze livestock within a System unit when, in the Secretary’s judgment, the use is not detrimental to the primary purpose for which the System unit was created. This paragraph does not apply to Yellowstone National Park.
(b)Advertising and Competitive Bids Not Required.—
The Secretary may grant privileges and enter into leases described in subsection (a), and enter into related contracts with responsible persons, firms, or corporations, without advertising and without securing competitive bids.
(c)Assignment or Transfer.—
No contract, lease, or privilege described in subsection (a) or (b) that is entered into or granted shall be assigned or transferred by the grantee, lessee, or licensee without the prior written approval of the Secretary.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Historical and Revision Notes

Revised SectionSource (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large) 10210116 U.S.C. 3 (last sentence).Aug. 25, 1916, ch. 408, § 3 (last sentence), 39 Stat. 535; Mar. 7, 1928, ch. 137, § 1 (matter relating to section 3 of the Act of August 25, 1916, in 12th undesignated par. under heading “NATIONAL PARK SERVICE”), 45 Stat. 235; Pub. L. 85–434, May 29, 1958, 72 Stat. 152; Pub. L. 105–391, title IV, § 415(b)(1), Nov. 13, 1998, 112 Stat. 3515. In subsection (a)(1), the word “rented” is omitted as included in “leases”. In subsections (b) and (c), the word “permit” is omitted for consistency because a permit is not mentioned earlier in the source provision. In subsection (c), the word “lessee” is substituted for “permittees” for consistency in the section.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

54 U.S.C. § 102101

Title 54, National Park Service and Related Programs

Last Updated

Sep 22, 2026

Release point: 119-110