SUBCHAPTER XXXIV—GUADALUPE MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK

§283. Establishment; purposes; boundaries

(a) In order to preserve in public ownership an area in the State of Texas possessing outstanding geological values together with scenic and other natural values of great significance, the Secretary of the Interior shall establish the Guadalupe Mountains National Park, consisting of the land and interests in land within the area shown on the drawing entitled "Proposed Guadalupe Mountains National Park, Texas", numbered SA–GM–7100C and dated February 1965, which is on file and available for public inspection in the offices of the National Park Service, Department of the Interior.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, however, the Secretary shall omit from the park sections 7 and 17, P.S.L. Block 121, in Hudspeth County, and revise the boundaries of the park accordingly if the owner of said sections agrees, on behalf of himself, his heirs and assigns that there will not be erected thereon any structure which, in the judgment of the Secretary, adversely affects the public use and enjoyment of the park.

(b) The boundary of Guadalupe Mountains National Park is hereby modified to include the area which comprises approximately 10,123 acres as generally depicted on the map entitled "Boundary Proposal" and dated August 1986, which shall be on file and available for public inspection in the office of the Director of the National Park Service and in the office of the Superintendent of the Guadalupe Mountains National Park.

(Pub. L. 89–667, §1, Oct. 15, 1966, 80 Stat. 920; Pub. L. 100–541, §1, Oct. 28, 1988, 102 Stat. 2720.)

Editorial Notes

Amendments

1988—Pub. L. 100–541 designated existing provisions as subsec. (a) and added subsec. (b).

§283a. Acquisition of lands

(a) Authority of Secretary; manner and place; concurrence of State owner

Within the boundaries of the Guadalupe Mountains National Park, the Secretary of the Interior may acquire land or interests therein by donation, purchase with donated or appropriated funds, exchange, or in such other manner as he deems to be in the public interest. Any property, or interest therein, owned by the State of Texas, or any political subdivision thereof, may be acquired only with the concurrence of such owner.

(b) Adjacent or vicinal land; exchange of property; cash equalization payments

In order to facilitate the acquisition of privately owned lands in the park by exchange and avoid the payment of severance costs, the Secretary of the Interior may acquire approximately 4,667 acres of land or interests in land which lie adjacent to or in the vicinity of the park. Land so acquired outside the park boundary may be exchanged by the Secretary on an equal-value basis, subject to such terms, conditions, and reservations as he may deem necessary, for privately owned land located within the park. The Secretary may accept cash from or pay cash to the grantor in such exchange in order to equalize the values of the properties exchanged. In order to provide for an adequate entrance road into the McKittrick Canyon area of the park, the Secretary may accept title to and interests in lands comprising a right-of-way for a road or roads outside of the boundary of the park from United States Highway numbered 62 and 180 to the park boundary, and in exchange therefor he may convey title to and interests in lands comprising a right-of-way from said highway to the boundary which have been donated to the United States. The Secretary may accept cash from or pay cash to the grantor in such exchange in order to equalize the values of the properties exchanged. Lands and interests in lands comprising the right-of-way acquired pursuant to this subsection shall be administered as part of the park.

(Pub. L. 89–667, §2, Oct. 15, 1966, 80 Stat. 920; Pub. L. 94–174, Dec. 23, 1975, 89 Stat. 1029.)

Editorial Notes

Amendments

1975—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 94–174 inserted provisions relating to the exchange of lands in order to provide for an adequate entrance road into the McKittrick Canyon area of the park.

§283b. Establishment; notice in Federal Register; property rights

(a) Federal title to property, donation of State and other non-Federal mineral rights and interests, and establishment; notice in Federal Register; acquisition of remaining property; purchase options pending establishment of park; contingent purchase contracts

When the title to all privately owned land within the boundary of the park, subject to such outstanding interests, rights, and easements as the Secretary determines are not objectionable, with the exception of approximately 4,574 acres which are planned to be acquired by exchange, is vested in the United States and after the State of Texas has donated or agreed to donate to the United States whatever rights and interests in minerals underlying the lands within the boundaries of the park it may have and other owners of such rights and interests have donated or agreed to donate the same to the United States, notice thereof and notice of the establishment of the Guadalupe Mountains National Park shall be published in the Federal Register. Thereafter, the Secretary may continue to acquire the remaining land and interests in land within the boundaries of the park. The Secretary is authorized, pending establishment of the park, to negotiate and acquire options for the purchase of lands and interests in land within the boundaries of the park. He is further authorized to execute contracts for the purchase of such lands and interests, but the liability of the United States under any such contract shall be contingent on the availability of appropriated or donated funds to fulfill the same.

(b) Preferential right to reconveyance of mineral rights and interests upon nonuser of lands for national park purposes; notice; period for exercise; beneficiaries

In the event said lands or any part thereof cease to be used for national park purposes, the persons (including the State of Texas) who donated to the United States rights and interests in minerals in the lands within the park shall be given notice, in accordance with regulations to be prescribed by the Secretary, of their preferential right to a reconveyance, without consideration, of the respective rights and interests in minerals which they donated to the United States. Such notice shall be in a form reasonably calculated to give actual notice to those entitled to such preferential right, and shall provide for a period of not less than one hundred and eighty days within which to exercise such preferential right. The preferential right to such reconveyance shall inure to the benefit of the successors, heirs, devisees, or assigns of such persons having such preferential right to a reconveyance, and such successors, heirs, devisees, or assigns shall be given the notice provided for in this subsection.

(c) Leases of mineral rights and interests: withdrawal from leasing; mineral leasing, sale of surplus property, and sale provisions inapplicable; subsection (c) inapplicable upon failure or refusal to exercise preferential right to reconveyance

Such rights and interests in minerals, including all minerals of whatever nature, in and underlying the lands within the boundaries of the park and which are acquired by the United States under the provisions of this subchapter are hereby withdrawn from leasing and are hereby excluded from the application of the present or future provisions of the Mineral Leasing Act for Acquired Lands [30 U.S.C. 351 et seq.] or other Act in lieu thereof having the same purpose, and the same are hereby also excluded from the provisions of all present and future laws affecting the sale of surplus property or of said mineral interests acquired pursuant to this subchapter by the United States or any department or agency thereof, except that, if such person having such preferential right to a reconveyance fails or refuses to exercise such preferential right to a reconveyance as provided in subsection (b) of this section then this subsection (c) shall not be applicable to the rights and interests in such minerals in the identical lands of such person so failing or refusing to exercise such preferential right to a reconveyance from and after the one hundred and eighty-day period referred to in subsection (b) of this section.

(d) Preferential right to lease mineral rights and interests necessary for national welfare or emergency: notice, terms and conditions, beneficiaries; other leases upon failure or refusal to exercise right: terms and conditions

If at any time in the future an Act of Congress provides that the national welfare or an emergency requires the development and production of the minerals underlying the lands within the boundaries of the national park, or any portion thereof, and such Act of Congress, notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (c) of this section or any other Act, authorizes the Secretary to lease said land for the purpose of drilling, mining, developing, and producing said minerals, the Secretary shall give the persons (including the State of Texas) who donated such minerals to the United States notice of their preferential right to lease, without consideration, all or any part of the respective rights and interests in minerals which they donated to the United States, subject to such terms and conditions as the Secretary may prescribe. Such preferential right shall inure to the benefit of the successors or assigns, and of the heirs or devisees of such persons having such preferential right in the premises. The persons entitled to a preferential right under this subsection shall be given the same notice thereof as persons entitled to preferential rights under subsection (b) of this section. If such person having such preferential right fails or refuses to exercise such right within the time specified in the above notice, the Secretary may thereafter lease the minerals involved to any other person under such terms and conditions as he may prescribe.

(e) Proceeds from communitization agreement or protective action; beneficiaries

If at any time oil, gas, or other minerals should be discovered and produced in commercial quantities from lands outside of the boundaries of the park, thereby causing drainage of oil, gas, or other minerals from lands within the boundaries of the park, and if the Secretary participates in a communitization agreement or takes other action to protect the rights of the United States, the proceeds, if any, derived from such agreement or action shall inure to the benefit of the donors of the oil, gas, or other minerals, or their successors, heirs, devisees, or assigns.

(Pub. L. 89–667, §3, Oct. 15, 1966, 80 Stat. 920.)

Editorial Notes

References in Text

The Mineral Leasing Act for Acquired Lands, referred to in subsec. (c), is act Aug. 7, 1947, ch. 513, 61 Stat. 913, which is classified generally to chapter 7 (§351 et seq.) of Title 30, Mineral Lands and Mining. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 351 of Title 30 and Tables.

§283c. Administration

The Guadalupe Mountains National Park shall be administered by the Secretary of the Interior in accordance with the provisions of the Act of August 25, 1916 (39 Stat. 535; 16 U.S.C. 1–4),¹ as amended and supplemented.

(Pub. L. 89–667, §4, Oct. 15, 1966, 80 Stat. 922.)

Editorial Notes

References in Text

The Act of August 25, 1916 (39 Stat. 535; 16 U.S.C. 1–4), referred to in text, is act Aug. 25, 1916, ch. 408, 39 Stat. 535, known as the National Park Service Organic Act, which enacted sections 1, 2, 3, and 4 of this title and provisions set out as a note under section 100101 of Title 54, National Park Service and Related Programs. Sections 1 to 4 of the Act were repealed and restated as section 1865(a) of Title 18, Crimes and Criminal Procedure, and section 100101(a), chapter 1003, and sections 100751(a), 100752, 100753, and 102101 of Title 54 by Pub. L. 113–287, §§3, 4(a)(1), 7, Dec. 19, 2014, 128 Stat. 3094, 3260, 3272. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Tables. For disposition of former sections of this title, see Disposition Table preceding section 100101 of Title 54.

¹ See References in Text note below.

§283d. Availability of funds

Any funds available for the purpose of administering the five thousand six hundred and thirty-two acres of lands previously donated to the United States in Culberson County, Texas, shall upon establishment of the Guadalupe Mountains National Park pursuant to this subchapter be available to the Secretary for purposes of such park.

(Pub. L. 89–667, §5, Oct. 15, 1966, 80 Stat. 922.)

§283e. Authorization of appropriations; expenditure for improvements limitation

(a) There are hereby authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary for the acquisition of lands and interest in lands, and not more than $24,715,000 as may be necessary for the development of the Guadalupe Mountains National Park. No funds appropriated for development purposes pursuant to this subchapter may be expended for improvements incompatible with wilderness management within the corridor of the park leading to the summit of Guadalupe Peak.

(b) In addition to amounts authorized to be appropriated under subsection (a), there is authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary for the construction of a fence to protect the natural and cultural resources of the area added to Guadalupe Mountains National Park by section 283a(b) of this title.

(Pub. L. 89–667, §6, Oct. 15, 1966, 80 Stat. 922; Pub. L. 95–625, title I, §101(12), Nov. 10, 1978, 92 Stat. 3471; Pub. L. 100–541, §2, Oct. 28, 1988, 102 Stat. 2720.)

Editorial Notes

Amendments

1988—Pub. L. 100–541 designated existing provisions as subsec. (a), substituted "sums" for "sums, but not more than $1,800,000 in all,", and added subsec. (b).

1978—Pub. L. 95–625 increased development appropriations authorization to $24,715,000 from $10,362,000 and prohibited expenditure of funds for improvements incompatible with wilderness management within the corridor of the park leading to the summit of Guadalupe Peak.