§ 17k. Park, parkway and recreational-area programs; study by National Park Service; consent of States; purpose; cooperation of government agencies

The Secretary of the Interior (hereinafter referred to as the “Secretary”) is authorized and directed to cause the National Park Service to make a comprehensive study, other than on lands under the jurisdiction of the Department of Agriculture, of the public park, parkway, and recreational-area programs of the United States, and of the several States and political subdivisions thereof, and of the lands throughout the United States which are or may be chiefly valuable as such areas, but no such study shall be made in any State without the consent and approval of the State officials, boards, or departments having jurisdiction over such lands and park areas. The said study shall be such as, in the judgment of the Secretary, will provide data helpful in developing a plan for coordinated and adequate public park, parkway, and recreational-area facilities for the people of the United States. In making the said study and in accomplishing any of the purposes of this section and sections 17l to 17n of this title, the Secretary is authorized and directed, through the National Park Service, to seek and accept the cooperation and assistance of Federal departments or agencies having jurisdiction of lands belonging to the United States, and may cooperate and make agreements with and seek and accept the assistance of other Federal agencies and instrumentalities, and of States and political subdivisions thereof and the agencies and instrumentalities of either of them.

(June 23, 1936, ch. 735, § 1, 49 Stat. 1894.)

Transfer Of Functions

Transfer of Functions

For transfer of functions of other officers, employees, and agencies of Department of the Interior, with certain exceptions, to Secretary of the Interior, with power to delegate, see Reorg. Plan No. 3 of 1950, §§ 1, 2, eff. May 24, 1950, 15 F.R. 3174, 64 Stat. 1262, set out in the Appendix to Title 5, Government Organization and Employees.

Miscellaneous

National Outdoor Recreation Resources Review Commission

Pub. L. 85–470, June 28, 1958, 72 Stat. 238, as amended by Pub. L. 86–6, Mar. 25, 1959, 73 Stat. 14; Pub. L. 87–12, Mar. 29, 1961, 75 Stat. 19, created a bipartisan Outdoor Recreation Resources Review Commission.

The Commission was directed to proceed as soon as practicable to set in motion a nationwide inventory and evaluation of outdoor recreation resources and opportunities, directly and through the Federal agencies, the States, and private organizations and groups, utilizing to the fullest extent possible such studies, data, and reports previously prepared or concurrently in process by Federal agencies, States, private organizations, groups, and others, and to compile such data and in the light of the data so compiled and of information available concerning trends in population, leisure, transportation, and other factors shall determine the amount, kind, quality, and location of such outdoor recreation resources and opportunities as will be required by the year 1976 and the year 2000, and shall recommend what policies should best be adopted and what programs be initiated, at each level of government and by private organizations and other citizen groups and interests, to meet such future requirements.

The Commission was required to present not later than January 31, 1962, a report of its review, a compilation of its data, and its recommendations on a State by State, region by region, and national basis to the President and to the Congress, and ceased to exist not later than September 1, 1962.

Outdoor Recreation Programs

Coordination and development of programs relating to outdoor recreation, see sections 460l to 460l–3 of this title.