National parks operate within a legal framework that applies to all units that make up the national park system. In addition, specific legislation authorizes and defines a particular park. Regulations and policies further describe how parks are to be managed. More information about policies at Boston Harbor Islands can be found at "Park Planning."
The Boston Harbor Islands enabling legislation is intended to foster the goals of current land managers, including the Commonwealth of Massachusetts which had first acquired an island in the late 1950s. In 1970, the Commonwealth had passed legislation [1] that provided for the systematic acquisition of selected islands in Boston Harbor for recreation and conservation purposes. With that acquisition nearly complete, the 1996 federal legislation for the Boston Harbor Island national park area focuses on ways to better coordinate the management of the park and to improve visitor programs and access. Specific policies for Boston Harbor Islands are articulated in the park general management plan.
Boston Harbor Islands Enabling Legislation
The Boston Harbor Islands were added to the National Park System in 1996 by a section of the National Parks and Public Lands Management Act of 1996 which was enacted as Public Law 104-333. The park legislation was amended in 1998 with authorization to acquire, in partnership with other entities, a conservation easement at Thompson Island [2]; with technical corrections in 2000 [3]; and again in 2009 to clarify the authority of NPS to enter into agreements with entities represented on the Boston Harbor Islands Partnership [4].
Generally, the 1996 legislation requires that the park be administered in cooperation with the private sector, with municipalities surrounding Massachusetts and Cape Cod bays, and with historical, business, cultural, civic, recreational, and tourism organizations.
Basic tenets of the 1996 park legislation are that: “The recreation area shall be administered in partnership by the Secretary [of the Interior], the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, City of Boston and its applicable subdivisions and others in accordance with the provisions of law generally applicable to units of the National Park System….” Toward that end, the legislation established the Boston Harbor Islands Partnership.
Other Specific Mandates
Closely allied with partnership management is the legislative requirement that federal funding for the Boston Harbor Islands be matched by nonfederal funding. All federal funds that may be appropriated over time to implement the 1996 law may only be expended in a ratio of one federal dollar to at least three dollars from other sources. The nonfederal share may be in the form of cash, services, or in-kind contributions.
The law incorporates language permitting the NPS to spend appropriated funds at mainland locations for park infrastructure, like piers and information kiosks, that may be needed for access, visitor services, or administration. Several of these locations are controlled by members of the Partnership. However, the law directs that federal funds will not be appropriated for the acquisition of lands, except for a conservation easement on Thompson Island.
It is explicit in the 1996 law that the right of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, or any of its political subdivisions, remains unchanged regarding the exercise of civil and criminal jurisdiction or the right to carry out state laws, rules, and regulations within the park.
The legislation also stipulates that the maintenance, operation, improvement, use, and associated flight patterns of Logan International Airport "shall not be deemed to constitute the use of" the park nor "to have a significant effect on natural, scenic, and recreation assets" of the park.
All units of the national park system are required to operate in accordance with an approved general management plan. The 1996 enabling legislation requires that the Boston Harbor Islands Partnership develop and implement a general management plan, called an “integrated resource management plan.”
Finally, the Boston Harbor Islands enabling legislation highlights the importance of understanding the history of Native American use and involvement with the islands, and calls for protecting and preserving Native American any burial grounds, particularly those connected with King Philip’s War.
The park’s enabling legislation is codified in the at Title 16. Conservation; Chapter 1. National Parks, Military Parks, Monuments, and Seashores; Section 460kkk. Boston Harbor Islands Recreation Area.
Boston Light Station
In addition to the park enabling legislation discussed above , there is one other federal law that specifically establishes policy for an individual island. Congress determined in the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 1989 that the special historic character of Boston Light would best be preserved by its staffed operation (P.L. 101–225 §221). The U.S. Coast Guard has continued to staff the light and worked cooperatively with others to facilitate public access to, and enhance public enjoyment and appreciation of Boston Light and Little Brewster Island. The law provides that, in the future, the Coast Guard may develop a strategy for management by another entity, provided that such an entity is capable of administering the light station and the island “in a way that preserves for public enjoyment and appreciation their special historic character.”
