Mammoth Cave National Park

An Act To provide for the securing of lands in the southern Appalachian Mountains and in the Mammoth Cave regions of Kentucky for perpetual preservation as national parks, approved February 21, 1925 (43 Stat. 958)

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress asembled. That the Secretary of the Interior is hereby authorized and directed to determine the boundaries and area of such portion of the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia lying east of the South Fork of the Shenandoah River and between Front Royal on the north and Waynesboro on the south as may be recommended by him to be acquired and administered as a national park, to be known as the Shenandoah National Park, and such portion of the Smoky Mountains lying in Tennessee and North Carolina as may be recommended by him to be acquired and administered as a national park, to be known as the Smoky Mountains National Park, and in the Mammoth Cave regions of Kentucky and also such other lands in the southern Appalachian Mountains as in his judgment should be acquired and administered as national parks, and to receive definite offers of donations of lands and moneys, and to secure such options as in his judgment may be considered reasonable and just for the purchase of lands within said boundaries, and to report to Congress thereon: Provided, That the Secretary of the Interior may, for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this Act, appoint a commission of five members, composed of a representative of the Interior Department and four national park experts said four members to serve without compensation. (U.S.C., 6th supp., title 16, sec. 403c.)

SEC. 2. A sum sufficient to secure options and to pay the necessary expenses of the commission in carrying out the provisions of this Act, including the salary of one Clerk to the commission at a rate not to exceed $2,000 per annum, necessary traveling expenses of the members of the commission, and $10 per in lieu of actual cost of subsistence, in all, not to exceed $20,000 is hereby authorized to be appropriated.

An Act To provide for the establishment of the Mammoth Cave National Park in the State of Kentucky, and for other purposes, approved May 25, 1926 (44 Stat. 635)

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That when title to lands within the area hereinafter referred to shall have been vested in the United States in fee simple, there shall be, and there is hereby, established, dedicated, and set apart as a park for the benefit and enjoyment of the people, the tract of land in the Mammoth Cave region in the State of Kentucky, being approximately seventy thousand six hundred and eighteen acres, recommended as a National Park by the Southern Appalachian National Park Commission to the Secretary of the Interior, in its report of April 8, 1926, and made under authority of the Act of February 21, 1925; which area, or any part or parts thereof as may be accepted on behalf of the United States in accordance with the provisions hereof, shall be known as the Mammoth Cave National Park: Provided, That the United States shall not purchase by appropriation of public moneys any land within the aforesaid area, but such lands shall be secured by the United States only by public or private donation. (U.S.C., 6th supp., title 16, sec. 404.)

SEC. 2. The Secretary of the Interior is hereby authorized, in his discretion, to accept, as hereinafter provided, title to lands on behalf of the United States, title to the lands referred to in the previous section hereof, and to be purchased with the funds which may be subscribed by or through the Mammoth Cave National Park Association of Kentucky, and with other contributions for the purchase of lands in the Mammoth Cave National Park area: Provided, That any of said lands may be donated directly to the United States and conveyed to it, cost free, by fee-simple title, in cases where such donations may be made without the necessity of purchase. (U.S.C., 6th supp., title 16, sec. 404a.)

SEC. 3. The administration, protection, and development of the aforesaid park shall be exercised under the direction of the Secretary of the Interior by the National Park Service, subject to the provisions of the Act of August 25, 1916, entitled "An Act to establish a National Park Service, and for other purposes," as amended: Provided, That the provisions of the Act approved June 10, 1920, known as the Federal Water Power Act, shall not apply to this park: And provided further, That the minimum area to be administered and protected by the National Park Service shall be, for the said Mammoth Cave National Park, twenty thousand acres, including all of the caves: Provided further, That no general development of said area shall be undertaken until a major portion of the remainder in such area shall have been accepted before any development accepted by said Secretary. (U.S.C., 6th supp., title 16, made. sec. 404b.)

SEC. 4. The Secretary of the Interior may, for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this Act, employ the commission authorized by the Act approved February 21, 1925. (U.S.C., 6th supp., title 16, sec. 404c.)

Mammoth Cave National Park

Excerpt from An Act ceding to the United States exclusive jurisdiction over the Mammoth Cave National Park in the State of Kentucky, approved March 22, 1930 (Acts of 1930, ch. 132, p. 405; Carroll's Kentucky Statutes, sec. 3766e-17)

SEC. 2. That the exclusive jurisdiction shall be, and the same is, hereby ceded to the United States over, within, and under all the territory in the State of Kentucky, thus to be, and as, deeded or conveyed to, or acquired by, the United States; saving and reserving, however, to the State of Kentucky the right to serve civil and criminal process, issued under its authority, within the limits of the land or lands thus deeded or conveyed to, or acquired, by the United States, in suits or prosecutions for, or on account of, rights acquired, obligations incurred, or crimes committed in said State outside of, said land or lands; and on account of rights acquired, obligations incurred, or crimes committed on, or within, said land or lands, prior to the date of the giving or service of notice as hereinafter provided, of the assumption of police jurisdiction over such land or lands by the United States; and further saving and reserving to the said State the right to tax sales of gasoline and other motor conveyance fuels, and oils for use in motor conveyances, except to the extent that such gasoline and other fuels and oils may be used by the United States Government and its agents in the administration, protection, improvement, maintenance, development, and operation of the said land or lands deeded or conveyed as aforesaid; and, also, further saving and reserving to the said State of Kentucky the right to tax persons, firms, and corporations, their franchises and properties, on the said land or lands, deeded or conveyed as aforesaid; and saving and reserving, also, to persons residing in or on any of the land or lands deeded or conveyed as aforesaid, the right to vote at all elections within the respective counties of their residence, upon like terms and conditions, and to the same extent, as they would be entitled to vote in such counties had not such land or lands been deeded or conveyed, as aforesaid, to the United States; Provided, however, that such jurisdiction shall not invest in the United States unless, until, and as, the United States, through the Secretary of the Interior, notifies the Governor of the State of Kentucky, and through him the said State, that the said United States assumes police jurisdiction over the land or lands thus deeded or conveyed.

An Act To amend the Act or May 25, 1926, entitled "An Act to provide for the establishment of the Mammoth Cave National Park in the State of Kentucky, and for other purposes, approved May 14, 1934 (48 Stat. 775)

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the second and third provisos of section 3 of the Act Mammoth Cave of May 25, 1926, entitled "An Act to provide for the establishment of the Mammoth Cave National Park in the State of Kentucky, and for other purposes" be, and the same are hereby, amended to read as follows: "And provided further, That the minimum area to be administered and protected by the National Park Service shall be, for the said Mammoth Cave National Park, twenty thousand acres: Provided further, That no general development of said area shall be undertaken until a major portion of the remainder in such area, including all the caves thereof, shall have been accepted by said Secretary, and he shall have established a schedule of fees for admission to such caves." (16 U.S.C. sec. 404b.)

SEC. 2. That in the establishment of the said Mammoth Cave National Park the Secretary of the Interior is hereby authorized to accept donations of money for the acquisition of lands and rights therein and to acquire the same by purchase, condemnation, or otherwise. (16 U.S.C. sec. 404e.)

An Act To make available for national-park purposes certain lands within the area of the proposed Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky, approved August 28, 1937 (50 Stat. 871)

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That all lands purchased from funds heretofore allocated and made available by Executive order, or otherwise, for the acquisition of lands for conservation or forestation purposes within the maximum boundaries of the Mammoth Cave National Park as authorized by the Act of May 25, 1926 (44 Stat. 635), be, and the same are hereby, made a part of the said park as fully as if originally acquired for that purpose and the proviso at the end of section 1 of said Act of May 25, 1926, shall not be construed so as to prohibit the acquisition of lands in said area under funds made available as aforesaid. (16 U.S.C. sec. 404f.)

SEC. 2. The Secretary of the Interior is hereby authorzed, in his discretion, to exclude the Great Onyx Cave and the Crystal Cave, or either of them, from the maximum boundaries of the said park, and the area required for general development of the said park by section 1 of the Act of May 14, 1934 (48 Stat, 775), is hereby modified accordingly. (16 U.S.C. sec. 404b-1.) sec. 404b.

An Act To accept the cession by the Commonwealth of Kentucky of exclusive jurisdiction over the lands embraced within the Mammoth Cave National Park; to authorize the acquisition of additional lands for the park in accordance with the Act of May 25, 1926 (44 Stat. 635); to authorize the acceptance of donations of land for the development of a proper entrance road to the park; and for other purposes, approved June 5, 1942 (56 Stat. 317)

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the provisions of the act of the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, approved March 22, 1930 (Acts of 1930, ch. 132, p. 405), ceding to the United States exclusive jurisdiction over, within, and under such territory in the Commonwealth as may be acquired for the Mammoth Cave National Park, are hereby accepted. Subject to the reservations made by the Commonwealth in the act of cession, the United States hereby assumes sole and exclusive jurisdiction over such territory. (16 U.S.C. sec. 404c-1.)

SEC. 2. The park shall constitute a part of the United States judicial district for the western district of Kentucky, and the district court of the United States in and for said district shall have jurisdiction over all offenses committed within the boundaries of the park. All fugitives from justice taking refuge in the park shall be subject to the same laws as fugitives from justice found in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. (16 U.S.C. sec. 404c-2.)

SEC. 3. All hunting or the killing, wounding, or capturing at any time of any wild bird or animal, except dangerous animals when it is necessary to prevent them from destroying human lives or inflicting personal injury, is prohibited within the limits of the park, nor shall any, fish be taken out of any of the waters of the park, except at such seasons and at such times and in such manner as may be directed by the Secretary of the Interior. The Secretary of the Interior shall make and publish such general rules and regulations as he may deem necessary and proper for the management and care of the park and for the protection of the property therein, especially for the preservation from injury or spoliation of all timber, mineral deposits, natural curiosities, or wonderful objects within the park, and for the protection of the animals and birds in the park from capture or destruction, and to prevent their being frightened or driven from the park; and he shall make rules and regulations governing the taking of fish from the waters in the park. Possession within the park of the dead bodies or any part thereof of any wild bird or animal shall be prima facie evidence that the person or persons having the same are guilty of violating this Act. Any person or persons, stage or express company, railway or other transportation company, who knows or has reason to believe that such wild birds, fish, or animals were taken or killed contrary to the provisions of this Act or the rules and regulations promulgated by the Secretary of the Interior, and who receives for transportation the dead bodies or any part thereof of the wild birds, fish, or animals so taken or killed, or who shall violate any of the other provisions of this Act, or the rules and regulations, with reference to the management and care of the park, or for the protection of the property therein, for the preservation from injury or spoliation of timber, mineral deposits, natural curiosities, or wonderful objects within the park, or for the protection of the animals, birds, and fish in the park, or who shall within the park commit any damage, injury, or spoliation to or upon any building, fence, sign, hedge, gate, guidepost, tree, wood, underwood, timber, garden, crops, vegetables, plants, land, springs, mineral deposits, natural curiosities, or other matter or thing growing or being thereon, or situated therein, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be subject to a fine of not more than $500 or imprisonment not exceeding six months, or both, and be adjudged to pay all the costs of the proceedings. (16 U.S.C. sec. 404c-3.)

SEC. 4. All guns, traps, nets, seines, fishing tackle, teams, horses, or means of transportation of every nature or description used by any person or persons within the limits of the park when engaged in killing, trapping, ensnaring, taking, or capturing such wild birds, fish, or animals contrary to the provisions of this Act or the rules and regulations promulgated by the Secretary of the Interior shall be forfeited to the United States and may be seized by the officers in the park and held pending prosecution of any person or persons arrested under the charge of violating the provisions of this Act, and upon conviction under this Act of such person or persons using said guns, traps, nets, seines, fishing tackle, teams, horses, or other means of transportation, such forfeiture shall be adjudicated as a penalty in addition to the other punishment prescribed in this Act. Such forfeited property shall be disposed of and accounted for by and under the authority of the Secretary of the Interior: Provided, That the forfeiture of teams, horses, or other means of transportation shall be in the discretion of the court. (16 U.S.C. sec. 404c-4.)

SEC. 5. Upon the recommendation and approval of the Secretary of the Interior of a qualified candidate, the United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky shall appoint a park commissioner, who shall have jurisdiction to hear and act upon all complaints made of any violations of law or of the rules and regulations made by the Secretary of the Interior for the government of the park and for the protection of the animals, birds, and fish, and objects of interest therein, and for other purposes authorized by this Act. Such commissioner shall have power, upon sworn information, to issue process in the name of the United States for the arrest of any person charged with a violation of the rules and regulations, or with a violation of any of the provisions of this Act prescribed for the government of the park and for the protection of the animals, birds, and fish in the park, and to try the person so charged, and, if found guilty, to impose punishment and to adjudge the forfeiture prescribed. In all cases of conviction an appeal shall lie from the judgment of the commissioner to the United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky; and the district court shall prescribe the rules and procedure and practice for the commissioner in the trial of cases and for appeal to the district court. (16 U.S.C. sec. 404c-5.)

SEC. 6. The park commissioner shall also have power over other to issue process, as hereinbefore provided, for the arrest of any person charged with the commission within the park of any criminal offense not covered by the provisions of section 3 of this Act, to hear the evidence introduced, and, if he is of the opinion that probable cause is shown for holding the person so charged, for trial, shall cause such person to be safely conveyed to a secure place of confinement within the jurisdiction of the United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky, and certify a transcript of the record of his proceedings and the testimony in such case to the said district court, which court shall have jurisdiction of the case. The park commissioner shall have authority to grant bail in all cases according to the laws of the United States. (16 U.S.C. sec. 404c-6.)

SEC. 7. The park commissioner shall be paid an annual salary as appropriated for by Congress. (16 U.S.C. sec. 404c-7)

SEC. 8. All fees, costs, and expenses arising in cases under this Act and properly chargeable to the United States shall be certified, approved, and paid as are like fees, costs, and expenses in the courts of the United States. (16 US.C. sec. 404c-8.)

SEC. 9. All fees, fines, costs, and expenses imposed and collected shall be deposited by the commissioner, or by the marshal of the United States collecting the same, with the clerk of the United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky. (16 U.S.C. sec. 404c-9.)

SEC. 10. The Secretary of the Interior shall notify in writing the Governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky of the passage and approval of this Act, and of the fact that the United States assumes police jurisdiction over the park. Upon the acceptance by the Secretary of the Interior of further cessions of jurisdiction over lands now or hereafter included in the Mammoth Cave National Park, the provisions of sections 2 to 9, inclusive, shall apply to such lands. (16 U.S.C. sec 404c-10.)

SEC. 11. The Secretary of the Interior is hereby authorized discretion to acquire for inclusion within the Mammoth Cave National Park by purchase, condemnation, or otherwise, any lands, interests in lands, and other property within the maximum boundaries thereof as authorized by the Act of May 25, 1926 (44 Stat. 635), notwithstanding the provisions of the Act of August 28, 1937 (50 Stat. 871), or any action taken thereunder to exclude certain caves from the park area.

For the purpose of enabling the Secretary of the Interior to acquire property on behalf of the United States, as authorized by this section, there shall be reserved and set aside in the Treasury a special fund of not to exceed $350,000. Said fund shall consist of the annual revenues of the Federal Government from the Mammoth Cave National Park which are in excess of the annual appropriations made for the administration, protection, and maintenance of said park. At the close of each fiscal year, the Secretary of the Interior shall certify to the Secretary of the Treasury the excess of revenues over appropriations for the preceding fiscal year.

The title to lands, interests in lands, and other property to be acquired pursuant to this Act shall be satisfactory to the Secretary of the Interior. Any property acquired pursuant to this Act upon acquisition by the Federal Government, shall become a part of the park, and shall be subject to all laws and regulations applicable thereto. (16 U.S.C. sec. 404c-11.)

SEC. 12. For the purpose of developing a proper and suitable entrance road to the Mammoth Cave National Park, the Secretary of the Interior is hereby authorized in his discretion to accept on behalf of the United States donations of lands, buildings, structures, and other property or interests therein, or to acquire such property with donated funds by purchase, condemnation, or otherwise, within an area or areas to be determined by him, but (a) not to exceed one mile in width, extending from the exterior boundary of the Mammoth Cave National Park to a point to be selected by him on United States Highway Numbered 31-W, and (b) not to exceed one-half mile in width on either side of United States Highway Numbered 31-W and running for a distance of not to exceed two miles along said highway. Lands acquired for purposes of protecting such entrance roads shall not be less than five hundred feet in width on either side of said roads: Provided, That only one such entrance road shall be established between United States Highway Numbered 31-W and Mammoth Cave National Park pursuant to this Act. (16 U.S.C. sec. 404c-12.)

Mammoth Cave National Park

Excluding the Great Onyx and the Crystal Cave from maximum boundaries of the park: Order of Dcc. 3, 1940¹

ORDER EXCLUDING THE GREAT ONYX CAVE AND THE CRYSTAL CAVE FROM THE MAXIMUM BOUNDARIES OF THE MAMMOTH CAVE NATIONAL PARK, KENTUCKY

[Dec. 3, 1940—5 ??? F. R. 5071]

Pursuant to the authority contained in section 2 of the act of Congress approved August 28, 1937 (50 Stat. 871), I, Harold L. Ickes, Secretary of the Interior, do hereby exclude the Great Onyx Cave and the Crystal Cave from the maximum boundaries of the Mammoth Cave National Park as authorized by the Act of May 25, 1926 (44 Stat. 635), and the area required for general development of the said park by section 1 of the act of May 14, 1934 (48 Stat. 775), is modified accordingly.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF I have hereunto set my hand and caused the official seal of the Department of the Interior to be affixed in the City of Washington, this 3d day of December 1940.

[SEAL]

HAROLD L. ICKES,
Secretary of the Interior.

Mammoth Cave National Park

An Act To provide that appointments of United States commissioners for the Isle Royale, Hawaii, Mammoth Cave, and Olympic National Parks shall be made by the United States district courts without the recommendation and approval of the Secretary of the Interior, approved April 21, 1948 (62 Stat. 196)

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the first sentence of section 5 of the Act Appointments entitled "An Act to accept the cession by the State of Michigan of exclusive jurisdiction over the lands embraced within the Isle Royale National Park, and for other purposes", approved March 6, 1942 (U.S.C., 1940 edition, Sup. V, title 16, sec. 408m), is amended by striking out "upon the recommendation and approval of the Secretary of the Interior of a qualified candidate."

SEC. 2. The first paragraph of section 6 of the Act entitled "An Act to provide for the exercise of sole nnd exclusive jurisdiction by the United States over the Hawaii National Park in the Territory of Hawaii, and for other purposes", approved April 19, 1930, as amended (U.S.C., 1940 edition, title 16, sec. 395e), is amended by striking out "upon the recommendation and approval of the Secretary of the Interior of a qualified candidate".

SEC. 3. The first sentence of section 5 of the Act entitled "An Act to accept the cession by the Commonwealth of Kentucky of exclusive jurisdiction over the lands embraced within the Mammoth Cave National Park; to authorize the acquisition of additional lands for the park in accordance with the Act of May 25, 1926 (44 Stat. 635); to authorize the acceptance of donations of land for the development of a proper entrance road to the park; and for other purposes", approved June 5, 1942 (U.S.C., 1940 edition, Supp. V, title 16, sec. 404c-5), is amended by striking out "Upon the recommendation and approval of the Secretary of the Interior of a qualified candidate, the" and inserting in lieu thereof "The".

SEC. 4. The first sentence of section 5 of the Act entitled "An Act to accept the cession by the State of Washington of exclusive jurisdiction over the lands embraced within the Olympic National Park, and for other purposes", approved March 6, 1942 (U.S.C., 1940 edition, Supp. V, title 16, sec. 256d), is amended by striking out "Upon the recommendation and approval of the Secretary of the Interior of a qualified candidate, the" and inserting in lieu thereof "The". (See 28 U.S.C. § 631 note.)

An Act To amend section 11 of the Act approved June 5, 1942 (56 Stat. 317), relating to Mammoth Cave National Park in the State of Kentucky, and for other purposes, approved June 30, 1948 (62 Stat. 1165)

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the second paragraph of section 11 of the Act approved June 5, 1942 (56 Stat. 317, 319; 16 U.S.C. sec. 404c—11), is hereby amended to read as follows:

"In order to provide for acquisition of property on behalf of the United States, in accordance with the provisions of this section, there is hereby authorized to be appropriated the sum of not to exceed $350,000. Any of the funds appropriated pursuant to the provisions which are not needed to acquire property as authorized by this section may, in the discretion of the Secretary of the Interior, be used to acquire lands and interests in lands required for the development of a proper and suitable entrance road to Mammoth Cave National Park, as authorized in section 12 of this Act. The funds heretofore deposited in the Treasury under special fund receipt account 146664 shall, upon the passage of this Act, be transferred to the general fund of the Treasury as miscellaneous receipts: Provided, That no part of this authorization shall be used for road development or construction until after all the lands within the maximum boundaries, as authorized by the Act of May 25, 1926 (44 Stat. 635), have been acquired by purchase, condemnation or otherwise." (16 U.S.C. § 404c—11.)

An Act To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to cooperate with the State of Kentucky to acquire non-Federal cave properties within the authorized boundaries of Mammoth Cave National Park in the State of Kentucky, and for other purposes, approved March 27, 1954 (68 Stat. 36)

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the Secretary of the Interior is authorized to cooperate with the State of Kentucky for the purpose of arranging for the eventual acquisition by the United States of the Great Onyx Cave and the Crystal Cave within the authorized boundaries of Mammoth Cave National Park. The Secretary shall deposit to the credit of a special receipt account that portion of the annual admission, guide, and elevator fee receipts from the said park which exceeds the annual amount available to the park for management, guide, and protection purposes, which funds so deposited may be expended thereafter in payment for the purchase of said cave properties. The Secretary is further authorized to enter into such contracts and agreements as he may determine to be necessary to effectuate the acquistion of the cave properties as authorized herein. (16 U.S.C. § 404b—2.)