§ 1273. — National wild and scenic rivers system.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 16USC1273]
TITLE 16--CONSERVATION
CHAPTER 28--WILD AND SCENIC RIVERS
Sec. 1273. National wild and scenic rivers system
(a) Composition; application; publication in Federal Register; expense;
administration of federally owned lands
The national wild and scenic rivers system shall comprise rivers (i)
that are authorized for inclusion therein by Act of Congress, or (ii)
that are designated as wild, scenic or recreational rivers by or
pursuant to an act of the legislature of the State or States through
which they flow, that are to be permanently administered as wild, scenic
or recreational rivers by an agency or political subdivision of the
State or States concerned that are found by the Secretary of the
Interior, upon application of the Governor of the State or the Governors
of the States concerned, or a person or persons thereunto duly appointed
by him or them, to meet the criteria established in this chapter and
such criteria supplementary thereto as he may prescribe, and that are
approved by him for inclusion in the system, including, upon application
of the Governor of the State concerned, the Allagash Wilderness
Waterway, Maine; that segment of the Wolf River, Wisconsin, which flows
through Langlade County; and that segment of the New River in North
Carolina extending from its confluence with Dog Creek downstream
approximately 26.5 miles to the Virginia State line. Upon receipt of an
application under clause (ii) of this subsection, the Secretary shall
notify the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and publish such
application in the Federal Register. Each river designated under clause
(ii) shall be administered by the State or political subdivision thereof
without expense to the United States other than for administration and
management of federally owned lands. For purposes of the preceding
sentence, amounts made available to any State or political subdivision
under the Land and Water Conservation Act of 1965 [16 U.S.C. 460l-4 et
seq.] or any other provision of law shall not be treated as an expense
to the United States. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to
provide for the transfer to, or administration by, a State or local
authority of any federally owned lands which are within the boundaries
of any river included within the system under clause (ii).
(b) Classification, designation, and administration of rivers
A wild, scenic or recreational river area eligible to be included in
the system is a free-flowing stream and the related adjacent land area
that possesses one or more of the values referred to in section 1271 of
this title. Every wild, scenic or recreational river in its free-flowing
condition, or upon restoration to this condition, shall be considered
eligible for inclusion in the national wild and scenic rivers system
and, if included, shall be classified, designated, and administered as
one of the following:
(1) Wild river areas--Those rivers or sections of rivers that
are free of impoundments and generally inaccessible except by trail,
with watersheds or shorelines essentially primitive and waters
unpolluted. These represent vestiges of primitive America.
(2) Scenic river areas--Those rivers or sections of rivers that
are free of impoundments, with shorelines or watersheds still
largely primitive and shorelines largely undeveloped, but accessible
in places by roads.
(3) Recreational river areas--Those rivers or sections of rivers
that are readily accessible by road or railroad, that may have some
development along their shorelines, and that may have undergone some
impoundment or diversion in the past.
(Pub. L. 90-542, Sec. 2, Oct. 2, 1968, 82 Stat. 906; Pub. L. 94-407,
Sec. 1(1), Sept. 11, 1976, 90 Stat. 1238; Pub. L. 95-625, title VII,
Sec. 761, Nov. 10, 1978, 92 Stat. 3533.)
References in Text
The Land and Water Conservation Act of 1965, referred to in subsec.
(a), probably means the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965,
Pub. L. 88-578, Sept. 3, 1964, 78 Stat. 897, as amended, which is
classified generally to part B (Sec. 460l-4 et seq.) of subchapter LXIX
of chapter 1 of this title. For complete classification of this Act to
the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 460l-4 of this
title and Tables.
Amendments
1978--Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 95-625 provided for notification of the
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and publication of any application
in the Federal Register; made it an expense of the United States for
administration and management of federally owned lands; treated amounts
available to the States under provisions of law not as an expense of the
United States; and made federally owned lands within boundaries of State
rivers free of ownership or administration of State or local authority.
1976--Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 94-407 inserted provision for inclusion
of specified segment of New River in North Carolina.
Section Referred to in Other Sections
This section is referred to in sections 1274, 1278, 1283 of this
title.
