§ 698. — Big Thicket National Preserve.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 16USC698]
TITLE 16--CONSERVATION
CHAPTER 6--GAME AND BIRD PRESERVES; PROTECTION
Sec. 698. Big Thicket National Preserve
(a) Establishment
In order to assure the preservation, conservation, and protection of
the natural, scenic, and recreational values of a significant portion of
the Big Thicket area in the State of Texas and to provide for the
enhancement and public enjoyment thereof, the Big Thicket National
Preserve is hereby established.
(b) Location; boundaries; publication in Federal Register
The Big Thicket National Preserve (hereafter referred to as the
``preserve'') shall include the units generally depicted on the map
entitled ``Big Thicket National Preserve'', dated October 1992, and
numbered 175-80008, which shall be on file and available for public
inspection in the offices of the National Park Service, Department of
the Interior, and the offices of the Superintendent of the preserve.
After advising the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the
United States Senate and the Committee on Natural Resources of the
United States House of Representatives, in writing, the Secretary of the
Interior (hereafter referred to as the ``Secretary'') may make minor
revisions of the boundaries of the preserve when necessary by
publication of a revised drawing or other boundary description in the
Federal Register. The Secretary shall, as soon as practicable, but no
later than six months after October 11, 1974, publish a detailed
description of the boundaries of the preserve in the Federal Register.
In establishing such boundaries, the Secretary shall locate stream
corridor unit boundaries referenced from the stream bank on each side
thereof and he shall further make every reasonable effort to exclude
from the units hereafter described any improved year-round residential
properties which he determines, in his discretion, are not necessary for
the protection of the values of the area or for its proper
administration. The preserve shall consist of the following units:
Big Sandy Creek unit, Polk County, Texas, comprising
approximately fourteen thousand three hundred acres;
Menard Creek Corridor unit, Polk, Hardin, and Liberty Counties,
Texas, including a module at its confluence with the Trinity River,
comprising approximately three thousand three hundred and fifty-nine
acres;
Hickory Creek Savannah unit, Tyler County, Texas, comprising
approximately six hundred and sixty-eight acres;
Turkey Creek unit, Tyler and Hardin Counties, Texas, comprising
approximately seven thousand eight hundred acres;
Beech Creek unit, Tyler County, Texas, comprising approximately
four thousand eight hundred and fifty-six acres;
Upper Neches River corridor unit, Jasper, Tyler, and Hardin
Counties, Texas, including the Sally Withers Addition, comprising
approximately three thousand seven hundred and seventy-five acres;
Neches Bottom and Jack Gore Baygall unit, Hardin and Jasper
Counties, Texas, comprising approximately thirteen thousand three
hundred acres;
Lower Neches River corridor unit, Hardin, Jasper, and Orange
Counties, Texas, except for a one-mile segment on the east side of
the river including the site of the papermill near Evandale,
comprising approximately two thousand six hundred acres;
Beaumont unit, Orange, Hardin, and Jefferson Counties, Texas,
comprising approximately six thousand two hundred and eighteen
acres;
Loblolly unit, Liberty County, Texas, comprising approximately
five hundred and fifty acres;
Little Pine Island-Pine Island Bayou corridor unit, Hardin and
Jefferson Counties, Texas, comprising approximately two thousand one
hundred acres;
Lance Rosier Unit, Hardin County, Texas, comprising
approximately twenty-five thousand and twenty-four acres;
Village Creek Corridor unit, Hardin County, Texas, comprising
approximately four thousand seven hundred and ninety-three acres;
Big Sandy Corridor unit, Hardin, Polk, and Tyler Counties,
Texas, comprising approximately four thousand four hundred and
ninety-seven acres; and
Canyonlands unit, Tyler County, Texas, comprising approximately
one thousand four hundred and seventy-six acres.
(c) Methods of acquisition of land
The Secretary is authorized to acquire by donation, purchase with
donated or appropriated funds, transfer from any other Federal agency,
or exchange, any lands, waters, or interests therein which are located
within the boundaries of the preserve: Provided, That privately owned
lands located within the Village Creek Corridor, Big Sandy Corridor, and
Canyonlands units may be acquired only with the consent of the owner:
Provided further, That the Secretary may acquire lands owned by
commercial timber companies only by donation or exchange: Provided
further, That any lands owned by the State of Texas, or any political
subdivisions thereof may be acquired by donation only. The Secretary may
also acquire, by any of the above methods, approximately 15 acres of
land outside of the boundaries of the preserve in the vicinity of the
intersection of United States Highway 69 and State Farm-Market Road 420,
in Hardin County, Texas, for purposes of a visitor contact and
administrative site. After notifying the Committee on Energy and Natural
Resources of the Senate and the Committee on Natural Resources of the
House of Representatives, in writing, of his intention to do so and of
the reasons therefor, the Secretary may, if he finds that such lands
would make a significant contribution to the purposes for which the
preserve was created, accept title to any lands, or interests in lands,
located outside of the boundaries of the preserve which the State of
Texas or its political subdivisions may acquire and offer to donate to
the United States or which any private person, organization, or public
or private corporation may offer to donate to the United States and he
may administer such lands as a part of the preserve after publishing
notice to that effect in the Federal Register. Notwithstanding any other
provision of law, any federally owned lands within the preserve shall,
with the concurrence of the head of the administering agency, be
transferred to the administrative jurisdiction of the Secretary for the
purposes of sections 698 to 698e of this title, without transfer of
funds.
(d) Exchanges of land
Within sixty days after July 1, 1993, the Secretary and the
Secretary of Agriculture shall identify lands within their jurisdiction
located within the vicinity of the preserve which may be suitable for
exchange for commercial timber lands within the preserve. In so doing,
the Secretary of Agriculture shall seek to identify for exchange
National Forest lands that are near or adjacent to private lands that
are already owned by the commercial timber companies. Such National
Forest lands shall be located in the Sabine National Forest in Sabine
County, Texas, in the Davy Crockett National Forest south of Texas State
Highway 7, or in other sites deemed mutually agreeable, and within
reasonable distance of the timber companies' existing mills. In
exercising this exchange authority, the Secretary and the Secretary of
Agriculture may utilize any authorities or procedures otherwise
available to them in connection with land exchanges, and which are not
inconsistent with the purposes of sections 698 to 698e of this title.
Land exchanges authorized pursuant to this subsection shall be of equal
value and shall be completed as soon as possible, but no later than five
years after July 1, 1993. The Secretary, in considering the values of
the private lands to be exchanged under this subsection, shall consider
independent appraisals submitted by the owners of the private lands. The
authority to exchange lands under this subsection shall expire on July
1, 1998.
(e) Indian Springs Youth Camp
With respect to the thirty-seven-acre area owned by the Louisiana-
Pacific Corporation or its subsidiary, Kirby Forest Industries, Inc., on
Big Sandy Creek in Hardin County, Texas, and now utilized as part of the
Indian Springs Youth Camp (H.G. King Abstract 822), the Secretary shall
not acquire such area without the consent of the owner so long as the
area is used exclusively as a youth camp.
(Pub. L. 93-439, Sec. 1, Oct. 11, 1974, 88 Stat. 1254; Pub. L. 98-489,
Sec. 1(a), Oct. 17, 1984, 98 Stat. 2267; Pub. L. 103-46, Sec. 2(a), (b),
July 1, 1993, 107 Stat. 229, 230; Pub. L. 103-437, Sec. 6(a)(6), Nov. 2,
1994, 108 Stat. 4583; Pub. L. 104-333, div. I, title III, Sec. 306(a)-
(c), Nov. 12, 1996, 110 Stat. 4132.)
Amendments
1996--Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 104-333 substituted ``five years after
July 1, 1993'' for ``two years after July 1, 1993'' and inserted at end
``The Secretary, in considering the values of the private lands to be
exchanged under this subsection, shall consider independent appraisals
submitted by the owners of the private lands. The authority to exchange
lands under this subsection shall expire on July 1, 1998.''
1994--Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 103-437 substituted ``Committee on Energy
and Natural Resources of the Senate and the Committee on Natural
Resources of the House of Representatives'' for ``Committees on Interior
and Insular Affairs of the United States Congress''.
1993--Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 103-46, Sec. 2(a), substituted ``map
entitled `Big Thicket National Preserve', dated October 1992, and
numbered 175-80008, which shall be on file and available for public
inspection in the offices of the National Park Service, Department of
the Interior, and the offices of the Superintendent of the preserve.
After advising the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the
United States Senate and the Committee on Natural Resources of the
United States House of Representatives, in writing, the Secretary of the
Interior (hereafter referred to as the `Secretary') may make minor
revisions of the boundaries of the preserve when necessary by
publication of a revised drawing or other boundary description in the
Federal Register. The Secretary'' for ``map entitled `Big Thicket
National Preserve', dated November 1973 and numbered NBR-BT 91,027 which
shall be on file and available for public inspection in the offices of
the National Park Service, Department of the Interior, Washington,
District of Columbia, and shall be filed with appropriate offices of
Tyler, Hardin, Jasper, Polk, Liberty, Jefferson, and Orange Counties in
the State of Texas. The Secretary of the Interior (hereafter referred to
as the `Secretary')'' and added undesignated pars. relating to Village
Creek Corridor unit, Big Sandy Corridor unit, and Canyonlands unit.
Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 103-46, Sec. 2(b)(1), inserted first sentence
and struck out former first sentence which read as follows: ``The
Secretary is authorized to acquire by donation, purchase with donated or
appropriated funds, transfer from any other Federal agency, or exchange,
any lands, waters, or interests therein which are located within the
boundaries of the preserve: Provided, That any lands owned or acquired
by the State of Texas, or any of its political subdivisions, may be
acquired by donation only.''
Subsecs. (d) and (e). Pub. L. 103-46, Sec. 2(b)(2), added subsecs.
(d) and (e).
1984--Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 98-489 authorized acquisition of acreage
for a visitor contact and administrative site outside the boundaries of
the preserve.
Change of Name
Committee on Natural Resources of House of Representatives treated
as referring to Committee on Resources of House of Representatives by
section 1(a) of Pub. L. 104-14, set out as a note preceding section 21
of Title 2, The Congress.
Short Title of 1993 Amendment
Section 1 of Pub. L. 103-46 provided that: ``This Act [amending this
section and section 698e of this title and enacting provisions set out
as a note below] may be referred to as the `Big Thicket National
Preserve Addition Act of 1993'.''
Reporting Requirement
Section 306(d) of title III of div. I of Pub. L. 104-333, as amended
by Pub. L. 106-176, title I, Sec. 104(1), Mar. 10, 2000, 114 Stat. 25,
provided that: ``Not later than 6 months after the date of the enactment
of this Act [Nov. 12, 1996] and every 6 months thereafter until the
earlier of the consummation of the exchange or July 1, 1998, the
Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture shall each
submit a report to the Committee on Resources of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the
Senate concerning the progress in consummating the land exchange
authorized by the amendments made by the Big Thicket National Preserve
Addition Act of 1993 (Public Law 103-46) [see Short Title of 1993
Amendment note above].''
Land Exchange
Section 306(e)-(g) of title III of div. I of Pub. L. 104-333, as
amended by Pub. L. 106-176, title I, Sec. 104(2), Mar. 10, 2000, 114
Stat. 25, provided that:
``(e) Land Exchange in Liberty County, Texas.--If, within one year
after the date of the enactment of this Act [Nov. 12, 1996]--
``(1) the owners of the private lands described in subsection
(f)(1) offer to transfer all their right, title, and interest in and
to such lands to the Secretary of the Interior, and
``(2) Liberty County, Texas, agrees to accept the transfer of
the Federal lands described in subsection (f)(2),
the Secretary shall accept such offer of private lands and, in exchange
and without additional consideration, transfer to Liberty County, Texas,
all right, title, and interest of the United States in and to the
Federal lands described in subsection (f)(2).
``(f) Lands Described.--
``(1) Private lands.--The private lands described in this
paragraph are approximately 3.76 acres of lands located in Liberty
County, Texas, as generally depicted on the map entitled `Big
Thicket Lake Estates Access--Proposed'.
``(2) Federal lands.--The Federal lands described in this
paragraph are approximately 2.38 acres of lands located in the
Menard Creek Corridor Unit of the Big Thicket National Preserve, as
generally depicted on the map referred to in paragraph (1).
``(g) Administration of Lands Acquired by the United States.--The
lands acquired by the Secretary under subsection (e) shall be added to
and administered as part of the Menard Creek Corridor Unit of the Big
Thicket National Preserve.''
Publication of Boundary Description
Section 2(c) of Pub. L. 103-46 provided that: ``Not later than six
months after the date of enactment of this subsection [July 1, 1993],
the Secretary shall publish in the Federal Register a detailed
description of the boundary of the Village Creek Corridor unit, the Big
Sandy Corridor unit, and the Canyonlands unit of the Big Thicket
National Preserve.''
Section Referred to in Other Sections
This section is referred to in sections 698a, 698b, 698c, 698e of
this title.
