Skip to content

Title 16 — Conservation

Chapter 1 — National Parks, Military Parks, Monuments, and Seashores

§ 460k. Public recreation use of fish and wildlife conservation areas; compatibility with conservation purposes; appropriate incidental or secondary use; consistency with other Federal operations and primary objectives of particular areas; curtailment; forms of recreation not directly related to primary purposes of individual areas; repeal or amendment of provisions for particular areas

Statutory text

In recognition of mounting public demands for recreational opportunities on areas within the National Wildlife Refuge System, national fish hatcheries, and other conservation areas administered by the Secretary of the Interior for fish and wildlife purposes; and in recognition also of the resulting imperative need, if such recreational opportunities are provided, to assure that any present or future recreational use will be compatible with, and will not prevent accomplishment of, the primary purposes for which the said conservation areas were acquired or established, the Secretary of the Interior is authorized, as an appropriate incidental or secondary use, to administer such areas or parts thereof for public recreation when in his judgment public recreation can be an appropriate incidental or secondary use: Provided, That such public recreation use shall be permitted only to the extent that is practicable and not inconsistent with other previously authorized Federal operations or with the primary objectives for which each particular area is established: Provided further, That in order to insure accomplishment of such primary objectives, the Secretary, after consideration of all authorized uses, purposes, and other pertinent factors relating to individual areas, shall curtail public recreation use generally or certain types of public recreation use within individual areas or in portions thereof whenever he considers such action to be necessary: And provided further, That none of the aforesaid refuges, hatcheries, game ranges, and other conservation areas shall be used during any fiscal year for those forms of recreation that are not directly related to the primary purposes and functions of the individual areas until the Secretary shall have determined—

(a)

that such recreational use will not interfere with the primary purposes for which the areas were established, and

(b)

that funds are available for the development, operation, and maintenance of these permitted forms of recreation. This section shall not be construed to repeal or amend previous enactments relating to particular areas.

Legislative history

Reconstructed from this section’s Code source credit and amendment notes, resolved against the local Statutes at Large. Editorial notes are evidence, not the law that made the change.

  1. Pub. L. 87–714 § 1 · 76 Stat. 653

    Enacted · 16 U.S.C. § 460k

    Pub. L. 87–714, § 1, Sept. 28, 1962, 76 Stat. 653

    Source evidence

    Code source credit
    Pub. L. 87–714, § 1, Sept. 28, 1962, 76 Stat. 653

  2. Pub. L. 89–669 § 9 · 80 Stat. 926

    Substituted · 16 U.S.C. § 460k

    Pub. L. 89–669 substituted “areas within the National Wildlife Refuge System” for “national wildlife refuges, game ranges” in introductory text

    Source evidence

    Code amendment note
    Pub. L. 89–669 substituted “areas within the National Wildlife Refuge System” for “national wildlife refuges, game ranges” in introductory text.

    Enacted provision · exact public law section
    Sec. 9. The first clause in section 1 of the Act of September 28, 16 USC 460k. 1962 (76 Stat. 653), is amended by deleting the words “national wildlife refuges, game ranges,” and inserting therein “areas within the National Wildlife Refuge System,”.

1 of 2 references resolved to an enrolled provision · 1 partial

Editorial Notes

Amendments

1966—Pub. L. 89–669 substituted “areas within the National Wildlife Refuge System” for “national wildlife refuges, game ranges” in introductory text.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Short Title

Pub. L. 87–714, which enacted this subchapter, is popularly known as the “Refuge Recreation Act”.

Credits

1962–1966 · 2 acts
  1. 1962Pub. L. 87–714, § 1, , 76 Stat. 653
  2. 1966Pub. L. 89–669, § 9, , 80 Stat. 930.
Show as published

(Pub. L. 87–714, § 1, , 76 Stat. 653; Pub. L. 89–669, § 9, , 80 Stat. 930.)

Parsed from the official OLRC USLM XML in data/usc_all/usc16.xml · release point 119-108 · OLRC build 2026-07-16

USLM identifier /us/usc/t16/s460k