§403. Establishment; boundaries

When title to lands within the areas hereinafter referred to shall have been vested in the United States in fee simple there are established, dedicated, and set apart as public parks for the benefit and enjoyment of the people, the tract of land in the Blue Ridge, in the State of Virginia, being approximately five hundred and twenty-one thousand acres recommended by the Secretary of the Interior in his report of April 14, 1926, 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 Shenandoah National Park; and the tract of land in the Great Smoky Mountains in the States of North Carolina and Tennessee being approximately seven hundred and four thousand acres, recommended by the Secretary of the Interior in his report of April 14, 1926, 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 Great Smoky Mountains National Park: Provided, That the United States shall not purchase by appropriation of public moneys any land within the aforesaid areas, but that such lands shall be secured by the United States only by public or private donation.

(May 22, 1926, ch. 363, §1, 44 Stat. 616 .)

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Tapoco Project Licensing

Pub. L. 108–343, Oct. 18, 2004, 118 Stat. 1372 , known as the "Tapoco Project Licensing Act of 2004", authorized land exchange in Great Smoky Mountains National Park between the Secretary of the Interior and private corporation, and provided that Federal Energy Regulatory Commission had jurisdiction to license Tapoco Hydroelectric Project on lands transferred by the Secretary.

Land Exchange in Great Smoky Mountains National Park

For land exchange between National Park Service and Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians involving tract in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, see section 138 of Pub. L. 108–108, classified as a note under section 460a–5 of this title.

Right-of-way Permits for Natural Gas Pipelines in Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Pub. L. 107–223, Aug. 21, 2002, 116 Stat. 1338 , authorized the Secretary of the Interior to issue right-of-way permits for natural gas pipelines existing as of Sept. 1, 2001, or proposed for certain specified locations, within the boundary of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, subject to certain terms and conditions and consistent with laws and regulations generally applicable to utility rights-of-way within units of the National Park System.

Shenandoah National Park; Roads on Federal Land; Transfer of County Road Corridors

Pub. L. 104–59, title III, §349(b), Nov. 28, 1995, 109 Stat. 618 , permitted State of Virginia to maintain and provide for safe public use of certain roads that State donated to United States at time of establishment of Shenandoah National Park; established transfer from United States to State of county road corridors for that purpose; defined "county road corridor" and "Shenandoah county road"; and provided for reversion of corridors should they be withdrawn from use as public roadways.

Transfer of Land for Use as Customs Service Canine Enforcement Training Center

Pub. L. 102–393, title V, §533, Oct. 6, 1992, 106 Stat. 1763 , provided that:

"(a) In General.-Subject to subsection (b), the Secretary of the Interior may transfer certain land located in the Shenandoah National Park and described in subsection (c) to the Secretary of the Treasury for use by the Secretary of the Treasury as a United States Customs Service Canine Enforcement Training Center.

"(b) Conditions of Transfer.-

"(1) Protection of the park.-An agreement to transfer pursuant to subsection (a) shall include such provisions for the protection of Shenandoah National Park as the Secretary of the Interior considers necessary.

"(2) Consideration.-A transfer made pursuant to subsection (a) shall be made without consideration or reimbursement.

"(3) Abandonment.-If the land referred to in subsection (a) is abandoned by the Secretary of the Treasury at any time, administrative jurisdiction of the land shall revert to the Department of the Interior.

"(c) Description of the Land.-The land referred to in subsection (a) is a plot of fenced land equaling 9.888 acres containing buildings, structures, fixtures, equipment, and other improvements affixed to or resting upon the land, and has the following legal description:

"The tract of land located just west of Road No. 604 about one mile south of Front Royal, Warren County, Virginia, and bounded as follows:

"Beginning at (1) a monument in the line of the land of Lawson just west of Road No. 604; thence with the land of Lawson, and then with a new division line through the land of Shenandoah National Park north 59 degrees 45 minutes 38 seconds west 506.05 feet to (2) a Concrete Monument set, said point being north 59 degrees 45 minutes 38 seconds west 9.26 feet from a monument to a corner to the land of Lawson; thence with another new division line through the land of Shenandoah National Park north 31 degrees 31 minutes 00 seconds east 1206.07 feet to (3) a Concrete Monument set in the line of the land of the United States Government; thence with the land of the United States Government for the following two courses: south 07 degrees 49 minutes 31 seconds east 203.98 feet to (4); thence south 09 degrees 10 minutes 06 seconds east 27.79 feet to (5) a corner between the land of the United States Government and the land of United States Customs Service Detector Dog Training Center; thence with 282.896 acre tract of land of United States Customs Service Detector Dog Training Center for the following six courses: south 10 degrees 38 minutes 32 seconds east 152.47 feet to (6); thence south 00 degrees 48 minutes 32 seconds west 127.52 feet to (7); thence south 08 degrees 25 minutes 46 seconds west 422.15 feet to (8); thence south 14 degrees 37 minutes 16 seconds west 106.47 feet to (9); thence south 27 degrees 13 minutes 28 seconds west 158.11 feet to (10); thence south 38 degrees 17 minutes 36 seconds west 146.44 feet to the point of beginning, containing 9.888 acres, more or less."

[For transfer of functions, personnel, assets, and liabilities of the United States Customs Service of the Department of the Treasury, including functions of the Secretary of the Treasury relating thereto, to the Secretary of Homeland Security, and for treatment of related references, see sections 203(1), 551(d), 552(d), and 557 of Title 6, Domestic Security, and the Department of Homeland Security Reorganization Plan of November 25, 2002, as modified, set out as a note under section 542 of Title 6. For establishment of U.S. Customs and Border Protection in the Department of Homeland Security, treated as if included in Pub. L. 107–296 as of Nov. 25, 2002, see section 211 of Title 6, as amended generally by Pub. L. 114–125, and section 802(b) of Pub. L. 114–125, set out as a note under section 211 of Title 6.]