Parks and Conservation Areas 

U.S. Code > Title 16 > Chapter 6 > § 698e - Authorization of appropriations for Big Thicket Preserve

(a) Establishment
  In order to assure the preservation, conservation, and protection
of the natural, scenic, hydrologic, floral and faunal, and
recreational values of the Big Cypress Watershed in the State of
Florida and to provide for the enhancement and public enjoyment
thereof, the Big Cypress National Preserve is hereby established.
(b) Location; boundaries; publication in Federal Register; area
  The Big Cypress National Preserve (hereafter referred to as the
"preserve") shall comprise the area generally depicted on the map
entitled "Big Cypress National Preserve", dated November 1971 and
numbered BC-91,001, 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 Collier, Monroe, and Dade
Counties in the State of Florida. The Secretary of the Interior
(hereafter referred to as the "Secretary") shall, as soon as
practicable, publish a detailed description of the boundaries of
the preserve in the Federal Register which shall include not more
than five hundred and seventy thousand acres of land and water.
(c) Methods of acquisition of land; prerequisites to Federal
  appropriations; improved property; oil and gas rights; appraisal
  of property; transfer of Federal property to Secretary
  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 or the Addition:
Provided, That any lands owned or acquired by the State of Florida,
or any of its subdivisions, in the preserve may be acquired by
donation only and, any land acquired by the State of Florida, or
any of its subdivisions, in the Addition shall be acquired in
accordance with subsection (d) of this section: Provided further,
That no Federal funds shall be appropriated until the Governor of
Florida executes an agreement on behalf of the State which (i)
provides for the transfer to the United States of all lands within
the preserve previously owned or acquired by the State and (ii)
provides for the donation to the United States of all lands
acquired by the State within the preserve pursuant to the provision
of "the Big Cypress Conservation Act of 1973" (Chapter 73-131 of
the Florida Statutes) or provides for the donation to the United
States of any remaining moneys appropriated pursuant to such Act
for the purchase of lands within the preserve. No improved
property, as defined by sections 698f to 698m-4 of this title, nor
oil and gas rights, shall be acquired without the consent of the
owner unless the Secretary, in his judgment, determines that such
property is subject to, or threatened with, uses which are, or
would be, detrimental to the purposes of the preserve. The
Secretary may, if he determines that the acquisition of any other
subsurface estate is not needed for the purposes of the preserve
and the Addition, exclude such interest in acquiring any lands
within the preserve and the Addition. Notwithstanding the
provisions of section 4651 of title 42 the Secretary (i) may
evaluate any offer to sell land within the preserve or the Addition
by any landowner and may, in his discretion, accept any offer not
in excess of $10,000 without an appraisal and (ii) may direct an
appraisal to be made of any unimproved property within the preserve
or the Addition without notice to the owner or owners, thereof.
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 698f to
698m-4 of this title, without transfer of funds. Nothing in
sections 698f to 698m-4 of this title shall be construed to
interfere with the right of the State of Florida to acquire such
property rights as may be necessary for Interstate 75.
(d) Land within Addition; United States share of acquisition costs
  (1) The aggregate cost to the United States of acquiring lands
within the Addition may not exceed 80 percent of the total cost of
such lands.
  (2) Except as provided in paragraph (3), if the State of Florida
transfers to the Secretary lands within the Addition, the Secretary
shall pay to or reimburse the State of Florida (out of funds
appropriated for such purpose) an amount equal to 80 percent of the
total costs to the State of Florida of acquiring such lands.
  (3) The amount described in paragraph (2) shall be reduced by an
amount equal to 20 percent of the amount of the total cost incurred
by the Secretary in acquiring lands in the Addition other than from
the State of Florida.
  (4) For purposes of this subsection, the term "total cost" means
that amount of the total acquisition costs (including the value of
exchanged or donated lands) less the amount of the costs incurred
by the Federal Highway Administration and the Florida Department of
Transportation, including severance damages paid to private
property owners as a result of the construction of Interstate 75.

Legislative History

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U.S. Code Provisions: Parks and Conservation Areas

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