TITLE 16 - US CODE - SUBCHAPTER LIXG - CHACO CULTURE NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK

16 USC 410ii - Findings and purpose

(a) The Congress finds that

(1) archeological research in the San Juan Basin conducted over the past several years has greatly increased public knowledge of the scope of the prehistoric culture referred to as Chacoan Anasazi;

(2) the discoveries and the increased general interest in the Chaco phenomenon have come at a time when the San Juan Basin is experiencing extensive exploration and development for a wide variety of energy-related resources, including coal, uranium, oil, and natural gas;

(3) development of the San Juan Basins important natural resources and the valid existing rights of private property owners will not be adversely affected by the preservation of the archeological integrity of the area; and

(4) in light of the national significance of the Chacoan sites and the urgent need to protect them, continued cooperation between Federal agencies and private corporations is necessary to provide for development in the San Juan Basin in a manner compatible with preservation and archeological research.

(b) It is the purpose of this subchapter to recognize the unique archeological resources associated with the prehistoric Chacoan culture in the San Juan Basin and surrounding areas; to provide for the preservation and interpretation of these resources; and to facilitate research activities associated with these resources.

16 USC 410ii1 - Establishment

(a) Abolition of Chaco Canyon National Monument
There is hereby established in the State of New Mexico, the Chaco Culture National Historical Park comprising approximately thirty three thousand nine hundred and eighty nine acres as generally depicted on the map entitled Chaco Culture National Historical Park, numbered 310/80,032A and dated August 1979. The Chaco Canyon National Monument is hereby abolished, as such, and any funds available for the purpose of the monument shall be available for the purpose of the Chaco Culture National Historical Park.

(b) Designation of Chaco Culture Archeological Protection Sites

(1) Thirty-nine outlying sites as generally depicted on a map entitled Chaco Culture Archeological Protection Sites, numbered 310/80,033B and dated September 1991, are hereby designated as Chaco Culture Archeological Protection Sites. The thirty-nine archeological protection sites totaling approximately 14,372 acres identified as follows: Name: Acres Allentown 380 Andrews Ranch 950 Bee Burrow 480 Bisaani 131 Casa del Rio 40 Casamero 160 Chimney Rock 3,160 Coolidge 450 Dalton Pass 135 Dittert 480 Great Bend 26 Greenlee Ruin 60 Grey Hill Spring 23 Guadalupe 115 Halfway House 40 Haystack 565 Hogback 453 Indian Creek 100 Jaquez 66 Kin Nizhoni 726 Lake Valley 30 Manuelito-Atsee Nitsaa 60 Manuelito-Kin Hochoi 116 Morris 41 85 Muddy Water 1,090 Navajo Springs 260 Newcomb 50 Peach Springs 1,046 Pierres Site 440 Raton Well 23 Salmon Ruin 5 San Mateo 61 Sanostee 1,565 Section 8 10 Skunk Springs/Crumbled House 533 Standing Rock 348 Toh-la-kai 10 Twin Angeles 40 Upper Kin Klizhin 60.

(2) The map referred to in paragraph (1) shall be kept on file and available for public inspection in the appropriate offices of the National Park Service, the office of the State Director of the Bureau of Land Management located in Santa Fe, New Mexico, the office of the Area Director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs located in Window Rock, Arizona, and the offices of the Arizona and New Mexico State Historic Preservation Officers.

16 USC 410ii2 - Repealed. Pub. L. 104333, div. I, title VIII, 814(d)(1)(B), Nov. 12, 1996, 110 Stat. 4196

Section, Pub. L. 96–550, title V, § 503, Dec. 19, 1980, 94 Stat. 3228, related to additions and deletions to Chaco Culture Archeological Protection Sites.

16 USC 410ii3 - Acquisition of properties

(a) Methods of acquisition
The Secretary is authorized to acquire lands, waters, and interest therein within the boundaries of the Chaco Culture National Historical Park (hereinafter referred to as the park) and the archeological protection sites as identified in section 410ii–1 of this title by donation, purchase with donated or appropriated funds, or exchange. Property owned by the State of New Mexico or any political subdivision thereof, may be acquired by exchange or donation only. Property held in trust for the benefit of any Indian tribe or for the benefit of any individual member thereof may be acquired only with the consent of such owner or beneficial owner as the case may be.

(b) Conveyance by tribal authorities
The respective tribal authorities are authorized to convey by exchange, purchase, on^[1] donation the beneficial interest in any lands designated by section 410ii–1 of this title and held in trust by the United States for the respective tribes, to the Secretary, subject to such terms and conditions as the tribal authority deems necessary and which the Secretary deems are consistent with the purposes of this subchapter.

(1) The Secretary shall attempt to acquire private lands or interests therein by exchange prior to acquiring lands by any other method authorized pursuant to this section.

(2) The Secretary shall seek to use a combination of land acquisition authority under this section and cooperative agreements (pursuant to section 410ii–4 of this title) to accomplish the purposes of archeological resource protection at those sites described in section 410ii–1 (b) of this title that remain in private ownership.

(d) Exchange of Federal property; pool, acreage designation

(1) For purposes of completing an exchange pursuant to subsections (a) and (b) of this section, the Secretary shall designate a pool of at least three times the private acreage described in subsections (a) and (b) of this section, comprised of Federal property interests of a similar resource character to property to be exchanged. Federal property shall, whenever possible, be designated in blocks of at least one section in size, but in no event shall the blocks designated be less than one-quarter of a section in size.

(2) The Secretary may include within the pool any Federal property under his jurisdiction except units of the National Park System, National Forest System, or the National Wildlife Refuge System that are nominated by the owner of the private property to be exchanged. Exchanges shall be on the basis of equal value, and either party to the exchange may pay or accept cash in order to equalize the value of the property exchange, except that if the parties agree to an exchange and the Secretary determines it is in the public interest, such exchange may be made for other than equal values.

(e) Federal lands exchanged for non-Federal property
All Federal lands, waters, and interests therein excluded from the boundaries of Chaco Canyon National Monument by this subchapter may be exchanged for non-Federal property to be acquired pursuant to this subchapter. Any lands so excluded shall be managed by the Secretary under the provisions of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 [43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.]. Transfer of administration of such lands to the Bureau of Land Management shall not be considered a withdrawal as that term is defined in section 103(j) of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 [43 U.S.C. 1702 (j)].

[1] So in original. Probably should be “or”.

16 USC 410ii4 - Cooperative agreements for the protection, preservation, and maintenance of archeological resources

The Secretary shall seek to enter into cooperative agreements with the owners, including the beneficial owners, of the properties located in whole in or in part within the park or the archeological protection sites. The purposes of such agreements shall be to protect, preserve, maintain, and administer the archeological resources and associated site regardless of whether title to the property or site is vested in the United States. Any such agreement shall contain provisions to assure that

(1) the Secretary, or his representative, shall have a right of access at all reasonable times to appropriate portions of the property for the purpose of cultural resource protection and conducting research, and

(2) no changes or alterations shall be permitted with respect to the cultural resources without the written consent of the Secretary. Nothing in this subchapter shall be deemed to prevent the continuation of traditional Native American religious uses of properties which are the subject of cooperative agreements.

16 USC 410ii5 - Administration

(a) Laws governing
The Secretary shall administer the park in accordance with the provisions of this subchapter and the provisions of law generally applicable to the administration of units of the National Park System, including sections 1, 2, 3, and 4 of this title and sections 461 to 467 of this title.

(b) Protection, preservation, and maintenance of cultural resources
The Secretary shall protect, preserve, maintain, and administer the Chaco Culture Archeological Protection Sites, in a manner that will preserve the Chaco cultural resource and provide for its interpretation and research. Such sites shall be managed by the Secretary in accordance with the provisions of this subchapter and the provisions of law generally applicable to public lands as defined in section 1702 (e) of title 43: Provided, however, That lands held in trust by the Secretary for an Indian tribe or any individual member thereof, or held in restricted fee status shall continue to be so managed or held by the Secretary.

(c) Activities endangering cultural values prohibited
No activities shall be permitted upon the upper surface of the archeological protection sites which shall endanger their cultural values. For the purposes of this subchapter, upper surface shall be considered to extend to a depth of twenty meters below ground level. Nothing in this subchapter shall be deemed to prevent exploration and development of subsurface oil and gas, mineral, and coal resources from without the sites which does not infringe upon the upper surface of the sites.

(d) Livestock grazing permitted
Nothing in this subchapter shall be deemed to prevent the continuation of livestock grazing on properties which are the subject of cooperative agreements.

(e) General management plan; transmittal to Congress
Within three complete fiscal years from December 19, 1980, the Secretary shall transmit to the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs of the United States House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the United States Senate, a general management plan for the identification, research, and protection of the park, pursuant to the provisions of section 1a–7 (b) of this title, to be developed by the Director, National Park Service, in consultation with the Directors, Bureau of Land Management and Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Governor, State of New Mexico, and a joint management plan for the identification, research, and protection of the archeological protection sites, to be developed by the Director, National Park Service, in consultation and concurrence with the Directors, Bureau of Land Management and Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the Governor, State of New Mexico.

(f) Assistance to Navajo Nation
The Secretary, acting through the Director of the National Park Service, shall assist the Navajo Nation in the protection and management of those Chaco Culture Archeological Protection Sites located on land under the jurisdiction of the Navajo Nation through a grant, contract, or cooperative agreement entered into pursuant to the Indian Self-Determination and Education Act (Public Law 93638), as amended [25 U.S.C. 450 et seq.], to assist the Navajo Nation in site planning, resource protection, interpretation, resource management actions, and such other purposes as may be identified in such grant, contract, or cooperative agreement. This cooperative assistance shall include assistance with the development of a Navajo facility to serve those who seek to appreciate the Chacoan Outlier Sites.

16 USC 410ii6 - Research and data gathering

(a) Plan for continued operational program; submittal to Congress
Consistent with and in furtherance of the purposes of the Division of Cultural Research of the Southwest Cultural Resources Center, operated by the National Park Service, the Secretary shall continue such research and data gathering activities as may be appropriate to further the purposes of this subchapter and knowledge of the Chaco culture. The Secretary shall submit in writing within six months of the effective date of this section, to the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs of the United States House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the United States Senate, a plan for the continued operational program of the Division. The Secretary is authorized and encouraged to establish a committee composed of professional archeologists and others with related professional expertise including the designee of the Governor of the State of New Mexico to advise the Secretary in matters related to the surveying, excavation, curation, interpretation, protection, and management of the cultural resources of the historical park and archeological protection sites.

(b) Computer-generated data base; furnishing of information to Federal and private groups
The Secretary shall, through the Division of Cultural Research of the Southwest Cultural Resources Center of the National Park Service, be responsible for the development of a computer-generated data base of the San Juan Basin, and make such information available to Federal and private groups when to do so will assist such groups in the preservation, management, and development of the resources of the basin.

(c) Opportunity for Secretary to comment on proposed expenditures and permits
The head of any Federal agency having direct or indirect jurisdiction over a proposed Federal or federally assisted undertaking with respect to the lands and waters in the archeological protection sites, and the head of any Federal agency having authority to license or permit any undertaking with respect to such lands and waters, shall prior to the approval of the expenditure of any Federal funds on such undertaking, or prior to the issuance of any license or permit, as the case may be, afford the Secretary a reasonable opportunity to comment in writing with regard to such undertaking and its effect upon such sites, and shall give due consideration to any comments made by the Secretary and to the effect of such undertaking on the purposes for which such sites are established.

16 USC 410ii7 - Authorization of appropriation

Effective October 1, 1981, there are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this subchapter but not to exceed $11,000,000 for acquisition and $500,000 for development.