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7336534
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President Signs H.R. 11546, Big Thicket National Preserve, Texas [Signing Statements and Announcements]
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document
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Source metadata
id
7336534
sourceUrl
contentType
document
title
President Signs H.R. 11546, Big Thicket National Preserve, Texas [Signing Statements and Announcements]
citationUrl
collections
White House Press Releases (Ford Administration)
Press Releases
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U.S. House of Representatives. (03/04/1789 - )
Legislation
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7336534
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day
12
logicalDate
1974-10-12
month
10
year
1974
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nara-archive
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1
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7eaa844c33afbf93
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Digitized from Box 3 of the White House Press Releases at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library
OCTOBER 12, 1974
Office of the White House Press Secretary
NOTICE TO THE PRESS
The President has signed H. R. 11546--Big Thicket National
Preserve, Texas--which establishes the Big Thicket National
Preserve in Texas and authorizes appropriations of not more
than $63, 812, 000 and $7, 000, 000 for land acquisition and
development, respectively.
H. R. 11546 will establish the Big Thicket National Preserve
in Texas comprising about 84, 550 acres to be administered as
a unit of the National Park System by the Secretary of the Interior.
The Secretary will be authorized to acquire lands and waters by
donation, purchase or exchange although State or other public lands
could be acquired only by donation. After notifying the Congressional
Interior Committees, the Secretary could administer certain donated
lands which are located outside the preserve as an integral component
of the preserve. The bill expresses the intent of the
Congress that the Secretary should substantially complete the land
acquisition" within six years of enactment and within one year of
enactment requires the Secretary to submit to Congress a detailed
acquisition program covering the subsequent five years.
The Secretary will be prohibited in most cases from acquiring the
mineral estate in any property or existing easements for public
utilities, pipelines, or railroads without the consent of the owner.
However, he will be allowed to issue regulations designed to maintain
the ecological integrity of the preserve including those pertaining
to the control of mineral exploration and extraction, road construction,
the use of motorized vehicles, and grazing and agriculture.
Owners of improved property could reserve a right of use and occupancy,
but in doing so would be deemed to have waived their rights for relocation
benefits. Hunting, fishing, and trapping within the preserve will
generally be allowed in accordance with applicable Federal and State
laws. Within five years of enactment, the Secretary will be required
to report to the President his recommendations as to the suitability of
any area within the preserve for preservation as wilderness
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