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.

The following described lands of the Front Royal Quartermaster Depot Military Reservation, Virginia, are made a part of the Shenandoah National Park, subject to all laws and regulations applicable thereto: Beginning at concrete monument numbered 10 in the boundary line of the Front Royal Remount Depot, and running thence along said boundary line, north 70 degrees 00 minutes west 3,465.0 feet to monument numbered 11, thence north 40 degrees 30 minutes west 1,881.0 feet to monument numbered 12, thence north 2 degrees 00 minutes west 792.0 feet to monument numbered 13, thence north 78 degrees 00 minutes west 693.0 feet to monument numbered 14, thence south 1 degree 30 minutes west 379.5 feet to monument numbered 15, thence south 61 degrees 15 minutes west 2,244.0 feet to monument numbered 16, thence south 16 degrees 00 minutes east 2,640.0 feet to monument numbered 17, thence south 61 degrees 15 minutes west 3,333.0 feet to monument numbered 18, thence south 15 degrees 00 minutes east 646.8 feet to monument numbered 19, thence south 63 degrees 00 minutes west 627.0 feet to monument numbered 20, thence south 15 degrees 00 minutes west 1,254.0 feet to monument numbered 21, thence south 48 degrees 00 minutes east 3,267.0 feet to monument numbered 22, thence north 34 degrees 00 minutes east 297.0 feet to monument numbered 23, thence north 25 degrees 00 minutes west 1,551.0 feet to monument numbered 24, thence north 67 degrees 00 minutes east 1,716.0 feet to monument numbered 25, thence north 58 degrees 00 minutes east 2,862.75 feet to monument numbered 26, thence north 79 degrees 00 minutes east 2,377.15 feet to monument numbered 27, thence south 28 degrees 30 minutes west 338.25 feet to monument numbered 28 (offset 4 feet west), thence south 30 degrees 00 minutes west 462.0 feet to monument numbered 29 (offset 14 feet east), thence south 40 degrees 00 minutes west 396.0 feet to monument numbered 30 (offset 9.0 feet east), thence south 54 degrees 00 minutes west 132.0 feet to monument numbered 31 (offset 10.0 feet east), thence south 75 degrees 00 minutes west 429.0 feet to monument numbered 32, thence south 62 degrees 00 minutes west 297.0 feet to monument numbered 33 (offset 3.0 feet southeast), thence south 41 degrees 00 minutes west 462.0 feet to monument numbered 34 (offset 5.0 feet south), thence south 53 degrees 00 minutes west 264.0 feet to monument numbered 35 (offset 4 feet south), thence south 80 degrees 00 minutes west 165.0 feet to monument numbered 36 (offset 8.0 feet south), thence north 85 degrees 00 minutes west 396.0 feet to monument numbered 37 (offset 9.0 feet north), south 40 degrees 00 minutes west 354.75 feet to monument numbered 38, thence south 27 degrees 00 minutes east 1,023.0 feet to monument numbered 39, thence north 73 degrees 30 minutes east, 1,518.0 feet to monument numbered 40, thence north 52 degrees 00 minutes east 330.0 feet to monument numbered 41, thence along a proposed boundary line north 19 degrees 51 minutes east 1,684.5 feet to point A.1, thence north 52 degrees 20 minutes east 1,107.0 feet to point A.2, thence north 39 degrees 26 minutes east 717.5 feet to a point A.3, thence north 26 degrees 11 minutes east 1,978.0 feet to concrete monument numbered 10, the point of beginning, it being the intent of this section to add to the Shenandoah National Park all that portion of the Front Royal Quartermaster Depot Military Reservation lying west of a line between monuments numbered 41 and 10, as described by the last four courses of the above description. The tract as described contains an area 977½ acres, more or less.

The Secretary of the Interior may accept title to approximately 37.44 acres of land within the authorized boundaries of the Shenandoah National Park, said land fronting on United States Highway Numbered 211 and being more particularly described as follows:

Beginning at park monument H–8, thence with the park boundary line the following courses and distances: north 51 degrees 57 minutes, east 2,242.0 feet to park monument H–9; south 26 degrees 40 minutes, east 51.0 feet to park monument H–10; south 32 degrees 40 minutes, east 340.0 feet to park monument H–11; south 11 degrees 35 minutes, east 190.0 feet to park monument H–12; south 41 degrees 26 minutes, east 329.0 feet to park monument H–13; thence crossing Pass Run south 57 degrees 00 minutes 36 seconds, west 1,871.32 feet to a marked white oak tree near the northeast edge of the fire road on top of Piney Mountain, thence north 58 degrees 36 minutes, west 771.16 feet to the point of beginning.

In exchange for the aforesaid land the Secretary is authorized to convey on the basis of approximately equal values a parcel of park land containing approximately 38.58 acres, being more particularly described as follows:

Beginning at park monument P–153, a point in the center of Route 666, Virginia Department of Highways, thence with the park boundary line the following courses and distances: north 66 degrees 27 minutes, west 345.0 feet to park monument P–152; north 41 degrees 08 minutes, east 705.0 feet to park monument P–151; north 63 degrees 01 minutes, west 302.0 feet to park monument P–150; north 30 degrees 38 minutes, east 1,110.0 feet to park monument P–149; south 74 degrees 36 minutes, east 443.0 feet to park monument P–148; north 41 degrees 33 minutes, east 109.0 feet to park monument P–147; south 69 degrees 50 minutes, east 668.0 feet to the center of the said Route 666; thence leaving the courses of the park boundary line and following the alinement of said Route 666 for the following courses and distances; south 36 degrees 26 minutes, west 436.0 feet; south 33 degrees 45 minutes, west 398.0 feet; south 29 degrees 39 minutes, west 388.0 feet; south 13 degrees, 55 minutes, west 100.0 feet; south 04 degrees 16 minutes, west 70.0 feet; south 32 degrees 37 minutes, west 49.0 feet; north 89 degrees 45 minutes, west 43.0 feet; north 66 degrees 43 minutes, west 50.0 feet; north 89 degrees 26 minutes, west 100.0 feet; north 73 degrees 39 minutes, west 78.0 feet; north 84 degrees 11 minutes, west 45.0 feet; south 72 degrees 08 minutes, west 100.0 feet; south 43 degrees 17 minutes, west 50.0 feet; south 30 degrees 57 minutes, west 73.0 feet; south 47 degrees 22 minutes, west 70.0 feet; south 65 degrees 32 minutes, west 68.0 feet; south 80 degrees 05 minutes, west 130.0 feet; south 51 degrees 40 minutes, west 118.0 feet; south 66 degrees 51 minutes, west 36.0 feet; to the point of beginning.

Subject to valid existing rights, the lands and interests in lands which comprise section 1–A of the Blue Ridge Parkway and lie between the southern boundary of the Shenandoah National Park at Jarman Gap and parkway centerline station 448+00 at Rockfish Gap are excluded from the parkway, made a part of the Shenandoah National Park, and shall be administered in accordance with the Act of August 25, 1916 (39 Stat. 535; 16 U.S.C. 1–4),1

The Secretary of the Interior is authorized, in his discretion, to accept as hereinafter provided on behalf of the United States title to the lands referred to in section 403 of this title

The administration, protection, and development of the aforesaid parks shall be exercised under the direction of the Secretary of the Interior by the National Park Service, subject to the provisions of the Act of August 25, 1916, entitled “An Act to establish a National Park Service, and for other purposes,” 1

All hunting or the killing, wounding, or capturing at any time of any wild bird or animal, except dangerous animals when it is necessary to prevent them from destroying human lives or inflicting personal injury, is prohibited within the limits of said park; nor shall any fish be taken out of any of the waters of the said park, in any other way than by hook and line, and then only at such seasons and at such times and in such manner as may be directed by the Secretary of the Interior. The Secretary of the Interior shall make and publish such general rules and regulations as he may deem necessary and proper for the management and care of the park and for the protection of the property therein, especially for the preservation from injury or spoliation of all timber, mineral deposits, natural curiosities, or wonderful objects within said park, and for the protection of the animals and birds in the park from capture or destruction, and to prevent their being frightened or driven from the said park; and he shall make rules and regulations governing the taking of fish from the streams or lakes in the said park. Possession within said park of the dead bodies or any part thereof of any wild bird or animal shall be prima facie evidence that the person or persons having same are guilty of violating this Act. Any person or persons, or stage or express company, or railway company, who knows or has reason to believe that they were taken or killed contrary to the provisions of this Act, and who receives for transportation any of said animals, birds, or fish so killed, caught, or taken, or who shall violate any of the other provisions of this Act, or any rule or regulation that may be promulgated by the Secretary of the Interior, with reference to the management and care of the said park, or for the protection of the property therein for the preservation from injury or spoliation of timber, mineral deposits, natural curiosities, or wonderful objects within said park, or for the protection of the animals, birds, or fish in the said park, or who shall within said park commit any damage, injury or spoliation to or upon any building, fence, sign, hedge, gate, guide post, tree, wood, underwood, timber, garden, crops, vegetables, plants, land, springs, mineral deposits, natural curiosities, or other matter or thing growing or being thereon, or situated therein, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be subject to a fine of not more than $500 or imprisonment not exceeding six months, or both, and be adjudged to pay all the costs of the proceedings.

All guns, traps, nets, seines, teams, horses, or means of transportation of every nature or description, used by any person or persons within the limits of said park when engaged in killing, trapping, ensnaring, taking, or capturing such wild beasts, birds, fish, or animals, shall be forfeited to the United States and may be seized by the officers in said park and held pending prosecution of any person or persons arrested under the charge of violating the provisions of this Act, and upon conviction under this Act of such person or persons using said guns, traps, nets, seines, teams, horses, or other means of transportation, such forfeiture shall be adjudicated as a penalty in addition to the other punishment prescribed in this Act. Such forfeited property shall be disposed of and accounted for by and under the authority of the Secretary of the Interior.

The Secretary of the Interior is authorized to lease lands within the Shenandoah National Park and Great Smoky Mountains National Park for periods not exceeding two years, upon such conditions as he may in his discretion deem proper, to persons and educational or religious institutions occupying same or who had or claim to have had some interest in the title to the same prior to the establishment of the park.

The Secretary of the Interior is authorized in his discretion to accept title to lands tendered without cost to the United States within the areas of the Shenandoah National Park and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, subject to leases entered into and granted as part consideration in connection with the purchase of said land for tender to the United States for park purposes, but not exceeding in length of term the life of the particular grantor or grantors: Provided, That said leases and the terms and conditions thereof shall have previously been submitted to and approved by said Secretary: And provided further, That he may lease upon such terms and conditions as he deems proper any lands within the aforesaid areas when such use shall not be deemed by him inconsistent with the purposes for which the lands were acquired on behalf of the United States, to persons, educational or religious institutions, private corporations, associations, and partnerships previously occupying such land for terms not exceeding the particular lifetime in the case of natural persons, and not exceeding twenty years in all other cases, which latter leases may be renewed in the discretion of said Secretary: And provided further, That the Secretary of the Interior may accept lands for these parks subject to reservations of rights-of-way and easements.

The boundary limits of the tract of land in the Great Smoky Mountains in the States of North Carolina and Tennessee, recommended by the Secretary of the Interior in his report of April 14, 1926, for the establishment of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, are extended to include lands adjacent to the east boundary as defined in said report to a line approximately as follows:

From a point on top of the Balsam Mountains at the boundary of Swain and Hayward Counties just north of Black Camp Gap; thence following east the top of the mountain range to Jonathan Knob and Hemphill Bald; thence along top of ridge through Camp Gap to Bent Knee Knob; thence following the main ridge to Cataloochee Creek to a point on the boundary of the area described in report of the Secretary of the Interior of April 14, 1926; and the lands within said boundary extension, or any part thereof, may be accepted on behalf of the United States in accordance with the provisions of sections 403 and 403a to 403c of this title for inclusion in the area to be known as the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

An area of four hundred thousand acres within the minimum boundaries of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, acquired one-half by the peoples and States of North Carolina and Tennessee, and the United States, and one-half by the Laura Spelman Rockefeller Memorial in memory of Laura Spelman Rockefeller, is established as a completed park for administration, protection, and development by the United States.

The Secretary of the Interior is authorized to accept from grantors title to non-Federal land and interests in land, together with improvements thereon, situated within or adjacent to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and in exchange therefor, to convey by deed on behalf of the United States to the aforesaid grantors, land or interests therein, together with improvements thereon, situated within the Great Smoky Mountains National Park: Provided, That such exchanges may be made without additional compensation by either party to the exchange when the properties to be exchanged are of approximately equal value; however, when the properties are not of approximately equal value, as may be determined by the Secretary, an additional payment of funds shall be required by the Secretary or by the grantor of non-Federal properties, as the case may be, in order to make an equal exchange, and the Secretary is authorized to use any land acquisition funds relating to the National Park System for such purposes: Provided further

All lands purchased from funds heretofore allocated and made available by Executive order, or otherwise, or which hereafter may be allocated and made available for the acquisition of lands for conservation or forestation purposes within the maximum boundaries of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park as authorized by sections 403 and 403a to 403c of this title, are made a part of the said park as fully as if originally acquired for that purpose.

Sole and exclusive jurisdiction is assumed by the United States over certain lands within the States of North Carolina and Tennessee as may be acquired for the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, saving, however, to the State of North Carolina and to the State of Tennessee, respectively, the right to serve civil or criminal process within the limits of the area ceded by such State in suits or prosecutions for or on account of any rights acquired, obligations incurred, or crimes committed in such State outside of said park; and saving further to each such State the right to tax persons and corporations, their franchises and property on the lands included in such ceded area; and saving also to the persons residing in said park now, or hereafter, the right to vote at all elections held within the county in which they reside; and saving further to each such State the right to tax sales in such ceded area of gasoline and other motor-vehicle fuels and oil for use in motor vehicles. Nothing in this section shall be construed as a consent by the United States to the taxation by the States of such sales for the exclusive use of the United States.

All hunting or the killing, wounding, or capturing at any time of any wild bird or animal, except dangerous animals when it is necessary to prevent them from destroying human lives or inflicting personal injury, is prohibited within the limits of said park, nor shall any fish be taken out of any of the waters of the said park, in any other way than by hook and line, and then only at such seasons and at such times and in such manner as may be directed by the Secretary of the Interior. The Secretary of the Interior shall make and publish such general rules and regulations as he may deem necessary and proper for the management and care of the park and for the protection of the property therein, especially for the preservation from injury or spoliation of all timber, mineral deposits, natural curiosities, or wonderful objects within said park, and for the protection of the animals and birds in the park from capture or destruction, and to prevent their being frightened or driven from the said park; and he shall make rules and regulations governing the taking of fish from the streams or lakes in the said park. Possession within said park of the dead bodies or any part thereof of any wild bird or animal shall be prima facie evidence that the person or persons having the same are guilty of violating this Act. Any person or persons, stage or express company, railway or other transportation company, who knows or has reason to believe that such wild birds, fish, or animals were taken or killed contrary to the provisions of this Act or the rules and regulations promulgated by the Secretary of the Interior, and who receives for transportation the dead bodies or any part thereof of the wild birds, fish, or animals so taken or killed, or who shall violate any of the other provisions of this Act, or the rules and regulations, with reference to the management and care of the said park, or for the protection of the property therein for the preservation from injury or spoliation of timber, mineral deposits, natural curiosities, or wonderful objects within said park, or for the protection of the animals, birds, and fish in said park, or who shall within said park commit any damage, injury, or spoliation to or upon any building, fence, sign hedge, gate, guide­post, tree, wood, underwood, timber, garden, crops, vegetables, plants, land, springs, mineral deposits, natural curiosities, or other matter or thing growing or being thereon, or situated therein, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be subject to a fine of not more than $500 or imprisonment not exceeding six months, or both, and be adjudged to pay all the costs of the proceedings.

All guns, traps, nets, seines, fishing tackle, teams, horses, or means of transportation of every nature or description used by any person or persons within the limits of said park when engaged in killing, trapping, ensnaring, taking, or capturing such wild birds, fish, or animals contrary to the provisions of this Act or the rules and regulations promulgated by the Secretary of the Interior, shall be forfeited to the United States and may be seized by the officers in said park and held pending prosecution of any person or persons arrested under the charge of violating the provisions of this Act, and upon conviction under this Act of such person or persons using said guns, traps, nets, seines, fishing tackle, teams, horses, or other means of transportation, such forfeiture shall be adjudicated as a penalty in addition to the other punishment prescribed in this Act. Such forfeited property shall be disposed of and accounted for by and under the authority of the Secretary of the Interior and the proceeds paid into the Treasury of the United States: Provided, That the forfeiture of teams, horses, or other means of transportation shall be in the discretion of the court.

The Secretary of the Interior shall notify in writing the Governors of the States of North Carolina and Tennessee of the passage and approval of this Act, and of the fact that the United States assumes police jurisdiction over said park as specified in said acts of the States of North Carolina and Tennessee. Upon the acceptance by the Secretary of the Interior of further cessions of jurisdiction over lands now or hereafter included in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the provisions of sections 2 to 9 inclusive, shall apply to such lands.

The Secretary of the Interior is authorized to accept, on behalf of the United States, donations of land and interests in land in the State of Tennessee for the construction of a scenic parkway to be located generally parallel to the boundary of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and connecting with the park, in order to provide an appropriate view of the park from the Tennessee side. The right-of-way to be acquired for the parkway shall be of such width as to comprise an average of one hundred and twenty-five acres per mile for its entire length. The title to real property acquired pursuant to this section shall be satisfactory to the Secretary of the Interior. All property acquired pursuant to this section shall become a part of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park upon acceptance of title thereto by the Secretary, and shall be subject to all laws, rules, and regulations applicable thereto.

In order to provide suitable access to the Cataloochee section of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the Secretary of the Interior is authorized to select the location of an entrance road from a point near the intersection at White Oak Church of North Carolina Routes Numbered 1338 and 1346 to the eastern boundary of the park in the vicinity of the Cataloochee section, and to accept, on behalf of the United States, donations of land and interests in land for the construction of the entrance road together with the necessary interchange with said Routes 1338 and 1346, and to construct the entrance road and the interchange on the donated land: Provided, That the right-of-way to be acquired, by donation, for the entrance road shall be of such width as to comprise not more than an average of one hundred and twenty-five acres per mile for its entire length of about five and two-tenths miles, constituting in the aggregate about six hundred and fifty acres of land.

All property acquired pursuant to this section shall become a part of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park upon acceptance of title thereto by the Secretary, and shall be subject to all laws, rules, and regulations applicable thereto.

There is hereby authorized to be appropriated for construction of an entrance road on land acquired pursuant to section 403h–12 of this title not more than $2,500,000 (1969 prices), plus or minus such amounts, if any, as may be justified by reason of ordinary fluctuations in construction costs as indicated by engineering cost indexes applicable to the types of construction involved herein.

The Secretary of Agriculture is authorized to transfer to the jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Interior, who is hereby authorized to accept such transfer, not to exceed three hundred and sixty acres of national forest land in Cocke County, Tennessee, now part of the Cherokee National Forest, located within and adjacent to the right-of-way for section 8A of the Foothills Parkway between Tennessee Highway Numbered 32 and the Pigeon River.

Upon publication in the Federal Register of an order of transfer by the Secretary of Agriculture, the lands so transferred shall be a part of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and available for the scenic parkway as authorized by section 403h–11 of this title.

The Secretary of the Interior is authorized to convey to the State of Tennessee, subject to such conditions as he may deem necessary to preserve the natural beauty of the adjacent park lands, approximately twenty-eight acres of land comprising a portion of the right-of-way of Tennessee State Route 72 (U.S. 129), and approximately forty-one acres comprising portions of the right-of-way of Tennessee State Route 73 east of Gatlinburg, which are within the boundary of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

The Secretary is further authorized to convey to the State of Tennessee, subject to such conditions as he may deem necessary to assure administration and maintenance thereof by the State and to preserve the existing parkway character of the conveyed lands, the rights-of-way heretofore conveyed to the United States for the purposes of the Gatlinburg Spur of the Foothills Parkway together with any and all parcels of land heretofore conveyed by the State of Tennessee to the United States for the control and stabilization of landslides along said Gatlinburg Spur, except such lands as the Secretary determines may be necessary to provide for (1) the interchange between the road known as the Gatlinburg bypass and United States 441, (2) the interchange between United States Highway 441 and the Foothills Parkway in the vicinity of Caney Creek, and (3) the management and administration of the Foothills Parkway: Provided, That such reconveyance shall not be effected until construction of the Gatlinburg bypass and of two rock retaining walls to control erosion on the Gatlinburg Spur are completed, and Interstate Route 40 is open to public travel from Newport, Tennessee to United States Route 19 near Waynesville, North Carolina.

The conveyance of the lands described in sections 403h–15 and 403h–16 of this title shall eliminate them from the park and parkway. Upon such conveyance and upon acceptance by the State of Tennessee of legislative jurisdiction over the lands and notification of such acceptance being given to the Secretary of the Interior, such jurisdiction is retroceded to the State.

The Secretary of the Interior is authorized to acquire on behalf of the United States by purchase, at prices deemed by him to be reasonable, the lands needed to complete the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in the State of Tennessee, in accordance with the provisions of sections 403 and 403a to 403c of this title; and the Secretary of the Interior is further authorized, when in his opinion unreasonable prices are asked for any of such lands, to acquire the same by condemnation under the provisions of section 3113 of title 40.

There is authorized to be appropriated, out of any moneys in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, the sum of $743,265.29 to complete the acquisition of lands within the limits of said park, such funds to be available until expended.

Subject to valid existing rights, all lands within the boundaries of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, as redefined by sections 403k to 403k–2 of this title, hereafter shall be a part of the national park and shall be subject to all laws, rules, and regulations applicable to the national park. All federally owned lands eliminated from the national park by said sections shall hereafter be a part of the Pisgah National Forest and shall be subject to all laws, rules, and regulations relating to such national forest.

So much of the twenty-five-acre tract of land in Forney’s Creek Township, Swain County, North Carolina, lying north of Lake Cheoah, proposed to be donated to the United States by the Carolina Aluminum Company, as now lies outside of the park boundaries authorized by sections 403 and 403a to 403c of this title, shall upon acceptance by the Secretary of the Interior, become a part of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and shall be subject to all laws, rules, and regulations applicable to said park.

The Secretary of the Interior is authorized and directed to take such measures as may be necessary to provide for the continued protection of the historic Palmer’s Chapel in the Cataloochee Valley of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The importance of the chapel in memorializing the early settlement of the valley and in providing an opportunity for interpreting the cultural traditions of the former residents of the valley is hereby recognized, and the Secretary is authorized to make suitable arrangements for the history of the chapel to be communicated to park visitors and for the chapel to continue to be used for memorial purposes by former residents and their descendants.