16 U.S.C. § 160b — Land acquisitions

(a) Authorization: (1) In general: The Secretary may acquire land or interests in land within the park's boundary by donation, purchase (with donated or appropriated money), or exchange. (2) Certain portions of tracts: (A) In general: If only part of a tract sits within the park boundary, the Secretary can also buy the rest of that tract lying outside the boundary, to avoid paying "severance" costs (the extra cost of splitting a tract). (B) Exchange: (i) Land bought this way, outside the park, can later be traded for non-federal land that's inside the park. (ii) Any part not used in a trade must instead be reported to the General Services Administration for disposal under the usual federal property-disposal rules. (C) Transfers of Federal property: Any federal land within the park's boundary can be transferred, at no cost, to the Secretary's jurisdiction for park purposes. (D) Administrative jurisdiction: As of March 12, 2019, jurisdiction transfers automatically to the National Park Service over: (i) land the Bureau of Land Management manages within the park's boundary, as shown on the map described in section 160a–1(a); and (ii) any other public land the Bureau of Land Management identifies as appropriate to transfer within the park. (E) Land owned by State: (i) The Secretary can only acquire land within or next to the park that Minnesota (or one of its local governments) owns through donation or exchange — not purchase or forced acquisition. (ii) Once such an acquisition from the state is complete, the Secretary must update the park's boundary to reflect it. (b) Offers by individuals: When using this section's power to acquire property, the Secretary must give quick, careful attention to any offer from a private landowner within the park who wants to sell to the Secretary. The Secretary must also consider any hardship the owner would suffer from an unreasonable delay in completing the purchase.