16 U.S.C. § 410qq — Findings and purpose

(a) Findings Congress found the following: (1) Tropical forests are declining worldwide. (2) Tropical forests hold 50 percent of the world's plant and animal species. They contribute significantly to advances in science, medicine, and agriculture, and produce much of the earth's oxygen. Losing these forests causes species to go extinct, reduces the world's biological diversity, cuts the potential for new medicines and crops, and raises carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere — adding to the greenhouse effect that is altering the global climate. (3) The tropical forest of American Samoa is one of the last remaining undisturbed paleotropical forests. (4) The tropical forest of American Samoa is the largest such forest under the direct control of the United States. (5) The tropical forest of American Samoa contains the habitat of one of the last remaining populations of Pacific flying foxes. (6) American Samoa's flying foxes do much of the pollinating that keeps a large share of the Samoan tropical forest's species alive. (7) There is extensive archaeological evidence related to the development of Samoan culture that needs to be examined and protected. (8) The people of American Samoa have expressed a desire to have part of the tropical forest protected as a unit of the National Park System. (b) Purpose The purpose of this subchapter is to preserve and protect the tropical forest and the archaeological and cultural resources of American Samoa, and its associated reefs; to maintain the habitat of flying foxes; to preserve the ecological balance of the Samoan tropical forest; and, consistent with preserving these resources, to let visitors from around the world enjoy the unique resources of the Samoan tropical forest.