16 U.S.C. § 410xx–1 — Administration

(a) In general: The Secretary must manage the park under this subchapter and the laws that generally apply to all national parks, including the 1916 law that created the National Park Service. (b) Management purposes: The park must be managed, among other things, to: (1) protect and explain a pristine subtropical marine ecosystem, including a healthy coral reef community; (2) protect fish and wildlife, including loggerhead and green sea turtles, sooty terns, frigate birds, and many migratory bird species; (3) protect the pristine natural environment of the Dry Tortugas islands; (4) protect, stabilize, restore, and explain Fort Jefferson, a notable example of nineteenth-century masonry fort building; (5) preserve and protect underwater cultural artifacts; and (6) allow scientific research, but only in ways that fit with the first five goals.