16 U.S.C. § 459g–4 — Administration; public outdoor recreation and enjoyment; utilization of authorities for conservation and development of natural resources

(a) The Secretary of the Interior must run Cape Lookout National Seashore mainly for public outdoor recreation, including protecting the natural features people enjoy. The Secretary can use any legal power available for managing National Park Service land, or any other power for conserving natural resources, whenever it helps meet the goals of this group of sections. (b)(1) The Secretary must allow a herd of free-roaming horses at the Seashore. The herd must never drop below 110 horses, and the goal is to keep it between 120 and 130. This does not stop the Secretary from enforcing paragraph (3), below. (2) Within 180 days after July 16, 1998, the Secretary had to sign an agreement with the Foundation for Shackleford Horses, or another qualified nonprofit, to manage the horses. That agreement must (A) manage the horses in a cost-effective way without hurting the Seashore's natural resources, and (B) let the nonprofit adopt any horses the Secretary removes. (3) The Secretary cannot remove, help remove, or allow anyone else to remove free-roaming horses from federal land in the Seashore unless one of three things is true: (A) the nonprofit partner failed to meet the agreement's terms, after getting notice and 90 days to respond; or (B) the removal is part of a plan to keep the herd healthy; or (C) it's an emergency or needed to protect public health and safety. (4) Each year, the Secretary must study the horses' population, structure, and health, and share the findings with the public. (5) If natural causes — such as disease or a natural disaster — drop the herd below 110 horses, the Secretary does not have to replace them or otherwise grow the herd back up. (6) The United States is not liable for any damage the free-roaming horses cause to property, whether that property is inside or outside the Seashore's boundaries.