54 U.S.C. § 100506 — Boundary changes to System units

(a) Criteria for Evaluation. The Secretary^* must keep standards for judging any proposed change to a unit's boundary. These standards include:
(1) checking whether the current boundary properly protects and preserves the natural, historic, cultural, scenic, and recreational resources that are central to the unit;
(2) judging each parcel proposed to be added or removed, using the check from (1); and
(3) judging the impact of possible boundary changes, using the factors from section 100505(c)(3) and considering the effect on local communities and the surrounding area.

(b) Proposal of Secretary. When the Secretary proposes a boundary change, the Secretary must:
(1) consult with affected state and local government agencies, nearby communities, affected landowners, and private organizations;
(2) apply the standards from subsection (a) and include a statement showing the results; and
(3) include a cost estimate for acquiring any parcels, explain how the estimate was made, and state how acquiring each parcel ranks in priority against other parcels for that unit and for the System^*.

(c) Minor Boundary Changes.
(1) In general. When the Secretary decides a change will help — and is necessary for — properly preserving, protecting, interpreting, or managing a unit, the Secretary may make the change. First, the Secretary must give timely written notice to the House Committee on Natural Resources and the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, and publish a revised boundary map or description in the Federal Register. Then the Secretary may:
(A) make minor changes to the unit's boundary, using Land and Water Conservation Fund money to acquire any land, water, or interest in land or water added by the change, subject to any legal limits on how that land can be acquired or funded; and
(B) acquire adjacent land, water, or interests by donation, by purchase using donated money, by transfer from another federal agency, or by exchange — except the Secretary:
(i) cannot give up System property to acquire other land by exchange;
(ii) cannot acquire property without the owner's consent; and
(iii) can only acquire property owned by a state or local government by donation.
(2) Consultation. Before making this kind of determination, the Secretary must consult with the local government — county, city, town, or other jurisdiction — that has primary taxing power over the land to be acquired, about how the action would affect them.
(3) Action to advance local public awareness. The Secretary must take steps the Secretary sees fit to make sure local people know about the proposed action.
(4) Administration of acquisitions. Land, water, or interests acquired this way become part of the unit they were added to, and follow that unit's laws and regulations.
(5) When authority applies. Except for technical boundary changes (like fixing a survey error or a changed road), the Secretary's authority under (1)(A) only applies if all of these conditions are met:
(A) The total acreage added plus the total acreage removed is no more than 5 percent of the unit's total authorized federal acreage, and is less than 200 acres.
(B) The Secretary determines the acquisition, if any, is not a major federal action that significantly affects the environment.
(C) The total appraised value of the land added plus the land removed does not exceed $750,000.
(D) The boundary change is not part of a bigger, more comprehensive boundary change proposal.
(E) The public has had a chance to review and comment on the proposed boundary.
(F) The Director^* gets written consent from every property owner whose land will be added to or removed from the unit.
(G) The land touches other federal land that the Director manages.
(6) Act of Congress required. If a minor boundary change would only remove acreage that the federal government owns and the Service^* manages, that change can only be made by an Act of Congress.