54 U.S.C. § 100507 — Additional areas for System

(a) Monitoring Areas for Inclusion in System^*. The Secretary^* must investigate, study, and keep watching the condition of areas whose resources are nationally significant and that might be added to the System someday.

(b) Submission of List of Areas Recommended for Study for Potential Inclusion.
(1) When list is to be submitted. At the start of each calendar year, along with the annual budget, the Secretary must send the House Committee on Natural Resources and the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources a list of areas recommended for study.
(2) Factors to be considered. In building that list, the Secretary considers: (A) which areas best meet the established tests of national significance, suitability, and feasibility; (B) themes, sites, and resources not already well represented in the System; and (C) public petitions and congressional resolutions.
(3) Accompanying synopsis. Along with the yearly list, the Secretary must include, for each area reported before, a short update on the current and changed condition of its resources and other relevant facts — covering the year since the last report, based on ongoing monitoring.
(4) Congressional authorization required. No study of whether an area should be added to the System can start unless a specific Act of Congress authorizes it.
(5) Authority to conduct certain activities not limited. This section, along with sections 100901(b), 101702(b) and (c), and 102102 of this title, does not stop the Service^* from doing preliminary resource assessments, gathering data on possible study areas, giving technical and planning help, preparing nominations for administrative designations, updating old studies, or doing quick surveys of individual areas that cost less than $25,000 total.
(6) Study of rivers or trails not affected. This section does not apply to, change, or limit the separate study process for (A) a river segment being considered for the national wild and scenic rivers system, or (B) a trail being considered for the national trails system.

(c) Study of Areas for Potential Inclusion.
(1) Study to be completed within 3 years. The Secretary must finish the study of each area within 3 full fiscal years after money is first available for that study.
(2) Opportunity for public involvement required. Each study must include real chances for public involvement — at least one public meeting near the area — and reasonable efforts to notify landowners and state and local governments who might be affected.
(3) Considerations. In doing the study, the Secretary considers whether the area (A) has nationally significant natural or cultural resources and is one of the best examples of its type in the country, and (B) is a suitable and workable addition to the System.
(4) Scope of study. Each study: (A) about the area itself, must look at how rare and intact its resources are; the threats to those resources; whether similar resources are already protected elsewhere; potential for public use; potential for teaching and interpretation; the costs of acquiring, developing, and running the site; the economic and social effects of adding it; how much local and general public support there is; and whether the area's shape and layout allow for long-term protection and visitor use; (B) must consider whether the Service itself should manage the area, or whether another public agency or the private sector should protect it instead; (C) must identify, in the Director's professional judgment, which option or combination of options would best and most efficiently protect the resources and let the public enjoy them; and (D) may include any other information the Secretary thinks is relevant.
(5) Compliance with National Environmental Policy Act of 1969. Each study must follow the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969.
(6) Recommendation of preferred management option. The letter sending the finished study to Congress must recommend the Secretary's preferred management option.

(d) List of Areas Previously Studied.
(1) Submission of list. At the start of each calendar year, with the annual budget, the Secretary must send the House Committee on Natural Resources and the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, ranked by priority: (A) a list of previously studied areas that are mainly historical, and (B) a list of previously studied areas that are mainly natural.
(2) Considerations. In building these lists, the Secretary should weigh threats to the resources, rising costs, and the other factors listed in subsection (c).
(3) Areas eligible for inclusion. The Secretary should only list areas whose supporting data is current and accurate.

(e) List of Areas That Exhibit Danger or Threats to the Integrity of Their Resources. At the start of each fiscal year, the Secretary must send the Speaker of the House and the President of the Senate a complete, up-to-date list of every area on the Registry of Natural Landmarks, and every nationally significant area on the National Register of Historic Places, that shows known or expected damage or threats. The list must include notes about the nature and severity of the damage or threats.

(f) Reports and Listings Printed as House Documents. Every report and yearly list under this section must be printed as a House document. But if enough copies of an identical earlier report are still available, a newly submitted identical report can skip printing — this happens once the Speaker of the House gets a joint letter from the chairs of the House Natural Resources Committee and the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee saying so.

(g) Designation of Office. The Secretary must name one single office to prepare all new area studies and carry out this section's other duties.

(h) Authorization of Appropriations.
(1) Studies of potential new system units and monitoring the welfare of system unit^* resources. To pay for studying potential new units and monitoring historical and natural resources under subsection (d)(1)(A) and (B), Congress may appropriate up to $1,000,000 each fiscal year.
(2) Monitoring welfare and integrity of national landmarks. To monitor the condition of national landmarks, Congress may appropriate up to $1,500,000 each fiscal year.
(3) Carrying out subsections (b), (c), and (g). To carry out subsections (b), (c), and (g), Congress may appropriate $2,000,000 each fiscal year.