I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 459 

To clarify the boundary of Acadia National Park, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 10, 2019 

Mr. GOLDEN (for himself and Ms. PINGREE) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To clarify the boundary of Acadia National Park, and for 

other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Acadia National Park 

5 Boundary Clarification Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. ACADIA NATIONAL PARK BOUNDARY CLARIFICA7 TION. 

8 Section 101 of Public Law 99–420 (16 U.S.C. 341 

9 note) is amended— 

10 (1) in the first sentence, by striking ‘‘In order 

11 to’’ and inserting the following: 


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1 ‘‘(a) BOUNDARIES.—Subject to subsections (b) and 

2 (c)(2), to’’; 

3 (2) in the second sentence— 

4 (A) by striking ‘‘The map shall be on file’’ 

5 and inserting the following: 

6 ‘‘(c) AVAILABILITY AND REVISIONS OF MAPS.— 

7 ‘‘(1) AVAILABILITY.—The map, together with 

8 the map described in subsection (b)(1) and any re9 vised boundary map published under paragraph (2), 

10 if applicable, shall be— 

11 ‘‘(A) on file’’; and 

12 (B) by striking ‘‘Interior, and it shall be 

13 made’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘Interior; 

14 and 

15 ‘‘(B) made’’; 

16 (3) by inserting after subsection (a) (as des17 ignated by paragraph (1)) the following: 

18 ‘‘(b) SCHOODIC PENINSULA ADDITION.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The boundary of the Park 

20 is confirmed to include approximately 1,441 acres of 

21 land and interests in land, as depicted on the map 

22 entitled ‘Acadia National Park, Hancock County, 

23 Maine, Schoodic Peninsula Boundary Revision’, 

24 numbered 123/129102, and dated July 10, 2015. 


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1 ‘‘(2) RATIFICATION AND APPROVAL OF ACQUISI2 TIONS OF LAND.—Congress ratifies and approves— 

3 ‘‘(A) effective as of September 26, 2013, 

4 the acquisition by the United States of the land 

5 and interests in the land described in paragraph 

6 (1); and 

7 ‘‘(B) effective as of the date on which the 

8 alteration occurred, any alteration of the land 

9 or interests in the land described in paragraph 

10 (1) that is held or claimed by the United States 

11 (including conversion of the land to fee simple 

12 interest) that occurred after the date described 

13 in subparagraph (A).’’; and 

14 (4) in subsection (c) (as designated by para15 graph (2)(A)), by adding at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘(2) TECHNICAL AND LIMITED REVISIONS.— 

17 Subject to section 102(k), notwithstanding any other 

18 provision of this section, the Secretary of the Inte19 rior (referred to in this title as the ‘Secretary’), by 

20 publication in the Federal Register of a revised 

21 boundary map or other description, may make— 

22 ‘‘(A) such technical boundary revisions as 

23 the Secretary determines to be appropriate to 

24 the permanent boundaries of the Park (includ25 ing any property of the Park located within the 


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1 Schoodic Peninsula and Isle Au Haut districts) 

2 to resolve issues resulting from causes such as 

3 survey error or changed road alignments; and 

4 ‘‘(B) such limited boundary revisions as 

5 the Secretary determines to be appropriate to 

6 the permanent boundaries of the Park to take 

7 into account acquisitions or losses, by exchange, 

8 donation, or purchase from willing sellers using 

9 donated or appropriated funds, of land adjacent 

10 to or within the Park, respectively, in any case 

11 in which the total acreage of the land to be so 

12 acquired or lost is less than 10 acres, subject 

13 to the condition that— 

14 ‘‘(i) any such boundary revision shall 

15 not be a part of a more-comprehensive 

16 boundary revision; and 

17 ‘‘(ii) all such boundary revisions, con18 sidered collectively with any technical 

19 boundary revisions made pursuant to sub20 paragraph (A), do not increase the size of 

21 the Park by more than a total of 100 

22 acres, as compared to the size of the Park 

23 on the date of enactment of this para24 graph.’’. 


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1 SEC. 3. LIMITATION ON ACQUISITIONS OF LAND FOR ACA2 DIA NATIONAL PARK. 

3 Section 102 of Public Law 99–420 (16 U.S.C. 341 

4 note) is amended— 

5 (1) in subsection (a), in the matter preceding 

6 paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘of the Interior (herein7 after in this title referred to as ‘the Secretary’)’’; 

8 (2) in subsection (d)(1), in the first sentence, 

9 by striking ‘‘the the’’ and inserting ‘‘the’’; 

10 (3) in subsection (k)— 

11 (A) by redesignating the subsection as 

12 paragraph (4) and indenting the paragraph ap13 propriately; and 

14 (B) by moving the paragraph so as to ap15 pear at the end of subsection (b); and 

16 (4) by adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(k) REQUIREMENTS.—Before revising the bound18 aries of the Park pursuant to this section or section 

19 101(c)(2)(B), the Secretary shall— 

20 ‘‘(1) certify that the proposed boundary revision 

21 will contribute to, and is necessary for, the proper 

22 preservation, protection, interpretation, or manage23 ment of the Park; 

24 ‘‘(2) consult with the governing body of each 

25 county, city, town, or other jurisdiction with primary 

26 taxing authority over the land or interest in land to 


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1 be acquired regarding the impacts of the proposed 

2 boundary revision; 

3 ‘‘(3) obtain from each property owner the land 

4 or interest in land of which is proposed to be ac5 quired for, or lost from, the Park written consent for 

6 the proposed boundary revision; and 

7 ‘‘(4) submit to the Acadia National Park Advi8 sory Commission established by section 103(a), the 

9 Committee on Natural Resources of the House of 

10 Representatives, the Committee on Energy and Nat11 ural Resources of the Senate, and the Maine Con12 gressional Delegation a written notice of the pro13 posed boundary revision. 

14 ‘‘(l) LIMITATION.—The Secretary may not use the 

15 authority provided by section 100506 of title 54, United 

16 States Code, to adjust the permanent boundaries of the 

17 Park pursuant to this title.’’. 

18 SEC. 4. ACADIA NATIONAL PARK ADVISORY COMMISSION. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall reestablish 

20 and appoint members to the Acadia National Park Advi21 sory Commission in accordance with section 103 of Public 

22 Law 99–420 (16 U.S.C. 341 note). 

23 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 103 of 

24 Public Law 99–420 (16 U.S.C. 341 note) is amended by 

25 striking subsection (f). 


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1 SEC. 5. REPEAL OF CERTAIN PROVISIONS RELATING TO 

2 ACADIA NATIONAL PARK. 

3 The following are repealed: 

4 (1) Section 3 of the Act of February 26, 1919 

5 (40 Stat. 1178, chapter 45). 

6 (2) The first section of the Act of January 19, 

7 1929 (45 Stat. 1083, chapter 77). 

8 SEC. 6. MODIFICATION OF USE RESTRICTION. 

9 The Act of August 1, 1950 (64 Stat. 383, chapter 

10 511), is amended— 

11 (1) by striking ‘‘That the Secretary’’ and in12 serting the following: 

13 ‘‘SEC. 1. CONVEYANCE OF LAND IN ACADIA NATIONAL 

14 PARK. 

15 ‘‘The Secretary’’; and 

16 (2) by striking ‘‘for school purposes’’ and in17 serting ‘‘for public purposes, subject to the condi18 tions that use of the land shall not degrade or ad19 versely impact the resources or values of Acadia Na20 tional Park and that the land shall remain in public 

21 ownership for recreational, educational, or similar 

22 public purposes’’. 

23 SEC. 7. CONTINUATION OF CERTAIN TRADITIONAL USES. 

24 Title I of Public Law 99–420 (16 U.S.C. 341 note) 

25 is amended by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 109. CONTINUATION OF CERTAIN TRADITIONAL USES. 

2 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

3 ‘‘(1) LAND WITHIN THE PARK.—The term ‘land 

4 within the Park’ means land owned or controlled by 

5 the United States— 

6 ‘‘(A) that is within the boundary of the 

7 Park established by section 101; or 

8 ‘‘(B)(i) that is outside the boundary of the 

9 Park; and 

10 ‘‘(ii) in which the Secretary has or acquires 

11 a property interest or conservation easement 

12 pursuant to this title. 

13 ‘‘(2) MARINE SPECIES; MARINE WORM; SHELL14 FISH.—The terms ‘marine species’, ‘marine worm’, 

15 and ‘shellfish’ have the meanings given those terms 

16 in section 6001 of title 12 of the Maine Revised 

17 Statutes (as in effect on the date of enactment of 

18 this section). 

19 ‘‘(3) STATE LAW.—The term ‘State law’ means 

20 the law (including regulations) of the State of 

21 Maine, including the common law. 

22 ‘‘(4) TAKING.—The term ‘taking’ means the re23 moval or attempted removal of a marine species, ma24 rine worm, or shellfish from the natural habitat of 

25 the marine species, marine worm, or shellfish. 


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1 ‘‘(b) CONTINUATION OF TRADITIONAL USES.—The 

2 Secretary shall allow for the traditional taking of marine 

3 species, marine worms, and shellfish, on land within the 

4 Park between the mean high watermark and the mean low 

5 watermark in accordance with State law.’’. 

6 SEC. 8. CONVEYANCE OF CERTAIN LAND IN ACADIA NA7 TIONAL PARK TO THE TOWN OF BAR HAR8 BOR, MAINE. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall convey to the 

10 Town of Bar Harbor all right, title, and interest of the 

11 United States in and to the .29-acre parcel of land in Aca12 dia National Park identified as lot 110–055–000 on the 

13 tax map of the Town of Bar Harbor for section 110, dated 

14 April 1, 2015, to be used for a solid waste transfer facility. 

15 (b) REVERSION.—If the land conveyed under sub16 section (a) is used for a purpose other than the purpose 

17 described in that subsection, the land shall, at the discre18 tion of the Secretary, revert to the United States. 

Æ 


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