An Act to provide an adequate basis for administration of the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Arizona and Nevada, and for other purposes
PL 88-639 (S.653), enacted 10/08/1964

78 STAT. ] 
PUBLIC LAW 88-639-OCT. 8, 1964 
1039 
Public Law 88-639 
AN ACT 
,To provide an adequate basis for administration of the Lake Mead National 
Recreation Area, Arizona and Nevada, and for other purposes. 
October 8, 1964 
[S. 653] 
Be it enacted hy the Seriate and House of Representatives 
of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled, That, in recognition 
of the national significance of the Lake Mead National Recreation 
Area, in the States of Arizona and Nevada, and in order to establish a 
more adequate basis for effective administration of such area for the 
public benefit, the Secretary of the Interior hereafter may exercise the 
functions and carry out the activities prescribed by this Act. 
SEC. 2. Lake Mead National Recreation Area shall comprise that 
particular land and water area which is shown on a certain map, iden-
tified as "boundary map, RA-LM-7060-B, revised July 17, 1963", 
which is on file and which shall be available for public inspection in 
the office of the National Park Service of the Department of the Inte-
rior. An exact copy of such map shall be filed with the Federal Regis-
ter within thirty days following the approval of this Act, and an 
exact copy thereof shall be available also for public inspection in the 
headquarters office of the superintendent of the said Lake Mead 
National Recreation Area. 
The Secretary of the Interior is authorized to revise the boundaries 
of such national recreation area, subject to the requirement that the 
total acreage of that area, as revised, shall be no greater than the 
present acreage thereof. In the event of such boundary revision, maps 
of the recreation area, as revised, shall be prepared by the Depart-
ment of the Interior, and shall be filed in the same manner, and shall 
be available for public inspection also in accordance with the aforesaid 
procedures and requirements relating to the filing and availability of 
maps. The Secretary may accept donations of land and interests in 
land within the exterior boundaries of such area, or such property 
may be procured by the Secretary in such manner as he shall consider 
to be in the public interest. 
In exercising his authority to acquire property by exchange, the Sec-
retary may accept title to any non-Federal property located within 
the boundaries of the recreation area and convey to the grantor of such 
property any federally owned property under the jurisdiction of the 
Secretary, notwithstanding any other provision of law. The properties 
so exchanged shall be approximately equal in fair market value: Pro-
vided, That the Secretary may accept cash from or pay cash to the 
grantor in such an exchange in order to equalize the values of the 
properties exchanged. 
Establishment or revision of the boundaries of the said national 
recreation area, as herein prescribed, shall not affect adversely any 
valid rights in the area, nor shall it affect the validity of withdrawals 
heretofore made for reclamation or power purposes. All lands in the 
recreation area which have been withdrawn or acquired by the United 
States for reclamation purposes shall remain subject to the primary 
use thereof for reclamation and power purposes so long as they are 
withdrawn or needed for such purposes. There shall be excluded from 
the said national recreation area by the Secretary of the Interior any 
property for management or protection by the Bureau of Reclamation, 
which would be subject otherwise to inclusion in the said recreation 
area, and which the Secretary of the Interior considers in the national 
interest should be excluded therefrom. 
SEC. 3. The authorities granted by this Act shall be subject to the 
following exceptions and qualifications when exercised with respect 
Lake Mead Na-
tional Recreation 
Area. 
Admini stration. 
Boundaries. 
Filing with 
Federal Reg-
ister. 
Boundary re-
vision. 
Donations of 
land. 
Property acqui-
sition. 
Property exclu-
sion. 
Hualapai Indian 
lands. 
1040 
PUBLIC LAW 88-639-OCT. 8, 1964 
[78 STAT. 
Recreational 
purposes. 
Activities. 
Hunting, fish-
ing, trapping. 
Regulations. 
to any tribal or allotted lands of the Hualapai Indians that may be 
included within the exterior boundaries of the Lake Mead National 
Kecreation Area: 
(a) The inclusion of Indian lands within the exterior boundaries of 
the area shall not be effective until approved by the Hualapai Tribal 
Council. 
(b) Mineral developments or use of the Indian lands shall be per-
mitted only in accordance with the laws that relate to Indian lands. 
(c) Leases and permits for general recreational use, business sites, 
home sites, vacation cabin sites, and grazing shall be executed in 
accordance with the laws relating to leases of Indian lands, provided 
that all development and improvement leases so granted shall conform 
to the development program and standards prescribed for the Lake 
Mead National Recreation Area. 
(d) Nothing in this Act shall deprive the members of the Hualapai 
Tribe of hunting and fishing privileges presently exercised by them, 
nor diminish those rights and privileges of that part of the reserva-
tion which is included in the Lake Mead Recreation Area. 
SEC. 4. (a) Lake Mead National Recreation Area shall be adminis-
tered b j the Secretary of the Interior for general purposes of public 
recreation, benefit, and use, and in a manner that will preserve, develop, 
and enhance, so far as practicable, the recreation potential, and in a 
manner that will preserve the scenic, historic, scientific, and other 
important features of the area, consistently with applicable reserva-
tions and limitations relating to such area and with other authorized 
uses of the lands and properties within such area. 
(b) In carrying out the functions prescribed by this Act, in addition 
to other related activities that may be permitted hereunder, the Secre-
tary may provide for the following activities, subject to such limita-
tions, conditions, or regulations as he may prescribe, and to such extent 
as will not be inconsistent with either the recreational use or the pri-
mary use of that portion of the area heretofore withdrawn for recla-
mation purposes: 
(1) General recreation use, such as bathing, boating, camping, 
and picnicking; 
(2) Grazing; 
(3) Mineral leasing; 
(4) Vacation cabin site use, in accordance with existing policies 
of the Department of the Interior relating to such use, or as such 
policies may be revised hereafter by the Secretary. 
SEC. 5. The Secretary of the Interior shall permit hunting, fishing, 
and trapping on the lands and waters under his jurisdiction within the 
recreation area in accordance with the applicable laws and regulations 
of the United States and the respective States: Provided^ That the 
Secretary, after consultation with the respective State fish and game 
commissions, may issue regulations designating zones where and estab-
lishing periods when no hunting, fishing, or trapping shall be per-
mitted for reasons of public safety, administration, or public use and 
enjoyment. 
SEC. 6. Such national recreation area shall continue to be adminis-
tered in accordance with regulations heretofore issued by the Secretary 
of the Interior relating to such areas, and the Secretary may revise such 
regulations or issue new regulations to carry out the purposes of this 
Act. In his administration and regulation of the area, the Secretary 
shall exercise authority, subject to the provisions and limitations of 
this Act, comparable to his general administrative authority relating 
to areas of the national park system. 
78 STAT.] 
PUBLIC LAW 88-639-OCT. 8, 1964 
1041 
The superintendent, caretakers, officers, or rangers of such recreation 
area are authorized to make arrests for violation of any of the regula-
tions applicable to the area or prescribed pursuant to this Act, and they 
may bring the offender before the nearest commissioner, judge, or court 
of the United States having jurisdiction in the premises. 
Any person who violates a rule or regulation issued pursuant to this 
Act shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and may be punished by a fine 
of not more than $500, or by imprisonment not exceeding six months, or 
by both such fine and imprisonment. 
SEC. 7. Nothing in this Act shall deprive any State, or any political 
subdivision thereof, of its civil and criminal jurisdiction over the lands 
within the said national recreation area, or of its rights to tax persons, 
corporations, franchises, or property on the lands included in such 
area. Nothing in this Act shall modify or otherwise affect the existing 
jurisdiction of the Hualapai Tribe or alter the status of individual 
Hualapai Indians within that part of the Hualapai Indian Reserva-
tion included in said Lake Mead National Recreation Area. 
SEC. 8. Revenues and fees obtained by the United States from opera-
tion of the national recreation area shall be subject to the same statu-
tory provisions concerning the disposition thereof as are similar reve-
nues collected in areas of the national park system with the exception, 
that those particular revenues and fees including those from mineral 
developments, which the Secretary of the Interior finds are reasonably 
attributable to Indian lands shall be paid to the Indian owner of the 
landj and with the further exception that other fees and revenues 
obtained from mineral development and from activities under other 
public land laws within the recreation area shall be disposed of in 
accordance with the provisions of the applicable laws. 
SEC. 9. A United States commissioner shall be appointed for that 
portion of the Lake Mead National Recreation Area that is situated in 
Mohave County, Arizona. Such commissioner shall be appointed by 
the United States district court having jurisdiction thereover, and the 
commissioner shall serve as directed by such court, as well as pursuant 
to, and within the limits of, the authority of said court. 
The functions of such commissioner shall include the trial and sen-
tencing of persons committing petty offenses, as defined in title 18, sec-
tion 1, United States Code: Provided^ That any person charged with a 
petty offense may elect to be tried in the district court of the United 
States, and the commissioner shall apprise the defendant of his right 
to make such election, but shall not proceed to try the case unless the 
defendant, after being so apprised, signs a written consent to be tried 
before the commissioner. The exercise of additional functions by the 
commissioner shall be consistent with and be carried out in accordance 
with the authority, laws, and regulations, of general application to 
United States commissioners. The provisions of title 18, section 3402, 
of the United States Code, and the rules of procedure and practice 
prescribed by the Supreme Court pursuant thereto, shall apply to all 
cases handled by such commissioner. 
The probation laws shall be 
applicable to persons tried by the commissioner and he shall have 
power to grant probation. The commissioner shall receive the fees, 
and none other, provided by law for like or similar services. 
SEC. 10. There are hereby authorized to be appropriated not more 
than $1,200,000 for the acquisition of land and interests in land pur-
suant to section 2 of this Act. 
Approved October 8, 1964. 
Arrests. 
Violations. 
Jurisdiction. 
Revenues and 
fees. 
Mohave County, 
Ariz. 
Appointment of 
commissioner. 
62 Stat. 831. 
Probation laws. 
Appropriation.