16 U.S.C. § 460gg (2024)

This is the official text of 16 U.S.C. § 460gg (2024), part of Federal (US Code)’s United States Code — the codified general and permanent federal statutes of the United States, organized into more than 50 numbered titles by subject.

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Establishment

Official statutory text

(a) In general

To assure that the natural beauty, and historical and archeological values of the Hells Canyon area and the seventy-one-mile segment of the Snake River between Hells Canyon Dam and the Oregon-Washington border, together with portions of certain of its tributaries and adjacent lands, are preserved for this and future generations, and that the recreational and ecologic values and public enjoyment of the area are thereby enhanced, there is hereby established the Hells Canyon National Recreation Area.

(b) Boundaries; publication in Federal Register

The Hells Canyon National Recreation Area (hereinafter referred to as the "recreation area"), which includes the Hells Canyon Wilderness (hereinafter referred to as the "wilderness"), the components of the Wild and Scenic Rivers System designated in section 3 of this Act, and the wilderness study areas designated in section 460gg–5(d) of this title, shall comprise the lands and waters generally depicted on the map entitled "Hells Canyon National Recreation Area" dated May 1978, which shall be on file and available for public inspection in the office of the Chief, Forest Service, United States Department of Agriculture. The Secretary of Agriculture (hereinafter referred to as "the Secretary"), shall, as soon as practicable, but no later than eighteen months after December 31, 1975, publish a detailed boundary description of the recreation area, the wilderness study areas designated in section 460gg–5(d) of this title, and the wilderness established in section 460gg–1 of this title in the Federal Register.

(Pub. L. 94–199, §1, Dec. 31, 1975, 89 Stat. 1117; Pub. L. 95–625, title VI, §607, Nov. 10, 1978, 92 Stat. 3520.)

Editorial Notes

References in Text
r December 31, 1975, publish a detailed boundary description of the recreation area, the wilderness study areas designated in section 460gg–5(d) of this title, and the wilderness established in section 460gg–1 of this title in the Federal Register.

(Pub. L. 94–199, §1, Dec. 31, 1975, 89 Stat. 1117; Pub. L. 95–625, title VI, §607, Nov. 10, 1978, 92 Stat. 3520.)

Editorial Notes

References in Text

Section 3 of this Act, referred to in subsec. (b), is section 3 of Pub. L. 94–199. Subsec. (a) of section 3 added pars. (11) and (12) of section 1274(a) of this title, relating to components of the national wild and scenic rivers system. Subsec. (b) of section 3, relating to the administration of those segments of the Snake and Rapid Rivers designated as wild or scenic river areas, is set out as a note under section 1274 of this title.

Amendments

1978—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 95–625 substituted "May 1978" for "September 1975" to clarify that the boundary between Saulsberry and Freezeout Saddles is the hydrologic divide.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Separability

Pub. L. 94–199, §17, Dec. 31, 1975, 89 Stat. 1123, provided that: "If any provision of this Act [this subchapter] is declared to be invalid, such declaration shall not affect the validity of any other provision hereof."

Status: in_force · Read it on the official government site

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About this page: Statute text is reproduced from official government publishers via the Open US Law dataset (Vaquill AI, snapshot v2026.08, CC BY 4.0). Primary legislative text like this is public domain under the government-edicts doctrine (Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). We link every section back to its official source so you can verify it independently.