Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 102 Part 3.djvu/927

 PUBLIC LAW 100-571—OCT. 31, 1988

102 STAT. 2879

Public Law 100-571 100th Congress An Act To establish the National Park of American Samoa.

Oct. 31, 1988 [H.R. 4818]

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Conservation. United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that: (1) Tropical forests are decUning worldwide. (2) Tropical forests contain 50 percent of the world's plant and animal species, contribute significantly to the advancement of science, medicine, and agriculture and produce much of the earth's oxygen. The loss of these forests leads to the extinction of species, lessening the world's biological diversity, reduces the potential for new medicin'es and crops and increases carbon dioxide levels in the atomosphere contributing to the greenhouse effect that is altering the global climate. (3) The tropical forest of American Samoa is one of the last remaining undisturbed paleotropical forests. (4) The tropical forest in American Samoa is the largest such forest under direct control of the United States. (5) The tropical forest of American Samoa contains the habitat of one of the last remaining populations of Pacific flying foxes. (6) The flying foxes of American Samoa are responsible for a large part of the pollination which maintains a significant portion of the species which inhabit the Samoan tropical forest. (7) Information presently available indicates the existence of extensive archaeological evidence related to the development of the Samoan culture which needs to be examined and protected. (8) The people of American Samoa have expressed a desire to have a portion of the tropical forest protected as a unit of the National Park System. (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to preserve and protect the tropical forest and archaeological and cultural resources of American Samoa, and of associated reefs, to maintain the habitat of flying foxes, preserve the ecological balance of the Samoan tropical forest, and, consistent with the preservation of these resources, to provide for the enjoyment of the unique resources of the Samoan tropical forest by visitors from around the world. SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT.

Environmental protection. Forests and forest products. Historic preservation. Wildlife. 16 USC 410qq.

16 USC 410qq-l.

(a) IN GENERAL.—In order to carry out the purposes expressed in section 1(b), the Secretary of the Interior (hereinafter in this Act referred to as the "Secretary") shall establish the National Park of American Samoa (hereinafter in this Act referred to as the "park"). The Secretary shall establish the park only when the Governor of Contracts. American Samoa has entered into a lease with the Secretary under which the Secretary will lease for a period of 50 years the lands and waters generally referred to in subsection (b) for use solely for

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