[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 81 (Thursday, April 25, 1996)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 18231-18232]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-10370]



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  Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 81 / Thursday, April 25, 1996 / 
Presidential Documents  

[[Page 18231]]


                Memorandum of April 22, 1996

                
 Facilitating Public-Private Partnerships for 
                Protection of the National Parks

                Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and 
                Agencies

                Many important efforts are already underway in which 
                the private sector works in partnership with government 
                to protect or maintain public lands. These include the 
                work of the National Park Foundation, an organization 
                created by the Congress in 1967 to receive private 
                gifts and make disbursements to benefit the parks; 
                cooperative agreements between the private sector and 
                State and local parks to share resources and equipment 
                and to provide valuable services, including maintenance 
                services, to the parks; and agreements with willing 
                private parties to acquire conservation easements. In 
                an effort to ensure that the public-private 
                partnerships that can enhance park protection and 
                maintenance are as effective as possible, I hereby 
                direct the following action:

                    1. The Secretary of the Interior is to provide to 
                me, within 30 days, a specific proposal for ways in 
                which the National Park Foundation's role in fostering 
                public-private partnerships on behalf of the parks can 
                be invigorated through either administrative or 
                legislative action.
                    2. The Secretary of the Interior is to provide to 
                me a legislative proposal that would make permanently 
                available to the National Park System the authority to 
                enter into cooperative agreements on behalf of the 
                parks. This proposal should be consistent with the 
                temporary authority that would be provided by enactment 
                of my 1997 budget proposal as submitted to the 
                Congress.
                    3. The Secretary of the Interior is to provide a 
                report to me within 6 months on options for preserving 
                historic structures within National Parks. This report 
                should consider the possibilities for partnerships with 
                businesses, associations, and individuals in the 
                private sector.
                    4. The Secretary of the Interior shall work with 
                the Congress to pass legislation that would allow the 
                implementation of the 1995 National Park Service study 
                to protect vistas surrounding Point Reyes National 
                Seashore, California, while retaining existing private 
                uses through actions including the purchase of 
                conservation easements from willing private sellers. 
                The Secretary of the Interior shall also give priority 
                to funding such purchases from existing funds should 
                authorization for such purchases be enacted. In 
                addition, to the extent permitted by law and within 
                existing budget authority, the Secretary shall exercise 
                his existing authority to make a minor boundary 
                adjustment as necessary to carry out the purposes of 
                the National Park Service study to add property to 
                Point Reyes National Seashore prior to enactment of 
                such legislation, and to make available an amount of 
                funds not to exceed $1 million to purchase such 
                property from willing sellers.

[[Page 18232]]

                This memorandum shall be published in the Federal 
                Register.

                    (Presidential Sig.)

                THE WHITE HOUSE,

                    Washington, April 22, 1996.

[FR Doc. 96-10370
Filed 4-24-96; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3195-01-P