Skip to content
LexBuild

16 USC § 398 - Establishment; administration

---
identifier: "/us/usc/t16/s398"
source: "usc"
legal_status: "official_prima_facie"
title: "16 USC § 398 - Establishment; administration"
title_number: 16
title_name: "CONSERVATION"
section_number: "398"
section_name: "Establishment; administration"
chapter_number: 1
chapter_name: "NATIONAL PARKS, MILITARY PARKS, MONUMENTS, AND SEASHORES"
subchapter_number: "XLIV"
subchapter_name: "VIRGIN ISLANDS NATIONAL PARK"
positive_law: false
currency: "119-84"
last_updated: "2026-04-17"
format_version: "1.1.0"
generator: "[email protected]"
source_credit: "(Aug. 2, 1956, ch. 885, § 1, 70 Stat. 940.)"
---

# § 398. Establishment; administration

section 398a of this title

A portion of the Virgin Islands of the United States, containing outstanding scenic and other features of national significance, shall be established, as prescribed in , as the “Virgin Islands National Park”.

The national park shall be administered and preserved by the Secretary of the Interior in its natural condition for the public benefit and inspiration, in accordance with the laws governing the administration of the national parks.

---

**Source Credit**: (Aug. 2, 1956, ch. 885, § 1, 70 Stat. 940.)

## Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

### Installation of Plaque Commemorating Slave Rebellion on St. John

> **“(a)** **In General.—** Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act [Dec. 29, 2022], the Secretary [of the Interior] shall install, in an appropriate location in the area of the Ram Head trail at the peak of Ram Head in the Virgin Islands National Park on St. John, United States Virgin Islands, a suitable plaque to commemorate the slave rebellion that began on St. John on November 23, 1733.
> 
> **“(b)** **Contents of Plaque.—** The plaque installed under subsection (a) shall include information regarding—
> 
> **“(1)** important facts about the slave rebellion that began on St. John in 1733;
> 
> **“(2)** the collective suicide that occurred during the slave rebellion in the vicinity of Ram Head on St. John in 1734; and
> 
> **“(3)** the significance of the slave rebellion to the history of St. John, the United States Virgin Islands, and the United States.”

, , , provided that: