54 USC § 102101 - General provisions

---
identifier: "/us/usc/t54/s102101"
source: "usc"
legal_status: "official_legal_evidence"
title: "54 USC § 102101 - General provisions"
title_number: 54
title_name: "NATIONAL PARK SERVICE AND RELATED PROGRAMS"
section_number: "102101"
section_name: "General provisions"
chapter_number: 1021
chapter_name: "PRIVILEGES AND LEASES"
positive_law: true
currency: "119-84"
last_updated: "2026-04-17"
format_version: "1.1.0"
generator: "[email protected]"
source_credit: "(Pub. L. 113–287, § 3, Dec. 19, 2014, 128 Stat. 3152.)"
---


# § 102101. General provisions

**(a)** **Limitation.—**

**(1)** **No lease or grant of a privilege that interferes with free access.—** No natural curiosity, wonder, or object of interest shall be leased or granted to anyone on such terms as to interfere with free access by the public to any System unit.

**(2)** **Exception for grazing livestock.—** The Secretary, under such regulations and on such terms as the Secretary may prescribe, may grant the privilege to graze livestock within a System unit when, in the Secretary’s judgment, the use is not detrimental to the primary purpose for which the System unit was created. This paragraph does not apply to Yellowstone National Park.

**(b)** **Advertising and Competitive Bids Not Required.—** The Secretary may grant privileges and enter into leases described in subsection (a), and enter into related contracts with responsible persons, firms, or corporations, without advertising and without securing competitive bids.

**(c)** **Assignment or Transfer.—** No contract, lease, or privilege described in subsection (a) or (b) that is entered into or granted shall be assigned or transferred by the grantee, lessee, or licensee without the prior written approval of the Secretary.

---

**Source Credit**: (Pub. L. 113–287, § 3, Dec. 19, 2014, 128 Stat. 3152.)

| RevisedSection | Source (U.S. Code) | Source (Statutes at Large) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 102101 | 16 U.S.C. 3 (last sentence). | Aug. 25, 1916, ch. 408, § 3 (last sentence), 39 Stat. 535; Mar. 7, 1928, ch. 137, § 1 (matter relating to section 3 of the Act of August 25, 1916, in 12th undesignated par. under heading “NATIONAL PARK SERVICE”), 45 Stat. 235; Pub. L. 85–434, May 29, 1958, 72 Stat. 152; Pub. L. 105–391, title IV, § 415(b)(1), Nov. 13, 1998, 112 Stat. 3515. |

In subsection (a)(1), the word “rented” is omitted as included in “leases”.

In subsections (b) and (c), the word “permit” is omitted for consistency because a permit is not mentioned earlier in the source provision.

In subsection (c), the word “lessee” is substituted for “permittees” for consistency in the section.