AN ACT TO SET APART A CERTAIN TRACT OF LAND LYING NEAR THE
HEADWATERS OF THE YELLOWSTONE RIVER AS A PUBLIC PARK.
_Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled_,--That the tract of
land in the Territories of Montana and Wyoming lying near the
headwaters of the Yellowstone River and described as follows, to-wit:
Commencing at the junction of Gardiner's River with the Yellowstone
River and running east to the meridian, passing ten miles to the
eastward of the most eastern point of Yellowstone Lake; thence south
along the said meridian to the parallel of latitude, passing ten miles
south of the most southern point of Yellowstone Lake; thence west
along said parallel to the meridian, passing fifteen miles west of the
most western point of Madison Lake; thence north along said meridian
to the latitude of the junction of the Yellowstone and Gardiner's
Rivers; thence east to the place of beginning, is hereby reserved and
drawn from settlement, occupancy, or sale under the laws of the
United States, and dedicated and set apart as a public park or
pleasuring ground for the benefit and enjoyment of the people; and all
persons who shall locate, or settle upon, or occupy the same or any
part thereof, except as hereinafter provided, shall be considered
trespassers and removed therefrom.
SEC. 2. That said public park shall be under the exclusive control of
the Secretary of the Interior, whose duty it shall be, as soon as
practicable, to make and publish such rules and regulations as he may
deem necessary or proper for the care and management of the same. Such
regulations shall provide for the preservation from injury or
spoliation of all timber, mineral deposits, natural curiosities or
wonders within said park, and their retention in their natural
condition.
The Secretary may, in his discretion, grant leases for building
purposes, for terms not exceeding ten years, of small parcels of
ground, at such places in said park as shall require the erection of
buildings for the accommodation of visitors; all of the proceeds of
said leases, and all other revenue that may be derived from any source
connected with said park, to be expended under his direction in the
management of the same and the construction of roads and bridle-paths,
and shall provide against the wanton destruction of fish and game
found within said park and against their capture or destruction for
the purpose of merchandise or profit. He shall also cause all persons
trespassing upon the same after the passage of this act to be removed
therefrom, and generally shall be authorized to take all such
measures as shall be necessary or proper to fully carry out the
objects and purposes of this act.
_Approved March 1, 1872._
Signed by:
JAMES G. BLAINE, _Speaker of the House_.
SCHUYLER COLFAX, _Vice-President of the United States
and President of the Senate_.
ULYSSES S. GRANT, _President of the United States_.
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