CHAPTER 259 - STATE PARK COMMISSION
AN ACT TO CREATE A STATE PARK COMMISSION; POWERS; DUTIES; PENALTY FOR VIOLATIONS HEREOF.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Delaware in General Assembly met:
Section 1. Creation of Commission; Purposes:--The "State Park Commission of Delaware" is hereby created. The purpose of this Commission is to preserve and protect the scenic, historic, scientific, prehistoric and wildlife resources of the State, and to make them available for public use and enjoyment. It shall be composed of five Commissioners, not more than three from any one political party, to be appointed by the Governor for periods of one, two, three, four, and five years, and all reappointments shall be made upon the basis of five years. The Commissioners are to elect their own Chairman and Secretary from among their members.
None of the Commissioners shall receive any compensation and they shall be chosen upon the basis of their interest in the subject of conservation and recreation.
Section 2. Powers; Duties:--The Commission shall be empowered to select and to acquire by gift, devise, bequest, purchase, and through the exercise of the power of eminent domain, such lands as are desirable- to be utilized chiefly for recreation, and to develop and maintain such areas; to expend for such acquisition, development, and maintenance, such funds as may be appropriated for such purposes, or as may be received as earnings from the operation of such areas, or as may be received from any other source; to employ such administrative and technical assistance as is, in the opinion of the Commission necessary in order to plan, develop, and maintain the areas which it administers; to make and enforce regulations relating to the protection, care, and use of the areas it administers; to establish and collect such fees as it may deem reasonable for the use of such facilities as may be provided in the areas it administers; to make on its own motion or in co-operation with other agencies of the State, studies of the recreational facilities now available in the State, and of the recreational needs of the State, and to determine what areas not now available for public recreation should be acquired; and to enter into agreements with proper persons or corporations for periods of not to exceed five years for operation of services on the areas it administers.
The Commission shall have the power to establish state parks on any or all portions of state lands in Sussex County bordering on the Atlantic Ocean which have been or may hereafter be acquired and to administer them directly.
It shall be the duty of the Commission so to plan, develop, and maintain all areas entrusted to its administration as to preserve in every reasonable degree the scenic, historic, scientific, prehistoric, and wildlife values of such areas.
All state parks and other areas acquired primarily for recreational use shall, from the date of their establishment as such, come under the jurisdiction of the State Park Commission of Delaware and be closed to hunting.
Section 3. Rules; Regulations; Violations; Penalty:--Any person violating any of the rules and regulations promulgated by the State Park Commission shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof by any court of competent jurisdiction, shall be liable to such fines and imprisonment as may hereafter be determined at the discretion of the court.
Section 4. That all laws or parts of laws in conflict herewith are hereby repealed.
Approved May 11, 1937.