Proclamation 4347

by Gerald R. Ford

February 1, 1975

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

RESERVING CERTAIN SUBMERGED LANDS ADJACENT TO ROSE ATOLL NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE TERRITORY OF AMERICAN SAMOA AND CERTAIN SUBMERGED LANDS FOR THE DEFENSE NEEDS OF THE UNITED STATES IN THE TERRITORIES OF GUAM AND THE VIRGIN ISLANDS

The submerged lands surrounding the Rose Atoll National Wildlife Refuge in American Samoa are necessary for the protection of the Atoll's marine life, including the green sea and hawksbill turtles. The submerged lands in Apra Harbor and those adjacent to Inapsan Beach and Urano Point in Guam, and certain submerged lands on the west coast of St. Croix, United States Virgin Islands are required for national defense purposes. These submerged lands in American Samoa, Guam and the United States Virgin Islands will be conveyed to the Government of those territories, on February 3, 1975, pursuant to Section 1(a) of Public Law 93-435 (88 Stat. 1210) , unless the President, under Section 1(b) (vii) of that Act, designates otherwise.

Now, Therefore, I, Gerald R. Ford, President of the United States of America, by virtue of authority vested in me by Section 1(b) (vii) of Public Law 93-435 (88 Stat. 1210) do hereby proclaim that the lands hereinafter described are excepted from the transfer to the Government of American Samoa, the Government of Guam and the Government of the United States Virgin Islands under Section 1(a) of Public Law 93-435.

American Samoa. The submerged lands adjacent to Rose Atoll located 78 miles east-southeast of Tau Island in the Manua Group at latitude 14°32'52" south and longitude 168°08'34" west, which lands shall be under the joint administrative jurisdiction of the Department of Commerce and the Department of the Interior.

Guam. (1) The submerged lands of inner and outer Apra Harbor; and, (2) the submerged lands adjacent to the following uplands: (a) Unsurveyed land, Municipality of Machanao, Guam, as delineated on Commander Naval Forces, Marianas Y & D Drawing Numbered 597-464, lying between the seaward boundaries of Lots Numbered 9992 through 9997 and the mean high tide, containing an undetermined area of land, (b) unsurveyed land, Municipality of Machanao, Guam, as delineated on Commander Naval Forces, Marianas Y & D Drawing Numbered 597-464, lying between the seaward boundary of Lot Numbered 10080 and the line of mean high tide, containing an undetermined amount of land, and (c) Lot Numbered PO 4.1 in the Municipality of Machanao, Guam, as delineated on Y & D Drawing Numbered 597-464, more particularly described as surveyed land bordered on the north by Lot Numbered 10080, Machanao, east by Northwest Air Force Base, south by U.S. Naval Communication Station (Finegayan) and west by the sea containing a computed area of 125.50 acres, more or less. All of the above lands within the territory of Guam shall be under the administrative jurisdiction of the Department of the Navy.

The Virgin Islands. (1) The submerged lands as described in the Code of Federal Regulations revised as of July 1, 1974, cited as 33 CFR 207.817 areas "A" & "B", (2) the submerged lands seaward of the 100 fathom curve off the coast of St. Croix beginning at a point 17°40'30" N and ending at a point 17°46'30" North as depicted on Coast and Geodetic Survey Chart Numbered 25250, Third Edition; Title: St. Croix, Virgin Islands Underwater Range, and (3) the submerged lands seaward of the Underwater Range Operational Control Center St. Croix, Virgin Islands presently leased to the Department of the Navy and described as Plot # 18 of Estate Sprat Hall subdivision, located in northside Quarter "A", St. Croix containing 4.84 acres of land. All of the above lands within the territory of the Virgin Islands shall be under the administrative jurisdiction of the Department of the Navy.

In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this first day of February, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred seventy-five, and of the Independence of the United States of America the one hundred and ninety-ninth.

GERALD R. FORD