Aztec Ruins Administrative History

RULES AND REGULATIONS.

General Regulations.

The following rules and regulations for the use and management of the various national monuments under the jurisdiction of the National Park Service are hereby established and made public pursuant to authority conferred by the acts of Congress approved June 8, 1906 (34 Stat., 225), and August 25, 1916 (39 Stat., 535), as amended June 2, 1920, (41 Stat., 731, 732):

1. Preservation of natural features and curiosities.-- The destruction, injury, or disturbance, except as herein provided, of any ruins and other works and relics of prehistoric or primitive man on Government lands within any national monument is prohibited; as is also the destruction, injury, defacement, or disturbance in any way of buildings, signs, equipment, and other property or of trees, flowers or other vegetation, rocks or minerals, animal, bird or other life within any monument area.

The marking of any buildings, ruins, trees, or other property or natural formations with autographs, dates, initials, drawings, or other pencilings or carvings of any kind whatsoever is prohibited.

2. Examination of ruins.-- Permits for the examination and restoration of ruins, the excavation of archaeological sites, and the gathering of objects of antiquity or scientific interest may, upon application to the Director, National Park Service, be granted to accredited representatives of reputable museums, universities, colleges, or other recognized scientific or educational institutions, with a view to increasing the general knowledge on such objects and thereby aiding the general advancement of science, under the conditions and restrictions contained in present or future regulations promulgated to carry out the provisions of the act of Congress, approved June 8, 1906 (34 Stat., 225), entitled "An act for the preservation of American antiquities."

The custodian of any national monument is authorized, in his discretion, to close any ruin on Government lands within such monument to visitors when it shall appear to him that entrance thereto would be dangerous to visitors or might result in injury to walls or other insecure portions thereof, or during repairs, reporting same promptly to the Director of the National Park Service.

3. Camping.-- No camp shall be made except in localities designated by the custodian, and when made must be kept neat and orderly.

Camp grounds must be thoroughly cleaned by the occupants before they are abandoned. Cans, bottles, cast-off clothing, and all other debris or refuse shall be placed in garbage receptacles or buried in pits provided for the purpose. Should camps be permitted in localities where pits or cans are not provided, all refuse shall be burned or hidden by the camper where it will not be offensive to the eye.

Campers and others shall not wash clothing or cooking utensils in springs, streams, lakes, or other natural waters of any monument, or in any way pollute them.

Campers may use dead or fallen timber only for fuel.

4. Fires.-- Fires constitute one of the greatest perils to some of the monuments. They shall be lighted only when necessary and when no longer needed shall be completely extinguished, all embers and ash beds being smothered with earth or water so that no possibility remains of their again becoming alive.

No lighted match, cigar, or cigarette shall be dropped in grass, twigs, leaves, or tree mould, or thrown away unextinguished.

5. Hunting.-- The hunting, killing, wounding, capturing, or frightening of any bird or wild animal in any monument is strictly prohibited, except poisonous snakes or predatory animals.

6. Private operations.-- No person, firm, or corporation shall reside permanently, engage in any business, or erect buildings in any monument without permission in writing from the Director of the National Park Service, Washington, D.C. Applications for such permission may be addressed to the Director through the custodian, or other officer in charge of the monument. Permission to operate a moving-picture camera must be secured from the custodian, or Director of the National Park Service.

Campers and all others, save those holding licenses from the Director of the National Park Service, are prohibited from renting their horses, trappings, vehicles, or any possession to tourists or visitors in any monument.

All persons, firms, or corporations holding franchises or operating permits in any monument shall keep the grounds used by them properly policed and shall maintain the premises in a sanitary condition to the satisfaction of the custodian. No operator shall retain in his employment a person whose presence may be deemed by the custodian, or other officer in charge, subversive of good order and management of the monument.

7. Gambling.-- Gambling in any form, or the operation of gambling devices, whether for merchandise or otherwise, is prohibited.

8. Advertisements.-- Private notices or advertisements shall not be posted or displayed within any area set apart as a National Monument, except as authorized by the National Park Service.

9. Grazing.-- The running at large, herding, or grazing of live stock of any kind on the Government lands in a monument, as well as the driving of live stock over same, is prohibited, except where authority therefor has been granted by the custodian in charge of such monument, or the Director of the National Park Service. Live stock found improperly on the monument lands may be impounded and held until claimed by the owner and trespass adjusted.

10. Fines and penalties.-- Persons who render themselves obnoxious by disorderly conduct or bad behavior shall be subjected to the punishment hereinafter prescribed for violation of the foregoing regulations, or they may be summarily removed from any monument by the custodian, or other officer in charge thereof, and not allowed to return without permission in writing from the Director of the National Park Service, or the custodian.

Any person who violates any of the foregoing regulations shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be subject to a fine of not more than $500, or imprisonment not exceeding six months, or both, and be adjudged to pay all costs of the proceedings.

(Sgd.) ARNO B. CAMMERER,
Acting Director
National Park Service

Approved, September 24, 1921,
     E. C. FINNEY,
          First Assistant Secretary of the Interior.

[Retyped from xerox of original document]