The department succeeds to and is vested with all of the duties, powers, purposes, responsibilities, and jurisdiction vested in the Department of Natural Resources or the Director of Natural Resources and exercised by the following divisions of the Department of Natural Resources: Beaches and Parks and Recreation.

Wherever any reference is made to the Department of Natural Resources or to the Director of Natural Resources pertaining to a duty, power, purpose, responsibility or jurisdiction transferred to the Department of Parks and Recreation by this section, it shall be deemed to be a reference to, and to mean, the Department of Parks and Recreation or to the Director of Parks and Recreation, as the case may be.