To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to construct and operate the Walter B. Jones Center for the Sounds at the Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge.

Summary: Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to construct and operate the Walter B. Jones Center for the Sounds at the Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge in Tyrrell County, North Carolina, to:  (1) provide public opportunities, facilities, and resources to study the natural history and natural resources of northeastern North Carolina; (2) offer a variety of environmental educational programs and interpretive exhibits; (3) foster an awareness and understanding of the interactions among wildlife, estuarine and wetland ecosystems, and human activities; and (4) provide office space and facilities for refuge administration, research, education, and related activities. Directs the Secretary to ensure that the design, size, and location of a facility constructed under this Act are consistent with the cultural and natural history of the area with which the facility will be concerned. Authorizes the Secretary to accept contributions of funds from non-Federal sources to pay the costs of operating and maintaining the facility authorized under this Act.  Directs the Secretary to take appropriate steps to obtain such contributions. Sets forth reporting requirements.

SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (1) The Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, located in 
        northeastern North Carolina, provides unique opportunities for 
        observing and interpreting the biological richness of the 
        region's estuaries and wetlands.
            (2) Although there are 10 national wildlife refuges in 
        eastern North Carolina, not one has an educational or 
        interpretative center for visitors.
            (3) The State of North Carolina, Tyrrell County, the town 
        of Columbia, the Conservation Fund, and private citizens have 
        proposed to enter into a partnership with the United States 
        Fish and Wildlife Service to establish an educational and 
        interpretative facility to be known as the Center for the 
        Sounds.
            (4) Establishment of the Center for the Sounds would bestow 
        economic benefits upon Tyrrell County and the town of Columbia.
            (5) The Federal Government has designated the Albemarle-
        Pamlico estuary system of northeastern North Carolina as an 
        estuary of national concern.

SEC. 2. FURTHER FINDINGS.

    The Congress further finds and declares the following:
            (1) Throughout his congressional career, the Honorable 
        Walter B. Jones was a strong supporter of the National Wildlife 
        Refuge System.
            (2) During his years of service in the House of 
        Representatives, Walter B. Jones supported the establishment 
        and expansion of National Wildlife Refuges in eastern North 
        Carolina; these include 6 new National Wildlife Refuges 
        established in his district, including the Alligator River 
        National Wildlife Refuge and the Pocosin Lakes National 
        Wildlife Refuge, which are respectively the third largest and 
        fifth largest National Wildlife Refuges east of the Mississippi 
        River.
            (3) Walter B. Jones helped increase refuge acreage in his 
        district by over 303,000 acres, thus ensuring the protection of 
        these lands for wildlife habitat and public recreation.
            (4) Walter B. Jones' support for reintroducing endangered 
        red wolves into the wild at Alligator River National Wildlife 
        Refuge was a major factor in securing public acceptance of, and 
        support for, this first successful effort to reintroduce 
        endangered predators into formerly occupied habitat.
            (5) Walter B. Jones devoted much of his congressional 
        career, including his years as Chairman of the Merchant Marine 
        and Fisheries Committee, to the conservation of fish and 
        wildlife, for the benefit of the Nation and the people of North 
        Carolina.
            (6) Walter B. Jones should most appropriately be recognized 
        for his work on behalf of fish and wildlife conservation by 
        having the Center for the Sounds at the Pocosin Lakes National 
        Wildlife Refuge System named in his honor.

SEC. 3. AUTHORITY TO CONSTRUCT AND OPERATE FACILITY.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of the Interior may, subject to the 
availability of appropriations, construct and operate the Walter B. 
Jones Center for the Sounds at the Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife 
Refuge in Tyrrell County, North Carolina, for the following purposes:
            (1) Providing public opportunities, facilities, and 
        resources to study the natural history and natural resources of 
        northeastern North Carolina.
            (2) Offering a variety of environmental educational 
        programs and interpretive exhibits.
            (3) Fostering an awareness and understanding of the 
        interactions among wildlife, estuarine and wetland ecosystems, 
        and human activities.
            (4) Providing office space and facilities for refuge 
        administration, research, education, and related activities.

SEC. 4. DESIGN.

    The Secretary of the Interior shall ensure that the design, size, 
and location of a facility constructed under this Act are consistent 
with the cultural and natural history of the area with which the 
facility will be concerned.

SEC. 5. COST SHARING.

    The Secretary of the Interior may accept contributions of funds 
from non-Federal sources to pay the costs of operating and maintaining 
the facility authorized under this Act, and shall take appropriate 
steps to seek to obtain such contributions.

SEC. 6. REPORT.

    Not later than 6 months after the date of the enactment of this 
Act, the Secretary of the Interior shall submit a report to the 
Congress on progress made in designing and constructing a facility 
under this Act, including steps taken under section 5 to obtain 
contributions and any such contributions that have been pledged to or 
received by the United States.

            Passed the House of Representatives September 21, 1993.

            Attest:

                                           DONNALD K. ANDERSON,

                                                                 Clerk.