79–006 

115TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 1st Session 115–438 

KEEP AMERICA’S REFUGES OPERATIONAL ACT 

DECEMBER 5, 2017.—Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State 

of the Union and ordered to be printed 

Mr. BISHOP of Utah, from the Committee on Natural Resources, 

submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany H.R. 3979] 

[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office] 

The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred the 

bill (H.R. 3979) to amend the Fish and Wildlife Act of 1956 to reauthorize the volunteer services, community partnership, and refuge 

education programs of the National Wildlife Refuge System, and 

for other purposes, having considered the same, report favorably 

thereon with an amendment and recommend that the bill as 

amended do pass. 

The amendment is as follows: 

Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the following: 

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Keep America’s Refuges Operational Act’’. 

SEC. 2. REAUTHORIZATION OF NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE SYSTEM VOLUNTEER SERVICES, 

COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP, AND REFUGE EDUCATION PROGRAMS. 

Section 7 of the Fish and Wildlife Act of 1956 (16 U.S.C. 742f) is amended in subsection (g), by striking ‘‘2011 through 2014’’ and inserting ‘‘2018 through 2022’’. 

PURPOSE OF THE BILL

The purpose of H.R. 3979 is to amend the Fish and Wildlife Act 

of 1956 to reauthorize the volunteer services, community partnership, and refuge education programs of the National Wildlife Refuge System. 

BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) manages 566 National 

Wildlife Refuges as well as associated fish hatcheries, wetland 

management districts, regional offices, and ecological services offices. Four hundred and sixty-two of these refuges are open to the 

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1 ‘‘Volunteer Program Stats’’ provided by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on November 8, 

2017, to Natural Resources Committee staff. 2 Ibid. 

public, and of those, 393 refuges have volunteer programs. These 

programs facilitate over 40,000 volunteers who contribute more 

than 1.3 million hours each year providing assistance and support 

to U.S. Refuges. FWS estimates that these programs provide a 

labor value of over $30 million.1

Volunteers perform a wide variety of tasks to assist with refuge 

operations, including habitat improvement projects, laboratory research assistance, leading refuge tours, and fish and wildlife population surveys.2 These tasks help the FWS more efficiently fulfill 

its mission while also providing an opportunity for individuals and 

groups to contribute to the fish and wildlife preservation and protection. 

The volunteer programs are authorized through the National 

Wildlife Refuge System Volunteer and Community Partnership Enhancement Act of 1998 (Public Law 105–242), which amended the 

Fish and Wildlife Act of 1956 (16 U.S.C. 742a et seq.) to promote 

volunteer programs, community partnerships, and educational activities for the benefit of National Wildlife Refuges. It authorized 

$2 million to be appropriated for the program. This statutory authority was reauthorized by the National Wildlife Refuge Volunteer 

Act of 2004 (Public Law 108–327), which reauthorized appropriations for fiscal years 2004 through 2009 for these activities. In addition, the National Wildlife Refuge Volunteer Improvement Act of 

2010 (Public Law 111–357) reauthorized these appropriations for 

fiscal years 2011 through 2014. In the last two fiscal years, these 

programs have been appropriated $2 million. 

H.R. 3979 reauthorizes a cost-efficient resource that helps the 

FWS fulfill its mission to protect and preserve the nation’s fish and 

wildlife. The volunteer programs are very popular with 

recreationists throughout the country, with more applications than 

there are current volunteer slots. This legislation has broad support from several recreation and conservation organizations as well 

as bipartisan Congressional support. A previous iteration of this 

bill in the 113th Congress (H.R. 1300) was favorably reported from 

the Natural Resources Committee with unanimous support and 

was then passed by the House under suspension of the rules by 

voice vote. 

Organizations that support the bill include: The American Bird 

Conservancy, American Fisheries Society, American Hiking Society, American Sportfishing Association, the Boy Scouts of America, 

U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Defenders of Wildlife, Ducks Unlimited, Izaak Walton League of America, Marine Conservation Institute, National Audubon Society, National Wildlife Federation, National Wildlife Refuge Association, the Corps Network, the Nature 

Conservancy, the Wilderness Society, Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, and Trout Unlimited. 

COMMITTEE ACTION

H.R. 3979 was introduced on October 5, 2017, by Congressman 

Hakeem S. Jeffries (D–NY). The bill was referred to the Committee 

on Natural Resources, and within the Committee to the SubVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:26 Dec 06, 2017 Jkt 079006 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\HR438.XXX HR438
3 

committee on Federal Lands. On November 15, 2017, the Subcommittee held a hearing on the bill. On November 29, 2017, the 

Natural Resources Committee met to consider the bill. The Subcommittee was discharged by unanimous consent. Congressman 

Garret Graves (R–LA) offered an amendment designated #1; it was 

adopted by unanimous consent. No further amendments were offered, and the bill, as amended, was ordered favorably reported to 

the House of Representatives by unanimous consent on November 

30, 2017. 

COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Regarding clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII 

of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the Committee on 

Natural Resources’ oversight findings and recommendations are reflected in the body of this report. 

COMPLIANCE WITH HOUSE RULE XIII 

1. Cost of Legislation and the Congressional Budget Act of 1974. 

With respect to the requirements of clause 3(c)(2) and (3) of rule 

XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and sections 

308(a) and 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee has received the enclosed cost estimate for the bill from the 

Director of the Congressional Budget Office: 

U.S. CONGRESS, 

CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE, 

Washington, DC, December 4, 2017. 

Hon. ROB BISHOP, 

Chairman, Committee on Natural Resources, 

House of Representatives, Washington, DC. 

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: The Congressional Budget Office has prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 3979, the Keep America’s 

Refuges Operational Act. 

If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be pleased 

to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Jeff LaFave. 

Sincerely, 

KEITH HALL, Director. 

Enclosure. 

H.R. 3979—Keep America’s Refuges Operational Act 

H.R. 3979 would authorize the appropriation of $2 million a year 

over the 2018–2022 period for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 

(USFWS) to carry out volunteer programs and community partnerships at national wildlife refuges. Under those programs, volunteers assist USFWS personnel in conducting recreation activities, 

restoring habitats, and performing administrative and maintenance 

work at national wildlife refuges. In 2017, those programs received 

appropriations of roughly $8 million. 

CBO assumes that the legislation will be enacted early in calendar year 2018 and that the authorized amounts will be appropriated for each fiscal year. As shown in the following table and 

based on historical spending patterns, CBO estimates that implementing the bill would cost $10 million over the 2018–2022 period. 

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The costs of this legislation fall within budget function 300 (natural 

resources and environment). 

By fiscal year, in millions of dollars— 

2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2018–2022 

INCREASES IN SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION 

Authorization Levela .................................................... 2 2 2 2 2 10 

Estimated Outlays ...................................................... 2 2 2 2 2 10 

a The agency has not allocated any funds appropriated in fiscal year 2018 to programs that would be funded under H.R. 3979. 

Enacting the bill would not affect direct spending or revenues; 

therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply. 

CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 3979 would not increase net 

direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 

10-year periods beginning in 2028. 

H.R. 3979 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act. 

The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Jeff LaFave. The estimate was approved by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy Assistant Director for Budget Analysis. 

2. General Performance Goals and Objectives. As required by 

clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, the general performance goal or objective 

of this bill is to amend the Fish and Wildlife Act of 1956 to reauthorize the volunteer services, community partnership, and refuge 

education programs of the National Wildlife Refuge System. 

EARMARK STATEMENT

This bill does not contain any Congressional earmarks, limited 

tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined under clause 9(e), 

9(f), and 9(g) of rule XXI of the Rules of the House of Representatives. 

COMPLIANCE WITH PUBLIC LAW 104–4 

This bill contains no unfunded mandates. 

COMPLIANCE WITH H. RES. 5 

Directed Rule Making. This bill does not contain any directed 

rule makings. 

Duplication of Existing Programs. This bill does not establish or 

reauthorize a program of the federal government known to be duplicative of another program. Such program was not included in 

any report from the Government Accountability Office to Congress 

pursuant to section 21 of Public Law 111–139 or identified in the 

most recent Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance published pursuant to the Federal Program Information Act (Public Law 95–220, 

as amended by Public Law 98–169) as relating to other programs. 

PREEMPTION OF STATE, LOCAL OR TRIBAL LAW

This bill is not intended to preempt any State, local or tribal law. 

CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED

In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 

House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by the bill, 

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as reported, are shown as follows (existing law proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new matter is printed in italic, 

and existing law in which no change is proposed is shown in 

roman): 

FISH AND WILDLIFE ACT OF 1956 

* * * * * * * 

POLICIES, PROCEDURES, RECOMMENDATIONS

SEC. 7. (a) The Secretary of the Interior, with such advice and 

assistance as he may require from the Assistant Secretary for Fish 

and Wildlife, shall consider and determine the policies and procedures that are necessary and desirable in carrying out efficiently 

and in the public interest the laws relating to fish and wildlife. The 

Secretary, with the assistance of the departmental staff’ herein authorized, shall— 

(1) develop and recommend measures which are appropriate 

to assure the maximum sustainable production of fish and fishery products and to prevent unnecessary and excessive fluctuations in such production; 

(2) study the economic condition of the industry, and whenever he determines that any segment of the domestic fisheries 

has been seriously disturbed either by wide fluctuation in the 

abundance of the resource supporting it, or by unstable market 

or fishing conditions or due to any other factors he shall make 

such recommendations to the President and the Congress as he 

deems appropriate to aid in stabilizing the domestic fisheries; 

(3) develop and recommend special promotional and informational activities with a view to stimulating the consumption of 

fishery products whenever he determines that there is a prospective or actual surplus of such products; and 

(4) take such steps as may be required for the development, 

advancement, management, conservation, and protection of 

fish and wildlife resources including, but not limited to, research, development of existing facilities, and acquisition by 

purchase or exchange of land and water, or interests therein. 

(b)(1) In furtherance of the purposes of this Act, the Secretary of 

the Interior is authorized to accept any gifts, devises, or bequests 

of real and personal property, or proceeds therefrom, or interests 

therein, for the benefit of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, in performing its activities and services. Such acceptance may 

be subject to the terms of any restrictive or affirmative covenant, 

or condition of servitude, if such terms are deemed by the Secretary to-be in accordance with law and compatible with the purpose for whch acceptance is sought. 

(2) USE OF GIFTS, DEVISES, AND BEQUESTS.— 

(A) IN GENERAL.—Any gifts and bequests of money and 

proceeds from the sales of other property received as gifts 

or bequests pursuant to this subsection shall be deposited 

in a separate account in the Treasury and shall be disbursed upon order of the Secretary for the benefit of programs administered by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. 

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(B) GIFTS, DEVISES, AND BEQUESTS TO PARTICULAR REF- UGES.— 

(i) DISBURSAL.—Any gift, devise, or bequest made for 

the benefit of a particular national wildlife refuge or 

complex of geographically related refuges shall be disbursed only for the benefit of that refuge or complex 

of refuges and without further appropriations. 

(ii) MATCHING.—Subject to the availability of appropriations and the requirements of the National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 1966 (16 

U.S.C. 668dd et seq.) and other applicable law, the 

Secretary may provide funds to match gifts, devises, 

and bequests made for the benefit of a particular national wildlife refuge or complex of geographically related refuges. With respect to each gift, devise, or bequest, the amount of Federal funds may not exceed 

the amount (or, in the case of property or in-kind services, the fair market value) of the gift, devise, or bequest. 

(3) For the purpose of Federal income, estate, and gift taxes, 

property, or proceeds therefrom, or interests therein, accepted 

under this subsection shall be considered as a gift or bequest 

to the United States. 

(c)(1) The Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Commerce may each recruit, train, and accept, without regard to the 

provisions of title 5, United States Code, the services of individuals 

without compensation as volunteers for, or in aid of programs conducted by either Secretary through the United States Fish and 

Wildlife Service or the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

(2) The Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Commerce are each authorized to provide for incidental expenses 

such as transportation, uniforms, lodging, awards (including 

nominal cash awards) and recognition, and subsistence of such 

volunteers without regard to their places of residence. 

(3) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, a volunteer shall not be deemed a Federal employee and shall not be 

subject to the provisions of law relating to Federal employment, including those relative to hours of work, rates of compensation, leave, unemployment compensation, and Federal 

employee benefits. 

(4) For the purpose of the tort claim provisions of title 28 of 

the United States Code, a volunteer under this subsection shall 

be considered a Federal employee. 

(5) For the purposes of subchapter I of chapter 81 of title 5 

of the United States Code, relating to compensation to Federal 

employees for work injuries, volunteers under this subsection 

shall be deemed employees of the United States within the 

meaning of the term ‘‘employees’’ as defined in section 8101 of 

title 5, United States Code, and the provisions of that subchapter shall apply. 

(6) SENIOR VOLUNTEER CORPS.—The Secretary of the Interior 

may establish a Senior Volunteer Corps, consisting of volunteers over the age of 50. To assist in the recruitment and retention of the volunteers, the Secretary may provide for addiVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:26 Dec 06, 2017 Jkt 079006 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\HR438.XXX HR438
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tional incidental expenses to members of the Corps beyond the 

incidental expenses otherwise provided to volunteers under 

this subsection. The members of the Corps shall be subject to 

the other provisions of this subsection. 

(d) COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP ENHANCEMENT.— 

(1) DEFINITION OF PARTNER ORGANIZATION.—In this subsection, the term partner organization means an organization 

that— 

(A) draws its membership from private individuals, organizations, corporations, academic institutions, or State or 

local governments; 

(B) is established to promote the understanding of, education relating to, and the conservation of the fish, wildlife, 

plants, and cultural and historical resources of a particular 

refuge or complex of geographically related refuges; and 

(C) is described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and is exempt from taxation under section 501(a) of that Code. 

(2) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.— 

(A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding chapter 63 of title 31, 

United States Code, the Secretary of the Interior may negotiate and enter into a cooperative agreement with a 

partner organization, academic institution, State or local 

government agency, or other person to implement one or 

more projects or programs for a refuge or complex of geographically related refuges in accordance with the purposes of this subsection and in compliance with the policies 

of other relevant authorities, regulations, and policy guidance. 

(B) PROJECTS AND PROGRAMS.—Subject to the requirements of the National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 1966 (16 U.S.C. 668dd et seq.) and other applicable law, and such terms and conditions as the Secretary 

determines to be appropriate, the Secretary may approve 

projects and programs for a refuge or complex of geographically related refuges that— 

(i) promote the stewardship of resources of the refuge through habitat maintenance, restoration, and improvement, biological monitoring, or research; 

(ii) support the operation and maintenance of the 

refuge through constructing, operating, maintaining, 

or improving the facilities and services of the refuge; 

(iii) increase awareness and understanding of the 

refuge and the National Wildlife Refuge System 

through the development, publication, or distribution 

of educational materials and products; 

(iv) advance education concerning the purposes of 

the refuge and the mission of the System through the 

use of the refuge as an outdoor classroom and development of other educational programs; or 

(v) contribute financial resources to the refuge, 

under terms that require that the net revenues be 

used exclusively for the benefit of the refuge, through 

donation of net revenues from the sale of educational 

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materials and products and through encouragement of 

gifts, devises, and bequests. 

(C) FEDERAL FUNDING AND OWNERSHIP.— (i) MATCHING.—Subject to the availability of appropriations and the requirements of the National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 1966 (16 

U.S.C. 668dd et seq.) and other applicable law, the 

Secretary may provide funds to match non-Federal 

funds donated under a cooperative agreement under 

this paragraph. With respect to each project or program, the amount of funds provided by the Secretary 

may not exceed the amount of the non-Federal funds 

donated through the project or program. 

(ii) USE OF FEDERAL FUNDS.—Any Federal funds 

used to fund a project or program under a cooperative 

agreement may be used only for expenses directly related to the project or program and may not be used 

for operation or administration of any non-Federal entity. 

(iii) OWNERSHIP OF FACILITIES.—Any new facility, 

improvement to an existing facility, or other permanent improvement to a refuge constructed under this 

subsection shall be the property of the United States 

Government. 

(D) TREASURY ACCOUNT.—Amounts received by the Secretary of the Interior as a result of projects and programs 

under subparagraph (B) shall be deposited in a separate 

account in the Treasury. Amounts in the account that are 

attributable to activities at a particular refuge or complex 

of geographically related refuges shall be available to the 

Secretary of the Interior, without further appropriation, to 

pay the costs of incidental expenses related to volunteer 

activities, and to carry out cooperative agreements for the 

refuge or complex of refuges. 

(e) REFUGE EDUCATION PROGRAM ENHANCEMENT.— (1) GUIDANCE.—Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this subsection, the Secretary of the Interior shall develop guidance for refuge education programs to further the 

mission of the National Wildlife Refuge System and the purposes of individual refuges through— 

(A) providing outdoor classroom opportunities for students on national wildlife refuges that combine educational 

curricula with the personal experiences of students relating to fish, wildlife, and plants and their habitat and to 

the cultural and historical resources of the refuges; 

(B) promoting understanding and conservation of fish, 

wildlife, and plants and cultural and historical resources of 

the refuges; and 

(C) improving scientific literacy in conjunction with both 

formal and nonformal education programs. 

(2) REFUGE PROGRAMS.—Based on the guidance developed 

under paragraph (1), the Secretary of the Interior may develop 

or enhance refuge education programs as appropriate, based on 

the resources of individual refuges and the opportunities available for such programs in State, local, and private schools. In 

9 

developing and implementing each program, the Secretary 

should cooperate with State and local education authorities, 

and may cooperate with partner organizations in accordance 

with subsection (d). 

(f) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 

of this subsection and every 5 years thereafter, the Secretary of the 

Interior shall submit a report to the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Environment and Public Works of the Senate— 

(1) evaluating the accomplishments of the volunteer program, the community partnerships program, and the refuge 

education programs authorized under this section, and of the 

National Volunteer Coordination Program and volunteer coordination strategy under section 4(a) of the National Wildlife 

Refuge System Volunteer and Community Partnership Enhancement Act of 1998 (16 U.S.C. 742f-1); and 

(2) making recommendations to improve the effectiveness of 

such programs, including regarding implementing subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C) of paragraph (1) of subsection (e). 

(g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is authorized to 

be appropriated to the Secretary of the Interior to carry out subsections (b), (c), (d), (e), and (f), $2,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

ø2011 through 2014¿ 2018 through 2022 . 

* * * * * * * 

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