I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 289

To expand the boundaries of the Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge Complex 

and the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 8, 2003

Ms. KAPTUR (for herself and Mr. DINGELL) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Resources 

A BILL

To expand the boundaries of the Ottawa National Wildlife 

Refuge Complex and the Detroit River International 

Wildlife Refuge.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Ottawa National Wild5 life Refuge Complex Expansion and Detroit River Inter6 national Wildlife Refuge Expansion Act’’. 

7 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

8 Congress finds that—

9 (1) the western basin of Lake Erie, as part of 

10 the Great Lakes ecosystem—
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1 (A) is the largest freshwater ecosystem in 

2 the world; and 

3 (B) is vitally important to the economic 

4 and environmental future of the United States; 

5 (2) over the 30-year period preceding the date 

6 of enactment of this Act, the citizens and govern7 mental institutions of the United States and Canada 

8 have devoted increasing attention and resources to 

9 the restoration of the water quality and fisheries of 

10 the Great Lakes, including the western basin; 

11 (3) that increased awareness has been accom12 panied by a gradual shift toward a holistic eco13 system approach that highlights a growing recogni14 tion that shoreline areas, commonly referred to as 

15 nearshore terrestrial ecosystems, are an integral part 

16 of the western basin and the Great Lakes ecosystem; 

17 (4) the Great Lakes account for more than 90 

18 percent of the surface freshwater in the United 

19 States; 

20 (5) the western basin receives approximately 90 

21 percent of its flow from the Detroit River and only 

22 approximately 10 percent from tributaries; 

23 (6) the western basin is an important ecosystem 

24 that includes a number of distinct islands, channels, 
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1 rivers, and shoals that support dense populations of 

2 fish, wildlife, and aquatic plants; 

3 (7) coastal wetland of Lake Erie supports the 

4 largest diversity of plant and wildlife species in the 

5 Great Lakes; 

6 (8) because Lake Erie is located at a more 

7 southern latitude than other Great Lakes, the mod8 erate climate of Lake Erie is appropriate for many 

9 species that are not found in or along the northern 

10 Great Lakes; 

11 (9) more than 300 species of plants, including 

12 37 significant species, have been identified in the 

13 aquatic and wetland habitats of the western basin; 

14 (10) the shallow western basin of Lake Erie, 

15 extending from the Lower Detroit River to Sandusky 

16 Bay, is home to the greatest concentration of 

17 marshes in Lake Erie, including—

18 (A) Mouille, Metzger, and Magee marshes; 

19 (B) the Maumee Bay wetland complex; 

20 (C) the wetland complexes flanking Locust 

21 Point; and 

22 (D) the wetland in Sandusky Bay; 

23 (11) the larger islands of the United States in 

24 western Lake Erie have wetland in small 

25 embayments; 
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1 (12) the wetland in the western basin comprises 

2 some of the most important waterfowl habitat in the 

3 Great Lakes; 

4 (13) waterfowl, wading birds, shore birds, gulls 

5 and terns, raptors, and perching birds use the wet6 land in the western basin for migration, nesting, and 

7 feeding; 

8 (14) hundreds of thousands of diving ducks 

9 stop to rest in the Lake Erie area during autumn 

10 migration from Canada to points east and south; 

11 (15) the wetland of the western basin provides 

12 a major stopover for ducks, such as migrating 

13 bufflehead, common goldeneye, common mergansers, 

14 and ruddy duck; 

15 (16) the international importance of Lake Erie 

16 is indicated in the United States by congressional 

17 designation of the Ottawa and Cedar Point National 

18 Wildlife Refuges; 

19 (17)(A) Lake Erie has an international reputa20 tion for walleye, perch, and bass fishing, recreational 

21 boating, birding, photography, and duck hunting; 

22 and 

23 (B) on an economic basis, tourism in the Lake 

24 Erie area accounts for an estimated $1,500,000,000 

25 in retail sales and more than 50,000 jobs;
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1 (18)(A) many of the 417,000 boats that are 

2 registered in the State of Ohio are used in the west3 ern basin, in part to fish for the estimated 

4 10,000,000 walleye that migrate from the lake to 

5 spawn; and 

6 (B) that internationally renowned walleye fish7 ery drives much of the $2,000,000,000 sport fishing 

8 industry in the State of Ohio; 

9 (19) coastal wetland in the western basin has 

10 been subjected to intense pressure for 150 years; 

11 (20) prior to 1850, the western basin was part 

12 of an extensive coastal marsh and swamp system 

13 consisting of approximately 122,000 hectares that 

14 comprised a portion of the Great Black Swamp; 

15 (21) by 1951, only 12,407 wetland hectares re16 mained in the western basin; 

17 (22) 50 percent of that acreage was destroyed 

18 between 1972 and 1987, leaving only approximately 

19 5,000 hectares in existence today; 

20 (23) along the Michigan shoreline, coastal wet21 land was reduced by 62 percent between 1916 and 

22 the early 1970s;

23 (24) the development of the city of Monroe, 

24 Michigan, has had a particularly significant impact 
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1 on the coastal wetland at the mouth of the Raisin 

2 River; 

3 (25) only approximately 100 hectares remain 

4 physically unaltered today in an area in which, 70 

5 years ago, marshes were 10 times more extensive; 

6 (26) in addition to the actual loss of coastal 

7 wetland acreage along the shores of Lake Erie, the 

8 quality of much remaining dike wetland has been de9 graded by numerous stressors, especially excessive 

10 loadings of sediments and nutrients, contaminants, 

11 shoreline modification, exotic species, and the diking 

12 of wetland; and 

13 (27) protective peninsula beach systems, such 

14 as the former Bay Point and Woodtick, at the bor15 der of Ohio and Michigan near the mouth of the Ot16 tawa River and Maumee Bay, have been eroded over 

17 the years, exacerbating erosion along the shorelines 

18 and negatively affecting breeding and spawning 

19 grounds. 

20 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

21 In this Act: 

22 (1) INTERNATIONAL REFUGE.—The term 

23 ‘‘International Refuge’’ means the Detroit River 

24 International Wildlife Refuge established by section 

25 5(a) of the Detroit River International Wildlife Ref-
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1 uge Establishment Act (16 U.S.C. 668dd note; 115 

2 Stat. 894). 

3 (2) REFUGE COMPLEX.—The term ‘‘Refuge 

4 Complex’’ means the Ottawa National Wildlife Ref5 uge Complex and the lands and waters in the com6 plex, as described in the document entitled ‘‘The 

7 Comprehensive Conservation Plan for the Ottawa 

8 National Wildlife Refuge Complex’’ and dated Sep9 tember 22, 2000, including—

10 (A) the Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge, 

11 established by the Secretary in accordance with 

12 the Migratory Bird Conservation Act (16 

13 U.S.C. 715 et seq.); 

14 (B) the West Sister Island National Wild15 life Refuge established by Executive Order No. 

16 7937, dated August 2, 1937; and 

17 (C) the Cedar Point National Wildlife Ref18 uge established by the Secretary in accordance 

19 with the Migratory Bird Conservation Act (16 

20 U.S.C. 715 et seq.). 

21 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

22 the Secretary of the Interior. 

23 (4) WESTERN BASIN.—

24 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘western 

25 basin’’ means the western basin of Lake Erie, 
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1 consisting of the land and water in the water2 sheds of Lake Erie extending from the water3 shed of the Lower Detroit River in the State of 

4 Michigan to and including Sandusky Bay and 

5 the watershed of Sandusky Bay in the State of 

6 Ohio. 

7 (B) INCLUSION.—The term ‘western basin’ 

8 includes the Bass Island archipelago in the 

9 State of Ohio. 

10 SEC. 4. EXPANSION OF BOUNDARIES. 

11 (a) REFUGE COMPLEX BOUNDARIES.—

12 (1) EXPANSION.—The boundaries of the Refuge 

13 Complex are expanded to include land and water in 

14 the State of Ohio from the eastern boundary of 

15 Maumee Bay State Park to the eastern boundary of 

16 the Darby Unit (including the Bass Island archi17 pelago), as depicted on the map entitled ‘‘Ottawa 

18 National Wildlife Refuge Complex Expansion and 

19 Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge Expan20 sion Act’’ and dated September 6, 2002. 

21 (2) AVAILABILITY OF MAP.—The map referred 

22 to in paragraph (1) shall be available for inspection 

23 in appropriate offices of the United States Fish and 

24 Wildlife Service. 
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1 (b) BOUNDARY REVISIONS.—The Secretary may 

2 make such revisions of the boundaries of the Refuge Com3 plex as the Secretary determines to be appropriate—

4 (1) to facilitate the acquisition of property with5 in the Refuge Complex; or 

6 (2) to carry out this Act. 

7 (c) ACQUISITION.—

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 

9 the Secretary may acquire by donation, purchase 

10 with donated or appropriated funds, or exchange the 

11 land and water, and interests in land and water (in12 cluding conservation easements), within the bound13 aries of the Refuge Complex. 

14 (2) CONSENT.—No land, water, or interest in 

15 land or water described in paragraph (1) may be ac16 quired by the Secretary without the consent of the 

17 owner of the land, water, or interest. 

18 (d) TRANSFERS FROM OTHER AGENCIES.—Adminis19 trative jurisdiction over any Federal property that is lo20 cated within the boundaries of the Refuge Complex and 

21 under the administrative jurisdiction of an agency of the 

22 United States other than the Department of the Interior 

23 may, with the concurrence of the head of the admin24 istering agency, be transferred without consideration to 

25 the Secretary for the purpose of this Act. 
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1 (e) STUDY OF ASSOCIATED AREA.—

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting 

3 through the Director of the United States Fish and 

4 Wildlife Service, shall conduct a study of fish and 

5 wildlife habitat and aquatic and terrestrial commu6 nities in and around the 2 dredge spoil disposal sites 

7 that are—

8 (A) referred to by the Toledo-Lucas Coun9 ty Port Authority as ‘‘Port Authority Facility 

10 Number Three’’ and ‘‘Grassy Island’’, respec11 tively; and 

12 (B) located within Toledo Harbor near the 

13 mouth of the Maumee River. 

14 (2) REPORT.—Not later than 18 months after 

15 the date of enactment of the Act, the Secretary 

16 shall—

17 (A) complete the study under paragraph 

18 (1); and 

19 (B) submit to Congress a report on the re20 sults of the study.

21 SEC. 5. EXPANSION OF INTERNATIONAL REFUGE BOUND22 ARIES. 

23 The southern boundary of the International Refuge 

24 is extended south to include additional land and water in 

25 the State of Michigan located east of Interstate Route 75, 
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1 extending from the southern boundary of Sterling State 

2 Park to the Ohio State boundary, as depicted on the map 

3 referred to in section 4(a)(1). 

4 SEC. 6. ADMINISTRATION. 

5 (a) REFUGE COMPLEX.—

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall admin7 ister all federally owned land, water, and interests in 

8 land and water that are located within the bound9 aries of the Refuge Complex in accordance with—

10 (A) the National Wildlife Refuge System 

11 Administration Act of 1966 (16 U.S.C. 668dd 

12 et seq.); and 

13 (B) this Act. 

14 (2) ADDITIONAL AUTHORITY.—The Secretary 

15 may use such additional statutory authority avail16 able to the Secretary for the conservation of fish and 

17 wildlife, and the provision of opportunities for fish18 and wildlife-dependent recreation, as the Secretary 

19 determines to be appropriate to carry out this Act. 

20 (b) ADDITIONAL PURPOSES.—In addition to the pur21 poses of the Refuge Complex under other laws, regula22 tions, executive orders, and comprehensive conservation 

23 plans, the Refuge Complex shall be managed—

24 (1) to strengthen and complement existing re25 source management, conservation, and education 
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1 programs and activities at the Refuge Complex in a 

2 manner consistent with the primary purposes of the 

3 Refuge Complex—

4 (A) to provide major resting, feeding, and 

5 wintering habitats for migratory birds and 

6 other wildlife; and 

7 (B) to enhance national resource conserva8 tion and management in the western basin; 

9 (2) in partnership with nongovernmental and 

10 private organizations and private individuals dedi11 cated to habitat enhancement, to conserve, enhance, 

12 and restore the native aquatic and terrestrial com13 munity characteristics of the western basin (includ14 ing associated fish, wildlife, and plant species); 

15 (3) to facilitate partnerships among the United 

16 States Fish and Wildlife Service, Canadian national 

17 and provincial authorities, State and local govern18 ments, local communities in the United States and 

19 Canada, conservation organizations, and other non20 Federal entities to promote public awareness of the 

21 resources of the western basin; and 

22 (4) to advance the collective goals and priorities 

23 that—

24 (A) were established in the report entitled 

25 ‘‘Great Lakes Strategy 2002—A Plan for the 
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1 New Millennium’’, developed by the United 

2 States Policy Committee, comprised of Federal 

3 agencies (including the United States Fish and 

4 Wildlife Service, the National Oceanic and At5 mospheric Administration, the United States 

6 Geological Survey, the Forest Service, and the 

7 Great Lakes Fishery Commission) and State 

8 governments and tribal governments in the 

9 Great Lakes basin; and 

10 (B) include the goals of cooperating to pro11 tect and restore the chemical, physical, and bio12 logical integrity of the Great Lakes basin eco13 system. 

14 (c) PRIORITY USES.—In providing opportunities for 

15 compatible fish- and wildlife-dependent recreation, the 

16 Secretary, in accordance with paragraphs (3) and (4) of 

17 section 4(a) of the National Wildlife Refuge System Ad18 ministration Act of 1966 (16 U.S.C. 668dd(a)), shall en19 sure, to the maximum extent practicable, that hunting, 

20 trapping, fishing, wildlife observation and photography, 

21 and environmental education and interpretation are the 

22 priority public uses of the Refuge Complex. 

23 (d) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS REGARDING NON24 FEDERAL LAND.—To promote public awareness of the re25 sources of the western basin and encourage public partici-
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1 pation in the conservation of those resources, the Sec2 retary may enter into cooperative agreements with the 

3 State of Ohio or Michigan, any political subdivision of the 

4 State, or any person for the management, in a manner 

5 consistent with this Act, of land that—

6 (1) is owned by the State, political subdivision, 

7 or person; and 

8 (2) is located within the boundaries of the Ref9 uge Complex. 

10 (e) USE OF EXISTING GREENWAY AUTHORITY.—The 

11 Secretary shall encourage the State of Ohio to use author12 ity under the recreational trails program under section 

13 206 of title 23, United States Code, to provide funding 

14 for acquisition and development of trails within the bound15 aries of the Refuge Complex. 

16 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

17 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums 

18 as are necessary—

19 (1) to acquire land and water within the Refuge 

20 Complex under section 4(c); 

21 (2) to carry out the study under section 4(e); 

22 and 

23 (3) to develop, operate, and maintain the Ref24 uge Complex.

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