108TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 289

AN ACT

To expand the boundaries of the Ottawa National

Wildlife Refuge Complex and the Detroit RiverInternational Wildlife Refuge.

108TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 289

AN ACT

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,
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Ottawa National Wild3 life Refuge Complex Expansion and Detroit River Inter4 national Wildlife Refuge Expansion Act’’.

5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

6 Congress finds that—

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

8 the Great Lakes ecosystem—

9 (A) is the largest freshwater ecosystem in

10 the world; and

11 (B) is vitally important to the economic

12 and environmental future of the United States;

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

14 of enactment of this Act, the citizens and govern15 mental institutions of the United States and Canada

16 have devoted increasing attention and resources to

17 the restoration of the water quality and fisheries of

18 the Great Lakes, including the western basin;

19 (3) that increased awareness has been accom20 panied by a gradual shift toward a holistic eco21 system approach that highlights a growing recogni22 tion that shoreline areas, commonly referred to as

23 nearshore terrestrial ecosystems, are an integral part

24 of the western basin and the Great Lakes ecosystem;
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1 (4) the Great Lakes account for more than 90

2 percent of the surface freshwater in the United

3 States;

4 (5) the western basin receives approximately 90

5 percent of its flow from the Detroit River and only

6 approximately 10 percent from tributaries;

7 (6) the western basin is an important ecosystem

8 that includes a number of distinct islands, channels,

9 rivers, and shoals that support dense populations of

10 fish, wildlife, and aquatic plants;

11 (7) coastal wetland of Lake Erie supports the

12 largest diversity of plant and wildlife species in the

13 Great Lakes;

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

15 southern latitude than other Great Lakes, the mod16 erate climate of Lake Erie is appropriate for many

17 species that are not found in or along the northern

18 Great Lakes;

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

20 37 significant species, have been identified in the

21 aquatic and wetland habitats of the western basin;

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

23 extending from the Lower Detroit River to Sandusky

24 Bay, is home to the greatest concentration of

25 marshes in Lake Erie, including—
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1 (A) Mouille, Metzger, and Magee marshes;

2 (B) the Maumee Bay wetland complex;

3 (C) the wetland complexes flanking Locust

4 Point; and

5 (D) the wetland in Sandusky Bay;

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

7 western Lake Erie have wetland in small

8 embayments;

9 (12) the wetland in the western basin comprises

10 some of the most important waterfowl habitat in the

11 Great Lakes;

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

13 and terns, raptors, and perching birds use the wet14 land in the western basin for migration, nesting, and

15 feeding;

16 (14) hundreds of thousands of diving ducks

17 stop to rest in the Lake Erie area during autumn

18 migration from Canada to points east and south;

19 (15) the wetland of the western basin provides

20 a major stopover for ducks, such as migrating

21 bufflehead, common goldeneye, common mergansers,

22 and ruddy duck;

23 (16) the international importance of Lake Erie

24 is indicated in the United States by congressional
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1 designation of the Ottawa and Cedar Point National

2 Wildlife Refuges;

3 (17)(A) Lake Erie has an international reputa4 tion for walleye, perch, and bass fishing, recreational

5 boating, birding, photography, and duck hunting;

6 and

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

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

9 in retail sales and more than 50,000 jobs;

10 (18)(A) many of the 417,000 boats that are

11 registered in the State of Ohio are used in the west12 ern basin, in part to fish for the estimated

13 10,000,000 walleye that migrate from the lake to

14 spawn; and

15 (B) that internationally renowned walleye fish16 ery drives much of the $2,000,000,000 sport fishing

17 industry in the State of Ohio;

18 (19) coastal wetland in the western basin has

19 been subjected to intense pressure for 150 years;

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

21 of an extensive coastal marsh and swamp system

22 consisting of approximately 122,000 hectares that

23 comprised a portion of the Great Black Swamp;

24 (21) by 1951, only 12,407 wetland hectares re25 mained in the western basin;
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1 (22) 50 percent of that acreage was destroyed

2 between 1972 and 1987, leaving only approximately

3 5,000 hectares in existence today;

4 (23) along the Michigan shoreline, coastal wet5 land was reduced by 62 percent between 1916 and

6 the early 1970s;

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

8 Michigan, has had a particularly significant impact

9 on the coastal wetland at the mouth of the Raisin

10 River;

11 (25) only approximately 100 hectares remain

12 physically unaltered today in an area in which, 70

13 years ago, marshes were 10 times more extensive;

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

15 wetland acreage along the shores of Lake Erie, the

16 quality of much remaining dike wetland has been de17 graded by numerous stressors, especially excessive

18 loadings of sediments and nutrients, contaminants,

19 shoreline modification, exotic species, and the diking

20 of wetland; and

21 (27) protective peninsula beach systems, such

22 as the former Bay Point and Woodtick, at the bor23 der of Ohio and Michigan near the mouth of the Ot24 tawa River and Maumee Bay, have been eroded over

25 the years, exacerbating erosion along the shorelines
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1 and negatively affecting breeding and spawning

2 grounds.

3 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

4 In this Act:

5 (1) INTERNATIONAL REFUGE.—The term

6 ‘‘International Refuge’’ means the Detroit River

7 International Wildlife Refuge established by section

8 5(a) of the Detroit River International Wildlife Ref9 uge Establishment Act (16 U.S.C. 668dd note; 115

10 Stat. 894).

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

12 Complex’’ means the Ottawa National Wildlife Ref13 uge Complex and the lands and waters in the com14 plex, as described in the document entitled ‘‘The

15 Comprehensive Conservation Plan for the Ottawa

16 National Wildlife Refuge Complex’’ and dated Sep17 tember 22, 2000, including—

18 (A) the Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge,

19 established by the Secretary in accordance with

20 the Migratory Bird Conservation Act (16

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

22 (B) the West Sister Island National Wild23 life Refuge established by Executive Order No.

24 7937, dated August 2, 1937; and
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1 (C) the Cedar Point National Wildlife Ref2 uge established by the Secretary in accordance

3 with the Migratory Bird Conservation Act (16

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

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

6 the Secretary of the Interior.

7 (4) WESTERN BASIN.—

8 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘western

9 basin’’ means the western basin of Lake Erie,

10 consisting of the land and water in the water11 sheds of Lake Erie extending from the water12 shed of the Lower Detroit River in the State of

13 Michigan to and including Sandusky Bay and

14 the watershed of Sandusky Bay in the State of

15 Ohio.

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

17 includes the Bass Island archipelago in the

18 State of Ohio.

19 SEC. 4. EXPANSION OF BOUNDARIES.

20 (a) REFUGE COMPLEX BOUNDARIES.—

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

22 Complex are expanded to include land and water in

23 the State of Ohio from the eastern boundary of

24 Maumee Bay State Park to the eastern boundary of

25 the Darby Unit (including the Bass Island archi-
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1 pelago), as depicted on the map entitled ‘‘Ottawa

2 National Wildlife Refuge Complex Expansion and

3 Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge Expan4 sion Act’’ and dated September 6, 2002.

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

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

7 in appropriate offices of the United States Fish and

8 Wildlife Service.

9 (b) BOUNDARY REVISIONS.—The Secretary may

10 make such revisions of the boundaries of the Refuge Com11 plex as the Secretary determines to be appropriate to fa12 cilitate the acquisition of property within the Refuge Com13 plex.

14 (c) ACQUISITION.—

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

16 the Secretary may acquire by donation, purchase

17 with donated or appropriated funds, or exchange the

18 land and water, and interests in land and water (in19 cluding conservation easements), within the bound20 aries of the Refuge Complex.

21 (2) MANNER OF ACQUISITION.—Any and all ac22 quisitions of land or waters under the provisions of

23 this Act shall be made in a voluntary manner and

24 shall not be the result of forced takings.
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1 (d) TRANSFERS FROM OTHER AGENCIES.—Adminis2 trative jurisdiction over any Federal property that is lo3 cated within the boundaries of the Refuge Complex and

4 under the administrative jurisdiction of an agency of the

5 United States other than the Department of the Interior

6 may, with the concurrence of the head of the admin7 istering agency, be transferred without consideration to

8 the Secretary for the purpose of this Act.

9 (e) STUDY OF ASSOCIATED AREA.—

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

11 through the Director of the United States Fish and

12 Wildlife Service, shall conduct a study of fish and

13 wildlife habitat and aquatic and terrestrial commu14 nities in and around the 2 dredge spoil disposal sites

15 that are—

16 (A) referred to by the Toledo-Lucas Coun17 ty Port Authority as ‘‘Port Authority Facility

18 Number Three’’ and ‘‘Grassy Island’’, respec19 tively; and

20 (B) located within Toledo Harbor near the

21 mouth of the Maumee River.

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

23 the date of enactment of the Act, the Secretary

24 shall—
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1 (A) complete the study under paragraph

2 (1); and

3 (B) submit to Congress a report on the re4 sults of the study.

5 SEC. 5. EXPANSION OF INTERNATIONAL REFUGE BOUND6 ARIES.

7 The southern boundary of the International Refuge

8 is extended south to include additional land and water in

9 the State of Michigan located east of Interstate Route 75,

10 extending from the southern boundary of Sterling State

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

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

13 SEC. 6. ADMINISTRATION.

14 (a) REFUGE COMPLEX.—

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall admin16 ister all federally owned land, water, and interests in

17 land and water that are located within the bound18 aries of the Refuge Complex in accordance with—

19 (A) the National Wildlife Refuge System

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

21 et seq.); and

22 (B) this Act.

23 (2) ADDITIONAL AUTHORITY.—The Secretary

24 may use such additional statutory authority avail25 able to the Secretary for the conservation of fish and
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1 wildlife, and the provision of opportunities for fish2 and wildlife-dependent recreation, as the Secretary

3 determines to be appropriate to carry out this Act.

4 (b) ADDITIONAL PURPOSES.—In addition to the pur5 poses of the Refuge Complex under other laws, regula6 tions, executive orders, and comprehensive conservation

7 plans, the Refuge Complex shall be managed—

8 (1) to strengthen and complement existing re9 source management, conservation, and education

10 programs and activities at the Refuge Complex in a

11 manner consistent with the primary purposes of the

12 Refuge Complex—

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

14 wintering habitats for migratory birds and

15 other wildlife; and

16 (B) to enhance national resource conserva17 tion and management in the western basin;

18 (2) in partnership with nongovernmental and

19 private organizations and private individuals dedi20 cated to habitat enhancement, to conserve, enhance,

21 and restore the native aquatic and terrestrial com22 munity characteristics of the western basin (includ23 ing associated fish, wildlife, and plant species);

24 (3) to facilitate partnerships among the United

25 States Fish and Wildlife Service, Canadian national
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1 and provincial authorities, State and local govern2 ments, local communities in the United States and

3 Canada, conservation organizations, and other non4 Federal entities to promote public awareness of the

5 resources of the western basin; and

6 (4) to advance the collective goals and priorities

7 that—

8 (A) were established in the report entitled

9 ‘‘Great Lakes Strategy 2002—A Plan for the

10 New Millennium’’, developed by the United

11 States Policy Committee, comprised of Federal

12 agencies (including the United States Fish and

13 Wildlife Service, the National Oceanic and At14 mospheric Administration, the United States

15 Geological Survey, the Forest Service, and the

16 Great Lakes Fishery Commission) and State

17 governments and tribal governments in the

18 Great Lakes basin; and

19 (B) include the goals of cooperating to pro20 tect and restore the chemical, physical, and bio21 logical integrity of the Great Lakes basin eco22 system.

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

24 compatible fish- and wildlife-dependent recreation, the

25 Secretary, in accordance with paragraphs (3) and (4) of
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1 section 4(a) of the National Wildlife Refuge System Ad2 ministration Act of 1966 (16 U.S.C. 668dd(a)), shall en3 sure that hunting, fishing, wildlife observation and photog4 raphy, and environmental education and interpretation are

5 the priority public uses of the Refuge Complex.

6 (d) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS REGARDING NON7 FEDERAL LAND.—To promote public awareness of the re8 sources of the western basin and encourage public partici9 pation in the conservation of those resources, the Sec10 retary may enter into cooperative agreements with the

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

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

13 consistent with this Act, of land that—

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

15 or person; and

16 (2) is located within the boundaries of the Ref17 uge Complex.

18 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

19 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums

20 as are necessary—

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

22 Complex under section 4(c);

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

24 and
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1 (3) to develop, operate, and maintain the Ref2 uge Complex.

Passed the House of Representatives April 1, 2003.

Attest:

Clerk.