I

107TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 987

To transfer management of the Banks Lake Unit of the Okefenokee National

Wildlife Refuge.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MARCH 13, 2001

Mr. CHAMBLISS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the

Committee on Resources

A BILL

To transfer management of the Banks Lake Unit of the

Okefenokee National 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. TRANSFER OF MANAGEMENT OF THE BANKS

4 LAKE UNIT OF THE OKEFENOKEE NATIONAL

5 WILDLIFE REFUGE.

6 (a) TRANSFER.—Management of the Banks Lake

7 Unit of the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge is trans8 ferred to the office or agency within the Georgia Depart9 ment of Natural Resources having primary authority
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1 under State law for the protection and management of the

2 fish and resident wildlife of the State.

3 (b) MANAGEMENT CRITERIA.—The State wildlife

4 agency is encouraged, to the extent practicable and in co5 ordination with existing State of Georgia management of

6 adjoining State-owned wildlife lands and waters—

7 (1) to increase the intensity of management of

8 the Banks Lake Unit in order to provide hunting

9 and fishing and other wildlife-related recreational

10 opportunities;

11 (2) to manage lake levels in such unit to ensure

12 adequate water quantity and quality for maximum

13 recreational opportunities to fulfill the mission of the

14 Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge; and

15 (3) to ensure effective coordination, interaction,

16 and cooperation between the State wildlife agency

17 and owners of land adjoining the unit.

18 (c) APPLICABLE LAW.—Management of the Banks

19 Lake Unit by the State wildlife agency shall be subject

20 to applicable laws and regulations of the State of Georgia

21 and to all Federal laws for the protection of migratory

22 game birds that are administered on the date of the enact23 ment of this Act by the United States Fish and Wildlife

24 Service, except that the National Environmental Policy

25 Act of 1969 and any other Federal statutory provision re-
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1 lating to Federal action shall not apply to management

2 of such unit by the State wildlife agency or to allowing

3 public access to such unit for the purpose of hunting, fish4 ing, or other recreational opportunities.

5 (d) LIMITATION ON ACQUISITION OF PRIVATELY

6 OWNED INTERESTS IN LAND.—The Secretary of the Inte7 rior may not acquire any privately owned interest in any

8 land located within or adjacent to the boundaries of the

9 Banks Lake unit without the consent of the owner of the

10 interest.

11 (e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:

12 (1) BANKS LAKE UNIT.—The term ‘‘Banks

13 Lake Unit’’ means the Banks Lake Unit of the Oke14 fenokee National Wildlife Refuge.

15 (2) MANAGEMENT.—The term ‘‘management’’

16 has the meaning given that term in section 5 of the

17 National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act

18 of 1966 (16 U.S.C. 668dd et seq.).

19 (3) STATE WILDLIFE AGENCY.—The term

20 ‘‘State wildlife agency’’ means the office or agency

21 within the Georgia Department of Natural Re22 sources having primary authority under State law

23 for the protection and management of the fish and

24 resident wildlife of the State of Georgia.
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1 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

2 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of the

3 Interior $100,000 for fiscal year 2002 and $75,000 for

4 each of the subsequent 5 fiscal years for management by

5 the State wildlife agency of the Banks Lake Unit in ac6 cordance with this section. The Secretary shall transfer

7 to the State wildlife agency the full amount of any appro8 priation under this subsection at the beginning of each fis9 cal year. Such transfers shall not be subject to the Na10 tional Environmental Policy Act of 1969 or any other Fed11 eral statutory provision relating to Federal action.

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