I

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 833

To amend the National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 1966

to improve the management of the National Wildlife Refuge System,

and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

FEBRUARY 4, 1993

Mr. GIBBONS (for himself, Mr. SYNAR, Mr. BACCHUS of Florida, Mr. BERMAN, Mr. BROWN of California, Mrs. BYRNE, Mr. COLEMAN, Mr. DICKS,

Mr. FROST, Mr. JEFFERSON, Mrs. MALONEY, Mrs. MEEK, Mr. NEAL of

Massachusetts, Ms. PELOSI, Mr. RAVENEL, Mr. SABO, Mr. SCHUMER,

Ms. SLAUGHTER, Mr. STOKES, Mr. TOWNS, Mr. WELDON, and Mr.

YATES) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries

A BILL

To amend the National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 1966 to improve the management of the

National Wildlife Refuge System, and for other purposes.

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 ‘‘National Wildlife Ref5 uge System Management and Policy Act of 1993’’.
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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

2 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds and declares

3 that—

4 (1) the National Wildlife Refuge System (here5 after in this section referred to as the ‘‘System’’)

6 was established under the National Wildlife Refuge

7 System Administration Act of 1966 (16 U.S.C.

8 668dd et seq.);

9 (2) the National Wildlife Refuge System Ad10 ministration Act of 1966 consolidates the authorities

11 related to lands, waters, and interests in such lands

12 and waters administered by the Secretary of the In13 terior (hereafter in this section referred to as the

14 ‘‘Secretary’’), for the purpose of conservation of fish

15 and wildlife;

16 (3) the System provides opportunities for indi17 viduals to participate in wildlife-oriented recreation,

18 and to learn, understand, and appreciate the value

19 of and need for conserving fish and wildlife, wild

20 lands, and naturally productive ecological commu21 nities, types, and systems;

22 (4) the System is the only complex of Federal

23 lands devoted primarily to preserving, restoring, and

24 managing fish and wildlife and the habitats of fish

25 and wildlife;
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1 (5) National Wildlife Refuges provide habitat

2 for many endangered and threatened species, and

3 for species that may become endangered or threat4 ened, as well as for other fish, wildlife, and plants;

5 (6) the well-being and abundance of such fish,

6 wildlife, and plants would be diminished without

7 such protected habitat;

8 (7) activities are occurring on a significant

9 number of National Wildlife Refuges that result in

10 harm to the fish and wildlife resources the System

11 was designed to conserve; and

12 (8) improvements are needed in the administra13 tion and management of the System to ensure that

14 sound and effective conservation programs for the

15 System are developed, implemented, and enforced.

16 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are as fol17 lows:

18 (1) To reaffirm the provisions of the Act com19 monly known as the Refuge Recreation Act (16

20 U.S.C. 460k et seq.) that authorizes the Secretary

21 of the Interior (hereafter in this subsection referred

22 to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) to permit compatible fish and

23 wildlife-oriented public recreation, such as hunting,

24 fishing, and wildlife observation on refuges.
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1 (2) To improve the administration and manage2 ment of the System.

3 (3) To establish purposes for the System.

4 (4) To improve the compatibility determination

5 process for National Wildlife Refuges.

6 (5) To establish comprehensive planning for the

7 System and individual wildlife refuges of the System.

8 (6) To provide for interagency coordination in

9 maintaining refuge resources.

10 SEC. 3 DEFINITIONS.

11 Section 5 of the National Wildlife Refuge System Ad12 ministration Act of 1966 (16 U.S.C. 668ee) is amended—

13 (1) by redesignating subsections (a) through (c)

14 as subsections (g) through (i); and

15 (2) by inserting the following new subsections

16 before subsection (h) (as so redesignated):

17 ‘‘(a) The term ‘Secretary’ means the Secretary of the

18 Interior (except as the context implies otherwise).

19 ‘‘(b) The term ‘Director’ means the Director of the

20 United States Fish and Wildlife Service.

21 ‘‘(c) The term ‘System’ means the National Wildlife

22 Refuge System.

23 ‘‘(d) The term ‘refuge’ means a unit of the National

24 Wildlife Refuge System, except that such term shall not
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1 include State-managed wildlife management areas (com2 monly known as ‘coordination areas’).

3 ‘‘(e) The terms ‘fish’, ‘wildlife’ and ‘fish and wildlife’

4 mean any native member of the animal kingdom in a wild,

5 unconfined state, including the parts, products, or eggs

6 of such animals.

7 ‘‘(f) The term ‘plant’ means any native member of

8 the plant kingdom in a wild, unconfined state, including

9 plant communities, seeds, roots, and other parts thereof.’’.

10 SEC. 4. PURPOSES AND ADMINISTRATION OF THE SYSTEM.

11 Subsection (a) of section 4 of the National Wildlife

12 Refuge System Administration Act of 1966 (16 U.S.C.

13 668dd(a)) is amended—

14 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (2) and (3) as

15 paragraphs (5) and (6); and

16 (2) by inserting after paragraph (1) the follow17 ing new paragraphs:

18 ‘‘(2) The purposes of the System are as follows:

19 ‘‘(A) To provide a national network of lands

20 and waters with respect to which the size, variety,

21 and location are designed to protect the wealth of

22 fish, wildlife, and plants of this Nation and their

23 habitats for present and future generations.

24 ‘‘(B) To provide healthy, naturally productive,

25 and enduring food, water, and shelter to fish, wild-
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1 life, and plant communities and to ensure naturally

2 diverse, healthy, and abundant populations of fish,

3 wildlife, and plant species in perpetuity.

4 ‘‘(C) To serve in the fulfillment of international

5 treaty obligations of the United States with respect

6 to fish, wildlife, and plants, and their habitats.

7 ‘‘(3) If the Secretary finds that a conflict exists be8 tween any purpose set forth in the law or order that estab9 lished a refuge and any purpose set forth in paragraph

10 (2), the Secretary shall resolve the conflict in a manner

11 that fulfills the purpose set forth in the law or order that

12 established the refuge, and, to the extent possible, achieves

13 all of the purposes set forth in paragraph (2).

14 ‘‘(4) In the administration of the System for the pur15 poses described in paragraph (2), the Secretary, acting

16 through the Director, shall—

17 ‘‘(A) ensure that the purposes of the System

18 described in paragraph (2) of this subsection and

19 the purposes of each refuge are carried out;

20 ‘‘(B) protect the System and the components of

21 the System from threats to the ecological integrity

22 of such System and components;

23 ‘‘(C) to the extent authorized by law, ensure

24 adequate water quantity and water quality to fulfill

25 the purposes of the System and of each refuge; and
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1 ‘‘(D) plan, propose, and direct expansion of the

2 System in a manner best designed to—

3 ‘‘(i) accomplish the purposes of the System

4 and of each refuge in the System;

5 ‘‘(ii) protect and aid recovery of any spe6 cies listed as endangered or threatened (and

7 any species that is a candidate for such listing);

8 and

9 ‘‘(iii) conserve other fish, wildlife, and

10 plants, the habitats of such fish, wildlife, and

11 plants, and other elements of natural diver12 sity.’’.

13 SEC. 5. COMPATIBILITY STANDARDS AND PROCEDURES.

14 Paragraph (1) of section 4(d) of the National Wildlife

15 Refuge System Administration Act of 1966 (16 U.S.C.

16 668dd(d)(1)), is amended by adding at the end of the

17 paragraph the following new subparagraphs:

18 ‘‘(C) Except as provided in subparagraph (E)

19 of this paragraph, the Secretary shall not initiate or

20 permit a new use of a refuge or expand, renew, or

21 extend an existing use unless the Secretary finds, in

22 consultation with the Director, pursuant to sub23 section (e) of this section, that such use is compat24 ible with the purposes of the System and of the ref25 uge. The Secretary shall make no determination of
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1 such compatibility, nor initiate a proposed new use

2 or permit a proposed, continued, or expanded use,

3 unless the Secretary does the following:

4 ‘‘(i) States the time, location, manner, and

5 purpose of such use.

6 ‘‘(ii) Evaluates the direct, indirect, and cu7 mulative biological, ecological, and other effects

8 that the Secretary determines to be appropriate

9 of such use.

10 ‘‘(iii) Makes a determination, on the basis

11 of the evaluation required under clause (ii) of

12 this subparagraph, that such use will contribute

13 to the fulfillment of the purposes of the System

14 and the refuge or will not have a detrimental

15 effect upon fulfillment of the purposes of the

16 System or the refuge.

17 ‘‘(iv) Makes a determination that funds are

18 available for the development, operation, and

19 maintenance of such use.

20 ‘‘(D) Unless the Secretary, in consultation with

21 the Director, determines that there is sufficient in22 formation available to make a reasoned judgment

23 that a proposed, continued, or expanded use of a ref24 uge is compatible with the purposes of the System
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1 and the refuge, the Secretary shall not permit the

2 use.

3 ‘‘(E)(i) Except as provided in clause (ii), uses

4 of refuge system lands in effect on the date of the

5 enactment of the National Wildlife Refuge System

6 Management and Policy Act of 1993 that, before

7 such date, have been determined to be compatible

8 under this section or the Act entitled ‘An Act to as9 sure continued fish and wildlife benefits from the

10 national fish and wildlife conservation areas by au11 thorizing their appropriate incidental or secondary

12 use for public recreation to the extent that such use

13 is compatible with the primary purposes of such

14 areas, and for other purposes’, commonly referred to

15 as the ‘Refuge Recreation Act’ (16 U.S.C. 460k et

16 seq.) may be continued pursuant to the terms and

17 conditions of existing special use permits, and appli18 cable law, for the period of time specified in the per19 mit.

20 ‘‘(ii) Not later than 5 years after the date of

21 the enactment of the National Wildlife Refuge Sys22 tem Management and Policy Act of 1993, any use

23 described in clause (i) shall cease and permits for

24 such uses be revoked unless the Secretary, in con25 sultation with the Director of the United States Fish
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1 and Wildlife Service, makes a determination, pursu2 ant to the procedures established under this section,

3 that the use is compatible with the purposes of the

4 System and the refuge.

5 ‘‘(F) The Secretary shall, acting through the

6 Director, by regulation, establish and maintain a

7 formal process for governing determinations of

8 whether an existing or proposed new use in a refuge

9 is compatible or incompatible with the purposes of

10 the System and the refuge. The regulations shall

11 provide for the expedited consideration of uses that

12 the Secretary considers to have little or no adverse

13 effects on the purposes of the System or a refuge,

14 and shall—

15 ‘‘(i) designate the refuge officer initially re16 sponsible for compatibility and incompatibility

17 determinations;

18 ‘‘(ii) describe the biological, ecological, and

19 other criteria to be used in making such deter20 minations;

21 ‘‘(iii) require that such determinations

22 shall be made in writing and based on the best

23 available scientific information;
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1 ‘‘(iv) establish procedures that ensure an

2 opportunity for public review and comment with

3 respect to such determinations;

4 ‘‘(v) designate the officer who shall hear

5 and rule on appeals from initial determinations;

6 and

7 ‘‘(vi) provide for the reevaluation of a com8 patibility determination on a periodic basis or

9 whenever the conditions under which the use is

10 permitted change.

11 ‘‘(G) Except as provided in subparagraph (H),

12 the head of each Federal agency that, with respect

13 to a refuge, has an equivalent or secondary jurisdic14 tion with the Department of the Interior, or that

15 conducts activities within any refuge shall, in con16 sultation with the Secretary, ensure that any actions

17 authorized, funded, or carried out in whole or in

18 part by such agency will not impair the resources of

19 the refuge or be incompatible with the purposes of

20 either the System or the refuge (unless such action

21 is specifically authorized by law).

22 ‘‘(H) The President may find, on a case-by-case

23 basis, that, with respect to a refuge, it is in the

24 paramount interest of the United States to exempt

25 the head of a Federal agency described in subpara-
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1 graph (G) from carrying out the requirements of

2 subparagraph (G) of this paragraph.’’.

3 SEC. 6. SYSTEM CONSERVATION PLANNING PROGRAM.

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 4 of the National Wildlife

5 Refuge System Administration Act of 1966 (16 U.S.C.

6 668dd), as amended by section 3 of this Act, is further

7 amended—

8 (1) by redesignating subsections (e) through (i)

9 as subsections (g) through (k); and

10 (2) by inserting the following new subsections:

11 ‘‘(e) SYSTEM PLAN.—(1) Not later than September

12 30, 1995, the Secretary shall prepare, and subsequently

13 revise, not less frequently than every 10 years thereafter,

14 a comprehensive plan for the System.

15 ‘‘(2) The plan described in paragraph (1) shall in16 clude—

17 ‘‘(A) relevant elements of recovery plans re18 quired under section 4(f), of the Endangered Species

19 Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1533(f));

20 ‘‘(B) relevant summaries and compilations of

21 refuge plans developed under this section and the

22 relevant elements of migratory bird management

23 plans;

24 ‘‘(C) a strategy and standards for maintaining

25 healthy and abundant wildlife populations in the
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1 System and in each refuge ecotype or ecosystem (in2 cluding the protection of zones for dispersal, migra3 tion, and other fish and wildlife movements, and the

4 conservation of species designated as candidates for

5 listing pursuant to section 4 of the Endangered Spe6 cies Act (16 U.S.C. 1533));

7 ‘‘(D) strategies, developed cooperatively with

8 agencies administering other Federal or State land

9 systems, to enhance wildlife protection on national

10 wildlife refuges and other land systems which collec11 tively form a national network of wildlife habitats;

12 and

13 ‘‘(E) a plan and program for the acquisition of

14 lands and waters, including water rights, necessary

15 to achieve the purposes of the System and each ref16 uge.

17 ‘‘(f) REFUGE CONSERVATION PLANS.—(1) Except

18 with respect to refuge lands in Alaska (which shall be gov19 erned by refuge planning provisions of the Alaska National

20 Interest Lands Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 3101 et

21 seq.)), the Secretary shall prepare, and revise at least

22 every 15 years, a comprehensive conservation plan (herein23 after in this subsection referred to as a ‘plan’) for each

24 refuge or ecologically related complex of refuges (hereafter

25 in this subsection referred to as a ‘planning unit’) in the
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1 System. The Secretary shall revise any plan at any time

2 thereafter, upon a determination that conditions that af3 fect a planning unit have changed significantly.

4 ‘‘(2) In developing each plan under this subsection,

5 the Secretary shall identify and describe—

6 ‘‘(A) the purposes of the refuge and the pur7 poses of the System applicable to the refuge or the

8 individual refuges of the planning unit;

9 ‘‘(B) fish, wildlife, and plant populations and

10 habitats of the planning unit (including at the time

11 of the development of the plan, current, historical,

12 and potentially restorable populations and habitats)

13 and the seasonal (and other) dependence of migra14 tory fish and wildlife species on the habitats and re15 sources of interrelated units of the System;

16 ‘‘(C) archaeological, cultural, ecological geologi17 cal, historical, paleontological, physiographic, and

18 wilderness values of the planning unit;

19 ‘‘(D) areas within the planning unit that are

20 suitable for use as administrative sites or visitor fa21 cilities or for visitor services;

22 ‘‘(E) significant problems, including water

23 quantity and quality needs (within or without the

24 boundaries of the refuge or complex) that may ad25 versely affect the natural diversity, communities,
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1 health, or abundance of populations or habitats of

2 fish, wildlife, and plants;

3 ‘‘(F) existing boundaries of each refuge in the

4 planning unit in relation to ecosystem boundaries

5 and wildlife dispersal and migration patterns; and

6 ‘‘(G) specific strategies, developed cooperatively

7 with the heads of agencies administering other Fed8 eral and State lands, to enhance wildlife protection

9 in the planning unit, and to the extent practicable,

10 on other Federal and State lands proximate to the

11 planning unit.

12 ‘‘(3) Each plan under this subsection shall—

13 ‘‘(A) designate each area within the planning

14 unit according to the archeological, cultural, ecologi15 cal, geological, historical, paleontological,

16 physiographic, and wilderness values of the area;

17 ‘‘(B) specify the uses within each such area

18 that may be compatible with the purposes of the ref19 uge and the System and the funds and personnel

20 that may be required to administer such uses;

21 ‘‘(C) specify programs for achieving the pur22 poses described in paragraph (2)(A) and for conserv23 ing, restoring, and maintaining the resources and

24 values identified and described under subparagraphs

25 (B) and (C) of paragraph (2);
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1 ‘‘(D) specify the approaches to be taken to

2 avoid or overcome the problems identified in para3 graph (2)(E) and estimate resource commitments re4 quired to implement such approaches;

5 ‘‘(E) specify opportunities that may be provided

6 within the planning unit for compatible fish and

7 wildlife related recreation, ecological research, envi8 ronmental education, and interpretation of refuge re9 sources and values;

10 ‘‘(F) except with respect to Alaska refuges

11 studied pursuant to section 1317 of the Alaska Na12 tional Interest Lands Conservation Act (16 U.S.C.

13 3205), review the suitability for designation as wil14 derness refuge lands not previously studied for des15 ignation as wilderness or designated as wilderness,

16 and recommend to the President and Congress des17 ignation for such lands in accordance with the provi18 sions of sections 3(c) and 3(d) of the Wilderness Act

19 (16 U.S.C. 1132 (c) and (d), respectively), including

20 islands and areas of 200 acres or more immediately

21 adjacent to wilderness areas (as designated at the

22 time of the review), lands recommended (before the

23 time of such review) for inclusion in the Wilderness

24 Preservation System, and proposed land acquisitions

25 by the Department of the Interior that the Secretary
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1 determines will, over time, be of an area of 5,000

2 contiguous acres; and

3 ‘‘(G) identify the funds and personnel necessary

4 to implement the strategies and administer the uses

5 identified in this section.

6 ‘‘(4) In preparing each plan under this subsection,

7 and any revision of the plan, the Secretary shall consult

8 with such heads of Federal and State departments and

9 agencies as the Secretary determines to be appropriate.

10 ‘‘(5) Prior to the adoption of a plan, the Secretary

11 shall issue public notice of the draft proposed plan in the

12 Federal Register, make copies of the plan available at each

13 regional office of the United States Fish and Wildlife

14 Service, and provide opportunity for public comment.

15 ‘‘(6)(A) Not later than 4 years after the date of the

16 enactment of the National Wildlife Refuge System Man17 agement and Policy Act of 1993, the Secretary shall, pur18 suant to this subsection, prepare and submit to the appro19 priate committees of Congress, plans for not less than one20 third of the refuges in existence on the date of the enact21 ment of such Act.

22 ‘‘(B) Not later than 7 years after the date of the en23 actment of the National Wildlife Refuge System Manage24 ment and Policy Act of 1993, the Secretary shall, pursu25 ant to this subsection, prepare and submit to the appro-
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1 priate committees of Congress, plans for not less than two2 thirds of refuges in existence on the date of the enactment

3 of such Act.

4 ‘‘(C) Not later than 10 years after the date of the

5 enactment of the National Wildlife Refuge System Man6 agement and Policy Act of 1993, the Secretary shall, pur7 suant to this subsection, prepare and submit to the appro8 priate committees of Congress, plans for each refuge in

9 existence on the date of the enactment of such Act.

10 ‘‘(D) With respect to any refuge established after the

11 date of the enactment of the National Wildlife Refuge Sys12 tem Management and Policy Act of 1993, the Secretary

13 shall prepare a plan for the refuge not later than 2 years

14 after the date of the establishment of such refuge.’’.

15 SEC. 7. ADMINISTRATION.

16 The Secretary of the Interior shall manage the ref17 uges in the National Wildlife Refuge System in a manner

18 consistent with any refuge conservation plans developed

19 under section 4 of the National Wildlife Refuge System

20 Administration Act of 1966 (16 U.S.C. 668dd), as amend21 ed by this Act.

22 SEC. 8. REGULATIONS.

23 Except as otherwise required in this Act, the Sec24 retary of the Interior, shall—
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1 (1) not later than 1 year after the date of the

2 enactment of this Act, propose regulations to carry

3 out the provisions of this Act; and

4 (2) not later than 18 months after the date of

5 the enactment of this Act, promulgate final regula6 tions to carry out the provisions of this Act.

7 SEC. 9. CONFORMING AMENDMENT.

8 Section 4 of the National Wildlife Refuge System Ad9 ministration Act of 1966, as amended by section 6 of this

10 Act, is further amended by striking ‘‘Secretary of the Inte11 rior’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘Secretary’’.

12 SEC. 10. APPROPRIATIONS.

13 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums

14 as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this Act.

15 SEC. 11. EMERGENCY POWER.

16 The Secretary of the Interior is authorized to suspend

17 any activity conducted in any refuge in the National Wild18 life Refuge System in the event of an emergency that con19 stitutes an imminent danger to the health and safety of

20 any wildlife population, refuge, or to public health and

21 safety.

22 SEC. 12. STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.

23 Except as specifically provided in this Act, nothing

24 in this Act shall be construed so as to alter or otherwise

25 affect the provisions of the Refuge Recreation Act of 1962
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1 (16 U.S.C. 460k et seq.), the National Wildlife Refuge

2 System Administration Act (16 U.S.C. 668dd et seq.), the

3 Alaska National Interest Conservation Act of 1980 (16

4 U.S.C. 3101 et seq.), and other laws and orders establish5 ing individual refuges in effect on the date of the enact6 ment of this Act.

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