IIB 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 263 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

NOVEMBER 21, 2019 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and 

Public Works 

AN ACT 

To rename the Oyster Bay National Wildlife Refuge as the 

Congressman Lester Wolff Oyster Bay National 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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HR 263 RFS

1 SECTION 1. FINDINGS. 

2 The Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) The Oyster Bay National Wildlife Refuge 

4 was created in 1968. It is located on the north shore 

5 of Long Island in eastern Nassau County, is the 

6 largest refuge in the Long Island National Wildlife 

7 Refuge Complex, and receives the most public use of 

8 all the refuges in the Complex. 

9 (2) The State of New York designated Oyster 

10 Bay a significant coastal fish and wildlife habitat. It 

11 is especially important for wintering waterfowl such 

12 as black duck, greater scaup, bufflehead, canvasback 

13 and long-tailed ducks. Management activities include 

14 wetland restoration and protection of the natural 

15 shoreline and vegetation. 

16 (3) The refuge is unique in consisting solely of 

17 bay bottom and adjacent shoreline up to the mean 

18 high-tide mark. Ninety percent of New York’s com19 mercial oyster harvest comes from the refuge. Visi20 tors enjoy fishing, wildlife observation, photography 

21 and environmental education. The refuge is truly a 

22 national treasure. 

23 (4) Many visitors are unaware that were it not 

24 for the tireless work and advocacy of then-freshman 

25 Congressman Lester Wolff, this area would today be 

26 an 8.5-mile causeway and bridge across Long Island 


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HR 263 RFS

1 Sound between Oyster Bay and Rye, New York, con2 necting Nassau and Westchester Counties. 

3 (5) The bridge was first proposed by Robert 

4 Moses, the well-known New York City Planner, to 

5 divert traffic from New York City. Former Governor 

6 Nelson Rockefeller signed into law legislation cre7 ating the bridge authorized by the New York State 

8 Legislature in 1967. 

9 (6) Congressman Wolff, elected in 1964, quick10 ly decided the bridge would be an intrusion in a pris11 tine area, and that Long Island Sound was a very 

12 precious resource that was despoiled. The conserva13 tion threats in the mid-1960s were suburban devel14 opment, wetland filling, and industrial pollution. The 

15 fight to preserve this land became an enormous po16 litical fight and is considered to be a turning point 

17 in New York State’s environmental legacy. 

18 (7) With State and local political and commu19 nity leaders, and especially the North Shore leaders 

20 and the Committee to Save the Long Island Sound, 

21 Congressman Wolff arranged a meeting with De22 partment of the Interior representatives and local 

23 leaders where the idea of creating a wildlife refuge 

24 from municipal and privately owned wetlands was 

25 created. 


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HR 263 RFS

1 (8) The Town of Oyster Bay, in which one end 

2 of the bridge was to be located, deeded 5,000 acres 

3 of wetlands to the United States to be maintained 

4 as a Federal wildlife preserve. It was stipulated that 

5 if the Department of the Interior agreed to an intru6 sion of the property, it would revert to the town. 

7 Creating a Federal wildlife preserve provided the 

8 land with Federal protection. 

9 (9) Because of the vision, dedication, and perse10 verance of Congressman Lester Wolff, all of us and 

11 future generations can enjoy the beauty and mag12 nificence of this refuge. 

13 SEC. 2. RENAMING THE OYSTER BAY NATIONAL WILDLIFE 

14 REFUGE AS THE CONGRESSMAN LESTER 

15 WOLFF OYSTER BAY NATIONAL WILDLIFE 

16 REFUGE. 

17 (a) RENAMING.—The unit of the National Wildlife 

18 Refuge System known as the Oyster Bay National Wildlife 

19 Refuge and located near Oyster Bay, New York, shall be 

20 known as the ‘‘Congressman Lester Wolff Oyster Bay Na21 tional Wildlife Refuge’’. 

22 (b) REFERENCES.—Any reference in a law, map, reg23 ulation, document, paper, or other record of the United 

24 States to the unit of the National Wildlife Refuge System 

25 known as the Oyster Bay National Wildlife Refuge is 


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HR 263 RFS

1 deemed to be a reference to the ‘‘Congressman Lester 

2 Wolff Oyster Bay National Wildlife Refuge’’. 

Passed the House of Representatives November 20, 

2019. 

Attest: CHERYL L. JOHNSON, 

Clerk. 


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