II 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5381 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 13, 2006 

Received 

AN ACT 

To enhance an existing volunteer program of the United 

States Fish and Wildlife Service and promote community 

partnerships for the benefit of national fish hatcheries 

and fisheries program offices 

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 ‘‘National Fish Hatch3 ery System Volunteer Act of 2006’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 

5 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

6 (1) The National Fish Hatchery System (in this 

7 Act referred to as the ‘‘System’’)— 

8 (A) consists of more than 60 hatcheries, 

9 seven fish technology centers, 9 fish health cen10 ters, and other fisheries program offices; 

11 (B) plays an integral role in the recovery 

12 of more than 50 threatened species and endan13 gered species and the restoration of over 100 

14 native species; 

15 (C) provides healthy fish populations that 

16 support recreational fishing opportunities, many 

17 of which are related to Federal water control 

18 structures; and 

19 (D) works with over 250 partners to help 

20 mitigate the impacts of aquatic habitat loss and 

21 invasive species. 

22 (2) The System faces many challenges, includ23 ing aging facilities, some of which date back to the 

24 late 1800s, and maintenance of intensive infrastruc25 tures such as wells, pumps, valves, pipes, filters, 

26 heaters, chillers, and treatment systems that must 


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1 keep clean water moving 24 hours a day, 365 days 

2 a year. 

3 (3) By encouraging volunteer programs and do4 nations and fostering non-Federal partnerships with 

5 hatchery facilities, Federal funding for the hatch6 eries can be supplemented. 

7 (4) By encouraging hatchery educational pro8 grams, public awareness of the resources of the Sys9 tem and public participation in the conservation of 

10 aquatic resources can be promoted. 

11 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are the fol12 lowing: 

13 (1) To encourage the use of volunteers to assist 

14 the United States Fish and Wildlife Service in the 

15 management of hatcheries within the System. 

16 (2) To facilitate partnerships between the Sys17 tem and non-Federal entities to promote public 

18 awareness of the resources of the System and public 

19 participation in the conservation of those resources. 

20 (3) To encourage donations and other contribu21 tions by individuals and organizations to the System. 

22 SEC. 3. GIFTS TO SYSTEM AND PARTICULAR NATIONAL 

23 FISH HATCHERIES. 

24 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF GIFTS, DEVISES, AND BE25 QUESTS FOR SYSTEM.—In furtherance of the purposes of 


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1 this Act, the Secretary of the Interior may accept any 

2 gifts, devises, or bequests of real and personal property, 

3 or proceeds therefrom, or interests therein, for the benefit 

4 of the National Fish Hatchery System. Such acceptance 

5 may be subject to the terms of any restrictive or affirma6 tive covenant, or condition of servitude, if such terms are 

7 deemed by the Secretary to be in accordance with law and 

8 compatible with the purpose for which acceptance is 

9 sought. 

10 (b) USE OF GIFTS, DEVISES, AND BEQUESTS.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Any gifts and bequests of 

12 money and proceeds from the sales of other property 

13 received as gifts or bequests pursuant to this sub14 section shall be deposited in a separate account in 

15 the Treasury and may be expended without further 

16 appropriation by the Secretary for the benefit of the 

17 System programs administered by the United States 

18 Fish and Wildlife Service. 

19 (2) GIFTS, DEVISES, AND BEQUESTS FOR PAR20 TICULAR FACILITIES.— 

21 (A) DISBURSAL.—Any gift, devise, or be22 quest made for the benefit of a facility of the 

23 System shall be disbursed only for the benefit 

24 of that facility and without further appropria25 tions. 


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1 (B) MATCHING.—Subject to the avail2 ability of appropriations and the requirements 

3 of the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act (16 

4 U.S.C 661 et seq.) and other applicable law, the 

5 Secretary may provide funds to match gifts, de6 vises, and bequests made for the benefit of a fa7 cility of the System. With respect to each gift, 

8 devise, or bequest, the amount of Federal funds 

9 may not exceed the amount (or, in the case of 

10 property or in-kind services, the fair market 

11 value) of the gift, devise, or bequest. 

12 SEC. 4. VOLUNTEER ENHANCEMENT PILOT PROJECTS. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the availability of ap14 propriations, the Secretary of the Interior shall carry out 

15 a pilot project at 1 or more facilities of the System. Each 

16 pilot project shall provide for a volunteer coordinator for 

17 the hatchery facility. The volunteer coordinator shall be 

18 responsible for recruiting, training, and supervising volun19 teers. The volunteer coordinator may be responsible for 

20 assisting partner organizations in developing projects and 

21 programs under cooperative agreements under section 

22 7(d) of the Fish and Wildlife Act of 1956 (16 U.S.C. 

23 742f(d)) and coordinating volunteer activities with partner 

24 organizations to carry out the projects and programs. 


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1 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 3 years after the date 

2 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit 

3 a report to the Committee on Resources of the House of 

4 Representatives and the Committee on Environment and 

5 Public Works of the Senate evaluating and making rec6 ommendations regarding the pilot projects. 

7 SEC. 5. COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP ENHANCEMENT. 

8 (a) PROJECTS AND PROGRAMS.—Subject to the re9 quirements of the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act (16 

10 U.S.C. 661 et seq.) and other applicable law, and such 

11 terms and conditions as the Secretary of the Interior de12 termines to be appropriate, the Secretary may approve 

13 projects and programs for a facility of the System that— 

14 (1) promote the stewardship of resources of the 

15 hatchery through habitat maintenance, restoration, 

16 and improvement, biological monitoring, or research; 

17 (2) support the operation and maintenance of 

18 the hatchery through constructing, operating, main19 taining, or improving the facilities and services of 

20 the hatchery; 

21 (3) increase the awareness and understanding 

22 of the hatchery and the System, through the devel23 opment, publication, or distribution of educational 

24 materials and products; 


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1 (4) advance education concerning the purposes 

2 of the hatchery and the mission of the System, 

3 through the use of the hatchery as an outdoor class4 room and development of other educational pro5 grams; or 

6 (5) contribute financial resources to the hatch7 ery, under the terms that require that the net reve8 nues be used exclusively for the benefit of the hatch9 ery, through donation of net revenues from the sale 

10 of educational materials and products and through 

11 encouragement of gifts, devises, and bequests. 

12 (b) TREASURY ACCOUNT.—Amounts received by the 

13 Secretary of the Interior as a result of projects and pro14 grams under subsection (a) shall be deposited in a sepa15 rate account in the Treasury. Amounts in the account that 

16 are attributable to activities at a particular facility of the 

17 System shall be available to the Secretary of the Interior, 

18 without further appropriation, to pay the costs of inci19 dental expenses related to volunteer activities, and to carry 

20 out cooperative agreements for the hatchery facility. 

21 SEC. 6. HATCHERY EDUCATION PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT. 

22 (a) GUIDANCE.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

23 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior 

24 shall develop guidance for the hatchery education proVerDate Aug 31 2005 17:09 Oct 01, 2006 Jkt 049196 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5381.RDS H5381

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1 grams to further the mission of the System and the pur2 poses of individual hatcheries through— 

3 (1) providing outdoor classroom opportunities 

4 for students on fish hatcheries that combine edu5 cational curricula with the personal experiences of 

6 students relating to fish, aquatic species, and their 

7 habitat, and to the cultural and historical resources 

8 of the hatcheries; 

9 (2) promoting understanding and conservation 

10 of fish, aquatic species, and the cultural and histor11 ical resources of the hatcheries; and 

12 (3) improving scientific literacy in conjunction 

13 with both formal and nonformal education programs. 

14 (b) HATCHERY PROGRAMS.—Based on the guidance 

15 developed under subsection (a), the Secretary of the Inte16 rior may, with assistance from the Fish and Wildlife Man17 agement Assistance Program, develop or enhance hatchery 

18 educational programs as appropriate, based on the re19 sources of individual hatcheries and the opportunities 

20 available for such programs in State, local, and private 

21 schools. In developing and implementing each program, 

22 the Secretary should cooperate with State and local eduVerDate Aug 31 2005 17:09 Oct 01, 2006 Jkt 049196 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5381.RDS H5381

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1 cation authorities, and may cooperate with partner organi2 zations in accordance with subsection (d). 

Passed the House of Representatives September 12, 

2006. 

Attest: KAREN L. HAAS, 

Clerk. 


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