I 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 6064 

To rename the Oyster Bay National Wildlife Refuge as the Congressman 

Lester Wolff National Wildlife Refuge. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 8, 2018 

Mr. SUOZZI introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To rename the Oyster Bay National Wildlife Refuge as the 

Congressman Lester Wolff 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. FINDINGS. 

4 The Congress finds the following: 

5 (1) The Oyster Bay National Wildlife Refuge 

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

7 of Long Island in eastern Nassau County, is the 

8 largest refuge in the Long Island National Wildlife 

9 Refuge Complex, and receives the most public use of 

10 all the refuges in the Complex. 


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1 (2) The State of New York designated Oyster 

2 Bay a significant coastal fish and wildlife habitat. It 

3 is especially important for wintering waterfowl such 

4 as black duck, greater scaup, bufflehead, canvasback 

5 and long-tailed ducks. Management activities include 

6 wetland restoration and protection of the natural 

7 shoreline and vegetation. 

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

9 bay bottom and adjacent shoreline up to the mean 

10 high-tide mark. Ninety percent of New York’s com11 mercial oyster harvest comes from the refuge. Visi12 tors enjoy fishing, wildlife observation, photography 

13 and environmental education. The refuge is truly a 

14 national treasure. 

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

16 for the tireless work and advocacy of then-freshman 

17 Congressman Lester Wolff, this area would today be 

18 an 8.5-mile causeway and bridge across Long Island 

19 Sound between Oyster Bay and Rye, New York, con20 necting Nassau and Westchester Counties. 

21 (5) The bridge was first proposed by Robert 

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

23 divert traffic from New York City. Former Governor 

24 Nelson Rockefeller signed into law legislation creVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:52 Jun 12, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6064.IH H6064

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1 ating the bridge authorized by the New York State 

2 Legislature in 1967. 

3 (6) Congressman Wolff, elected in 1964, quick4 ly decided the bridge would be an intrusion in a pris5 tine area, and that Long Island Sound was a very 

6 precious resource that was despoiled. The conserva7 tion threats in the mid-1960s were suburban devel8 opment, wetland filling, and industrial pollution. The 

9 fight to preserve this land became an enormous po10 litical fight and is considered to be a turning point 

11 in New York State’s environmental legacy. 

12 (7) With State and local political and commu13 nity leaders, and especially the North Shore leaders 

14 and the Committee to Save the Long Island Sound, 

15 Congressman Wolff arranged a meeting with De16 partment of the Interior representatives and local 

17 leaders where the idea of creating a wildlife refuge 

18 from municipal and privately owned wetlands was 

19 created. 

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

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

22 of wetlands to the United States to be maintained 

23 as a Federal wildlife preserve. It was stipulated that 

24 if the Department of the Interior agreed to an intru25 sion of the property, it would revert to the town. 


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1 Creating a Federal wildlife preserve provided the 

2 land with Federal protection. 

3 (9) Because of the vision, dedication, and perse4 verance of Congressman Lester Wolff, all of us and 

5 future generations can enjoy the beauty and mag6 nificence of this refuge. 

7 SEC. 2. RENAMING THE OYSTER BAY NATIONAL WILDLIFE 

8 REFUGE AS THE CONGRESSMAN LESTER 

9 WOLFF NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE. 

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

11 Refuge System known as the Oyster Bay National Wildlife 

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

13 known as the ‘‘Congressman Lester Wolff National Wild14 life Refuge’’. 

15 (b) REFERENCES.—Any reference in a law, map, reg16 ulation, document, paper, or other record of the United 

17 States to the unit of the National Wildlife Refuge System 

18 known as the Oyster Bay National Wildlife Refuge is 

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

20 Wolff National Wildlife Refuge’’. 

Æ 


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