II

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2462

To provide for the establishment of the Cat Island National Wildlife Refuge

in West Feliciana Parish, Louisiana.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

APRIL 25, 2000

Ms. LANDRIEU (for herself and Mr. BREAUX) introduced the following bill;

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and

Public Works

A BILL

To provide for the establishment of the Cat Island National

Wildlife Refuge in West Feliciana Parish, Louisiana.

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 Congress finds that—

5 (1) as the southernmost unleveed portion of the

6 Mississippi River, Cat Island, Louisiana, is 1 of the

7 last remaining tracts in the lower Mississippi Valley

8 that is still influenced by the natural dynamics of

9 the river;
2

•S 2462 IS

1 (2) Cat Island supports some of the highest

2 densities of virgin bald cypress trees in the Mis3 sissippi River Valley, including the champion cypress

4 tree of the United States, which is 17 feet wide and

5 has a circumference of 53 feet;

6 (3) Cat Island is important habitat for several

7 declining species of forest songbirds and supports

8 thousands of wintering waterfowl;

9 (4) Cat Island supports high populations of

10 deer, turkey, and furbearing mammals, such as mink

11 and bobcats;

12 (5) forested wetland on Cat Island—

13 (A) represents 1 of the most valuable and

14 productive wildlife habitats in the United

15 States; and

16 (B) has high recreational value for hunt17 ers, fishermen, birdwatchers, nature photog18 raphers, and others; and

19 (6) protection and enhancement of the re20 sources of Cat Island through the inclusion of Cat

21 Island in the National Wildlife Refuge System would

22 help meet the habitat protection goals of the North

23 American Waterfowl Management Plan, signed by

24 the Minister of the Environment of Canada and the

25 Secretary in May 1986.
3

•S 2462 IS

1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

2 In this Act:

3 (1) REFUGE.—The term ‘‘Refuge’’ means the

4 Cat Island National Wildlife Refuge established by

5 section 3(a).

6 (2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means

7 the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Di8 rector of the United States Fish and Wildlife Serv9 ice.

10 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT AND ACQUISITION OF REFUGE.

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is established a unit of the

12 National Wildlife Refuge System to be known as the ‘‘Cat

13 Island National Wildlife Refuge’’ in West Feliciana Par14 ish, Louisiana.

15 (b) INCLUSIONS.—The Refuge shall consist of the

16 land and waters (including any interest in the land or wa17 ters) acquired by the Secretary for the Refuge under—

18 (1) subsection (d); or

19 (2) any other law.

20 (c) NOTICE OF ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary

21 shall publish a notice of the establishment of the Refuge—

22 (1) in the Federal Register; and

23 (2) in publications of local circulation in the vi24 cinity of the Refuge.

25 (d) ACQUISITION.—The Secretary shall seek to ac26 quire for inclusion in the Refuge, by purchase, exchange,
4

•S 2462 IS

1 or donation, approximately 36,500 acres of land and adja2 cent waters (including interests in the land or adjacent

3 waters) of Cat Island, Louisiana, as depicted on the map

4 entitled ‘‘Cat Island National Wildlife Refuge, Proposed’’,

5 dated February 8, 2000, which shall be available for in6 spection in the appropriate offices of the United States

7 Fish and Wildlife Service.

8 SEC. 4. PURPOSES OF REFUGE.

9 The purposes of the Refuge are—

10 (1) to conserve, enhance, and restore the native

11 bottomland community characteristics of the lower

12 Mississippi alluvial valley (including associated fish,

13 wildlife, and plant species);

14 (2) to conserve, enhance, and restore habitat to

15 maintain and assist in the recovery of animals (such

16 as the Louisiana black bear) and plants that are

17 listed as endangered species or threatened species

18 under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16

19 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.);

20 (3) to conserve, enhance, and restore habitats

21 as necessary to contribute to the migratory bird pop22 ulation goals and habitat objectives as established

23 through the Lower Mississippi Valley Joint Venture

24 under the North American Wetlands Conservation

25 Act (16 U.S.C. 4401 et seq.);
5

•S 2462 IS

1 (4) to achieve the habitat objectives of the

2 Lower Mississippi River Aquatic Resources Manage3 ment Plan, prepared by the Lower Mississippi River

4 Conservation Committee;

5 (5) to authorize the Secretary, through con6 sultation with Federal, State, and local agencies and

7 adjacent landowners, to assist in the restoration of

8 forest habitat linkages between refuge land and

9 other land to reverse past impacts associated with

10 habitat fragmentation on wildlife and plant species;

11 (6) to provide compatible opportunities for

12 hunting, fishing, wildlife observation and photog13 raphy, and environmental education and interpreta14 tion; and

15 (7) to encourage the use of volunteers and to

16 facilitate partnerships among the United States Fish

17 and Wildlife Service, local communities, conservation

18 organizations, and other non-Federal entities to pro19 mote public awareness of the resources of the Cat

20 Island National Wildlife Refuge and the National

21 Wildlife Refuge System (including public participa22 tion in the conservation of those resources).
6

•S 2462 IS

1 SEC. 5. ADMINISTRATION.

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall administer all

3 land and waters (including any interest in land or waters)

4 acquired under section 3(d) in accordance with—

5 (1) the National Wildlife Refuge System Ad6 ministration Act of 1966 (16 U.S.C. 668dd et seq.);

7 (2) Public Law 87–714 (commonly known as

8 the ‘‘Refuge Recreation Act’’) (16 U.S.C. 460k et

9 seq.); and

10 (3) the purposes of the Refuge described in sec11 tion 4.

12 (b) USE OF OTHER AUTHORITY.—The Secretary

13 may use such additional statutory authority as is available

14 to the Secretary to conduct projects and activities at the

15 Refuge in accordance with this Act, including projects or

16 activities to conserve or develop—

17 (1) wildlife and natural resources;

18 (2) water supplies;

19 (3) water control structures;

20 (4) outdoor recreational activity programs; and

21 (5) interpretive education programs.

22 SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATION.

23 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec24 retary such sums as are necessary for—

25 (1) the acquisition of interests in land and wa26 ters described in section 3(d)(1); and
7

•S 2462 IS

1 (2) the development, operation, and mainte2 nance of the Refuge.

Æ