107TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1230

AN ACT

To provide for the establishment of the Detroit

River International Wildlife Refuge in the Stateof Michigan, and for other purposes.
107TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1230

AN ACT

To provide for the establishment of the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge in the State of Michigan, 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,
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Detroit River Inter3 national Wildlife Refuge Establishment Act’’.

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

5 The Congress finds the following:

6 (1) The Detroit River, one of North America’s

7 greatest rivers, was created some 14,000 years ago

8 during the retreat of the Wisconsin Glacier.

9 (2) The present river channel, established when

10 falling water levels permitted erosion of the Lake

11 Plain and moraines, is a connecting channel linking

12 the Upper and Lower Great Lakes, as well as link13 ing the United States to Canada.

14 (3) The Lower Detroit River ecosystem is di15 verse with a number of distinct channels, numerous

16 shoals that support dense stands of aquatic plants,

17 and many islands. These nationally and internation18 ally significant habitats and ecological features at19 tract as many as 29 species of waterfowl and 65

20 kinds of fish.

21 (4) The Detroit River is a major migration cor22 ridor for fish, butterflies, raptors, and other birds, in

23 addition to waterfowl. Over 300 species of birds have

24 been documented in the Detroit-Windsor area, of

25 which about 150 species breed in the immediate

26 area.
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1 (5) Because the Great Lakes are situated at the

2 intersection of the Atlantic and Mississippi Flyways,

3 the Detroit River is an important waterfowl migra4 tion corridor. 3,000,000 ducks, geese, swans, and

5 coots migrate annually through the Great Lakes re6 gion.

7 (6) The importance of this corridor is recog8 nized in the Canada-United States North American

9 Waterfowl Management Plan that has identified the

10 Detroit River as part of one of 34 Waterfowl Habi11 tat Areas of Major Concern in the United States

12 and Canada.

13 (7) Some 300,000 diving ducks stop in the

14 Lower Detroit River on their fall migration from

15 Canada to the east and south each year to rest and

16 feed in beds of water celery found in the region.

17 (8) The international importance of the Lower

18 Detroit River area is manifested in the United

19 States congressional designation of the 460-acre Wy20 andotte National Wildlife Refuge.

21 (9) Canada’s Canard River Marsh Complex is

22 an internationally significant waterfowl staging area

23 which is one of the main resting and feeding areas

24 for canvasbacks migrating from their nesting
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1 grounds in the Canadian prairies to the East Coast.

2 Many over-winter in the area as well.

3 (10) The diversity of biota and habitats in the

4 Lower Detroit River ecosystem provides substantial

5 benefits to the over 5,000,000 people who live in the

6 vicinity. The Lower Detroit River has an inter7 national reputation for duck hunting. On an eco8 nomic basis, retail sales related to waterfowl hunting

9 in Michigan were estimated in 1991 to be

10 $20,100,000. During the same year birding, photog11 raphy, and other nonconsumptive uses of waterfowl

12 contributed an additional $192,800,000 in Michigan.

13 (11) More than 1,000,000 pleasure boats are

14 registered in Michigan and about half of those are

15 used on the Detroit River and Lake St. Clair, in

16 part to fish for the estimated 10,000,000 walleye

17 that migrate to the Detroit River each spring from

18 Lake Erie to spawn. These walleye have helped cre19 ate an internationally renowned sport fishery esti20 mated to bring in $1,000,000 to the economy of

21 communities along the lower Detroit River each

22 spring.

23 (12) All of these natural resource values and

24 socioeconomic benefits were acclaimed when the De25 troit River was designated an American Heritage
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1 River in 1998. The Detroit River is also a Canadian

2 Heritage River, making it the first international her3 itage river system in the world.

4 (13) The Detroit River has lost over 95 percent

5 of its coastal wetland habitats and despite increased

6 awareness and supporting science of their impor7 tance, habitats continue to be destroyed and de8 graded.

9 (14) Protection of remaining wildlife habitats

10 and enhancement of degraded wildlife habitats are

11 essential to sustain the quality of life enjoyed by so

12 many living along the Detroit River corridor.

13 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

14 For purposes of this Act:

15 (1) The term ‘‘Refuge’’ means the Detroit

16 River International Wildlife Refuge established by

17 section 5.

18 (2) The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary

19 of the Interior.

20 (3) The term ‘‘Detroit River’’ means those

21 lands and waters within the area described in section

22 5(a).

23 SEC. 4. PURPOSES.

24 The purposes for which the Refuge is established and

25 shall be managed are as follows:
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1 (1) To protect the remaining high-quality fish

2 and wildlife habitats of the Detroit River before they

3 are lost to further development and to restore and

4 enhance degraded wildlife habitats associated with

5 the Detroit River.

6 (2) To assist in international efforts to con7 serve, enhance, and restore the native aquatic and

8 terrestrial community characteristics of the Detroit

9 River (including associated fish, wildlife, and plant

10 species) both in the United States and Canada.

11 (3) To facilitate partnerships among the United

12 States Fish and Wildlife Service, Canadian national

13 and provincial authorities, State and local govern14 ments, local communities in the United States and

15 in Canada, conservation organizations, and other

16 non-Federal entities to promote public awareness of

17 the resources of the Detroit River.

18 SEC. 5. ESTABLISHMENT OF REFUGE.

19 (a) BOUNDARIES.—There is hereby established the

20 Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge, consisting of

21 the lands and waters owned or managed by the Secretary

22 pursuant to this Act in the State of Michigan within the

23 area extending from the point in Michigan directly across

24 the river from northernmost point of Ojibway Shores to

25 the southern boundary of the Sterling State Park, as de-
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1 picted upon a map entitled ‘‘Detroit River International

2 Wildlife Refuge Proposed’’, dated July 31, 2001, which

3 shall be available for inspection in appropriate offices of

4 the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.

5 (b) EXISTING REFUGE LANDS.—The Wyandotte Na6 tional Wildlife Refuge is hereby included within, and shall

7 be a part of, the Detroit River International Wildlife Ref8 uge. All references to the Wyandotte National Wildlife

9 Refuge shall hereafter be treated as references to the De10 troit River International Wildlife Refuge.

11 (c) BOUNDARY REVISIONS.—The Secretary may

12 make such revisions of the boundaries of the Refuge as

13 may be appropriate to carry out the purposes of the Ref14 uge or to facilitate the acquisition of property within the

15 Refuge.

16 (d) ACQUISITION.—The Secretary is authorized to ac17 quire by donation, purchase with donated or appropriated

18 funds, or exchange the lands and waters, or interests

19 therein (including conservation easements), within the

20 boundaries of the Refuge.

21 (e) TRANSFERS FROM OTHER AGENCIES.—Any Fed22 eral property located within the boundaries of the Refuge

23 which is under the administrative jurisdiction of another

24 department or agency of the United States may, with the

25 concurrence of the head of administering department or
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1 agency, be transferred without consideration to the admin2 istrative jurisdiction of the Secretary for the purposes of

3 this Act.

4 (f) STUDY OF ASSOCIATED AREA.—The Secretary

5 (acting through the Director of the United States Fish

6 and Wildlife Service) shall conduct a study of fish and

7 wildlife habitat and aquatic and terrestrial communities

8 of the north reach of the Detroit River, from the northern9 most point of Ojibway Shores north to the mouth of Lake

10 St. Clair, for potential inclusion in the Refuge. Not later

11 than 18 months after date of enactment of the Act, the

12 Secretary shall complete such study and submit a report

13 containing the results thereof to the Congress.

14 SEC. 6. ADMINISTRATION.

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

16 federally owned lands, waters, and interests therein that

17 are within the boundaries of the Refuge in accordance

18 with the National Wildlife Refuge System Administration

19 Act (16 U.S.C. 668dd and following) and this Act. The

20 Secretary may use such additional statutory authority as

21 may be available for the conservation of fish and wildlife,

22 and the provision of fish and wildlife dependent rec23 reational opportunities as the Secretary considers appro24 priate to carry out the purposes of this Act.
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1 (b) PRIORITY USES.—In providing opportunities for

2 compatible fish and wildlife dependent recreation, the Sec3 retary, in accordance with paragraphs (3) and (4) of sec4 tion 4(a) of the National Wildlife Refuge System Adminis5 tration Act of 1966 (16 U.S.C. 668dd(a)), shall ensure

6 that hunting, fishing, wildlife observation and photog7 raphy, and environmental education and interpretation are

8 the priority public uses of the Refuge.

9 (c) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS REGARDING NON10 FEDERAL LANDS.—The Secretary is authorized to enter

11 into cooperative agreements with the State of Michigan,

12 or any political subdivision thereof, and with any other

13 person or entity for the management in a manner con14 sistent with this Act of lands that are owned by such

15 State, subdivision, or other person or entity and located

16 within the boundaries of the Refuge and to promote public

17 awareness of the resources of the Detroit River Inter18 national Wildlife Refuge and encourage public participa19 tion in the conservation of those resources.

20 (d) USE OF EXISTING GREENWAY AUTHORITY.—The

21 Secretary shall encourage the State of Michigan to use

22 existing authorities under the Transportation Equity Act

23 for the 21st Century (TEA–21) to provide funding for ac24 quisition and development of trails within the boundaries

25 of the Refuge.
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1 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

2 There are authorized to be appropriated to the De3 partment of the Interior—

4 (1) such sums as may be necessary for the ac5 quisition of lands and waters within the Refuge;

6 (2) such sums as may be necessary for the de7 velopment, operation, and maintenance of the Ref8 uge; and

9 (3) such sums as may be necessary to carry out

10 the study under section 5(f).

Passed the House of Representatives November 27,

2001.

Attest:

Clerk.