II 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2845 

To establish the Southern Prairie Potholes National Wildlife Refuge. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 17 (legislative day, SEPTEMBER 16), 2014 

Mr. HARKIN introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Environment and Public Works 

A BILL 

To establish the Southern Prairie Potholes 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. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Southern Prairie Pot5 holes National Wildlife Refuge Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds that— 

8 (1) the area of the State of Iowa known as the 

9 Southern Prairie Potholes and consisting primarily 

10 of the Willow Creek watershed in Greene County ofVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:45 Sep 24, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2845.IS S2845

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1 fers exceptional potential for restoration into a boun2 tiful native wildlife habitat area; 

3 (2) ongoing restoration and preservation of this 

4 wildlife habitat area will significantly enhance oppor5 tunities for outdoor recreation in this region, includ6 ing waterfowl and upland hunting, wildlife viewing, 

7 and hiking; 

8 (3) the Southern Prairie Potholes area is lo9 cated at the southwestern edge of the Des Moines 

10 Lobe left by glaciers 12,000 years ago; 

11 (4) the sloughs and grassland offer a substan12 tial oasis of both wetland and grassland habitat at 

13 the southwestern boundary of the most heavily 

14 cropped region in Iowa; 

15 (5) because of the location of the Southern 

16 Prairie Potholes at the edge of the multistate and 

17 international region known as the Prairie Potholes 

18 Region, and along important migratory flyways, the 

19 restoration and preservation of the area is critical to 

20 providing wildlife habitat across the full extent of 

21 the Prairie Potholes Region; 

22 (6) this 23,500-acre area has for years been 

23 designated by the Prairie Pothole Joint Venture as 

24 a priority area for restoration and preservation be25 cause of the importance of the area to wildlife, faciliVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:45 Sep 24, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2845.IS S2845

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1 tating gradual public land acquisition for habitat 

2 restoration; 

3 (7) the area already includes the 2,134-acre 

4 Dunbar Slough wetland complex of Federal and 

5 State land managed as popular wildlife and hunting 

6 areas serving Carroll, Greene, and Guthrie Counties 

7 and beyond; 

8 (8) national wildlife refuges increasingly follow 

9 a mosaic pattern with a core of publicly held land 

10 surrounded by privately held land also located within 

11 the refuge boundary; 

12 (9) private ownership and uses are not affected 

13 for private land within the designated boundaries of 

14 the refuge, but private landowners may be provided 

15 increased opportunities for partnering on conserva16 tion or restoration practices; 

17 (10) restoration and preservation of the South18 ern Prairie Potholes area will benefit hundreds of 

19 birds, mammals, butterflies, reptiles, and amphib20 ians that have been classified as species of greatest 

21 conservation need, including the endangered Bland22 ing’s turtle; 

23 (11) restoration of grassland and wetland in the 

24 area will contribute to improved flood control and 

25 water quality downstream, as the Middle Raccoon 


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1 River is the major water source for the Des Moines 

2 metropolitan region and other communities; 

3 (12) the Southern Prairie Potholes area offers 

4 unique recreational appeal because the area is adja5 cent to the existing Whiterock Conservancy, a 4,300- 

6 acre land trust dedicated to conserving and pro7 tecting the natural resources of Iowa and engaging 

8 the public with the landscape; 

9 (13) Whiterock Conservancy offers outdoor 

10 recreation and education and includes a major new 

11 Backcountry Trail complex; 

12 (14) the proximity of the Southern Prairie Pot13 holes to the largest metropolitan area in Iowa adds 

14 to the ability of the area to provide natural resource 

15 experiences to a broad community; and 

16 (15) the area is already attracting cyclists, and 

17 that appeal will grow with ongoing development of 

18 the cross-country American Discovery Trail 

19 transecting the area. 

20 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

21 In this Act: 

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

23 Southern Prairie Potholes National Wildlife Refuge 

24 established under section 4. 


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

2 the Secretary of the Interior. 

3 SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT AND PURPOSE OF REFUGE. 

4 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish 

6 the Southern Prairie Potholes National Wildlife Ref7 uge, consisting of approximately 23,500 acres of 

8 Federal land, water, and interests in land and water 

9 within the boundaries depicted on the map entitled 

10 ‘‘Southern Prairie Potholes Project Area’’ and dated 

11 August 26, 2014. 

12 (2) BOUNDARY REVISIONS.—The Secretary 

13 shall make such minor revisions of the boundaries of 

14 the Refuge as may be appropriate to carry out the 

15 purposes of the Refuge or to facilitate the acquisi16 tion of property within the Refuge. 

17 (3) AVAILABILITY OF MAP.—The Secretary 

18 shall keep the map referred to in paragraph (1) 

19 available for inspection in appropriate offices of the 

20 United States Fish and Wildlife Service. 

21 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the Refuge are— 

22 (1) to enhance opportunities for outdoor recre23 ation, including waterfowl and upland hunting, hik24 ing, native habitat exploration, and wildlife viewing; 


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1 (2) to provide for the restoration or preserva2 tion of Refuge land to native wetland and grassland 

3 habitats and landscapes; 

4 (3) to provide for the restoration and conserva5 tion of native plants and animal communities on 

6 suitable sites in the Southern Prairie Potholes area, 

7 including the protection of threatened and endan8 gered species and the restoration of extirpated spe9 cies; 

10 (4) to provide critical travel and nesting habitat 

11 for migratory birds; 

12 (5) to provide opportunities to private land13 owners to access technical or financial assistance for 

14 the voluntary restoration of the land of the private 

15 landowners for the benefit of fish and wildlife; 

16 (6) to provide for outdoor recreation, including 

17 hunting, hiking, paddling, and wildlife viewing to the 

18 public; and 

19 (7) to facilitate the education of the public, es20 pecially young people, about nature, the environ21 ment, and the conservation of the natural resources. 

22 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—The establishment of the 

24 Refuge shall take effect on the date on which the 

25 Secretary publishes a notice that sufficient property 


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1 has been acquired by the United States within the 

2 boundaries described in subsection (a)(1) to con3 stitute an area that can be efficiently managed as a 

4 National Wildlife Refuge. 

5 (2) PUBLICATION.—The Secretary shall publish 

6 the notice described in paragraph (1) in the Federal 

7 Register and publications of local circulation in the 

8 vicinity of the area within the boundaries described 

9 in subsection (a)(1). 

10 SEC. 5. ADMINISTRATION OF REFUGE. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the purposes described 

12 in section 4(b), the Secretary shall administer all land, 

13 water, and interests in land and water acquired under this 

14 Act in accordance with the National Wildlife Refuge Sys15 tem Administration Act of 1966 (16 U.S.C. 668dd et 

16 seq.). 

17 (b) ADDITIONAL AUTHORITY.—The Secretary may 

18 use such additional statutory authority as may be avail19 able for the conservation of fish and wildlife, and the pro20 vision of fish- and wildlife-oriented recreational opportuni21 ties, as the Secretary considers appropriate to carry out 

22 the purposes of this Act. 

23 (c) PRIORITY USES.—In providing opportunities for 

24 compatible fish- and wildlife-oriented recreation, the Sec25 retary, in accordance with paragraphs (3) and (4) of secVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:45 Sep 24, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2845.IS S2845

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1 tion 4(a) of the National Wildlife Refuge System Adminis2 tration Act of 1996 (16 U.S.C. 668dd(a)), shall ensure 

3 that hunting, fishing, wildlife observation and photog4 raphy, and environmental education and interpretation are 

5 the priority public uses of the Refuge. 

6 (d) VOLUNTEERS AND PARTNERSHIPS.—The Sec7 retary shall encourage the use of volunteers and facilitate 

8 partnerships among the United States Fish and Wildlife 

9 Service, local communities, conservation organizations, 

10 and other non-Federal entities to promote public aware11 ness, conservation, and priority uses of the resources of 

12 the Refuge. 

13 SEC. 6. ACQUISITION OF LAND AND WATER. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (c) and the 

15 availability of appropriations, the Secretary may acquire 

16 up to 23,500 acres of land and water, or interests in land 

17 and water, within the boundaries of the Refuge as de18 scribed in section 4(a)(1). 

19 (b) INCLUSION IN REFUGE.—Any land, water, or in20 terests acquired by the Secretary under this section shall 

21 be part of the Refuge. 

22 (c) MANNER OF ACQUISITION.—All acquisition of 

23 land or water under this section shall be made in a vol24 untary manner from willing sellers only. 


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1 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

2 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums 

3 as are necessary to carry out this Act. 

Æ 


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