II 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 248

To expand the boundaries of the Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge Complex 

and the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 30, 2003

Mr. VOINOVICH (for himself, Mr. DEWINE, Mr. LEVIN, and Ms. STABENOW) 

introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 

Committee on Environment and Public Works 

A BILL

To expand the boundaries of the Ottawa National Wildlife 

Refuge Complex and the Detroit River International 

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 ‘‘Ottawa National Wild5 life Refuge Complex Expansion and Detroit River Inter6 national Wildlife Refuge Expansion Act’’. 

7 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

8 Congress finds that—
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1 (1) the western basin of Lake Erie, as part of 

2 the Great Lakes ecosystem—

3 (A) is the largest freshwater ecosystem in 

4 the world; and 

5 (B) is vitally important to the economic 

6 and environmental future of the United States; 

7 (2) over the 30-year period preceding the date 

8 of enactment of this Act, the citizens and govern9 mental institutions of the United States and Canada 

10 have devoted increasing attention and resources to 

11 the restoration of the water quality and fisheries of 

12 the Great Lakes, including the western basin; 

13 (3) that increased awareness has been accom14 panied by a gradual shift toward a holistic eco15 system approach that highlights a growing recogni16 tion that shoreline areas, commonly referred to as 

17 nearshore terrestrial ecosystems, are an integral part 

18 of the western basin and the Great Lakes ecosystem; 

19 (4) the Great Lakes account for more than 90 

20 percent of the surface freshwater in the United 

21 States; 

22 (5) the western basin receives approximately 90 

23 percent of its flow from the Detroit River and only 

24 approximately 10 percent from tributaries; 
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1 (6) the western basin is an important ecosystem 

2 that includes a number of distinct islands, channels, 

3 rivers, and shoals that support dense populations of 

4 fish, wildlife, and aquatic plants; 

5 (7) coastal wetland of Lake Erie supports the 

6 largest diversity of plant and wildlife species in the 

7 Great Lakes; 

8 (8) because Lake Erie is located at a more 

9 southern latitude than other Great Lakes, the mod10 erate climate of Lake Erie is appropriate for many 

11 species that are not found in or along the northern 

12 Great Lakes; 

13 (9) more than 300 species of plants, including 

14 37 significant species, have been identified in the 

15 aquatic and wetland habitats of the western basin; 

16 (10) the shallow western basin of Lake Erie, 

17 extending from the Lower Detroit River to Sandusky 

18 Bay, is home to the greatest concentration of 

19 marshes in Lake Erie, including—

20 (A) Mouille, Metzger, and Magee marshes; 

21 (B) the Maumee Bay wetland complex; 

22 (C) the wetland complexes flanking Locust 

23 Point; and 

24 (D) the wetland in Sandusky Bay; 
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1 (11) the larger islands of the United States in 

2 western Lake Erie have wetland in small 

3 embayments; 

4 (12) the wetland in the western basin comprises 

5 some of the most important waterfowl habitat in the 

6 Great Lakes; 

7 (13) waterfowl, wading birds, shore birds, gulls 

8 and terns, raptors, and perching birds use the wet9 land in the western basin for migration, nesting, and 

10 feeding; 

11 (14) hundreds of thousands of diving ducks 

12 stop to rest in the Lake Erie area during autumn 

13 migration from Canada to points east and south; 

14 (15) the wetland of the western basin provides 

15 a major stopover for ducks, such as migrating 

16 bufflehead, common goldeneye, common mergansers, 

17 and ruddy duck; 

18 (16) the international importance of Lake Erie 

19 is indicated in the United States by congressional 

20 designation of the Ottawa and Cedar Point National 

21 Wildlife Refuges; 

22 (17)(A) Lake Erie has an international reputa23 tion for walleye, perch, and bass fishing, recreational 

24 boating, birding, photography, and duck hunting; 

25 and 
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1 (B) on an economic basis, tourism in the Lake 

2 Erie area accounts for an estimated $1,500,000,000 

3 in retail sales and more than 50,000 jobs;

4 (18)(A) many of the 417,000 boats that are 

5 registered in the State of Ohio are used in the west6 ern basin, in part to fish for the estimated 

7 10,000,000 walleye that migrate from the lake to 

8 spawn; and 

9 (B) that internationally renowned walleye fish10 ery drives much of the $2,000,000,000 sport fishing 

11 industry in the State of Ohio; 

12 (19) coastal wetland in the western basin has 

13 been subjected to intense pressure for 150 years; 

14 (20) prior to 1850, the western basin was part 

15 of an extensive coastal marsh and swamp system 

16 consisting of approximately 122,000 hectares that 

17 comprised a portion of the Great Black Swamp; 

18 (21) by 1951, only 12,407 wetland hectares re19 mained in the western basin; 

20 (22) 50 percent of that acreage was destroyed 

21 between 1972 and 1987, leaving only approximately 

22 5,000 hectares in existence today; 

23 (23) along the Michigan shoreline, coastal wet24 land was reduced by 62 percent between 1916 and 

25 the early 1970s; 
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1 (24) the development of the city of Monroe, 

2 Michigan, has had a particularly significant impact

3 on the coastal wetland at the mouth of the Raisin 

4 River; 

5 (25) only approximately 100 hectares remain 

6 physically unaltered today in an area in which, 70 

7 years ago, marshes were 10 times more extensive; 

8 (26) in addition to the actual loss of coastal 

9 wetland acreage along the shores of Lake Erie, the 

10 quality of much remaining dike wetland has been de11 graded by numerous stressors, especially excessive 

12 loadings of sediments and nutrients, contaminants, 

13 shoreline modification, exotic species, and the diking 

14 of wetland; and 

15 (27) protective peninsula beach systems, such 

16 as the former Bay Point and Woodtick, at the bor17 der of Ohio and Michigan near the mouth of the Ot18 tawa River and Maumee Bay, have been eroded over 

19 the years, exacerbating erosion along the shorelines 

20 and negatively affecting breeding and spawning 

21 grounds. 

22 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

23 In this Act: 

24 (1) INTERNATIONAL REFUGE.—The term 

25 ‘‘International Refuge’’ means the Detroit River 
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1 International Wildlife Refuge established by section 

2 5(a) of the Detroit River International Wildlife Ref3 uge Establishment Act (16 U.S.C. 668dd note; 115 

4 Stat. 894). 

5 (2) REFUGE COMPLEX.—The term ‘‘Refuge 

6 Complex’’ means the Ottawa National Wildlife Ref7 uge Complex and the lands and waters in the com8 plex, as described in the document entitled ‘‘The 

9 Comprehensive Conservation Plan for the Ottawa 

10 National Wildlife Refuge Complex’’ and dated Sep11 tember 22, 2000, including—

12 (A) the Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge, 

13 established by the Secretary in accordance with 

14 the Migratory Bird Conservation Act (16 

15 U.S.C. 715 et seq.); 

16 (B) the West Sister Island National Wild17 life Refuge established by Executive Order No. 

18 7937, dated August 2, 1937; and 

19 (C) the Cedar Point National Wildlife Ref20 uge established by the Secretary in accordance 

21 with the Migratory Bird Conservation Act (16 

22 U.S.C. 715 et seq.). 

23 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

24 the Secretary of the Interior. 

25 (4) WESTERN BASIN.—
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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘western 

2 basin’’ means the western basin of Lake Erie, 

3 consisting of the land and water in the water4 sheds of Lake Erie extending from the water5 shed of the Lower Detroit River in the State of 

6 Michigan to and including Sandusky Bay and 

7 the watershed of Sandusky Bay in the State of 

8 Ohio. 

9 (B) INCLUSION.—The term ‘‘western 

10 basin’’ includes the Bass Island archipelago in 

11 the State of Ohio. 

12 SEC. 4. EXPANSION OF BOUNDARIES. 

13 (a) REFUGE COMPLEX BOUNDARIES.—

14 (1) EXPANSION.—The boundaries of the Refuge 

15 Complex are expanded to include land and water in 

16 the State of Ohio from the eastern boundary of 

17 Maumee Bay State Park to the eastern boundary of 

18 the Darby Unit (including the Bass Island archi19 pelago), as depicted on the map entitled ‘‘Ottawa 

20 National Wildlife Refuge Complex Expansion and 

21 Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge Expan22 sion Act’’ and dated September 6, 2002. 

23 (2) AVAILABILITY OF MAP.—The map referred 

24 to in paragraph (1) shall be available for inspection 
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1 in appropriate offices of the United States Fish and 

2 Wildlife Service. 

3 (b) BOUNDARY REVISIONS.—The Secretary may 

4 make such revisions of the boundaries of the Refuge Com5 plex as the Secretary determines to be appropriate—

6 (1) to facilitate the acquisition of property with7 in the Refuge Complex; or 

8 (2) to carry out this Act. 

9 (c) ACQUISITION.—

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 

11 the Secretary may acquire by donation, purchase 

12 with donated or appropriated funds, or exchange the 

13 land and water, and interests in land and water (in14 cluding conservation easements), within the bound15 aries of the Refuge Complex. 

16 (2) CONSENT.—No land, water, or interest in 

17 land or water described in paragraph (1) may be ac18 quired by the Secretary without the consent of the 

19 owner of the land, water, or interest. 

20 (d) TRANSFERS FROM OTHER AGENCIES.—Adminis21 trative jurisdiction over any Federal property that is lo22 cated within the boundaries of the Refuge Complex and 

23 under the administrative jurisdiction of an agency of the 

24 United States other than the Department of the Interior 

25 may, with the concurrence of the head of the admin-
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1 istering agency, be transferred without consideration to 

2 the Secretary for the purpose of this Act.

3 (e) STUDY OF ASSOCIATED AREA.—

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting 

5 through the Director of the United States Fish and 

6 Wildlife Service, shall conduct a study of fish and 

7 wildlife habitat and aquatic and terrestrial commu8 nities in and around the 2 dredge spoil disposal sites 

9 that are—

10 (A) referred to by the Toledo-Lucas Coun11 ty Port Authority as ‘‘Port Authority Facility 

12 Number Three’’ and ‘‘Grassy Island’’, respec13 tively; and 

14 (B) located within Toledo Harbor near the 

15 mouth of the Maumee River. 

16 (2) REPORT.—Not later than 18 months after 

17 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

18 shall—

19 (A) complete the study under paragraph 

20 (1); and 

21 (B) submit to Congress a report on the re22 sults of the study. 
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1 SEC. 5. EXPANSION OF INTERNATIONAL REFUGE BOUND2 ARIES. 

3 The southern boundary of the International Refuge 

4 is extended south to include additional land and water in 

5 the State of Michigan located east of Interstate Route 75, 

6 extending from the southern boundary of Sterling State 

7 Park to the Ohio State boundary, as depicted on the map 

8 referred to in section 4(a)(1). 

9 SEC. 6. ADMINISTRATION. 

10 (a) REFUGE COMPLEX.—

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall admin12 ister all federally owned land, water, and interests in 

13 land and water that are located within the bound14 aries of the Refuge Complex in accordance with—

15 (A) the National Wildlife Refuge System 

16 Administration Act of 1966 (16 U.S.C. 668dd 

17 et seq.); and 

18 (B) this Act. 

19 (2) ADDITIONAL AUTHORITY.—The Secretary 

20 may use such additional statutory authority avail21 able to the Secretary for the conservation of fish and 

22 wildlife, and the provision of opportunities for fish23 and wildlife-dependent recreation, as the Secretary 

24 determines to be appropriate to carry out this Act. 

25 (b) ADDITIONAL PURPOSES.—In addition to the pur26 poses of the Refuge Complex under other laws, regula-
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1 tions, executive orders, and comprehensive conservation 

2 plans, the Refuge Complex shall be managed—

3 (1) to strengthen and complement existing re4 source management, conservation, and education 

5 programs and activities at the Refuge Complex in a 

6 manner consistent with the primary purposes of the 

7 Refuge Complex—

8 (A) to provide major resting, feeding, and 

9 wintering habitats for migratory birds and 

10 other wildlife; and 

11 (B) to enhance national resource conserva12 tion and management in the western basin; 

13 (2) in partnership with nongovernmental and 

14 private organizations and private individuals dedi15 cated to habitat enhancement, to conserve, enhance, 

16 and restore the native aquatic and terrestrial com17 munity characteristics of the western basin (includ18 ing associated fish, wildlife, and plant species); 

19 (3) to facilitate partnerships among the United 

20 States Fish and Wildlife Service, Canadian national 

21 and provincial authorities, State and local govern22 ments, local communities in the United States and 

23 Canada, conservation organizations, and other non24 Federal entities to promote public awareness of the 

25 resources of the western basin; and 
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1 (4) to advance the collective goals and priorities 

2 that—

3 (A) were established in the report entitled 

4 ‘‘Great Lakes Strategy 2002—A Plan for the 

5 New Millennium’’, developed by the United 

6 States Policy Committee, comprised of Federal 

7 agencies (including the United States Fish and 

8 Wildlife Service, the National Oceanic and At9 mospheric Administration, the United States 

10 Geological Survey, the Forest Service, and the 

11 Great Lakes Fishery Commission) and State 

12 governments and tribal governments in the 

13 Great Lakes basin; and 

14 (B) include the goals of cooperating to pro15 tect and restore the chemical, physical, and bio16 logical integrity of the Great Lakes basin eco17 system. 

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

19 compatible fish- and wildlife-dependent recreation, the 

20 Secretary, in accordance with paragraphs (3) and (4) of 

21 section 4(a) of the National Wildlife Refuge System Ad22 ministration Act of 1966 (16 U.S.C. 668dd(a)), shall en23 sure, to the maximum extent practicable, that hunting, 

24 trapping, fishing, wildlife observation and photography, 
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1 and environmental education and interpretation are the 

2 priority public uses of the Refuge Complex. 

3 (d) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS REGARDING NON4 FEDERAL LAND.—To promote public awareness of the re5 sources of the western basin and encourage public partici6 pation in the conservation of those resources, the Sec7 retary may enter into cooperative agreements with the 

8 State of Ohio or Michigan, any political subdivision of the 

9 State, or any person for the management, in a manner 

10 consistent with this Act, of land that—

11 (1) is owned by the State, political subdivision, 

12 or person; and 

13 (2) is located within the boundaries of the Ref14 uge Complex. 

15 (e) USE OF EXISTING GREENWAY AUTHORITY.—The 

16 Secretary shall encourage the State of Ohio to use author17 ity under the recreational trails program under section 

18 206 of title 23, United States Code, to provide funding 

19 for acquisition and development of trails within the bound20 aries of the Refuge Complex. 

21 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

22 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums 

23 as are necessary—

24 (1) to acquire land and water within the Refuge 

25 Complex under section 4(c); 
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1 (2) to carry out the study under section 4(e); 

2 and 

3 (3) to develop, operate, and maintain the Ref4 uge Complex.

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