I

105TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 952

To clarify the mission, purposes, and authorized uses of the National Wildlife

Refuge System, and to establish requirements for administration and

conservation planning for that system.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MARCH 5, 1997

Mr. MILLER of California (for himself, Ms. PELOSI, Mr. MARKEY, Mr.

HINCHEY, Mr. MEEHAN, Mr. NADLER, Mr. CONYERS, Mr. FARR of California, Mr. ABERCROMBIE, Mr. DELAHUNT, Mr. VENTO, Mrs. MINK of

Hawaii, Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts, and Mr. SHAYS) introduced the

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Resources

A BILL

To clarify the mission, purposes, and authorized uses of

the National Wildlife Refuge System, and to establish

requirements for administration and conservation planning for that system.

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 ‘‘Theodore Roosevelt

5 Wildlife Legacy Act of 1997’’.
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1 SEC. 2. MISSION AND PURPOSES OF THE SYSTEM.

2 (a) MISSION.—The overall mission of the National

3 Wildlife Refuge System (in this Act referred to as the

4 ‘‘System’’) is to preserve a network of lands and waters

5 for the conservation and management of fish, wildlife, and

6 plants of the United States for the benefit of present and

7 future generations.

8 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the System are—

9 (1) to conserve, manage, and where appro10 priate, restore fish and wildlife habitats so as to pro11 vide, in perpetuity, for the diversity of fish, wildlife,

12 and plants and the ecological processes that sustain

13 them;

14 (2) to provide a diverse national network of

15 lands and waters designed to conserve and manage,

16 in perpetuity, fish, wildlife, and plants of the United

17 States, and their habitats;

18 (3) to conserve and manage migratory birds,

19 endangered species, anadromous or interjurisdic20 tional fish species, marine mammals, and other fish,

21 wildlife, and plants; and

22 (4) to fulfill international treaty obligations of

23 the United States with respect to fish, wildlife, and

24 plants, and their habitats.
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1 SEC. 3. PRIORITY USES.

2 The priority public uses of the System are wildlife

3 observation and photography, hunting, fishing, and envi4 ronmental education and interpretation.

5 SEC. 4. ADMINISTRATION OF THE SYSTEM.

6 In administering the System, the Secretary of the In7 terior shall—

8 (1) ensure that the mission and purposes of the

9 System described in section 2 and the purposes of

10 each refuge are carried out, except that if a conflict

11 exists between the primary purpose of a National

12 Wildlife Refuge and any purpose of the System, the

13 conflict shall be resolved in a manner that first ful14 fills the primary purpose of the refuge, and, to the

15 extent practicable, also achieves the purposes of the

16 System;

17 (2) ensure that opportunities for the uses de18 scribed in section 3 receive priority attention in

19 planning and management within the System, con20 sistent with the mission and purposes of the System

21 described in sections 2(a) and (b);

22 (3) plan, propose, and direct expansion of the

23 System—

24 (A) to accomplish the mission and pur25 poses of the System and the purposes of each

26 National Wildlife Refuge; and
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1 (B) to contribute to the conservation of the

2 ecosystems of the United States; and

3 (4) inventory and monitor the status and trends

4 of fish, wildlife, and plants in each National Wildlife

5 Refuge.

6 SEC. 5. COMPATIBILITY STANDARDS AND PROCEDURES.

7 (a) GENERAL RULE.—Except as provided in sub8 section (b), effective beginning on the date that is 3 years

9 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall

10 not initiate or permit a new use of a National Wildlife

11 Refuge or expand, renew, or extend an existing allowed

12 use unless the Secretary determines that the use is com13 patible with the primary purposes of the refuge and the

14 mission and purposes of the System specified in section

15 2 of this Act. Such determinations shall—

16 (1) be made in writing, be based on the best

17 available scientific information, and represent the

18 best professional judgment of the refuge officer in19 volved;

20 (2) be made after an opportunity has been pro21 vided for the public to review and comment on the

22 evaluations;

23 (3) where appropriate, be made concurrently

24 with the development of a conservation plan for the

25 refuge under section 6; and
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1 (4) be reevaluated when conditions under which

2 the use is permitted change significantly or when

3 there is significant new information regarding the

4 effects of the use, but not less frequently than every

5 10 years.

6 (b) PRIOR IDENTIFICATION FOR NEW ACQUISI7 TIONS.—On lands added to the System after the date of

8 enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall identify, prior

9 to acquisition, existing compatible priority public uses (as

10 described in section 3) that shall be permitted to continue

11 on an interim basis pending completion of comprehensive

12 planning.

13 SEC. 6. REFUGE CONSERVATION PLANNING PROGRAM.

14 (a) GENERAL RULE.—Except with respect to Na15 tional Wildlife Refuge lands in Alaska (which shall be gov16 erned by the refuge planning provision of the Alaska Na17 tional Interest Lands Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 3101

18 et seq.)), the Secretary shall—

19 (1) propose a comprehensive conservation plan

20 for each refuge or ecologically related complex of ref21 uges consistent with section 2 of this Act within 15

22 years after the date of enactment of this Act and re23 vise such plans not less frequently than every 15

24 years thereafter;
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1 (2) develop and implement a process to ensure

2 an opportunity for active public involvement in the

3 preparation and revision of conservation plans; and

4 (3) manage each refuge in a manner consistent

5 with the conservation plan for the refuge.

6 (b) NEW REFUGES.—With respect to any refuge es7 tablished after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec8 retary shall prepare a conservation plan for the refuge not

9 later than 2 years after the Secretary has determined that

10 sufficient land has been acquired to warrant comprehen11 sive planning.

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