I
105TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 511
To amend the National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 1966
to improve the management of the National Wildlife Refuge System,
and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
FEBRUARY 4, 1997
Mr. YOUNG of Alaska (for himself, Mr. DINGELL, Mr. SAXTON, Mr. TANNER,
and Mr. CUNNINGHAM) introduced the following bill; which was referred
to the Committee on Resources
A BILL
To amend the National Wildlife Refuge System Administra-
tion Act of 1966 to improve the management of the
National Wildlife Refuge System, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; REFERENCES.
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the
‘‘National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of
1997’’.
(b) REFERENCES.—Whenever in this Act an amend-
ment or repeal is expressed in terms of an amendment
to, or repeal of, a section or other provision, the reference
shall be considered to be made to a section or provision
of the National Wildlife Refuge System Administration
Act of 1966 (16 U.S.C. 668dd et seq.).
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds the following:
(1) The National Wildlife Refuge System is
comprised of over 91,000,000 acres of Federal lands
that have been incorporated within 511 individual
units located in all 50 States and our territories.
(2) The System was created to conserve fish,
wildlife, and other habitats and this conservation
mission has been facilitated by providing Americans
opportunities to participate in wildlife-dependent
recreation, including fishing and hunting, on System
lands and to better appreciate the value of and need
for fish and wildlife conservation.
(3) The System includes lands purchased not
only through the use of tax dollars but also through
the sale of Duck Stamps and refuge entrance fees.
It is a System paid for by those utilizing it.
(4) On March 25, 1996, the President issued
Executive Order 12996 which recognized ‘‘wildlife-
dependent recreational activities involving hunting,
fishing, wildlife observation and photography, and
environmental education and interpretation as prior-
ity general public uses of the Refuge System’’.
(5) Executive Order 12996 is a positive step in
the right direction and will serve as the foundation
for the permanent statutory changes made by this
Act.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 5 (16 U.S.C. 668ee) is
amended to read as follows:
‘‘SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.
‘‘For purposes of this Act:
‘‘(1) The term ‘compatible use’ means a use
that will not materially interfere with or detract
from the fulfillment of the purposes of a refuge or
the overall mission and purposes of the System spec-
ified in sections 4(a) (2) and (3), respectively, as de-
termined by sound resource management, and based
on reliable scientific information.
‘‘(2) The terms ‘conserving’, ‘conservation’,
‘manage’, ‘managing’, and ‘management’, when used
with respect to fish and wildlife, mean to use, in ac-
cordance with applicable Federal and State laws,
methods and procedures associated with modern sci-
entific resource programs including protection, re-
search, census, law enforcement, habitat manage-
ment, propagation, live trapping and transplan-
tation, and regulated taking.
‘‘(3) The term ‘Coordination Area’ means a
wildlife management area that is acquired by the
Federal Government and subsequently made avail-
able to a State—
‘‘(A) by cooperative agreement between the
United States Fish and Wildlife Service and the
State fish and game agency pursuant to the
Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act (16 U.S.C.
661–666c); or
‘‘(B) by long-term leases or agreements
pursuant to the Bankhead-Jones Farm Tenant
Act (50 Stat. 525; 7 U.S.C. 1010 et seq.).
‘‘(4) The term ‘Director’ means the Director of
the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.
‘‘(5) The terms ‘fish’, ‘wildlife’, and ‘fish and
wildlife’ mean any wild member of the animal king-
dom whether alive or dead, and regardless of wheth-
er the member was bred, hatched, or born in cap-
tivity, including a part, product, egg, or offspring of
the member.
‘‘(6) The term ‘person’ means any individual,
partnership, corporation or association.
‘‘(7) The term ‘plant’ means any member of the
plant kingdom in a wild, unconfined state, including
any plant community, seed, root, or other part of a
plant.
‘‘(8) The terms ‘purposes of the refuge’ and
‘purposes of each refuge’ mean the purposes speci-
fied in or derived from the law, proclamation, execu-
tive order, agreement, public land order, donation
document, or administrative memorandum establish-
ing, authorizing, or expanding a refuge, refuge unit,
or refuge subunit.
‘‘(9) The term ‘refuge’ means a designated area
of land, water, or an interest in land or water within
the System, but does not include navigational ser-
vitudes or Coordination Areas.
‘‘(10) The term ‘Secretary’ means the Secretary
of the Interior.
‘‘(11) The terms ‘State’ and ‘United States’
mean the several States of the United States, Puerto
Rico, American Samoa, the Virgin Islands, Guam,
and the insular possessions of the United States.
‘‘(A) to provide a national network of lands and
waters designed to conserve and manage fish, wild-
life, and plants and their habitats;
‘‘(B) to conserve, manage, and where appro-
priate restore fish and wildlife populations, plant
communities, and refuge habitats within the System;
‘‘(C) to conserve and manage migratory birds,
anadromous or interjurisdictional fish species, and
marine mammals within the System;
‘‘(D) to provide opportunities for compatible
uses of refuges consisting of fish- and wildlife-de-
pendent recreation, including fishing and hunting,
wildlife observation, and environmental education;
‘‘(E) to preserve, restore, and recover fish, wild-
life, and plants within the System that are listed or
are candidates for threatened species or endangered
species under section 4 of the Endangered Species
Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1533) and the habitats on
which these species depend; and
‘‘(F) to fulfill as appropriate international trea-
ty obligations of the United States with respect to
fish, wildlife, and plants, and their habitats.’’.
SEC. 5. ADMINISTRATION OF THE SYSTEM.
(a) ADMINISTRATION, GENERALLY.—Section 4(a)
(16 U.S.C. 668dd(a)), as amended by section 3 of this
Act, is further amended by inserting after new paragraph
(3) the following new paragraph:
‘‘(4) In administering the System, the Secretary
shall—
‘‘(A) ensure that the mission and purposes of
the System described in paragraphs (2) and (3), re-
spectively, and the purposes of each refuge are car-
ried out, except that if a conflict exists between the
purposes of a refuge and any purpose of the System,
the conflict shall be resolved in a manner that first
protects the purposes of the refuge, and, to the ex-
tent practicable, that also achieves the purposes of
the System;
‘‘(B) provide for conservation of fish and wild-
life and their habitats within the System;
‘‘(C) ensure effective coordination, interaction,
and cooperation with owners of land adjoining ref-
uges and the fish and wildlife agency of the States
in which the units of the System are located;
‘‘(D) assist in the maintenance of adequate
water quantity and water quality to fulfill the pur-
poses of the System and the purposes of each
refuge;
‘‘(E) acquire under State law through purchase,
exchange, or donation water rights that are needed
for refuge purposes;
‘‘(F) plan, propose, and direct appropriate ex-
pansion of the System in the manner that is best de-
signed to accomplish the purposes of the System and
the purposes of each refuge and to complement ef-
forts of States and other Federal agencies to con-
serve fish and wildlife and their habitats;
‘‘(G) recognize compatible uses of refuges con-
sisting of wildlife-dependent recreational activities
involving hunting, fishing, wildlife observation and
photography, and environmental education and in-
terpretation as priority general public uses of the
System through which the American public can de-
velop an appreciation for fish and wildlife;
‘‘(H) provide expanded opportunities for these
priority public uses within the System when they are
compatible and consistent with sound principles of
fish and wildlife management;
‘‘(I) ensure that such priority public uses re-
ceive enhanced attention in planning and manage-
ment within the System;
‘‘(J) provide increased opportunities for families
to experience wildlife-dependent recreation, particu-
larly opportunities for parents and their children to
safely engage in traditional outdoor activities, such
as fishing and hunting;
‘‘(K) ensure that the biological integrity and en-
vironmental health of the System is maintained for
the benefit of present and future generations of
Americans;
‘‘(L) continue, consistent with existing laws and
interagency agreements, authorized or permitted
uses of units of the System by other Federal agen-
cies, including those necessary to facilitate military
preparedness;
‘‘(M) plan and direct the continued growth of
the System in a manner that is best designed to ac-
complish the mission of the System, to contribute to
the conservation of the ecosystems of the United
States, and to increase support for the System and
participation from conservation partners and the
public;
‘‘(N) ensure timely and effective cooperation
and collaboration with Federal agencies and State
fish and wildlife agencies during the course of ac-
quiring and managing refuges;
‘‘(O) ensure appropriate public involvement op-
portunities will be provided in conjunction with ref-
uge planning and management activities; and
‘‘(P) identify, prior to acquisition, existing wild-
life-dependent compatible uses of new refuge lands
that shall be permitted to continue on an interim
basis pending completion of comprehensive plan-
ning.’’.
(b) POWERS.—Section 4(b) (16 U.S.C. 668dd(b)) is
amended—
(1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1) by
striking ‘‘authorized—’’ and inserting ‘‘authorized to
take the following actions:’’;
(2) in paragraph (1) by striking ‘‘to enter’’ and
inserting ‘‘Enter’’;
(3) in paragraph (2)—
(A) by striking ‘‘to accept’’ and inserting
‘‘Accept’’; and
(B) by striking ‘‘, and’’ and inserting a pe-
riod;
(4) in paragraph (3) by striking ‘‘to acquire’’
and inserting ‘‘Acquire’’; and
(5) by adding at the end the following new
paragraph:
‘‘(4) Subject to standards established by and
the overall management oversight of the Director,
and consistent with standards established by this
Act, enter into cooperative agreements with State
fish and wildlife agencies and other entities for the
management of programs on a refuge or the man-
agement of parts of a refuge.’’.
SEC. 6. COMPATIBILITY STANDARDS AND PROCEDURES.
Section 4(d) (16 U.S.C. 668dd(d)) is amended by
adding at the end the following new paragraph:
‘‘(3)(A)(i) Except as provided in clause (ii), on
and after the date that is 3 years after the date of
the enactment of the National Wildlife Refuge Sys-
tem Improvement Act of 1997, the Secretary shall
not initiate or permit a new use of a refuge or ex-
pand, renew, or extend an existing use of a refuge,
unless the Secretary has determined that the use is
a compatible use.
‘‘(ii) On lands added to the System after the
date of the enactment of the National Wildlife Ref-
uge System Improvement Act of 1997, any existing
fish or wildlife-dependent use of a refuge, including
fishing, hunting, wildlife observation, and environ-
mental education, shall be permitted to continue on
an interim basis unless the Secretary determines
that the use is not a compatible use.
‘‘(iii) The Secretary shall permit fishing and
hunting on a refuge if the Secretary determines that
the activities are consistent with the principles of
sound fish and wildlife management, are compatible
uses consistent with the purposes of the System
under subsection (a)(3)), and are consistent with
public safety. No other determinations or findings,
except the determination of consistency with State
laws and regulations provided for in subsection (m),
are required to be made for fishing and hunting to
occur. The Secretary may make the determination
referred to in this paragraph for a refuge concur-
rently with the development of a conservation plan
for the refuge under subsection (e).
‘‘(iv) A new use of a Coordination Area first
made available to a State after the date of enact-
ment of the National Wildlife Refuge System Im-
provement Act of 1997 may not be initiated or per-
mitted unless the Secretary determines that the use
is a compatible use.
‘‘(B) Not later than 24 months after the date
of the enactment of the National Wildlife Refuge
System Improvement Act of 1997, the Secretary
shall issue final regulations establishing the process
for determining under subparagraph (A) whether a
use of a refuge is a compatible use. These regula-
tions shall—
‘‘(i) designate the refuge officer responsible
for making initial compatibility determinations;
‘‘(ii) require an estimate of the timeframe,
location, manner, and purpose of each use;
‘‘(iii) identify the effects of each use on
refuge resources and purposes of each refuge;
‘‘(iv) require that compatibility determina-
tions be made in writing and consider the best
professional judgment of the refuge officer des-
ignated under clause (i);
‘‘(v) provide for the expedited consider-
ation of uses that will likely have no detrimen-
tal effect on the fulfillment of the purposes of
a refuge or the purposes of the System specified
in subsection (a)(3);
‘‘(vi) provide for the elimination or modi-
fication of any use as expeditiously as prac-
ticable after a determination is made that the
use is not a compatible use;
‘‘(vii) require, after an opportunity for
public comment, reevaluation of each existing
use, other than those uses specified in clause
(viii), when conditions under which the use is
permitted change significantly or when there is
significant new information regarding the ef-
fects of the use, but not less frequently than
once every 10 years, to ensure that the use re-
mains a compatible use;
‘‘(viii) require after an opportunity for
public comment reevaluation of each fish and
wildlife-dependent recreational use when condi-
tions under which the use is permitted change
significantly or when there is significant new in-
formation regarding the effects of the use, but
not less frequently than in conjunction with
each preparation or revision of a conservation
plan under subsection (e) or at least every 15
years;
‘‘(ix) provide an opportunity for public re-
view and comment on each evaluation of a use,
unless an opportunity for public review and
comment on the evaluation of the use has al-
ready been provided during the development or
revision of a conservation plan for the refuge
under subsection (e) or has otherwise been pro-
vided during routine, periodic determinations of
compatibility for fish- and wildlife-dependent
recreational uses; and
‘‘(x) provide that when managed in accord-
ance with principles of sound fish and wildlife
management, fishing, hunting, wildlife observa-
tion, and environmental education in a refuge
are generally compatible uses.
‘‘(4) The provisions of this Act relating to de-
terminations of the compatibility of a use shall not
apply to—
‘‘(A) overflights above a refuge; and
‘‘(B) activities authorized, funded, or con-
ducted by a Federal agency (other than the
United States Fish and Wildlife Service) which
has primary jurisdiction over the refuge or a
portion of the refuge, if the management of
those activities is in accordance with a memo-
randum of understanding between the Secretary
or the Director and the head of the Federal
agency with primary jurisdiction over the refuge
governing the use of the refuge.
‘‘(5) Overflights above a refuge may be gov-
erned by any memorandum of understanding entered
into by the Secretary that applies to the refuge.’’.
SEC. 7. REFUGE CONSERVATION PLANNING PROGRAM.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 4 (16 U.S.C. 668dd) is
amended—
(1) by redesignating subsections (e) through (i)
as subsections (f) through (j), respectively; and
(2) by inserting after subsection (d) the follow-
ing new subsection:
‘‘(e)(1)(A) Except with respect to refuge lands in
Alaska (which shall be governed by the refuge planning
provisions of the Alaska National Interest Lands Con-
servation Act (16 U.S.C. 3101 et seq.)), the Secretary
shall—
‘‘(i) propose a comprehensive conservation plan
for each refuge or related complex of refuges (re-
ferred to in this subsection as a ‘planning unit’) in
the System;
‘‘(ii) publish a notice of opportunity for public
comment in the Federal Register on each proposed
conservation plan;
‘‘(iii) issue a final conservation plan for each
planning unit consistent with the provisions of this
Act and, to the extent practicable, consistent with
fish and wildlife conservation plans of the State in
which the refuge is located; and
‘‘(iv) not less frequently than 15 years after the
date of issuance of a conservation plan under clause
(iii) and every 15 years thereafter, revise the con-
servation plan as may be necessary.
‘‘(B) The Secretary shall prepare a comprehensive
conservation plan under this subsection for each refuge
within 15 years after the date of enactment of the Na-
tional Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997.
‘‘(C) The Secretary shall manage each refuge or plan-
ning unit under plans in effect on the date of enactment
of the National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act
of 1997, to the extent such plans are consistent with this
Act, until such plans are revised or superseded by new
comprehensive conservation plans issued under this sub-
section.
‘‘(D) Uses or activities consistent with this Act may
occur on any refuge or planning unit before existing plans
are revised or new comprehensive conservation plans are
issued under this subsection.
‘‘(E) Upon completion of a comprehensive conserva-
tion plan under this subsection for a refuge or planning
unit, the Secretary shall manage the refuge or planning
unit in a manner consistent with the plan and shall revise
the plan at any time if the Secretary determines that con-
ditions that affect the refuge or planning unit have
changed significantly.
‘‘(2) In developing each comprehensive conservation
plan under this subsection for a planning unit, the Sec-
retary, acting through the Director, shall identify and de-
scribe—
‘‘(A) the purposes of each refuge comprising
the planning unit and the purposes of the System
applicable to those refuges;
‘‘(B) the distribution, migration patterns, and
abundance of fish, wildlife, and plant populations
and related habitats within the planning unit;
‘‘(C) the archaeological and cultural values of
the planning unit;
‘‘(D) such areas within the planning unit that
are suitable for use as administrative sites or visitor
facilities;
‘‘(E) significant problems that may adversely
affect the populations and habitats of fish, wildlife,
and plants within the planning unit and the actions
necessary to correct or mitigate such problems; and
‘‘(F) the opportunities for fish- and wildlife-de-
pendent recreation, including fishing and hunting,
wildlife observation, environmental education, inter-
pretation of the resources and values of the planning
unit, and other uses that may contribute to refuge
management.
‘‘(3) In preparing each comprehensive conservation
plan under this subsection, and any revision to such a
plan, the Secretary, acting through the Director, shall, to
the maximum extent practicable and consistent with this
Act—
‘‘(A) consult with adjoining Federal, State,
local, and private landowners and affected State con-
servation agencies; and
‘‘(B) coordinate the development of the con-
servation plan or revision of the plan with relevant
State conservation plans for fish and wildlife and
their habitats.
‘‘(4)(A) In accordance with subparagraph (B), the
Secretary shall develop and implement a process to ensure
an opportunity for active public involvement in the prepa-
ration and revision of comprehensive conservation plans
under this subsection. At a minimum, the Secretary shall
require that publication of any final plan shall include a
summary of the comments made by States, adjacent or
potentially affected landowners, local governments, and
any other affected parties, together with a statement of
the disposition of concerns expressed in those comments.
‘‘(B) Prior to the adoption of each comprehensive
conservation plan under this subsection, the Secretary
shall issue public notice of the draft proposed plan, make
copies of the plan available at the affected field and re-
gional offices of the United States Fish and Wildlife Serv-
ice, and provide opportunity for public comment.’’.
SEC. 8. EMERGENCY POWER; PRESIDENTIAL EXEMPTION;
STATE AUTHORITY; WATER RIGHTS; COORDI-
NATION.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 4 (16 U.S.C. 668dd) is
further amended by adding at the end the following new
subsections:
‘‘(k) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act
the Secretary may temporarily suspend, allow, or initiate
any activity in a refuge in the System in the event of any
emergency that constitutes an imminent danger to the
health and safety of the public or any fish or wildlife popu-
lation, including any activity to control or eradicate sea
lampreys, zebra mussels, or any other aquatic nuisance
species (as that term is defined in section 1003 of the
Nonindigenous Aquatic Nuisance Prevention and Control
Act of 1990 (16 U.S.C. 4702)).
‘‘(l) Nothing in this Act shall be construed to author-
ize the Secretary to control or regulate hunting or fishing
of fish and resident wildlife on lands or waters not within
the System.
‘‘(m) Nothing in this Act shall be construed as affect-
ing the authority, jurisdiction, or responsibility of the sev-
eral States to manage, control, or regulate fish and resi-
dent wildlife under State law or regulations in any area
within the System. Regulations permitting hunting or fish-
ing of fish and resident wildlife within the System shall
be, to the extent practicable, consistent with State fish and
wildlife laws, regulations, or management plans.
‘‘(n)(1) Nothing in this Act shall—
‘‘(A) create a reserved water right, express or
implied, in the United States for any purpose;
‘‘(B) affect any water right in existence on the
date of enactment of the National Wildlife Refuge
System Improvement Act of 1997; or
‘‘(C) affect any Federal or State law in exist-
ence on the date of the enactment of the National
Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997
regarding water quality or water quantity.
‘‘(2) Nothing in this Act shall diminish or affect the
ability to join the United States in the adjudication of
rights to the use of water pursuant to the McCarran Act
(43 U.S.C. 666).
‘‘(o) Coordination with State fish and wildlife agency
personnel or with personnel of other affected State agen-
cies pursuant to this Act shall not be subject to the Fed-
eral Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.).
‘‘(p) Nothing in this Act shall be construed as requir-
ing or prohibiting fishing or hunting on any particular ref-
uge except pursuant to a determination by the Secretary
in accordance with this Act.’’.
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 4(c) (16
U.S.C. 668dd(c)) is amended by striking the last sentence.
SEC. 9. STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.
Nothing in this Act is intended to affect—
(1) the provisions for subsistence uses in Alaska
set forth in the Alaska National Interest Lands Con-
servation Act (Public Law 96–487), including those
in titles III and VIII of that Act;
(2) the provisions of section 102 of the Alaska
National Interest Lands Conservation Act, the juris-
diction over subsistence uses in Alaska, or any asser-
tion of subsistence uses in the Federal courts; and
(3) the manner in which section 810 of the
Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act is
implemented in refuges in Alaska, and the deter-
mination of compatible use as it relates to subsist-
ence uses in these refuges.
SEC. 10. REORGANIZATIONAL TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS.
(a) REORGANIZATIONAL AMENDMENTS.—The Act of
October 15, 1966 (16 U.S.C. 668dd et seq.), is amended—
(1) by adding before section 4 the following new
section:
‘‘SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
‘‘This Act may be cited as the ‘National Wildlife Ref-
uge System Administration Act of 1966’.’’;
(2) by striking sections 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10;
(3) in section 4 (16 U.S.C. 668dd)—
(A) by striking ‘‘SEC. 4.’’; and
(B) by redesignating that section as sec-
tion 2 and inserting immediately above the text
of the section the following new heading:
‘‘SEC. 2. NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE SYSTEM.’’;
(4) in section 5(1), as amended by section 3 of
this Act, by striking ‘‘sections 4(a)(2) and (3)’’ and
inserting ‘‘section 2(a)(2) and (3)’’; and
(5) in section 5(12), as amended by section 3
of this Act, by striking ‘‘section 4(a)(1)’’ and insert-
ing ‘‘section 2(a)(1)’’.
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—
(1) Section 12(f) of the Act of December 5,
1969 (83 Stat. 283) is repealed.
(2) Section 5(b) of the Act of January 3, 1975
(88 Stat. 2123; 16 U.S.C. 459j–4) is amended by
striking ‘‘Administration Act, as amended (16
U.S.C. 668dd–668ee),’’ and inserting ‘‘Administra-
tion Act of 1966,’’.
(3) Section 320808(7) of the Recreational
Hunting Safety and Preservation Act of 1994 (16
U.S.C. 5207(7)) is amended by striking ‘‘section 4’’
and inserting ‘‘section 2’’.
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