Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Wildlife Ref-
uge System Volunteer and Community Partnership Act of
1997’’.
SEC. 2. VOLUNTEERS AND COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS
FOR WILDLIFE.
(a) PROMOTION
OF VOLUNTEERS
AT NATIONAL
WILDLIFE REFUGES.—Section 7(b)(2) of the Fish and
Wildlife Act of 1956 (16 U.S.C. 742f(b)(2)) is amended
by adding at the end the following: ‘‘Any gift or bequest
made for the benefit of a particular national wildlife refuge
or complex of refuges shall be disbursed only for the bene-
fit of that refuge or complex of refuges.’’.
(b) AWARDS
AND
RECOGNITION
FOR
VOLUN-
TEERS.—Section 7(c)(2) of that Act (16 U.S.C.
742f(c)(2)) is amended—
(1) by inserting ‘‘awards and recognition,’’ after
‘‘lodging,’’; and
(2) by inserting ‘‘without regard to their place
of residence’’ after ‘‘volunteers’’.
(c) VOLUNTEER AND COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP EN-
HANCEMENT.—Section 7 of that Act (16 U.S.C. 742) is
amended by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(d) VOLUNTEER AND COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP
ENHANCEMENT.—(1) The purposes of this subsection are
the following:
‘‘(A) To encourage the use of volunteers in the
National Wildlife Refuge System.
‘‘(B) To facilitate partnerships between the Na-
tional Wildlife Refuge System and partner organiza-
tions.
‘‘(C) To promote participation by individuals,
organizations, and communities in understanding
and conserving the fish and wildlife resources, lands,
and facilities of the National Wildlife Refuge Sys-
tem.
‘‘(D) To enhance the availability of interpretive
and educational materials and services for the enjoy-
ment of visitors to national wildlife refuges.
‘‘(2) Subject to the availability of appropriations, the
Secretary of the Interior shall conduct a pilot project at
1 national wildlife refuge in each United States Fish and
Wildlife Service region, under which the Secretary shall
employ a full-time volunteer coordinator for each refuge.
‘‘(3)(A) Subject to the compatibility requirements of
the National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act
of 1966 and this paragraph, the Secretary of the Interior
may enter into a cooperative agreement (as that term is
used in chapter 63 of title 31, United States Code) with
any partner organization, academic institution, or State
or local government organization, for the conduct of a
project on a national wildlife refuge, under which—
‘‘(i) there will be provided enhanced opportuni-
ties for private citizens to volunteer with a national
wildlife refuge in their local communities and con-
tribute to stewardship of the resources on that ref-
uge;
‘‘(ii) a partner organization, academic institu-
tion, or State or local government organization will
develop, produce, publish, distribute, or sell edu-
cational materials and products pertaining to a na-
tional wildlife refuge approved by the Secretary,
under conditions specified by the Secretary;
‘‘(iii) a partner organization, academic institu-
tion, or State or local government organization will
construct, maintain, operate, or improve a facility on
a national wildlife refuge necessary for the sale or
distribution of educational materials, products, pro-
grams, and services pertaining to national wildlife
refuges;
‘‘(iv) a partner organization, academic institu-
tion, or State or local government organization will
provide visitor services, facilities, or activities within
a national wildlife refuge, under terms that require
that the net profits from such services, facilities, or
activities shall be used exclusively for projects and
programs that benefit the refuge and are consistent
with the purposes for which it was established; or
‘‘(v) there will be carried out within a national
wildlife refuge, on a Federal/non-Federal cost shar-
ing basis, habitat restoration and improvement, bio-
logical monitoring, research, public education and
recreation, construction of facilities, or other
projects.
‘‘(B) Any Federal funds used to fund a project under
a cooperative agreement under this paragraph—
‘‘(i) may be used only for expenses directly re-
lated to the project; and
‘‘(ii) may not be used for operation or adminis-
tration of any non-Federal entity.
‘‘(C) A partner organization, academic institution, or
State or local government organization shall not receive
preferential treatment in any application process to pro-
vide visitor services, products, or facilities in a national
wildlife refuge.
‘‘(D) Any facility or permanent improvement con-
structed pursuant to this subsection shall be the property
of the United States Government.
‘‘(4)(A) Amounts received by the Secretary of the In-
terior as a result of activities under paragraph (3) shall
be deposited in a separate account in the Treasury.
‘‘(B) Amounts in the account referred to in subpara-
graph (A) that are attributable to activities at a particular
national wildlife refuge or complex of refuges shall be
available to the Secretary of the Interior without further
appropriation—
‘‘(i) for materials, training, and other uses re-
lated to volunteer activities at the refuge or complex
of refuges; or
‘‘(ii) to carry out cooperative agreements under
this subsection applicable to the refuge or complex
of refuges.
‘‘(5) For the purposes of this subsection, the term
‘partner organization’ means an organization—
‘‘(A) the mission of which is to promote under-
standing and conservation of the fish and wildlife,
cultural, or historic resources of a particular na-
tional wildlife refuge or a complex of related national
wildlife refuges;
‘‘(B) that draws its membership primarily from
communities near that refuge or complex of related
national wildlife refuges; and
‘‘(C) that is described in section 501(c)(3) of
the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt from
taxation under section 501(a) of that Code.
‘‘(6) In addition to amounts available under para-
graph (4)(B), there are authorized to be appropriated to
the Secretary of the Interior for each of fiscal years 1998,
1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, and 2003—
‘‘(A) $1,000,000 for carrying out activities
under this subsection and subsection (c); and
‘‘(B) $1,050,000 for pilot projects under para-
graph (2) among the United States Fish and Wild-
life Service Regions.’’.
(d) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 7(c)(6) of
that Act (16 U.S.C. 742f(c)(6)) is amended by striking
‘‘$100,000 for the Secretary of the Interior and’’.
Passed the House of Representatives November 4,
1997.
Attest:
Clerk.