I 
108TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1835
To amend the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to limit designation as 
critical habitat of areas owned or controlled by the Department of De-
fense, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 29, 2003
Mr. GALLEGLY (for himself, Mr. POMBO, Mr. GIBBONS, and Mr. YOUNG of 
Alaska) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Armed Serv-
ices, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each 
case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of 
the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To amend the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to limit 
designation as critical habitat of areas owned or con-
trolled by the Department of Defense, 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. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Security 
Readiness Act of 2003’’.
SEC. 2. MILITARY READINESS AND THE CONSERVATION OF 
PROTECTED SPECIES. 
(a) POLICY REGARDING DUTIES OF FEDERAL DE-
PARTMENTS AND AGENCIES.—Section 2(c)(1) of the En-
dangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531(c)(1)) by 
inserting after ‘‘threatened species’’ the following: ‘‘insofar 
as is practicable and consistent with their primary pur-
poses’’. 
(b) DESIGNATION OF CRITICAL HABITAT.—Section 
4(a)(3) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 
1533(a)(3)) is amended by striking ‘‘prudent and deter-
minable’’ and inserting ‘‘necessary’’. 
(c) LIMITATION
ON DESIGNATION
OF CRITICAL 
HABITAT.—Section 4(a)(3) of the Endangered Species 
Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1533(a)(3)) is amended—
(1) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) and 
(B) as clauses (i) and (ii), respectively; 
(2) by inserting ‘‘(A)’’ after ‘‘(3)’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(B)(i) The Secretary shall not designate as critical 
habitat any lands or other geographical areas owned or 
controlled by the Department of Defense, or designated 
for its use, that are subject to an integrated natural re-
sources management plan prepared under section 101 of 
the Sikes Act (16 U.S.C. 670a), if the Secretary deter-
mines that such plan addresses special management con-
siderations or protection (as those terms are used in sec-
tion 3(5)(A)(i)). 
‘‘(ii) Nothing in this paragraph affects the require-
ment to consult under section 7(a)(2) with respect to an 
agency action (as that term is defined in that section). 
‘‘(iii) Nothing in this paragraph affects the obligation 
of the Department of Defense to comply with section 9, 
including the prohibition preventing extinction and taking 
of endangered species and threatened species.’’. 
(d) CONSIDERATION OF EFFECTS OF DESIGNATION 
OF CRITICAL HABITAT.—Section 4(b)(2) of the Endan-
gered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1533(b)(2)) is 
amended by inserting ‘‘the impact on national security,’’ 
after ‘‘the economic impact,’’. 
SEC. 3. AMENDMENT TO DEFINITION OF HARASSMENT 
UNDER MARINE MAMMAL PROTECTION ACT 
OF 1972. 
Section 3(18) of the Marine Mammal Protection Act 
of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1362(18)) is amended—
(1) by striking the matter preceding subpara-
graph (B) and inserting the following: 
‘‘(18)(A) The term ‘harassment’ means—
‘‘(i) any act that injures or has the signifi-
cant potential to injure a marine mammal or 
marine mammal stock in the wild;
‘‘(ii) any act that disturbs or is likely to 
disturb a marine mammal or marine mammal 
stock in the wild by causing disruption of nat-
ural behavioral patterns, including, but not lim-
ited to, migration, surfacing, nursing, breeding, 
feeding, or sheltering, to a point where such be-
havioral patterns are abandoned or significantly 
altered; or
‘‘(iii) any act that is directed toward a spe-
cific individual, group, or stock of marine mam-
mals in the wild and that is likely to disturb the 
individual, group, or stock of marine mammals 
by disrupting behavior, including, but not lim-
ited to, migration, surfacing, nursing, breeding, 
feeding, or sheltering.’’; and 
(2) in subparagraph (C) by striking ‘‘(A)(ii)’’ 
and inserting ‘‘(A) (ii) or (iii)’’. 
SEC. 4. EXEMPTION OF ACTIONS NECESSARY FOR NA-
TIONAL DEFENSE. 
Section 101 of the Marine Mammal Protection Act 
of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1371) is amended by inserting after 
subsection (e) the following: 
‘‘(f) EXEMPTION OF ACTIONS NECESSARY FOR NA-
TIONAL DEFENSE.—(1) The Secretary of Defense, after 
conferring with the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary