IIB 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 263 
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 
NOVEMBER 21, 2019 
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and 
Public Works 
AN ACT 
To rename the Oyster Bay National Wildlife Refuge as the 
Congressman Lester Wolff Oyster Bay National Wildlife 
Refuge. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. FINDINGS. 
The Congress finds the following: 
(1) The Oyster Bay National Wildlife Refuge 
was created in 1968. It is located on the north shore 
of Long Island in eastern Nassau County, is the 
largest refuge in the Long Island National Wildlife 
Refuge Complex, and receives the most public use of 
all the refuges in the Complex. 
(2) The State of New York designated Oyster 
Bay a significant coastal fish and wildlife habitat. It 
is especially important for wintering waterfowl such 
as black duck, greater scaup, bufflehead, canvasback 
and long-tailed ducks. Management activities include 
wetland restoration and protection of the natural 
shoreline and vegetation. 
(3) The refuge is unique in consisting solely of 
bay bottom and adjacent shoreline up to the mean 
high-tide mark. Ninety percent of New York’s com-
mercial oyster harvest comes from the refuge. Visi-
tors enjoy fishing, wildlife observation, photography 
and environmental education. The refuge is truly a 
national treasure. 
(4) Many visitors are unaware that were it not 
for the tireless work and advocacy of then-freshman 
Congressman Lester Wolff, this area would today be 
an 8.5-mile causeway and bridge across Long Island 
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Sound between Oyster Bay and Rye, New York, con-
necting Nassau and Westchester Counties. 
(5) The bridge was first proposed by Robert 
Moses, the well-known New York City Planner, to 
divert traffic from New York City. Former Governor 
Nelson Rockefeller signed into law legislation cre-
ating the bridge authorized by the New York State 
Legislature in 1967. 
(6) Congressman Wolff, elected in 1964, quick-
ly decided the bridge would be an intrusion in a pris-
tine area, and that Long Island Sound was a very 
precious resource that was despoiled. The conserva-
tion threats in the mid-1960s were suburban devel-
opment, wetland filling, and industrial pollution. The 
fight to preserve this land became an enormous po-
litical fight and is considered to be a turning point 
in New York State’s environmental legacy. 
(7) With State and local political and commu-
nity leaders, and especially the North Shore leaders 
and the Committee to Save the Long Island Sound, 
Congressman Wolff arranged a meeting with De-
partment of the Interior representatives and local 
leaders where the idea of creating a wildlife refuge 
from municipal and privately owned wetlands was 
created. 
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(8) The Town of Oyster Bay, in which one end 
of the bridge was to be located, deeded 5,000 acres 
of wetlands to the United States to be maintained 
as a Federal wildlife preserve. It was stipulated that 
if the Department of the Interior agreed to an intru-
sion of the property, it would revert to the town. 
Creating a Federal wildlife preserve provided the 
land with Federal protection. 
(9) Because of the vision, dedication, and perse-
verance of Congressman Lester Wolff, all of us and 
future generations can enjoy the beauty and mag-
nificence of this refuge. 
SEC. 2. RENAMING THE OYSTER BAY NATIONAL WILDLIFE 
REFUGE AS THE CONGRESSMAN LESTER 
WOLFF OYSTER BAY NATIONAL WILDLIFE 
REFUGE. 
(a) RENAMING.—The unit of the National Wildlife 
Refuge System known as the Oyster Bay National Wildlife 
Refuge and located near Oyster Bay, New York, shall be 
known as the ‘‘Congressman Lester Wolff Oyster Bay Na-
tional Wildlife Refuge’’. 
(b) REFERENCES.—Any reference in a law, map, reg-
ulation, document, paper, or other record of the United 
States to the unit of the National Wildlife Refuge System 
known as the Oyster Bay National Wildlife Refuge is 
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deemed to be a reference to the ‘‘Congressman Lester 
Wolff Oyster Bay National Wildlife Refuge’’. 
Passed the House of Representatives November 20, 
2019. 
Attest: 
CHERYL L. JOHNSON, 
Clerk. 
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