Union Calendar No. 114
104TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 1675
[Report No. 104–218]
A BILL
To amend the National Wildlife Refuge System Ad-
ministration Act of 1966 to improve the manage-
ment of the National Wildlife Refuge System,
and for other purposes.
JULY 31, 1995
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Commit-
tee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and
ordered to be printed
IB
Union Calendar No. 114
104TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 1675
[Report No. 104–218]
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
MAY 18, 1995
Mr. YOUNG of Alaska (for himself, Mr. DINGELL, Mr. HANSEN, Mr. BREW-
STER, Mr. DOOLITTLE, Mr. TAUZIN, Mr. PETE GEREN of Texas, Mr.
GALLEGLY, Mr. HAYES, Mr. CALVERT, Mr. ORTIZ, Mrs. LINCOLN, Mr.
HAYWORTH, Mr. CREMEANS, Mrs. CUBIN, Mr. COOLEY, Mr. SHADEGG,
Mr. WATTS of Oklahoma, and Mr. THORNBERRY) introduced the follow-
ing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Resources
JULY 31, 1995
Additional sponsors: Mr. JONES, Mr. TANNER, Mr. HASTINGS of Washington,
Mr. DUNCAN, Mr. LONGLEY, Mr. HAMILTON, Mr. SAXTON, Mr. DICKEY,
and Mr. ALLARD
JULY 31, 1995
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole
House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic]
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on May 18, 1995]
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 ‘‘Na-
tional Wildlife Refuge Improvement Act of 1995’’.
(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. 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 purposes
of the System specified in section 4(a)(3), as deter-
mined by sound resource management, and based on
reliable scientific information.
‘‘(2) The terms ‘conserving’, ‘conservation’, ‘man-
age’, ‘managing’, and ‘management’, when used with
respect to fish and wildlife, mean to use, in accord-
ance with applicable Federal and State laws, methods
and procedures associated with modern scientific re-
source programs including protection, research, cen-
sus, law enforcement, habitat management, propaga-
tion, live trapping and transplantation, and regu-
lated taking.
‘‘(3) The term ‘Coordination Area’ means a
wildlife management area that has been previously
acquired by the Federal Government and subsequently
made available to a State—
‘‘(A) by cooperative agreement between the
United States Fish and Wildlife Service and the
State; or
‘‘(B) is acquired by the Federal Government
and subsequently made available to a State—
‘‘(i) by cooperative agreement between
the United States Fish and Wildlife Service
and the State fish and game agency pursu-
ant to the Fish and Wildlife Coordination
Act (16 U.S.C. 661–666c); or
‘‘(ii) by long-term leases or agreements
pursuant to the Bankhead-Jones Farm Ten-
ant 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 whether
the member was bred, hatched, or born in captivity,
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 ‘pur-
poses of each refuge’ mean the purposes and uses spec-
ified or authorized in or derived from the law, procla-
mation, executive order, agreement, public land order,
donation document, or administrative memorandum
establishing, authorizing, or expanding a refuge, ref-
uge 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.
‘‘(12) The term ‘System’ means the National
Wildlife Refuge System designated under section
4(a)(1).
‘‘(13) The terms ‘take’, ‘taking’, or ‘taken’ mean
to pursue, hunt, shoot, capture, collect, or kill, or to
attempt to pursue, hunt, shoot, capture, collect, or
kill.’’.
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 4 (16 U.S.C.
668dd) is amended by striking ‘‘Secretary of the Interior’’
each place it appears and inserting ‘‘Secretary’’.
SEC. 3. MISSION AND PURPOSES OF THE SYSTEM.
Section 4(a) (16 U.S.C. 668dd(a)) is amended—
(1) by redesignating paragraphs (2) and (3) as
paragraphs (5) and (6), respectively;
(2) in clause (i) of paragraph (6) (as so redesig-
nated), by striking ‘‘paragraph (2)’’ and inserting
‘‘paragraph (5)’’; and
(3) by inserting after paragraph (1) the follow-
ing new paragraphs:
‘‘(2) The overall mission of the System is to conserve
and manage fish, wildlife, and plants and their habitats
within the System for the benefit of present and future gen-
erations of the people of the United States.
‘‘(3) The purposes of the System are—
‘‘(A) to provide a national network of lands and
waters designed to conserve and manage fish, wildlife,
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
fish- and wildlife-dependent recreation, including
fishing and hunting, wildlife observation, and envi-
ronmental 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. 4. 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), respec-
tively, and the purposes of each refuge are carried
out, except that if a conflict exists between the pur-
poses of a refuge and any purpose of the System, the
conflict shall be resolved in a manner that first pro-
tects the purposes of the refuge, and, to the extent
practicable, that also achieves the purposes of the
System;
‘‘(B) provide for conservation of fish and wildlife
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 purposes 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; and
‘‘(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 efforts
of States and other Federal agencies to conserve fish
and wildlife and their habitats.’’.
(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;