I 
108TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2894
To establish the Theodore Roosevelt National Wildlife Refuge and the Holt 
Collier Wildlife Interpretation and Education Center. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 24, 2003
Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi introduced the following bill; which was referred 
to the Committee on Resources 
A BILL 
To establish the Theodore Roosevelt National Wildlife Refuge 
and the Holt Collier Wildlife Interpretation and Edu-
cation Center.
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 ‘‘Theodore Roosevelt 
National Wildlife Refuge Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The Congress finds the following: 
(1) The Yazoo-Mississippi Delta, located in 
Holmes, Humphreys, Issaquena, Leflore, Sharkey, 
Warren, Washington, and Yazoo Counties, Mis-
(6) The Lower Delta’s existing natural, histor-
ical, and cultural assets and environmental restora-
tion potential may provide for a large component of 
the economic revitalization of this area. 
(7) The Lower Delta has the Nation’s highest 
potential carbon sequestration storage capacity. 
SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT AND PURPOSE OF REFUGE. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall establish 
as a national wildlife refuge the lands, waters, and inter-
ests therein acquired under section 5, at such time as the 
Secretary determines that sufficient property has been ac-
quired under that section to constitute an area that can 
be effectively managed as a national wildlife refuge for the 
purposes set forth in subsection (b) of this section. The 
national wildlife refuge so established shall be known as 
the ‘‘Theodore Roosevelt National Wildlife Refuge’’. 
(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the Refuge are the 
following: 
(1) To restore and preserve native Mississippi 
River ecosystems. 
(2) To provide habitat for migratory birds and 
the Louisiana Black Bear. 
(3) To maximize fisheries on the Mississippi 
River and its tributaries, natural lakes, and man-
made reservoirs.
(4) To provide habitat for and population man-
agement of native plants and resident animals (in-
cluding restoration of extirpated species). 
(5) To provide technical assistance to private 
landowners in the protection, restoration, and en-
hancement of their lands for the benefit of fish and 
wildlife. 
(6) To provide the public with opportunities for 
hunting, angling, trapping, photographing wildlife, 
hiking, bird watching, and other outdoor recreational 
and educational activities. 
(7) To celebrate President Theodore Roosevelt 
and his 1902 bear hunt in Mississippi, which gave 
birth to the ‘‘teddy bear’’. 
(8) To increase natural, cultural, and historical 
resource education and business. 
(9) To achieve the purposes under this sub-
section without violating section 6. 
(c) NOTICE
OF ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary 
shall publish a notice of the establishment of the Refuge—
(1) in the Federal Register; and 
(2) in publications of local circulation in the vi-
cinity of the Refuge.
SEC. 4. ADMINISTRATION OF REFUGE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall administer all 
lands, waters, and interests therein acquired under section 
5 in accordance with—
(1) the National Wildlife Refuge System Ad-
ministration Act of 1966 (16 U.S.C. 668dd et seq.) 
and the Act of September 28, 1962 (76 Stat. 653; 
16 U.S.C. 460k et seq.; popularly known as the Ref-
uge Recreation Act); 
(2) the purposes of the Refuge set forth in sec-
tion 3(b); and 
(3) the management plan issued under sub-
section (b). 
(b) MANAGEMENT PLAN.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 18 months 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec-
retary shall issue a management plan for the Ref-
uge. 
(2) CONTENTS.—The management plan shall 
include provisions that provide for the following: 
(A) Planning and design of trails and ac-
cess points. 
(B) Planning of wildlife and habitat res-
toration, including reforestation.
(C) Permanent exhibits and facilities and 
regular educational programs throughout the 
Refuge. 
(3) PUBLIC PARTICIPATION.—
(A) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 
provide an opportunity for public participation 
in developing the management plan. 
(B) LOCAL
VIEWS.—The Secretary shall 
give special consideration to views by local pub-
lic and private entities and individuals in devel-
oping the management plan. 
(c) WILDLIFE INTERPRETATION
AND EDUCATION 
CENTER.—
(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary shall con-
struct, administer, and maintain, at an appropriate 
site within the Refuge, a multiagency wildlife inter-
pretation and education center, which shall be 
known as the Holt Collier Wildlife Interpretation 
and Education Center. 
(2) PURPOSES.—The center shall be designed 
and operated—
(A) to provide continuing, natural, cultural 
and historical resource conservation and res-
toration educational programs to the public and
business development education and assistance 
for natural resource-based tourism activities; 
(B) to promote environmental education; 
(C) to provide an opportunity for the study 
and enjoyment of wildlife in its natural habitat; 
and 
(D) to honor the legendary African Amer-
ican hunting guide Holt Collier. 
SEC. 5. ACQUISITION OF LANDS, WATERS, AND INTERESTS 
THEREIN. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall seek to ac-
quire up to 25,000 acres of land, water, or interests there-
in (including permanent conservation easements or ser-
vitudes) within the boundaries designated under sub-
section (c). All lands, waters, an interests acquired under 
this subsection shall be part of the Refuge. 
(b) METHOD OF ACQUISITION.—The Secretary may 
acquire an interest in land or water for inclusion in the 
Refuge only by donation, exchange, or purchase from a 
willing seller. 
(c) DESIGNATION OF BOUNDARIES.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 12 months 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec-
retary shall—
(A) consult with appropriate State and 
local officials, private conservation organiza-
tions, and other interested parties, regarding 
the designation of appropriate boundaries for 
the Refuge within the selection area; 
(B) designate boundaries of the Refuge 
that are within the selection area and adequate 
for fulfilling the purposes of the Refuge set 
forth in section 3(b); and 
(C) prepare a detailed map, entitled 
‘‘Theodore Roosevelt National Wildlife Refuge’’, 
depicting the boundaries of the Refuge des-
ignated under subparagraph (B). 
(2) SELECTION
AREA.—For purposes of this 
subsection, the selection area consists of Holmes, 
Humphreys, Issaquena, Leflore, Sharkey, Warren, 
Washington, and Yazoo Counties, Mississippi. 
(3) AVAILABILITY OF MAP; NOTICE.—The Sec-
retary shall—
(A) keep the map prepared under para-
graph (1) on file and available for public in-
spection at offices of the United States Fish 
and Wildlife Service in the District of Columbia 
and Mississippi; and