I
107TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 4722
To provide for the establishment of the Lake Erie Western Basin Inter-
national Wildlife Refuge in the States of Ohio and Michigan, and for
other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MAY 14, 2002
Ms. KAPTUR (for herself and Mr. DINGELL) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Resources
A BILL
To provide for the establishment of the Lake Erie Western
Basin International Wildlife Refuge in the States of Ohio
and Michigan, 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 ‘‘Lake Erie Western
Basin International Wildlife Refuge Establishment Act’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds the following:
(1) The western basin of Lake Erie, as part of
the Great Lakes ecosystem, the largest freshwater
ecosystem on the face of the Earth, is vitally impor-
tant to the economic and environmental future of
the United States.
(2) Over the past three decades, the citizens
and governmental institutions of both the United
States and Canada have devoted increasing attention
and resources to the restoration of the water quality
and fisheries of the Great Lakes, including the west-
ern basin. This increased awareness has been accom-
panied by a gradual shift to a holistic ‘‘ecosystem
approach’’ that highlights a growing recognition that
shoreline areas—the nearshore terrestrial eco-
systems—are an integral part of the western basin
and the Great Lakes ecosystem as a whole.
(3) The Great Lakes account for more than 90
percent of the surface freshwater in the nation. The
western basin receives approximately 90 percent of
its flow from the Detroit River and only approxi-
mately 10 percent from tributaries.
(4) The western basin of Lake Erie is an im-
portant ecosystem that includes a number of distinct
islands, channels, rivers, and shoals that support
dense populations of fish, wildlife, and aquatic
plants.
(5) The coastal wetlands of Lake Erie support
the largest diversity of plant and wildlife species in
the Great Lakes. The moderate climate of Lake Erie
and its more southern latitude allow for many spe-
cies that are not found in or along the northern
Great Lakes. More than 300 species of plants, in-
cluding 37 significant species, have been identified in
the aquatic and wetland habitats of the western
basin.
(6) The shallow western basin, from the Lower
Detroit River to Sandusky Bay, is home to the larg-
est concentration of marshes in Lake Erie, including
Mouille, Metzger, and Magee marshes, the Maumee
Bay wetland complex, the wetland complexes flank-
ing Locust Point, and the wetlands in Sandusky
Bay. The larger United States islands in western
Lake Erie have wetlands in the small ebayments.
(7) The wetlands in the western basin of Lake
Erie comprise as some of the most important water-
fowl habitat in the Great Lakes. Waterfowl, wading
birds, shore birds, gulls and terns, raptors, and
perching birds all use the western basin wetlands for
migration, nesting, and feeding. Hundreds of thou-
sands of diving ducks stop to rest in the Lake Erie
area on their fall migration from Canada to the east
and south. The wetlands of the western basin pro-
vide a major stopover for sea ducks such as migrat-
ing bufflehead, common goldeneye, common mergan-
sers, and ruddy duck.
(8) The international importance of Lake Erie
is manifested in the United States congressional des-
ignation of the Ottawa and Cedar Point National
Wildlife Refuges.
(9) Lake Erie has an international reputation
for walleye, perch, and bass fishing, recreational
boating, birding, photography, and duck hunting. On
an economic basis, Lake Erie tourism accounts for
an estimate $1,500,000,000 in retail sales and more
than 50,000 jobs.
(10) Many of the 417,000 boats that are reg-
istered in Ohio are used in the western basin of
Lake Erie, in part to fish for the estimated
10,000,000 walleye that migrate from the lake to
spawn. This internationally renowned walleye fishery
drives much of Ohio’s $2,000,000,000 sport fishing
industry.
(11) Coastal wetlands in the western basin have
been subjected to intense pressure for 150 years.
Prior to 1850, the western basin was part of an ex-
tensive coastal marsh and swamp system of approxi-
mately 122,000 hectares that comprised a portion
of the Great Black Swamp. By 1951, only 12,407
wetland hectares remained in the western basin.
Half of that acreage was destroyed between 1972
and 1987. Therefore, today only approximately
5,000 hectares remain. Along the Michigan shore-
line, coastal wetlands were reduced by 62 percent
between 1916 and the early 1970s. The development
of the city of Monroe has had a particularly signifi-
cant impact on the coastal wetlands at the mouth
of the Raisin River: only approximately 100 hectares
remain physically unaltered today in an area where
70 years ago marshes were 10 times more extensive.
In addition to the actual loss of coastal wetland
acreage along the shores of Lake Erie, the quality
of many remaining wetlands has been degraded by
numerous stressors, especially excessive loadings of
sediments and nutrients, contaminants, shoreline
modification, exotic species, and the diking of wet-
lands. Protective peninsula beach systems, such as
the former Bay Point and Woodtick, at the border
of Ohio and Michigan near the mouth of the Ottawa
River and Maumee Bay, have been eroded over the
years, exacerbating erosion along the shorelines and
impacting the breeding and spawning grounds.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
For purposes of this Act:
(1) The term ‘‘Refuge’’ means the Lake Erie
Western Basin International Wildlife Refuge estab-
lished by section 5.
(2) The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary
of the Interior.
(3) The term ‘‘Lake Erie Western Basin’’
means those lands and waters within the area de-
scribed in section 5(a).
SEC. 4. PURPOSES.
The purposes for which the Refuge is established and
shall be managed are as follows:
(1) To protect the remaining high-quality fish
and wildlife habitats of the western basins of Lake
Erie before they are lost to further development and
to restore and enhance degraded wildlife habitats as-
sociated with the western basin of Lake Erie.
(2) To assist in international efforts to con-
serve, enhance, and restore the native aquatic and
terrestrial community characteristics of the western
basin of Lake Erie (including associated fish, wild-
life, and plant species), both in the United States
and Canada in partnership with nongovernmental
and private organizations, as well as private individ-
uals dedicated to habitat enhancement.
(3) To facilitate partnerships among the United
States Fish and Wildlife Service, Canadian national
and provincial authorities, State and local govern-
ments, local communities in the United States and
in Canada, conservation organizations, and other
non-Federal entities to promote public awareness of
the resources of the western basin of Lake Erie.
(4) To advance the collective goals and prior-
ities established in the ‘‘Great Lakes Strategy
2002—A Plan for the New Millennium’’, by the
United States Policy Committee comprised of var-
ious Federal agencies, including the United States
Fish and Wildlife Service, the Environmental Pro-
tection Agency, the Army Corps of Engineers, the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration,
the United States Geological Survey, the Agency for
Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, the Forest
Service, and the Great Lakes Fishery Commission,
as well as the State governments and tribal govern-
ments in the Great Lakes. These goals, broadly stat-
ed, include working together to protect and restore
the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the
Great Lakes basin ecosystem.
funds, or exchange the lands and waters, or interests
therein (including conservation easements), within the
boundaries of the Refuge. Any and all acquisitions of lands
or waters under the provisions of this Act shall be made
in a voluntary manner and shall not be the result of forced
takings.
(e) TRANSFERS FROM OTHER AGENCIES.—Any Fed-
eral property located within the boundaries of the Refuge
which is under the administrative jurisdiction of another
department or agency of the United States may, with the
concurrence of the head of administering department or
agency, be transferred without consideration to the admin-
istrative jurisdiction of the Secretary for the purposes of
this Act.
(f) STUDY OF ASSOCIATED AREA.—The Secretary,
acting through the Director of the United States Fish and
Wildlife Service, shall conduct a study of fish and wildlife
habitat and aquatic and terrestrial communities of the
Maumee River, from its mouth to an appropriate juncture
along the Maumee River Heritage Corridor between To-
ledo and Fort Wayne, Indiana. Not later than 18 months
after the date of the enactment of the Act, the Secretary
shall complete such study and submit a report containing
the results thereof to the Congress.
SEC. 6. ADMINISTRATION.
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall administer all
federally owned lands, waters, and interests therein that
are within the boundaries of the Refuge in accordance
with the National Wildlife Refuge System Administration
Act of 1966 (16 U.S.C. 668dd et seq.) and this Act. The
Secretary may use such additional statutory authority as
may be available for the conservation of fish and wildlife,
and the provision of fish and wildlife dependent rec-
reational opportunities as the Secretary considers appro-
priate to carry out the purposes of this Act.
(b) PRIORITY USES.—In providing opportunities for
compatible fish and wildlife dependent recreation, the Sec-
retary, in accordance with paragraphs (3) and (4) of sec-
tion 4(a) of the National Wildlife Refuge System Adminis-
tration Act of 1966 (16 U.S.C. 668dd(a)), shall ensure
that hunting, fishing, wildlife observation and photog-
raphy, and environmental education and interpretation are
the priority public uses of the Refuge.
(c) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS REGARDING NON-
FEDERAL LANDS.—The Secretary is authorized to enter
into cooperative agreements with the State of Ohio or
Michigan, or any political subdivision thereof, and with
any other person or entity for the management in a man-
ner consistent with this Act of lands that are owned by
such State, subdivision, or other person or entity and lo-
cated within the boundaries of the Refuge and to promote
public awareness of the resources of the Lake Erie West-
ern Basin International Wildlife Refuge and encourage
public participation in the conservation of those resources.
(d) USE OF EXISTING GREENWAY AUTHORITY.—The
Secretary shall encourage the State of Ohio to use existing
authorities under the Transportation Equity Act for the
21st Century to provide funding for acquisition and devel-
opment of trails within the boundaries of the Refuge.
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