the Brownsville Wetlands Policy Center at the Port of
Brownsville, Texas, established pursuant to this title.
TITLE 
III—WALTER 
B. 
JONES
CENTER FOR THE SOUNDS AT
THE 
POCOSIN 
LAKES 
NA-
TIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE
SEC. 301. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds the following:
(1) The Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Ref-
uge, located in northeastern North Carolina, pro-
vides unique opportunities for observing and inter-
preting the biological richness of the region’s estu-
aries and wetlands.
(2) Although there are 10 national wildlife ref-
uges in eastern North Carolina, not one has an edu-
cational or interpretative center for visitors.
(3) The State of North Carolina, Tyrrell Coun-
ty, the town of Columbia, the Conservation Fund,
and private citizens have proposed to enter into a
partnership with the United States Fish and Wildlife
Service to establish an educational and interpretative
facility to be known as the Center for the Sounds.
(4) Establishment of the Center for the Sounds
would bestow economic benefits upon Tyrrell County
and the town of Columbia.
(5) The Federal Government has designated the
Albemarle-Pamlico estuary system of northeastern
North Carolina as an estuary of national concern.
(6) Throughout his congressional career, the
Honorable Walter B. Jones was a strong supporter
of the National Wildlife Refuge System.
(7) During his years of service in the House of
Representatives, Walter B. Jones supported the es-
tablishment and expansion of National Wildlife Ref-
uges in eastern North Carolina; these include 6 new
National Wildlife Refuges established in his district,
including the Alligator River National Wildlife Ref-
uge and the Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge,
which are respectively the third largest and fifth
largest National Wildlife Refuges east of the Mis-
sissippi River.
(8) Walter B. Jones helped increase refuge
acreage in his district by over 303,000 acres, thus
ensuring the protection of these lands for wildlife
habitat and public recreation.
(9) Walter B. Jones’ support for reintroducing
endangered red wolves into the wild at Alligator
River National Wildlife Refuge was a major factor
in securing public acceptance of, and support for,
this first successful effort to reintroduce endangered
predators into formerly occupied habitat.
(10) Walter B. Jones devoted much of his con-
gressional career, including his years as Chairman of
the Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee, to
the conservation of fish and wildlife, for the benefit
of the Nation and the people of North Carolina.
(11) Walter B. Jones should most appropriately
be recognized for his work on behalf of fish and
wildlife conservation by having the Center for the
Sounds at the Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Ref-
uge System named in his honor.
SEC. 302. AUTHORITY TO CONSTRUCT AND OPERATE FA-
CILITY.
The Secretary of the Interior may, subject to the
availability of appropriations, construct and operate a fa-
cility at the Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge in
Tyrrell County, North Carolina, which shall be known as
the ‘‘Walter B. Jones Center for the Sounds’’, for the fol-
lowing purposes:
(1) Providing public opportunities, facilities,
and resources to study the natural history and natu-
ral resources of northeastern North Carolina.
(2) Offering a variety of environmental edu-
cational programs and interpretive exhibits.