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and Wildlife Service, makes a determination, pursu-
ant to the procedures established under this section,
that the use is compatible with the purposes of the
System and the refuge.
‘‘(F) The Secretary shall, acting through the
Director, by regulation, establish and maintain a
formal process for governing determinations of
whether an existing or proposed new use in a refuge
is compatible or incompatible with the purposes of
the System and the refuge. The regulations shall
provide for the expedited consideration of uses that
the Secretary considers to have little or no adverse
effects on the purposes of the System or a refuge,
and shall—
‘‘(i) designate the refuge officer initially re-
sponsible for compatibility and incompatibility
determinations;
‘‘(ii) describe the biological, ecological, and
other criteria to be used in making such deter-
minations;
‘‘(iii) require that such determinations
shall be made in writing and based on the best
available scientific information;
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‘‘(iv) establish procedures that ensure an
opportunity for public review and comment with
respect to such determinations;
‘‘(v) designate the officer who shall hear
and rule on appeals from initial determinations;
and
‘‘(vi) provide for the reevaluation of a com-
patibility determination on a periodic basis or
whenever the conditions under which the use is
permitted change.
‘‘(G) Except as provided in subparagraph (H),
the head of each Federal agency that, with respect
to a refuge, has an equivalent or secondary jurisdic-
tion with the Department of the Interior, or that
conducts activities within any refuge shall, in con-
sultation with the Secretary, ensure that any actions
authorized, funded, or carried out in whole or in
part by such agency will not impair the resources of
the refuge or be incompatible with the purposes of
either the System or the refuge (unless such action
is specifically authorized by law).
‘‘(H) The President may find, on a case-by-case
basis, that, with respect to a refuge, it is in the
paramount interest of the United States to exempt
the head of a Federal agency described in subpara-
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graph (G) from carrying out the requirements of
subparagraph (G) of this paragraph.’’.
SEC. 6. SYSTEM CONSERVATION PLANNING PROGRAM.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 4 of the National Wildlife
Refuge System Administration Act of 1966 (16 U.S.C.
668dd), as amended by section 3 of this Act, is further
amended—
(1) by redesignating subsections (e) through (i)
as subsections (g) through (k); and
(2) by inserting the following new subsections:
‘‘(e) SYSTEM PLAN.—(1) Not later than September
30, 1995, the Secretary shall prepare, and subsequently
revise, not less frequently than every 10 years thereafter,
a comprehensive plan for the System.
‘‘(2) The plan described in paragraph (1) shall in-
clude—
‘‘(A) relevant elements of recovery plans re-
quired under section 4(f), of the Endangered Species
Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1533(f));
‘‘(B) relevant summaries and compilations of
refuge plans developed under this section and the
relevant elements of migratory bird management
plans;
‘‘(C) a strategy and standards for maintaining
healthy and abundant wildlife populations in the
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System and in each refuge ecotype or ecosystem (in-
cluding the protection of zones for dispersal, migra-
tion, and other fish and wildlife movements, and the
conservation of species designated as candidates for
listing pursuant to section 4 of the Endangered Spe-
cies Act (16 U.S.C. 1533));
‘‘(D) strategies, developed cooperatively with
agencies administering other Federal or State land
systems, to enhance wildlife protection on national
wildlife refuges and other land systems which collec-
tively form a national network of wildlife habitats;
and
‘‘(E) a plan and program for the acquisition of
lands and waters, including water rights, necessary
to achieve the purposes of the System and each ref-
uge.
‘‘(f) REFUGE CONSERVATION PLANS.—(1) Except
with respect to refuge lands in Alaska (which shall be gov-
erned by refuge planning provisions of the Alaska National
Interest Lands Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 3101 et
seq.)), the Secretary shall prepare, and revise at least
every 15 years, a comprehensive conservation plan (herein-
after in this subsection referred to as a ‘plan’) for each
refuge or ecologically related complex of refuges (hereafter
in this subsection referred to as a ‘planning unit’) in the
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System. The Secretary shall revise any plan at any time
thereafter, upon a determination that conditions that af-
fect a planning unit have changed significantly.
‘‘(2) In developing each plan under this subsection,
the Secretary shall identify and describe—
‘‘(A) the purposes of the refuge and the pur-
poses of the System applicable to the refuge or the
individual refuges of the planning unit;
‘‘(B) fish, wildlife, and plant populations and
habitats of the planning unit (including at the time
of the development of the plan, current, historical,
and potentially restorable populations and habitats)
and the seasonal (and other) dependence of migra-
tory fish and wildlife species on the habitats and re-
sources of interrelated units of the System;
‘‘(C) archaeological, cultural, ecological geologi-
cal, historical, paleontological, physiographic, and
wilderness values of the planning unit;
‘‘(D) areas within the planning unit that are
suitable for use as administrative sites or visitor fa-
cilities or for visitor services;
‘‘(E) significant problems, including water
quantity and quality needs (within or without the
boundaries of the refuge or complex) that may ad-
versely affect the natural diversity, communities,
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health, or abundance of populations or habitats of
fish, wildlife, and plants;
‘‘(F) existing boundaries of each refuge in the
planning unit in relation to ecosystem boundaries
and wildlife dispersal and migration patterns; and
‘‘(G) specific strategies, developed cooperatively
with the heads of agencies administering other Fed-
eral and State lands, to enhance wildlife protection
in the planning unit, and to the extent practicable,
on other Federal and State lands proximate to the
planning unit.
‘‘(3) Each plan under this subsection shall—
‘‘(A) designate each area within the planning
unit according to the archeological, cultural, ecologi-
cal, 
geological, 
historical, 
paleontological,
physiographic, and wilderness values of the area;
‘‘(B) specify the uses within each such area
that may be compatible with the purposes of the ref-
uge and the System and the funds and personnel
that may be required to administer such uses;
‘‘(C) specify programs for achieving the pur-
poses described in paragraph (2)(A) and for conserv-
ing, restoring, and maintaining the resources and
values identified and described under subparagraphs
(B) and (C) of paragraph (2);
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‘‘(D) specify the approaches to be taken to
avoid or overcome the problems identified in para-
graph (2)(E) and estimate resource commitments re-
quired to implement such approaches;
‘‘(E) specify opportunities that may be provided
within the planning unit for compatible fish and
wildlife related recreation, ecological research, envi-
ronmental education, and interpretation of refuge re-
sources and values;
‘‘(F) except with respect to Alaska refuges
studied pursuant to section 1317 of the Alaska Na-
tional Interest Lands Conservation Act (16 U.S.C.
3205), review the suitability for designation as wil-
derness refuge lands not previously studied for des-
ignation as wilderness or designated as wilderness,
and recommend to the President and Congress des-
ignation for such lands in accordance with the provi-
sions of sections 3(c) and 3(d) of the Wilderness Act
(16 U.S.C. 1132 (c) and (d), respectively), including
islands and areas of 200 acres or more immediately
adjacent to wilderness areas (as designated at the
time of the review), lands recommended (before the
time of such review) for inclusion in the Wilderness
Preservation System, and proposed land acquisitions
by the Department of the Interior that the Secretary
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determines will, over time, be of an area of 5,000
contiguous acres; and
‘‘(G) identify the funds and personnel necessary
to implement the strategies and administer the uses
identified in this section.
‘‘(4) In preparing each plan under this subsection,
and any revision of the plan, the Secretary shall consult
with such heads of Federal and State departments and
agencies as the Secretary determines to be appropriate.
‘‘(5) Prior to the adoption of a plan, the Secretary
shall issue public notice of the draft proposed plan in the
Federal Register, make copies of the plan available at each
regional office of the United States Fish and Wildlife
Service, and provide opportunity for public comment.
‘‘(6)(A) Not later than 4 years after the date of the
enactment of the National Wildlife Refuge System Man-
agement and Policy Act of 1993, the Secretary shall, pur-
suant to this subsection, prepare and submit to the appro-
priate committees of Congress, plans for not less than one-
third of the refuges in existence on the date of the enact-
ment of such Act.
‘‘(B) Not later than 7 years after the date of the en-
actment of the National Wildlife Refuge System Manage-
ment and Policy Act of 1993, the Secretary shall, pursu-
ant to this subsection, prepare and submit to the appro-
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priate committees of Congress, plans for not less than two-
thirds of refuges in existence on the date of the enactment
of such Act.
‘‘(C) Not later than 10 years after the date of the
enactment of the National Wildlife Refuge System Man-
agement and Policy Act of 1993, the Secretary shall, pur-
suant to this subsection, prepare and submit to the appro-
priate committees of Congress, plans for each refuge in
existence on the date of the enactment of such Act.
‘‘(D) With respect to any refuge established after the
date of the enactment of the National Wildlife Refuge Sys-
tem Management and Policy Act of 1993, the Secretary
shall prepare a plan for the refuge not later than 2 years
after the date of the establishment of such refuge.’’.
SEC. 7. ADMINISTRATION.
The Secretary of the Interior shall manage the ref-
uges in the National Wildlife Refuge System in a manner
consistent with any refuge conservation plans developed
under section 4 of the National Wildlife Refuge System
Administration Act of 1966 (16 U.S.C. 668dd), as amend-
ed by this Act.
SEC. 8. REGULATIONS.
Except as otherwise required in this Act, the Sec-
retary of the Interior, shall—
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(1) not later than 1 year after the date of the
enactment of this Act, propose regulations to carry
out the provisions of this Act; and
(2) not later than 18 months after the date of
the enactment of this Act, promulgate final regula-
tions to carry out the provisions of this Act.
SEC. 9. CONFORMING AMENDMENT.
Section 4 of the National Wildlife Refuge System Ad-
ministration Act of 1966, as amended by section 6 of this
Act, is further amended by striking ‘‘Secretary of the Inte-
rior’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘Secretary’’.
SEC. 10. APPROPRIATIONS.
There are authorized to be appropriated such sums
as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this Act.
SEC. 11. EMERGENCY POWER.
The Secretary of the Interior is authorized to suspend
any activity conducted in any refuge in the National Wild-
life Refuge System in the event of an emergency that con-
stitutes an imminent danger to the health and safety of
any wildlife population, refuge, or to public health and
safety.
SEC. 12. STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.
Except as specifically provided in this Act, nothing
in this Act shall be construed so as to alter or otherwise
affect the provisions of the Refuge Recreation Act of 1962
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(16 U.S.C. 460k et seq.), the National Wildlife Refuge
System Administration Act (16 U.S.C. 668dd et seq.), the
Alaska National Interest Conservation Act of 1980 (16
U.S.C. 3101 et seq.), and other laws and orders establish-
ing individual refuges in effect on the date of the enact-
ment of this Act.
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