IIB 
108TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 289
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 
APRIL 2, 2003
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and 
Public Works 
AN ACT 
To expand the boundaries of the Ottawa National Wildlife 
Refuge Complex and the Detroit River International 
Wildlife Refuge.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
HR 289 RFS 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Ottawa National Wild-
life Refuge Complex Expansion and Detroit River Inter-
national Wildlife Refuge Expansion Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds that—
(1) the western basin of Lake Erie, as part of 
the Great Lakes ecosystem—
(A) is the largest freshwater ecosystem in 
the world; and 
(B) is vitally important to the economic 
and environmental future of the United States; 
(2) over the 30-year period preceding the date 
of enactment of this Act, the citizens and govern-
mental institutions of 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 western basin; 
(3) that increased awareness has been accom-
panied by a gradual shift toward a holistic eco-
system approach that highlights a growing recogni-
tion that shoreline areas, commonly referred to as 
nearshore terrestrial ecosystems, are an integral part 
of the western basin and the Great Lakes ecosystem;
HR 289 RFS 
(4) the Great Lakes account for more than 90 
percent of the surface freshwater in the United 
States; 
(5) the western basin receives approximately 90 
percent of its flow from the Detroit River and only 
approximately 10 percent from tributaries; 
(6) the western basin is an important ecosystem 
that includes a number of distinct islands, channels, 
rivers, and shoals that support dense populations of 
fish, wildlife, and aquatic plants; 
(7) coastal wetland of Lake Erie supports the 
largest diversity of plant and wildlife species in the 
Great Lakes; 
(8) because Lake Erie is located at a more 
southern latitude than other Great Lakes, the mod-
erate climate of Lake Erie is appropriate for many 
species that are not found in or along the northern 
Great Lakes; 
(9) more than 300 species of plants, including 
37 significant species, have been identified in the 
aquatic and wetland habitats of the western basin; 
(10) the shallow western basin of Lake Erie, 
extending from the Lower Detroit River to Sandusky 
Bay, is home to the greatest concentration of 
marshes in Lake Erie, including—
HR 289 RFS 
(A) Mouille, Metzger, and Magee marshes; 
(B) the Maumee Bay wetland complex; 
(C) the wetland complexes flanking Locust 
Point; and 
(D) the wetland in Sandusky Bay; 
(11) the larger islands of the United States in 
western 
Lake 
Erie 
have 
wetland 
in 
small 
embayments; 
(12) the wetland in the western basin comprises 
some of the most important waterfowl habitat in the 
Great Lakes; 
(13) waterfowl, wading birds, shore birds, gulls 
and terns, raptors, and perching birds use the wet-
land in the western basin for migration, nesting, and 
feeding; 
(14) hundreds of thousands of diving ducks 
stop to rest in the Lake Erie area during autumn 
migration from Canada to points east and south; 
(15) the wetland of the western basin provides 
a major stopover for ducks, such as migrating 
bufflehead, common goldeneye, common mergansers, 
and ruddy duck; 
(16) the international importance of Lake Erie 
is indicated in the United States by congressional