I 
110TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2735 
To provide additional funding for operation of national wildlife refuges. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 14, 2007 
Mr. YOUNG of Alaska (for himself and Mr. THOMPSON of California) intro-
duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural 
Resources, and in addition to the Committees on Oversight and Govern-
ment Reform and Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently de-
termined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions 
as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To provide additional funding for operation of national 
wildlife refuges. 
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 ‘‘National Wildlife Ref-
uge System Operations Enhancement Act of 2007’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 
(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds the following: 
(1) The National Wildlife Refuge System is a 
unique network of Federal lands that provides wild-
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life dependent recreational opportunities to the over-
whelming majority of the 40 million people who visit 
at least one refuge in a year. 
(2) There are 547 national wildlife refuges com-
prised of 96 million acres of Federal land. These ref-
uges are located in every State, island possession, 
and territory of the United States. These lands are 
a national treasure. 
(3) A decade ago, the Congress enacted the Na-
tional Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 
1997 (Public Law 105–97), which was a landmark 
law that established for the first time an organic 
statute and mission statement for the System. 
(4) Four years ago, the National Wildlife Ref-
uge System celebrated the 100th anniversary of the 
designation of the first refuge by President Theo-
dore Roosevelt at Pelican Island, Florida on March 
14, 1903. 
(5) In commemoration of that historic event, 
the Congress created the National Wildlife Refuge 
System Centennial Commission and appropriated the 
highest level of funding ever for refuge operations. 
(6) Since the end of that anniversary celebra-
tion, however, funding for refuge operations has sig-
nificantly declined, and the United States Fish and 
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Wildlife Service has not received adequate funding to 
offset either inflation or uncontrollable fixed costs 
like salary and benefit increases, energy costs, and 
General Services Administration rent adjustments. 
(7) The net result is that the United States 
Fish and Wildlife Service now has 600 vacant posi-
tions with a total workforce of only 9,000 full-time 
employees. There are also now 86 refuges that are 
closed to the public and 188 refuges that are 
unstaffed. 
(8) According to the Cooperative Alliance for 
Refuge Enhancement, a coalition of 20 conservation 
and hunting organizations including Ducks Unlim-
ited, the National Audubon Society, and the Con-
gressional Sportsmen’s Foundation, ‘‘[t]he National 
Wildlife Refuge System faces a crippling conserva-
tion deficit’’. 
(9) According to the United States Fish and 
Wildlife Service with respect to the Northeast Re-
gion of the Service, ‘‘[i]n three years, 74 percent of 
the national wildlife refuges (70 refuges) would be 
operating either ‘in the red’ or at crisis levels, in 5 
years, 89 percent, and in 7 years, 93 percent’’. This 
funding crisis is being felt throughout the National 
Wildlife Refuge System. 
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(10) It is essential that the Congress appro-
priate additional funds for refuge operations and 
enact new funding mechanisms that alleviate some, 
if not all, of these staggering operational deficits. 
(b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to estab-
lish new funding mechanisms to pay for the otherwise un-
funded costs of operating and maintaining the National 
Wildlife Refuge System. 
TITLE I—MIGRATORY BIRD 
HUNTING STAMPS 
SEC. 101. PRICE OF STAMP. 
(a) INCREASE IN PRICE.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Sections 2(b) of the Act of 
March 16, 1934 (chapter 71; 16 U.S.C. 718b(b)), 
popularly known as the Duck Stamp Act, is amend-
ed to read as follows: 
‘‘(b) PRICE OF STAMP.—A person authorized to sell 
stamps under this section shall collect, for each stamp 
sold— 
‘‘(1) $20 for a stamp for any of hunting years 
2008 through 2010; and 
‘‘(2) $25 for a stamp for each hunting year 
after hunting year 2010.’’. 
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(2) LIMITATION ON APPLICATION.—This sub-
section shall not affect the application of section 2 
of such Act before July 1, 2008. 
(b) USE OF ADDITIONAL FUNDS.—Section 4(b) of 
such Act (16 U.S.C. 718d(b)) is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘So much’’ 
and inserting ‘‘Subject to paragraph (3), so much’’; 
(2) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘paragraph 
(3) and subsection (c)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraphs 
(3) and (4)’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(4) REFUGE
OPERATIONS.—The amount re-
ceived for each stamp sold in excess of $15.00 shall 
be used by the Secretary for the costs of national 
wildlife refuge operations.’’. 
SEC. 102. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 
It is the sense of the Congress that nothing in this 
title should directly or indirectly cause a net decrease in 
total funds received by the United States Fish and Wild-
life Service for national wildlife refuge operations account 
below the level that would otherwise have been received 
but for the enactment of this section. 
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