Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. LEASES, PERMITS, AND CONTRACTS FOR
BUILDINGS, FACILITIES, AND PROPERTIES IN
THE NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE SYSTEM.
(a) IN GENERAL.—The National Wildlife Refuge
System Administration Act of 1966 (16 U.S.C. 668dd et
seq.) is amended by—
(1) striking section 6 (relating to amendments
to other laws, which have executed);
(2) redesignating section 5 (16 U.S.C. 668ee)
as section 6; and
(3) inserting after section 4 the following:
‘‘SEC. 5. CONCESSION CONTRACTS.
‘‘(a) CONTRACT REQUIREMENT.—(1) The Secretary
shall not award any concession that authorizes a person
to use any land or water in the System for any activity
described in subsection (b), except under a contract that
complies with the requirements established under sub-
section (c).
‘‘(2) The Secretary may not award a contract re-
quired under this subsection except under a competitive
bidding process.
‘‘(b) COVERED CONCESSION ACTIVITIES.—(1) The
activity referred to in subsection (a) is any activity con-
ducted to provide accommodations, facilities, or services
to members of the public who are visiting lands or waters
in the System, for the purpose of providing such visitors
recreational, educational, or interpretive enjoyment of
lands or waters in the System.
‘‘(2) Such activity does not include—
‘‘(A) any activity carried out under a procure-
ment contract, grant agreement, or cooperative
agreement required under chapter 63 of title 31,
United States Code;
‘‘(B) the performance of volunteer services; and
‘‘(C) any activity by a governmental entity.
‘‘(c) STANDARDIZED CONTRACT.—(1) The Secretary,
acting through the Director, shall issue regulations that
establish a standardized contract for purposes of sub-
section (a).
‘‘(2) Regulations under this subsection shall author-
ize a contract to use a provision other than those specified
by the regulations only if—
‘‘(A) the provision addresses extenuating cir-
cumstances that are specific to a refuge or the con-
tract; and
‘‘(B) the provision is approved by the Director
in writing.
‘‘(3) Regulations under this subsection shall require
in each contract provisions that require that any activity
conducted in the System under the contract—
‘‘(A) must be a compatible use; and
‘‘(B) must be designed to—
‘‘(i) conserve the natural and cultural re-
sources of the System;
‘‘(ii) facilitate the enjoyment of the lands
and waters of the System by visitors to the Sys-
tem; and
‘‘(iii) enhance the such visitors’ knowledge
of the natural resources of the System.
‘‘(d) MAINTENANCE
AND REPAIR.—(1) Notwith-
standing any other provision of law, the Secretary shall
include, in each contract that authorizes a person to use
any land or water in the System for any activity described
in subsection (b), provisions that—
‘‘(A) authorize the person to maintain or repair
any improvement on or in such land or water that
the person is authorized to use for such activity; and
‘‘(B) treat costs incurred by the person for such
maintenance or repair as consideration otherwise re-
quired to be paid to the United States for such use.
‘‘(2) This subsection does not authorize any mainte-
nance or repair that is not directly related to an activity
described in subsection (b) that is authorized by the con-
tract.
‘‘(3) The United States shall retain title to all prop-
erty that is maintained or repaired under this subsection.
‘‘(e) NO COMPENSABLE INTEREST.—Nothing in this
Act shall be considered to convey to any person any right
to compensation for—
‘‘(1) the value of any maintenance activities, re-
pairs, construction, or improvements on or in land
or water in the System; or
‘‘(2) buildings, facilities, fixtures, and non-mov-
able equipment that the person is authorized to use
under this Act.
‘‘(f) EXPENDITURE
OF FEES
AND OTHER PAY-
MENTS.—(1) Amounts received by the United States as
fees or other payments required under any agreement,
lease, permit, or contract for use of real property located
in an area in the System shall be available to the Secretary
for expenditure in accordance with this subsection, without
further appropriation.
‘‘(2) Amounts available for expenditure under this
subsection may only be used—
‘‘(A) at the refuge or refuge complex with re-
spect to which the amounts were received as fees or
other payments;
‘‘(B) to increase the quality of the visitor expe-
rience; and
‘‘(C) for purposes of—
‘‘(i) backlogged repair and maintenance
projects (including projects relating to health
and safety);
‘‘(ii) interpretation, signage, habitat, or fa-
cility enhancement;
‘‘(iii) resource protection and preservation;
or
‘‘(iv) administration of agreements, leases,
permits, and contracts from which such
amounts are derived.
‘‘(3) Paragraph (1) shall not affect the application
of the Act of June 15, 1935 (chapter 261; 16 U.S.C.
715s), commonly referred to as the Refuge Revenue Shar-
ing Act, to amounts referred to in paragraph (1) that are
not expended by the Secretary under paragraph (1).’’.
(b) APPLICATION.—Section 5(a) of the National
Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 1966, as
amended by this section, shall apply only with respect to
a concession that is—
(1) first awarded after the date of the publica-
tion of regulations under section 5(c) of the National
Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 1966,
as amended by this section; or
(2) renewed after the end of the 3-year period
beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act.
(c) DEADLINE
FOR REGULATIONS ESTABLISHING
STANDARDIZED CONTRACT REQUIREMENTS.—The Sec-
retary of the Interior shall issue regulations under section
5(c) of the National Wildlife Refuge System Administra-
tion Act of 1966, as amended by this section, by not later
than 18 months after the date of the enactment of this
Act.
(d) COMPREHENSIVE
CONSERVATION
PLAN
RE-
QUIREMENT.—Section 4(e) of the National Wildlife Ref-
uge System Administration Act of 1966 (16 U.S.C.
668dd) is amended by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(5) The Secretary shall include, in the comprehen-
sive conservation plan for each refuge under this sub-
section, a description of the activities that may be con-
ducted in the refuge, and the lands, waters, and facilities
of the refuge that may be used, under concession contracts
awarded under section 5(a).’’.
(e) PRIOR AMENDMENTS NOT AFFECTED.—Nothing
in this section shall be construed to affect any amendment
made by section 6 of the National Wildlife Refuge System
Administration Act of 1966, as in effect before the enact-