[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 833 Introduced in House (IH)]

103d CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 833

To amend the National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 1966 
 to improve the management of the National Wildlife Refuge System, and 
                          for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            February 4, 1993

   Mr. Gibbons (for himself, Mr. Synar, Mr. Bacchus of Florida, Mr. 
 Berman, Mr. Brown of California, Mrs. Byrne, Mr. Coleman, Mr. Dicks, 
    Mr. Frost, Mr. Jefferson, Mrs. Maloney, Mrs. Meek, Mr. Neal of 
  Massachusetts, Ms. Pelosi, Mr. Ravenel, Mr. Sabo, Mr. Schumer, Ms. 
Slaughter, Mr. Stokes, Mr. Towns, Mr. Weldon, and Mr. Yates) introduced 
  the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Merchant 
                          Marine and Fisheries

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 1966 
 to improve the management of the National Wildlife Refuge System, and 
                          for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``National Wildlife Refuge System 
Management and Policy Act of 1993''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

    (a) Findings.--The Congress finds and declares that--
            (1) the National Wildlife Refuge System (hereafter in this 
        section referred to as the ``System'') was established under 
        the National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 1966 
        (16 U.S.C. 668dd et seq.);
            (2) the National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act 
        of 1966 consolidates the authorities related to lands, waters, 
        and interests in such lands and waters administered by the 
        Secretary of the Interior (hereafter in this section referred 
        to as the ``Secretary''), for the purpose of conservation of 
        fish and wildlife;
            (3) the System provides opportunities for individuals to 
        participate in wildlife-oriented recreation, and to learn, 
        understand, and appreciate the value of and need for conserving 
        fish and wildlife, wild lands, and naturally productive 
        ecological communities, types, and systems;
            (4) the System is the only complex of Federal lands devoted 
        primarily to preserving, restoring, and managing fish and 
        wildlife and the habitats of fish and wildlife;
            (5) National Wildlife Refuges provide habitat for many 
        endangered and threatened species, and for species that may 
        become endangered or threatened, as well as for other fish, 
        wildlife, and plants;
            (6) the well-being and abundance of such fish, wildlife, 
        and plants would be diminished without such protected habitat;
            (7) activities are occurring on a significant number of 
        National Wildlife Refuges that result in harm to the fish and 
        wildlife resources the System was designed to conserve; and
            (8) improvements are needed in the administration and 
        management of the System to ensure that sound and effective 
        conservation programs for the System are developed, 
        implemented, and enforced.
    (b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are as follows:
            (1) To reaffirm the provisions of the Act commonly known as 
        the Refuge Recreation Act (16 U.S.C. 460k et seq.) that 
        authorizes the Secretary of the Interior (hereafter in this 
        subsection referred to as the ``Secretary'') to permit 
        compatible fish and wildlife-oriented public recreation, such 
        as hunting, fishing, and wildlife observation on refuges.
            (2) To improve the administration and management of the 
        System.
            (3) To establish purposes for the System.
            (4) To improve the compatibility determination process for 
        National Wildlife Refuges.
            (5) To establish comprehensive planning for the System and 
        individual wildlife refuges of the System.
            (6) To provide for interagency coordination in maintaining 
        refuge resources.

SEC. 3 DEFINITIONS.

    Section 5 of the National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act 
of 1966 (16 U.S.C. 668ee) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating subsections (a) through (c) as 
        subsections (g) through (i); and
            (2) by inserting the following new subsections before 
        subsection (h) (as so redesignated):
    ``(a) The term `Secretary' means the Secretary of the Interior 
(except as the context implies otherwise).
    ``(b) The term `Director' means the Director of the United States 
Fish and Wildlife Service.
    ``(c) The term `System' means the National Wildlife Refuge System.
    ``(d) The term `refuge' means a unit of the National Wildlife 
Refuge System, except that such term shall not include State-managed 
wildlife management areas (commonly known as `coordination areas').
    ``(e) The terms `fish', `wildlife' and `fish and wildlife' mean any 
native member of the animal kingdom in a wild, unconfined state, 
including the parts, products, or eggs of such animals.
    ``(f) The term `plant' means any native member of the plant kingdom 
in a wild, unconfined state, including plant communities, seeds, roots, 
and other parts thereof.''.

SEC. 4. PURPOSES AND ADMINISTRATION OF THE SYSTEM.

    Subsection (a) of section 4 of the National Wildlife Refuge System 
Administration Act of 1966 (16 U.S.C. 668dd(a)) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating paragraphs (2) and (3) as paragraphs 
        (5) and (6); and
            (2) by inserting after paragraph (1) the following new 
        paragraphs:
    ``(2) The purposes of the System are as follows:
            ``(A) To provide a national network of lands and waters 
        with respect to which the size, variety, and location are 
        designed to protect the wealth of fish, wildlife, and plants of 
        this Nation and their habitats for present and future 
        generations.
            ``(B) To provide healthy, naturally productive, and 
        enduring food, water, and shelter to fish, wildlife, and plant 
        communities and to ensure naturally diverse, healthy, and 
        abundant populations of fish, wildlife, and plant species in 
        perpetuity.
            ``(C) To serve in the fulfillment of international treaty 
        obligations of the United States with respect to fish, 
        wildlife, and plants, and their habitats.
    ``(3) If the Secretary finds that a conflict exists between any 
purpose set forth in the law or order that established a refuge and any 
purpose set forth in paragraph (2), the Secretary shall resolve the 
conflict in a manner that fulfills the purpose set forth in the law or 
order that established the refuge, and, to the extent possible, 
achieves all of the purposes set forth in paragraph (2).
    ``(4) In the administration of the System for the purposes 
described in paragraph (2), the Secretary, acting through the Director, 
shall--
            ``(A) ensure that the purposes of the System described in 
        paragraph (2) of this subsection and the purposes of each 
        refuge are carried out;
            ``(B) protect the System and the components of the System 
        from threats to the ecological integrity of such System and 
        components;
            ``(C) to the extent authorized by law, ensure adequate 
        water quantity and water quality to fulfill the purposes of the 
        System and of each refuge; and
            ``(D) plan, propose, and direct expansion of the System in 
        a manner best designed to--
                    ``(i) accomplish the purposes of the System and of 
                each refuge in the System;
                    ``(ii) protect and aid recovery of any species 
                listed as endangered or threatened (and any species 
                that is a candidate for such listing); and
                    ``(iii) conserve other fish, wildlife, and plants, 
                the habitats of such fish, wildlife, and plants, and 
                other elements of natural diversity.''.

SEC. 5. COMPATIBILITY STANDARDS AND PROCEDURES.

    Paragraph (1) of section 4(d) of the National Wildlife Refuge 
System Administration Act of 1966 (16 U.S.C. 668dd(d)(1)), is amended 
by adding at the end of the paragraph the following new subparagraphs:
            ``(C) Except as provided in subparagraph (E) of this 
        paragraph, the Secretary shall not initiate or permit a new use 
        of a refuge or expand, renew, or extend an existing use unless 
        the Secretary finds, in consultation with the Director, 
        pursuant to subsection (e) of this section, that such use is 
        compatible with the purposes of the System and of the refuge. 
        The Secretary shall make no determination of such 
        compatibility, nor initiate a proposed new use or permit a 
        proposed, continued, or expanded use, unless the Secretary does 
        the following:
                    ``(i) States the time, location, manner, and 
                purpose of such use.
                    ``(ii) Evaluates the direct, indirect, and 
                cumulative biological, ecological, and other effects 
                that the Secretary determines to be appropriate of such 
                use.
                    ``(iii) Makes a determination, on the basis of the 
                evaluation required under clause (ii) of this 
                subparagraph, that such use will contribute to the 
                fulfillment of the purposes of the System and the 
                refuge or will not have a detrimental effect upon 
                fulfillment of the purposes of the System or the 
                refuge.
                    ``(iv) Makes a determination that funds are 
                available for the development, operation, and 
                maintenance of such use.
            ``(D) Unless the Secretary, in consultation with the 
        Director, determines that there is sufficient information 
        available to make a reasoned judgment that a proposed, 
        continued, or expanded use of a refuge is compatible with the 
        purposes of the System and the refuge, the Secretary shall not 
        permit the use.
            ``(E)(i) Except as provided in clause (ii), uses of refuge 
        system lands in effect on the date of the enactment of the 
        National Wildlife Refuge System Management and Policy Act of 
        1993 that, before such date, have been determined to be 
        compatible under this section or the Act entitled `An Act to 
        assure continued fish and wildlife benefits from the national 
        fish and wildlife conservation areas by authorizing their 
        appropriate incidental or secondary use for public recreation 
        to the extent that such use is compatible with the primary 
        purposes of such areas, and for other purposes', commonly 
        referred to as the `Refuge Recreation Act' (16 U.S.C. 460k et 
        seq.) may be continued pursuant to the terms and conditions of 
        existing special use permits, and applicable law, for the 
        period of time specified in the permit.
            ``(ii) Not later than 5 years after the date of the 
        enactment of the National Wildlife Refuge System Management and 
        Policy Act of 1993, any use described in clause (i) shall cease 
        and permits for such uses be revoked unless the Secretary, in 
        consultation with the Director of the United States Fish and 
        Wildlife Service, makes a determination, pursuant 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 
                responsible for compatibility and incompatibility 
                determinations;
                    ``(ii) describe the biological, ecological, and 
                other criteria to be used in making such 
                determinations;
                    ``(iii) require that such determinations shall be 
                made in writing and based on the best available 
                scientific information;
                    ``(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 
                compatibility 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 jurisdiction with the Department of the 
        Interior, or that conducts activities within any refuge shall, 
        in consultation 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 subparagraph (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 include--
            ``(A) relevant elements of recovery plans required 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 System and in each refuge 
        ecotype or ecosystem (including the protection of zones for 
        dispersal, migration, and other fish and wildlife movements, 
        and the conservation of species designated as candidates for 
        listing pursuant to section 4 of the Endangered Species 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 collectively 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 refuge.
    ``(f) Refuge Conservation Plans.--(1) Except with respect to refuge 
lands in Alaska (which shall be governed 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 (hereinafter 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 System. The Secretary shall revise any plan 
at any time thereafter, upon a determination that conditions that 
affect 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 purposes 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 migratory fish and wildlife species on the 
        habitats and resources of interrelated units of the System;
            ``(C) archaeological, cultural, ecological geological, 
        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 facilities 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 adversely affect the natural diversity, 
        communities, 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 Federal 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, ecological, 
        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 refuge and the System and 
        the funds and personnel that may be required to administer such 
        uses;
            ``(C) specify programs for achieving the purposes described 
        in paragraph (2)(A) and for conserving, restoring, and 
        maintaining the resources and values identified and described 
        under subparagraphs (B) and (C) of paragraph (2);
            ``(D) specify the approaches to be taken to avoid or 
        overcome the problems identified in paragraph (2)(E) and 
        estimate resource commitments required to implement such 
        approaches;
            ``(E) specify opportunities that may be provided within the 
        planning unit for compatible fish and wildlife related 
        recreation, ecological research, environmental education, and 
        interpretation of refuge resources and values;
            ``(F) except with respect to Alaska refuges studied 
        pursuant to section 1317 of the Alaska National Interest Lands 
        Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 3205), review the suitability for 
        designation as wilderness refuge lands not previously studied 
        for designation as wilderness or designated as wilderness, and 
        recommend to the President and Congress designation for such 
        lands in accordance with the provisions 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 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 Management and Policy Act of 1993, 
the Secretary shall, pursuant to this subsection, prepare and submit to 
the appropriate committees of Congress, plans for not less than one-
third of the refuges in existence on the date of the enactment of such 
Act.
    ``(B) Not later than 7 years after the date of the enactment of the 
National Wildlife Refuge System Management and Policy Act of 1993, the 
Secretary shall, pursuant to this subsection, prepare and submit to the 
appropriate 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 Management and Policy Act of 1993, 
the Secretary shall, pursuant to this subsection, prepare and submit to 
the appropriate 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 System 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 refuges 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 amended 
by this Act.

SEC. 8. REGULATIONS.

    Except as otherwise required in this Act, the Secretary of the 
Interior, shall--
            (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 regulations to carry 
        out the provisions of this Act.

SEC. 9. CONFORMING AMENDMENT.

    Section 4 of the National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act 
of 1966, as amended by section 6 of this Act, is further amended by 
striking ``Secretary of the Interior'' 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 Wildlife Refuge System in the 
event of an emergency that constitutes 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 (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 establishing individual 
refuges in effect on the date of the enactment of this Act.

                                 <all>

HR 833 IH----2