[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 823 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

103d CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 823

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 SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

               April 27 (legislative day, April 19), 1993

Mr. Graham (for himself, Mr. Kohl, Mr. Dodd, Mr. Sarbanes, Mr. Wofford, 
 Mr. Feingold, Mr. Akaka, Mr. Bumpers, Mr. Leahy, Mr. Daschle, and Mr. 
Simon) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 
            to the Committee on Environment and Public Works

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 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; REFERENCES.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``National Wildlife 
Refuge System Management and Policy Act of 1993''.
    (b) References.--Whenever in this Act an amendment or repeal is 
expressed in terms of an amendment to, or repeal of, a section or other 
provision, the reference shall be considered to be made to a section or 
provision of the National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 
1966 (16 U.S.C. 668dd et seq.)

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds and declares that--
            (1) the National Wildlife Refuge System (referred to in 
        this section 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 the lands and waters administered by the 
        Secretary of the Interior (referred to in this section 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 the fish, wildlife, and 
        plants would be diminished without the 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 
        authorize 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 (16 U.S.C. 668ee) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating subsections (a) through (c) as 
        subsections (g) through (i), respectively; and
            (2) by inserting the following new subsections before 
        subsection (g) (as so redesignated):
    ``(a) The term `Director' as used in this Act means the Director of 
the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.
    ``(b) The terms `fish', `wildlife' and `fish and wildlife' as used 
in this Act mean any native member of the animal kingdom in a wild, 
unconfined state, including the parts, products, or eggs of the 
animals.
    ``(c) The term `plant' as used in this Act means any native member 
of the plant kingdom in a wild, unconfined state. The term shall 
include any plant community, seed, root, or other part thereof.
    ``(d) The term `refuge' as used in this Act means a unit of the 
National Wildlife Refuge System, except that the term shall not include 
State-managed wildlife management areas (commonly known as 
`coordination areas').
    ``(e) The term `Secretary' as used in this Act means the Secretary 
of the Interior (except as the context implies otherwise).
    ``(f) The term `System' as used in this Act means the National 
Wildlife Refuge System.''.

SEC. 4. PURPOSES AND ADMINISTRATION OF THE SYSTEM.

    Section 4(a) (16 U.S.C. 668dd(a)) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating paragraphs (2) and (3) as paragraphs 
        (5) and (6), respectively;
            (2) in paragraph (6), as so redesignated, by striking 
        ``paragraph (2)'' and inserting ``paragraph (5)''; and
            (3) 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) 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 the 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 the 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 the listing); and
                    ``(iii) conserve other fish, wildlife, and plants, 
                the habitats of the fish, wildlife, and plants, and 
                other elements of natural diversity.''.

SEC. 5. COMPATIBILITY STANDARDS AND PROCEDURES.

    Section 4(d) (16 U.S.C. 668dd(d)), is amended by adding at the end 
the following new paragraphs:
    ``(3) Except as provided in paragraph (5), 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 paragraph (5), that the use is compatible with 
the purposes of the System and of the refuge. The Secretary shall make 
no determination of compatibility under this subparagraph, nor initiate 
a proposed new use or permit a proposed, continued, or expanded use, 
unless the Secretary--
            ``(A) states the time, location, manner, and purpose of the 
        use;
            ``(B) evaluates the direct, indirect, and cumulative 
        biological, ecological, and other effects that the Secretary 
        determines to be appropriate for the use;
            ``(C) makes a determination, on the basis of the evaluation 
        required under subparagraph (B) that the 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; and
            ``(D) makes a determination that funds are available for 
        the development, operation, and maintenance of the use.
    ``(4) 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.
    ``(5)(A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B), any use of refuge 
system lands in effect on the date of enactment of this subparagraph, 
that, before such date, was 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 known 
as the `Refuge Recreation Act') (16 U.S.C. 460k et seq.), may be 
continued pursuant to the terms and conditions of any special-use 
permits, and applicable law, for the period of time specified in the 
permit.
    ``(B) Not later than 5 years after the date of enactment of this 
subparagraph, any use described in subparagraph (A) shall cease. Any 
permit for the use shall 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.
    ``(6) The Secretary shall, acting through the Director, by 
regulation, establish and maintain a formal process 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--
            ``(A) designate the refuge officer initially responsible 
        for compatibility and incompatibility determinations;
            ``(B) describe the biological, ecological, and other 
        criteria to be used in making the determinations;
            ``(C) require that the determinations be made in writing 
        and based on the best available scientific information;
            ``(D) establish procedures that ensure an opportunity for 
        public review and comment with respect to the determinations;
            ``(E) designate the officer who shall hear and rule on 
        appeals from initial determinations; and
            ``(F) provide for the reevaluation of a compatibility 
        determination on a periodic basis or whenever the conditions 
        under which the use is permitted change.
    ``(7) Except as provided in paragraph (8), 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 the agency will not impair the resources of the 
refuge or be incompatible with the purposes of either the System or the 
refuge (unless the action is specifically authorized by law).
    ``(8) 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 paragraph 
(7) from carrying out the requirements of paragraph (7).''.

SEC. 6. SYSTEM CONSERVATION PLANNING PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--Section 4 (16 U.S.C. 668dd) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating subsections (e) through (i) as 
        subsections (g) through (k), respectively; and
            (2) by inserting after subsection (d) the following new 
        subsections:
    ``(e)(1) Not later than September 30, 1994, the Secretary shall 
prepare, and subsequently revise not less frequently than every 10 
years after the date of preparation, 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 of 
        1973 (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)(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 subsequently revise not less frequently 
than every 15 years after the date of preparation, a comprehensive 
conservation plan (referred to in this subsection as a `plan') for each 
refuge or ecologically related complex of refuges (referred to in this 
subsection as a `planning unit') in the System. The Secretary shall 
revise any plan at any time thereafter on 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) archeological, 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 of the areas referred to 
        in subparagraph (A) that may be compatible with the purposes of 
        the refuge and the System and the funds and personnel that may 
        be required to administer the 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 the 
        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 the 
        lands in accordance with subsections (c) and (d) of section 3 
        of the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1132 (c) and (d), 
        respectively), including--
                    ``(i) islands and areas of 200 acres or more 
                immediately adjacent to wilderness areas (as designated 
                at the time of the review);
                    ``(ii) lands recommended (before the time of the 
                review) for inclusion in the Wilderness Preservation 
                System; and
                    ``(iii) proposed land acquisitions by the 
                Department of the Interior that the Secretary 
                determines will, over time, be of an area of 
                approximately 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 agencies and State departments and agencies as the Secretary 
determines to be appropriate.
    ``(5) Prior to the adoption of a plan under this subsection, 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) By not later than 4 years after the date of enactment of 
this subsection, 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 
enactment of this subsection.
    ``(B) By not later than 7 years after the date of enactment of this 
subsection, the Secretary shall, pursuant to this subsection, prepare 
and submit to the appropriate committees of Congress, plans for not 
less than two-thirds of the refuges in existence on the date of 
enactment of this subsection.
    ``(C) By not later than 10 years after the date of enactment of 
this subsection, 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 enactment of this subsection.
    ``(D) With respect to any refuge established after the date of 
enactment of this subsection, the Secretary shall prepare a plan for 
the refuge not later than 2 years after the date of the establishment 
of the 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 enactment of 
        this Act, propose regulations to carry out this Act and the 
        amendments made by this Act; and
            (2) not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of 
        this Act, promulgate final regulations to carry out this Act 
        and the amendments made by this Act.

SEC. 9. CONFORMING AMENDMENT.

    Section 4 (16 U.S.C. 668dd) is amended by striking ``Secretary of 
the Interior'' each place it appears and inserting ``Secretary''.

SEC. 10. 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, or refuge, or to public health 
and safety.

SEC. 11. STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.

    Except as specifically provided in this Act or the amendments made 
by this Act, nothing in this Act or the amendments made by this Act 
shall be construed so as to alter or otherwise affect the act commonly 
known as the Refuge Recreation Act of 1962 (16 U.S.C. 460k et seq.), 
the National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 1966 (16 
U.S.C. 668dd et seq.), the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation 
Act (16 U.S.C. 3101 et seq.), or any other law or order establishing 
individual refuges in effect on the date of enactment of this Act.

SEC. 12. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 
necessary to carry out this Act and the amendments made by this Act.

                                 <all>

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