[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 765 Reported in Senate (RS)]





                                                       Calendar No. 229

105th CONGRESS

  1st Session

                               H. R. 765

                          [Report No. 105-115]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT

To ensure maintenance of a herd of wild horses in Cape Lookout National 
                               Seashore.

_______________________________________________________________________

                            October 28, 1997

                       Reported with an amendment
                                                       Calendar No. 229
105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 765

                          [Report No. 105-115]


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 23, 1997

                                Received

                           September 3, 1997

    Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural 
                               Resources

                            October 28, 1997

              Reported by Mr. Murkowski, with an amendment
 [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed 
                               in italic]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT


 
To ensure maintenance of a herd of wild horses in Cape Lookout National 
                               Seashore.

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

<DELETED>SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    This Act may be cited as the ``Shackleford Banks Wild 
Horses Protection Act''.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 2. MAINTENANCE OF WILD HORSES IN CAPE LOOKOUT NATIONAL 
              SEASHORE.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    Section 5 of the Act entitled ``An Act to provide for the 
establishment of the Cape Lookout National Seashore in the State of 
North Carolina, and for other purposes'', approved March 10, 1966 (16 
U.S.C. 459g-4), is amended by inserting ``(a)'' after ``Sec. 5.'', and 
by adding at the end the following new subsection:</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(b)(1) The Secretary, in accordance with this 
subsection, shall allow a herd of free roaming horses in the 
seashore.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(2) Within 180 days after enactment of this subsection, 
the Secretary shall enter into an agreement with the Foundation for 
Shackleford Horses (a nonprofit corporation established under the laws 
of the State of North Carolina) to provide for management of free 
roaming horses in the seashore. The agreement shall--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(A) provide for cost-effective management of the 
        horses; and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(B) allow the Foundation to adopt any of those 
        horses that the Secretary removes from the seashore.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(3)(A) The Secretary shall accommodate the historic 
population level of the free roaming horse herd in the seashore, which 
shall be considered to be not less than 100 horses and not more than 
110 horses.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(B) The Secretary may not remove, or assist in or permit 
the removal of, any free roaming horses from Federal lands within the 
boundaries of the seashore unless--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(i) the number of free roaming horses in the 
        seashore exceeds 110;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(ii) there is an emergency or a need to protect 
        public health and safety, as defined in the agreement under 
        paragraph (2); or</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(iii) there is concern for the persistence and 
        viability of the horse population that is cited in the most 
        recent findings of annual monitoring of the horses under 
        paragraph (4).</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(4) The Secretary shall annually monitor, assess, and 
make available to the public findings regarding the population 
structure and health of the free roaming horses in the national 
seashore.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(5) Nothing in this subsection shall be construed as 
creating liability for the United States for any damages caused by the 
free roaming horses to property located inside or outside the 
boundaries of the seashore.''.</DELETED>

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Shackleford Banks Wild Horses 
Protection Act''.

SEC. 2. MAINTENANCE OF WILD HORSES IN CAPE LOOKOUT NATIONAL SEASHORE.

    Section 5 of the Act entitled ``An Act to provide for the 
establishment of the Cape Lookout National Seashore in the State of 
North Carolina, and for other purposes'', approved March 10, 1966 
(Public Law 89-366; 16 U.S.C. 459g-4), is amended by inserting ``(a)'' 
after ``Sec. 5.'', and by adding at the end the following new 
subsection:
    ``(b)(1) The Secretary, in accordance with this subsection, shall 
allow a herd of free-roaming horses in Cape Lookout National Seashore 
(hereinafter referred to as the `Seashore').
    ``(2) Within 180 days after enactment of this subsection, the 
Secretary shall enter into an agreement with the Foundation for 
Shackleford Horses (a non-profit corporation established under the laws 
of the State of North Carolina), or another qualified non-profit 
entity, to provide for management of free-roaming horses in the 
seashore. The agreement shall--
            ``(A) provide for cost-effective management of the horses 
        while ensuring that natural resources within the seashore are 
        not adversely impacted; and,
            ``(B) allow the authorized entity to adopt any of those 
        horses that the Secretary removes from the seashore.
    ``(3) The Secretary shall not remove, assist in, or permit the 
removal of any free-roaming horses from Federal lands within the 
boundaries of the seashore--
            ``(A) unless the entity with whom the Secretary has entered 
        into the agreement under paragraph (2), following notice and a 
        90-day response period, fails to meet the terms and conditions 
        of the agreement; or
            ``(B) unless the number of free-roaming horses on Federal 
        lands within Cape Lookout National Seashore exceeds 110; or
            ``(C) except in the case of an emergency, or to protect 
        public health and safety.
    ``(4) The Secretary shall annually monitor, assess, and make 
available to the public findings regarding the population structure and 
health of the free-roaming horses in the national seashore.
    ``(5) Nothing in this subsection shall be construed as creating 
liability for the United States for any damages caused by the free-
roaming horses to property located inside or outside the boundaries of 
the seashore.''.

            Passed the House of Representatives July 22, 1997.

            Attest:

                                                ROBIN H. CARLE,

                                                                 Clerk.