[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2454 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2454

 To assure the long-term conservation of mid-continent light geese and 
    the biological diversity of the ecosystem upon which many North 
  American migratory birds depend, by directing the Secretary of the 
 Interior to implement rules to reduce the overabundant population of 
                       mid-continent light geese.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              July 1, 1999

    Mr. Saxton (for himself, Mr. Young of Alaska, Mr. Dingell, Mr. 
 Chambliss, Mr. Peterson of Minnesota, Mr. Pickering, Mr. Hunter, Mr. 
 Cunningham, and Mr. Tanner) introduced the following bill; which was 
                 referred to the Committee on Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To assure the long-term conservation of mid-continent light geese and 
    the biological diversity of the ecosystem upon which many North 
  American migratory birds depend, by directing the Secretary of the 
 Interior to implement rules to reduce the overabundant population of 
                       mid-continent light geese.

    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 ``Arctic Tundra Habitat Emergency 
Conservation Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

    (a) Findings.--The Congress finds the following:
            (1) The winter index population of mid-continent light 
        geese was 800,000 birds in 1969, while the total population of 
        such geese is more than 5,000,000 birds today.
            (2) The population of mid-continent light geese is 
        expanding by over 5 percent each year, and in the absence of 
        new wildlife management actions it will grow to more than 
        6,800,000 breeding light geese in 3 years.
            (3) The primary reasons for this unprecedented population 
        growth are--
                    (A) the expansion of agricultural areas and the 
                resulting abundance of cereal grain crops;
                    (B) the establishment of sanctuaries along the 
                flyways of migrating light geese; and
                    (C) a decline in light geese harvest rates.
            (4) As a direct result of this population explosion, the 
        Hudson Bay Lowlands Salt-Marsh ecosystem in Canada is being 
        systematically destroyed. This ecosystem contains approximately 
        135,000 acres of essential habitat for migrating light geese 
        and many other avian species. Biologists have testified that 
        \1/3\ of this habitat has been destroyed, \1/3\ is on the brink 
        of devastation, and the remaining \1/3\ is overgrazed.
            (5) The destruction of the Arctic tundra is having a severe 
        negative impact on many avian species that breed or migrate 
        through this habitat, including the following:
                    (A) Canada Goose.
                    (B) American Wigeon.
                    (C) Dowitcher.
                    (D) Hudsonian Godwit.
                    (E) Stilt Sandpiper.
                    (F) Northern Shoveler.
                    (G) Red-Breasted Merganser.
                    (H) Oldsquaw.
                    (I) Parasitic Jaeger.
                    (J) Whimbrel.
                    (H) Yellow Rail.
            (6) It is essential that the population of mid-continent 
        light geese be reduced by 50 percent by the year 2005 to ensure 
        that the fragile Arctic tundra is not irreversibly damaged.
    (b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are the following:
            (1) To reduce the population of mid-continent light geese.
            (2) To assure the long-term conservation of mid-continent 
        light geese and the biological diversity of the ecosystem upon 
        which many North American migratory birds depend.

SEC. 3. REQUIREMENT TO IMPLEMENT RULES TO CONTROL OVERABUNDANT MID-
              CONTINENT LIGHT GEESE POPULATIONS.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary shall implement the rules published 
by the Service on February 16, 1999, relating to use of additional 
hunting methods to increase the harvest of mid-continent light geese 
(64 Fed. Reg. 7507-7517) and the establishment of a conservation order 
for the reduction of mid-continent light goose populations (64 Fed. 
Reg. 7517-7528), without regard to the withdrawal of such rules by the 
rule published on June 17, 1999 (64 Fed. Reg. 32778-32780).
    (b) Application.--Subsection (a) shall apply only during the period 
that--
            (1) begins on the date of the enactment of this Act; and
            (2) ends on the latest of--
                    (A) the effective date of rules issued by the 
                Service after such date of enactment to control 
                overabundant mid-continent light geese populations; and
                    (B) the date of the publication of a final 
                environmental impact statement for such rules under 
                section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy 
                Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C)).
    (c) Rule of Construction.--This section shall not be construed to 
limit the authority of the Secretary or the Service to issue rules, 
under another law, to regulate the taking of mid-continent light geese.

SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Mid-continent light geese.--The term ``mid-continent 
        light geese'' means Lesser snow geese (Anser caerulescens 
        caerulescens) and Ross geese (Anser rossii) that primarily 
        migrate between Canada and the States of Alabama, Arkansas, 
        Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, 
        Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, 
        New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, 
        Tennessee, Texas, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
            (2) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of the Interior.
            (3) Service.--The term ``Service'' means the United States 
        Fish and Wildlife Service.
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