[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4722 Introduced in House (IH)]







107th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4722

    To provide for the establishment of the Lake Erie Western Basin 
 International Wildlife Refuge in the States of Ohio and Michigan, and 
                          for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 14, 2002

Ms. Kaptur (for herself and Mr. Dingell) introduced the following bill; 
            which was referred to the Committee on Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To provide for the establishment of the Lake Erie Western Basin 
 International Wildlife Refuge in the States of Ohio and Michigan, 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 ``Lake Erie Western Basin 
International Wildlife Refuge Establishment Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (1) The western basin of Lake Erie, as part of the Great 
        Lakes ecosystem, the largest freshwater ecosystem on the face 
        of the Earth, is vitally important to the economic and 
        environmental future of the United States.
            (2) Over the past three decades, the citizens and 
        governmental institutions of both the United States and Canada 
        have devoted increasing attention and resources to the 
        restoration of the water quality and fisheries of the Great 
        Lakes, including the western basin. This increased awareness 
        has been accompanied by a gradual shift to a holistic 
        ``ecosystem approach'' that highlights a growing recognition 
        that shoreline areas--the nearshore terrestrial ecosystems--are 
        an integral part of the western basin and the Great Lakes 
        ecosystem as a whole.
            (3) The Great Lakes account for more than 90 percent of the 
        surface freshwater in the nation. The western basin receives 
        approximately 90 percent of its flow from the Detroit River and 
        only approximately 10 percent from tributaries.
            (4) The western basin of Lake Erie is an important 
        ecosystem that includes a number of distinct islands, channels, 
        rivers, and shoals that support dense populations of fish, 
        wildlife, and aquatic plants.
            (5) The coastal wetlands of Lake Erie support the largest 
        diversity of plant and wildlife species in the Great Lakes. The 
        moderate climate of Lake Erie and its more southern latitude 
        allow for many species that are not found in or along the 
        northern Great Lakes. More than 300 species of plants, 
        including 37 significant species, have been identified in the 
        aquatic and wetland habitats of the western basin.
            (6) The shallow western basin, from the Lower Detroit River 
        to Sandusky Bay, is home to the largest concentration of 
        marshes in Lake Erie, including Mouille, Metzger, and Magee 
        marshes, the Maumee Bay wetland complex, the wetland complexes 
        flanking Locust Point, and the wetlands in Sandusky Bay. The 
        larger United States islands in western Lake Erie have wetlands 
        in the small ebayments.
            (7) The wetlands in the western basin of Lake Erie comprise 
        as some of the most important waterfowl habitat in the Great 
        Lakes. Waterfowl, wading birds, shore birds, gulls and terns, 
        raptors, and perching birds all use the western basin wetlands 
        for migration, nesting, and feeding. Hundreds of thousands of 
        diving ducks stop to rest in the Lake Erie area on their fall 
        migration from Canada to the east and south. The wetlands of 
        the western basin provide a major stopover for sea ducks such 
        as migrating bufflehead, common goldeneye, common mergansers, 
        and ruddy duck.
            (8) The international importance of Lake Erie is manifested 
        in the United States congressional designation of the Ottawa 
        and Cedar Point National Wildlife Refuges.
            (9) Lake Erie has an international reputation for walleye, 
        perch, and bass fishing, recreational boating, birding, 
        photography, and duck hunting. On an economic basis, Lake Erie 
        tourism accounts for an estimate $1,500,000,000 in retail sales 
        and more than 50,000 jobs.
            (10) Many of the 417,000 boats that are registered in Ohio 
        are used in the western basin of Lake Erie, in part to fish for 
        the estimated 10,000,000 walleye that migrate from the lake to 
        spawn. This internationally renowned walleye fishery drives 
        much of Ohio's $2,000,000,000 sport fishing industry.
            (11) Coastal wetlands in the western basin have been 
        subjected to intense pressure for 150 years. Prior to 1850, the 
western basin was part of an extensive coastal marsh and swamp system 
of approximately 122,000 hectares that comprised a portion of the Great 
Black Swamp. By 1951, only 12,407 wetland hectares remained in the 
western basin. Half of that acreage was destroyed between 1972 and 
1987. Therefore, today only approximately 5,000 hectares remain. Along 
the Michigan shoreline, coastal wetlands were reduced by 62 percent 
between 1916 and the early 1970s. The development of the city of Monroe 
has had a particularly significant impact on the coastal wetlands at 
the mouth of the Raisin River: only approximately 100 hectares remain 
physically unaltered today in an area where 70 years ago marshes were 
10 times more extensive. In addition to the actual loss of coastal 
wetland acreage along the shores of Lake Erie, the quality of many 
remaining wetlands has been degraded by numerous stressors, especially 
excessive loadings of sediments and nutrients, contaminants, shoreline 
modification, exotic species, and the diking of wetlands. Protective 
peninsula beach systems, such as the former Bay Point and Woodtick, at 
the border of Ohio and Michigan near the mouth of the Ottawa River and 
Maumee Bay, have been eroded over the years, exacerbating erosion along 
the shorelines and impacting the breeding and spawning grounds.

 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    For purposes of this Act:
            (1) The term ``Refuge'' means the Lake Erie Western Basin 
        International Wildlife Refuge established by section 5.
            (2) The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of the 
        Interior.
            (3) The term ``Lake Erie Western Basin'' means those lands 
        and waters within the area described in section 5(a).

SEC. 4. PURPOSES.

    The purposes for which the Refuge is established and shall be 
managed are as follows:
            (1) To protect the remaining high-quality fish and wildlife 
        habitats of the western basins of Lake Erie before they are 
        lost to further development and to restore and enhance degraded 
        wildlife habitats associated with the western basin of Lake 
        Erie.
            (2) To assist in international efforts to conserve, 
        enhance, and restore the native aquatic and terrestrial 
        community characteristics of the western basin of Lake Erie 
        (including associated fish, wildlife, and plant species), both 
        in the United States and Canada in partnership with 
        nongovernmental and private organizations, as well as private 
        individuals dedicated to habitat enhancement.
            (3) To facilitate partnerships among the United States Fish 
        and Wildlife Service, Canadian national and provincial 
        authorities, State and local governments, local communities in 
        the United States and in Canada, conservation organizations, 
        and other non-Federal entities to promote public awareness of 
        the resources of the western basin of Lake Erie.
            (4) To advance the collective goals and priorities 
        established in the ``Great Lakes Strategy 2002--A Plan for the 
        New Millennium'', by the United States Policy Committee 
        comprised of various Federal agencies, including the United 
        States Fish and Wildlife Service, the Environmental Protection 
        Agency, the Army Corps of Engineers, the National Oceanic and 
        Atmospheric Administration, the United States Geological 
        Survey, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, 
        the Forest Service, and the Great Lakes Fishery Commission, as 
        well as the State governments and tribal governments in the 
        Great Lakes. These goals, broadly stated, include working 
        together to protect and restore the chemical, physical, and 
        biological integrity of the Great Lakes basin ecosystem.

SEC. 5. ESTABLISHMENT OF REFUGE.

    (a) Boundaries.--There is hereby established the Lake Erie Western 
Basin International Wildlife Refuge, consisting of the lands and waters 
owned or managed by the Secretary pursuant to this Act in the State of 
Michigan from the southern boundary of Sterling State Park to the 
eastern edge of Sandusky Bay, as depicted upon the map entitled ``Lake 
Erie Western Basin International Wildlife Refuge Proposed'', dated May 
12, 2002, which shall be available for inspection in appropriate 
offices of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.
    (b) Existing Refuge Lands.--The Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge and 
the Cedar Point National Wildlife Refuge are hereby included within, 
and shall be a part of, the Lake Erie Western Basin International 
Wildlife Refuge. All references to the Ottawa and Cedar Point national 
wildlife refuges shall hereafter be treated as references to the Lake 
Erie Western Basin International Wildlife Refuge.
    (c) Boundary Revisions.--The Secretary may make such revisions of 
the boundaries of the Refuge as may be appropriate to carry out the 
purposes of the Refuge or to facilitate the acquisition of property 
within the Refuge.
    (d) Acquisition.--The Secretary is authorized to acquire by 
donation, purchase with donated or appropriated funds, or exchange the 
lands and waters, or interests therein (including conservation 
easements), within the boundaries of the Refuge. Any and all 
acquisitions of lands or waters under the provisions of this Act shall 
be made in a voluntary manner and shall not be the result of forced 
takings.
    (e) Transfers From Other Agencies.--Any Federal property located 
within the boundaries of the Refuge which is under the administrative 
jurisdiction of another department or agency of the United States may, 
with the concurrence of the head of administering department or agency, 
be transferred without consideration to the administrative jurisdiction 
of the Secretary for the purposes of this Act.
    (f) Study of Associated Area.--The Secretary, acting through the 
Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, shall conduct 
a study of fish and wildlife habitat and aquatic and terrestrial 
communities of the Maumee River, from its mouth to an appropriate 
juncture along the Maumee River Heritage Corridor between Toledo and 
Fort Wayne, Indiana. Not later than 18 months after the date of the 
enactment of the Act, the Secretary shall complete such study and 
submit a report containing the results thereof to the Congress.

SEC. 6. ADMINISTRATION.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary shall administer all federally owned 
lands, waters, and interests therein that are within the boundaries of 
the Refuge in accordance with the National Wildlife Refuge System 
Administration Act of 1966 (16 U.S.C. 668dd et seq.) and this Act. The 
Secretary may use such additional statutory authority as may be 
available for the conservation of fish and wildlife, and the provision 
of fish and wildlife dependent recreational opportunities as the 
Secretary considers appropriate to carry out the purposes of this Act.
    (b) Priority Uses.--In providing opportunities for compatible fish 
and wildlife dependent recreation, the Secretary, in accordance with 
paragraphs (3) and (4) of section 4(a) of the National Wildlife Refuge 
System Administration Act of 1966 (16 U.S.C. 668dd(a)), shall ensure 
that hunting, fishing, wildlife observation and photography, and 
environmental education and interpretation are the priority public uses 
of the Refuge.
    (c) Cooperative Agreements Regarding Non-Federal Lands.--The 
Secretary is authorized to enter into cooperative agreements with the 
State of Ohio or Michigan, or any political subdivision thereof, and 
with any other person or entity for the management in a manner 
consistent with this Act of lands that are owned by such State, 
subdivision, or other person or entity and located within the 
boundaries of the Refuge and to promote public awareness of the 
resources of the Lake Erie Western Basin International Wildlife Refuge 
and encourage public participation in the conservation of those 
resources.
    (d) Use of Existing Greenway Authority.--The Secretary shall 
encourage the State of Ohio to use existing authorities under the 
Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century to provide funding for 
acquisition and development of trails within the boundaries of the 
Refuge.
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