[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1898 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







107th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 1898

 To establish the Green River National Wildlife Refuge in the State of 
                               Kentucky.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            January 25, 2002

 Mr. McConnell introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
       referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To establish the Green River National Wildlife Refuge in the State of 
                               Kentucky.

    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 ``Green River National Wildlife Refuge 
Act of 2002''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) the Green River bottoms area, Kentucky, was once part 
        of a large bottomland hardwood forest;
            (2) most of the bottoms area has been converted to 
        agricultural use through--
                    (A) draining of wetland;
                    (B) altering of interior drainage systems; and
                    (C) clearing of bottomland hardwood forest;
            (3) as of the date of enactment of this Act, the bottoms 
        area is predominantly ridge and swale farmland, with river-scar 
        oxbows, several sloughs, wet depression areas, and a small 
        quantity of bottomland hardwood forest;
            (4) approximately 1,200 acres of bottomland hardwood forest 
        remain, consisting mostly of cypress, willow, hackberry, silver 
        maple, ash, and buttonbush;
            (5) many of the interior drainage systems on the land offer 
        excellent opportunities to restore, with minor modifications, 
        the historical hydrology, wetland, and bottomland hardwood 
        forest of the bottoms area to high-quality wildlife habitats;
            (6) in the bottoms area, waterfowl occur in large numbers 
        when sufficient water levels occur, primarily when flood 
        conditions from the Ohio River and the Green River negate the 
        extensive drainages and alterations made by man;
            (7) the wooded and shrub tracts of the bottoms area are 
        used by many species of nongame neotropical migratory birds;
            (8) migratory shorebirds use the bottoms area during spring 
        migrations;
            (9) wading birds such as snipe, great blue heron, green 
        heron, common egret, and great egret frequent the bottoms area;
            (10) bald eagles and myriad other raptors frequent the 
        bottoms area;
            (11) several species listed as endangered or threatened 
        species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 
        1531 et seq.) have been found near the bottoms area, including 
        Indiana bat maternity colonies, fanshell, pink mucket pearly 
        mussel, and fat pocketbook;
            (12) several species of mussel listed as endangered or 
        threatened species under that Act historically occurred near 
        the bottoms area, including purple cat's paw pearly mussel, 
        tubercled-blossom pearly mussel, ring pink, and white wartyback 
        pearly mussel;
            (13) the copperbelly water snake, covered by the 
        Copperbelly Water Snake Conservation Plan, is found in the 
        wetland complex and buttonbush shrub in the Scuffletown area;
            (14) significant populations of resident game species, 
        including white-tailed deer, swamp rabbit, cottontail rabbit, 
        gray squirrel, mink, muskrat, beaver, fox, and coyote, occur in 
        the bottoms area;
            (15) the Ohio River and the Green River are important 
        habitat for big river species such as paddlefish, sturgeon, 
        catfish, carp, buffalo, and gar;
            (16) conservation, enhancement, and ecological restoration 
        of the bottoms area through inclusion in the National Wildlife 
        Refuge System would help meet the habitat conservation goals 
        of--
                    (A) the North American Waterfowl Management Plan;
                    (B) the Lower Mississippi Joint Venture;
                    (C) the Interior Low Plateaus Bird Conservation 
                Plan; and
                    (D) the Copperbelly Water Snake Conservation Plan;
            (17) the valuable complex of wetland habitats comprising 
        the bottoms area, with its many forms of wildlife, has 
        extremely high recreational value for hunters, anglers, 
birdwatchers, nature photographers, and others; and
            (18) the Green River bottoms area is deserving of inclusion 
        in the National Wildlife Refuge System.

SEC. 3. PURPOSE.

    The purpose of this Act is to establish the Green River National 
Wildlife Refuge in the Green River bottoms area, Henderson County, 
Kentucky, to provide--
            (1) habitat for migrating and wintering waterfowl;
            (2) habitat for nongame land birds;
            (3) habitats for a natural diversity of fish and wildlife;
            (4) nesting habitat for wood ducks and other locally 
        nesting migratory waterfowl;
            (5) high-quality hunting and sportfishing opportunities; 
        and
            (6) opportunities for environmental education, 
        interpretation, and wildlife-oriented recreation.

SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Refuge.--The term ``Refuge'' means the Green River 
        National Wildlife Refuge established under section 5.
            (2) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of the Interior.

SEC. 5. ESTABLISHMENT.

    (a) Establishment.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary shall establish the Green 
        River National Wildlife Refuge, consisting of approximately 
        23,000 acres of Federal land, water, and interests in land or 
        water within the boundaries depicted on the map entitled 
        ``Green River National Wildlife Refuge'', dated September 10, 
        2001.
            (2) Boundary revisions.--The Secretary shall make such 
        minor revisions of the boundaries of the Refuge as are 
        appropriate to carry out the purposes of the Refuge or to 
        facilitate the acquisition of land, water, and interests in 
        land or water within the Refuge.
            (3) Availability of map.--The map referred to in paragraph 
        (1) shall be available for inspection in appropriate offices of 
        the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.
    (b) Effective Date.--The establishment of the Refuge shall take 
effect on the date on which the Secretary publishes, in the Federal 
Register and publications of local circulation in the vicinity of the 
Refuge, a notice that sufficient property has been acquired by the 
United States within the Refuge to constitute an area that can be 
efficiently managed as a national wildlife refuge.

SEC. 6. ACQUISITION OF LAND, WATER, AND INTERESTS IN LAND OR WATER.

    (a) In General.--Subject to the availability of appropriations, the 
Secretary may obtain by purchase from willing sellers, donation, or 
exchange up to 23,000 acres of land and water, or interests in land or 
water, within the boundaries of the Refuge described in section 
5(a)(1).
    (b) Inclusion in Refuge.--Any land, water, or interest acquired by 
the Secretary under this section shall be part of the Refuge.

SEC. 7. ADMINISTRATION.

    In administering the Refuge, the Secretary shall--
            (1) conserve, enhance, and restore the native aquatic and 
        terrestrial community characteristics of the Green River 
        (including associated fish, wildlife, and plant species);
            (2) conserve, enhance, and restore habitat to maintain and 
        assist in the recovery of species of animals and plants that 
        are listed as endangered species or threatened species under 
        the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.);
            (3) in providing opportunities for compatible fish- and 
        wildlife-oriented recreation, ensure that hunting, fishing, 
        wildlife observation and photography, and environmental 
        education and interpretation are the priority general public 
        uses of the Refuge, 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)); and
            (4) encourage the use of volunteers and facilitate 
        partnerships among the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, 
        local communities, conservation organizations, and other non-
        Federal entities to promote--
                    (A) public awareness of the resources of the Refuge 
                and the National Wildlife Refuge System; and
                    (B) public participation in the conservation of 
                those resources.

SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are necessary 
for--
            (1) the acquisition of land and water within the boundaries 
        of the Refuge; and
            (2) the development, operation, and maintenance of the 
        Refuge.
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