[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6479 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6479

  To provide for the establishment of the San Francisco Bay National 
                        Wildlife Refuge Complex.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 10, 2008

  Mr. Stark introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                     Committee on Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To provide for the establishment of the San Francisco Bay National 
                        Wildlife Refuge Complex.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; FINDINGS.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``San Francisco Bay 
National Wildlife Refuge Complex Establishment Act''.
    (b) Findings.--The Congress finds the following:
            (1) In 1974, the first congressionally-mandated national 
        wildlife refuge in the country was established in San Francisco 
        Bay, renamed in 1995 as the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay 
        National Wildlife Refuge. It was the Nation's first urban 
        refuge and remains the largest national wildlife refuge in a 
        metropolitan area. The Service manages it as part of a Complex 
        with the Antioch Dunes, Ellicott Slough, Farallon, Marin 
        Islands, Salinas River, and San Pablo Bay National Wildlife 
        Refuges, comprising more than 46,000 acres. The Complex's urban 
        setting and high visitorship provide unique challenges and 
        opportunities to advance the mission of the national wildlife 
        refuge system, including engagement, education, and involvement 
        of new constituencies.
            (2) The Complex represents a unique national asset within 
        the National Wildlife Refuge System and should be a focal point 
        for cutting edge research, science, and practice in habitat 
        management and restoration, including projects in the areas 
        of--
                    (A) implementation of recovery plans for endangered 
                and threatened wildlife species, and habitat 
                conservation plans for tidal marsh and other priority 
                ecosystems;
                    (B) integrated ecosystem management and adaptive 
                approaches to planning and implementation of landscape-
                scale ecosystem restoration;
                    (C) carbon sequestration and natural shoreline 
                protection benefits of tidal marsh restoration in the 
                face of rising sea levels;
                    (D) monitoring the health of key species and the 
                value of habitat;
                    (E) removal and control of harmful nonnative 
                species;
                    (F) public education and community stewardship 
                opportunities in furtherance of the mission of the 
                National Wildlife Refuge System;
                    (G) public-private partnerships and collaborative 
                conservation; and
                    (H) establishing and documenting best practices and 
                disseminating and replicating them throughout the 
                National Wildlife Refuge System.

SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT.

    (a) In General; Purposes.--For the purposes of preservation, 
conservation, restoration, and enhancement of highly significant 
wildlife habitat in the ecosystem known generally as San Francisco Bay 
in the State of California, protection of migratory waterfowl and other 
wildlife, including species known to be threatened or endangered with 
extinction, providing opportunities for wildlife-oriented recreation 
and nature study within the open space so preserved, the Secretary 
shall establish, in accordance with this Act, an urban ecosystem 
wildlife refuge complex to be known as the San Francisco Bay National 
Wildlife Refuge Complex.
    (b) Objectives.--In addition to the purposes of the Refuge Complex 
specified in subsection (a), the Refuge Complex shall be managed in 
accordance with all laws, regulations, executive orders, and 
comprehensive conservation plans that applied before the date of the 
enactment of this Act to the San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge 
Complex and for the following objectives:
            (1) To strengthen and complement existing resource 
        management, conservation, restoration, and education programs 
        and activities at the Refuge Complex in a manner consistent 
        with the purposes set forth in subsection (a).
            (2) To conserve, enhance, and restore the native aquatic 
        and terrestrial communities and their characteristics found 
        within the Refuge Complex and the San Francisco Bay ecosystem 
        in partnership with governmental, nongovernmental, and private 
        organizations and private individuals dedicated to fish and 
        wildlife habitat preservation, protection, recovery, 
        restoration, or enhancement.
            (3) To facilitate partnerships among the Service, the State 
        of California, regional and local governments, Indian tribes, 
        communities, conservation organizations and other non-Federal 
        entities to promote community stewardship and to enhance public 
        awareness and appreciation among urban and metropolitan 
        residents within the greater San Francisco Bay ecosystem of the 
        natural resources of the Refuge Complex and the importance of 
        maintaining fish and wildlife habitat to compensate for the 
        significant scale of human development and land conversion that 
        has occurred in this region of northern California.
            (4) To advance the collective goals, priorities, and 
        strategies established in the covered report in order to 
        protect, preserve, conserve, manage, restore, recover, or 
        enhance fish and wildlife habitat in the San Francisco Bay 
        ecosystem.
            (5) To provide for the systematic monitoring of key species 
        and environmental health in general, to facilitate programs to 
        control or eradicate harmful, non-native invasive species, to 
        advance adaptive approaches to planning, carbon sequestration, 
        and natural shoreline protection, and to implement landscape-
        level strategies for ecosystem recovery, restoration and 
        enhancement.

SEC. 3. REFUGE COMPLEX BOUNDARIES.

    (a) In General.--There shall be included within the boundaries of 
the Refuge Complex those existing refuge dunes, beaches, marshes and 
sloughs, tidal flats, salt ponds, submerged lands, islands, and other 
lands and open waters in the San Francisco Bay and Monterey Bay 
ecosystems as generally depicted on the map entitled ``San Francisco 
Bay NWR Complex'' and dated April 2008, including--
            (1) Antioch Dunes National Wildlife Refuge;
            (2) Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge;
            (3) Ellicott Slough National Wildlife Refuge;
            (4) Farallon National Wildlife Refuge;
            (5) Marin Islands National Wildlife Refuge;
            (6) Salinas River National Wildlife Refuge;
            (7) San Pablo Bay National Wildlife Refuge; and
            (8) any other areas added to the Refuge Complex after date 
        of enactment of this Act.
    (b) Availability of Map.--The map referred to in subsection (a) 
shall be held on file and available for public inspection in the 
appropriate offices of the Service.
    (c) Boundary Revisions.--The Secretary may from time to time make 
such corrections to the boundaries of the Refuge Complex as may be 
appropriate to carry out the purposes of the Refuge Complex as 
specified under this Act or to facilitate the acquisition of property 
within the Refuge Complex pursuant to section 5.

SEC. 4. NOTIFICATION OF ESTABLISHMENT AND ADMINISTRATION.

    (a) Notification of Establishment.--No later than 180 days after 
date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall establish the Refuge 
Complex by publication of a notice to that effect in the Federal 
Register.
    (b) Administration.--Prior to the establishment of the Refuge 
Complex and thereafter, the Secretary shall administer all federally 
owned lands, waters, and interests therein acquired for the Refuge 
Complex 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 utilize such additional statutory authority as may be 
available to the Secretary for the conservation, management, and 
restoration of fish and wildlife and natural resources, the development 
of wildlife dependent outdoor recreation opportunities, and 
facilitation of fish and wildlife interpretation and education as the 
Secretary considers appropriate to carry out the purposes of this Act.
    (c) 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, photography, and 
environmental education and interpretation are the priority public uses 
of the Refuge Complex. Each refuge within the Refuge Complex shall 
continue to provide those uses compatible with the establishment of 
that refuge.
    (d) Cooperative Agreements Regarding Non-Federal Lands.--The 
Secretary may enter into cooperative agreements with the State of 
California, its departments or agencies, or any political subdivision 
thereof, and with any other person for the management in a manner 
consistent with this Act of lands that are owned by such State, 
subdivision, or other person and located within the boundaries of the 
Refuge Complex and to promote public awareness of the natural resources 
of the San Francisco Bay ecosystem and encourage public participation 
in the conservation of those resources.

SEC. 5. ACQUISITION AND TRANSFER OF LANDS AND WATERS FOR REFUGE 
              COMPLEX.

    (a) Acquisitions.--The Secretary may 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 Complex, except that lands, waters, and 
interests therein owned by the State of California may be acquired only 
by donation.
    (b) Transfers From Other Agencies.--Any Federal property located 
within the boundaries of the Refuge Complex as described by this Act, 
that is under the administrative jurisdiction of a department or agency 
of the United States other than the Department of the Interior may, 
with the mutual concurrence of the head of the administering department 
or agency and the Secretary, be transferred without consideration to 
the administrative jurisdiction of the Secretary for the purposes of 
this Act.

SEC. 6. REPEAL.

    Public Law 92-330 is repealed effective upon the date on which the 
Secretary publishes a notice of establishment of the Refuge Complex 
under section 4(a).

SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary--
            (1) such sums as may be necessary for the acquisition of 
        lands and waters, or interests in lands and waters, within the 
        Refuge Complex;
            (2) such sums as may be necessary for the development, 
        operation and maintenance of the Refuge Complex; and
            (3) such sums as may be necessary to facilitate the 
        recovery and restoration of fish and wildlife habitats within 
        the Refuge Complex.

SEC. 8. DEFINITIONS.

    For the purposes of this Act--
            (1) the term ``covered report'' means the report entitled 
        ``Baylands Ecosystem Habitat Goals: A Report of Habitat 
        Recommendations Prepared By the San Francisco Bay Area Wetlands 
        Ecosystem Goals Project, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 
        San Francisco, California/S.F. Bay Regional Water Quality 
        Control Board, Oakland, California. 1999'';
            (2) the term ``harmful non-native species'' means, with 
        respect to a particular ecosystem in a particular region, any 
        species, including its seeds, eggs, spores, or other biological 
        material capable of propagating that species, that is not 
        native to that ecosystem and has a demonstrable or potentially 
        demonstrable negative environmental or economic impact in that 
        region;
            (3) the term ``Indian tribe'' has the meaning given the 
        term in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and 
        Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b);
            (4) the term ``Refuge Complex'' means the San Francisco Bay 
        National Wildlife Refuge Complex established by this Act;
            (5) the term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of the 
        Interior; and
            (6) the term ``Service'' means the United States Fish and 
        Wildlife Service.
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