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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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).

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.

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.