[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4867 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4867

 To direct the Secretary of the Interior to enter into an agreement to 
 provide for management of the free-roaming wild horses in and around 
                the Currituck National Wildlife Refuge.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 17, 2010

 Mr. Jones (for himself, Mr. Whitfield, and Mr. Connolly of Virginia) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                           Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To direct the Secretary of the Interior to enter into an agreement to 
 provide for management of the free-roaming wild horses in and around 
                the Currituck National Wildlife Refuge.

    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 ``Corolla Wild Horse Protection Act''.

SEC. 2. WILD HORSES IN AND AROUND THE CURRITUCK NATIONAL WILDLIFE 
              REFUGE.

    (a) Agreement Required.--The Secretary of the Interior shall enter 
into an agreement with the Corolla Wild Horse Fund (a nonprofit 
corporation established under the laws of the State of North Carolina), 
the County of Currituck, North Carolina, and the State of North 
Carolina within 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act to 
provide for management of free-roaming wild horses in and around the 
Currituck National Wildlife Refuge. The agreement shall allow a herd of 
not less than 100 free-roaming wild horses in and around such refuge. 
The agreement shall provide for cost-effective management of the horses 
while ensuring that natural resources within the refuge are not 
adversely impacted.
    (b) Conditions for Excluding Wild Horses From Refuge.--The 
Secretary shall not exclude free-roaming wild horses from any portion 
of the Currituck National Wildlife Refuge unless--
            (1) the Secretary finds that the presence of free-roaming 
        wild horses on a portion of the Refuge threatens the survival 
        of an endangered species for which such land is designated as 
        critical habitat under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 
        U.S.C. 1531 et seq.);
            (2) such finding is based on a credible peer-reviewed 
        scientific assessment; and
            (3) the Secretary provides a period of public notice and 
        comment on that finding.
    (c) Horse Replacement.--Nothing in this section shall be construed 
to require the Secretary to replace free-roaming wild horses or 
otherwise increase the number of such horses in a case in which the 
herd numbers fall below 100 as a result of natural causes, including 
disease or natural disasters.
    (d) No Liability Created.--Nothing in this section shall be 
construed as creating liability for the United States for any damages 
caused by the free-roaming wild horses to any person or property 
located inside or outside the boundaries of the refuge.
                                 <all>