[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 15 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. CON. RES. 15

 Expressing the sense of the Congress that the United States Fish and 
Wildlife Service should incorporate consideration of global warming and 
 sea-level rise into the comprehensive conservation plans for coastal 
           national wildlife refuges, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            February 9, 2011

 Mrs. Christensen submitted the following concurrent resolution; which 
           was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
 Expressing the sense of the Congress that the United States Fish and 
Wildlife Service should incorporate consideration of global warming and 
 sea-level rise into the comprehensive conservation plans for coastal 
           national wildlife refuges, and for other purposes.

Whereas global warming can generally be described as an increase in the average 
        temperature of the earth's atmosphere, and sea-level rise can best be 
        described as an overall increase in sea level;
Whereas global warming and related aspects of climate change are caused by the 
        emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases due to industrial 
        processes and fossil fuel combustion associated with the process of 
        economic growth, and changes in land use such as deforestation;
Whereas studies show that the continuation of historical trends of greenhouse 
        gas emissions will result in additional global warming, with current 
        projections of global warming 2.5F to 10.4F by 2100;
Whereas global warming will induce sea-level rise that will steadily inundate 
        coastal areas, change precipitation patterns, increase risk of droughts 
        and floods, threaten biodiversity, and offer a host of potential 
        challenges to public health;
Whereas the generally expected 50 to 200 cm sea-level rise from global warming 
        would inundate 7,000 square miles of dry land in the United States and 
        equal amounts of coastal wetlands;
Whereas such sea-level rise will effectively force recreational beaches inland, 
        exacerbate coastal flooding, and increase the salinity of aquifers and 
        estuaries in the next century;
Whereas it has been reported that the accumulation of carbon dioxide in the 
        atmosphere now will persist for approximately 100 years;
Whereas if we are not proactive in our efforts to reduce greenhouse gas 
        emissions and wait to see obvious effects of global warming and sea-
        level rise, it may be too late to avoid the harmful repercussions of 
        such events;
Whereas the ongoing and projected estimates of sea-level rise as a result of 
        global warming threaten the loss of 22 percent of the world's coastal 
        wetlands by 2080;
Whereas the ongoing and projected increases in sea-level rise as a result of 
        global warming have extremely strong implications for stewardship by the 
        United States Fish and Wildlife Service of nearly 1,100,000 acres of 
        coastal wetlands located in 159 coastal national wildlife refuges in the 
        United States and its Caribbean and Pacific territories;
Whereas the National Wildlife Refuge System was created to conserve fish, 
        wildlife, and plants and their habitats;
Whereas the effects of global warming and sea-level rise may greatly impact the 
        effectiveness of the National Wildlife Refuge System in the conservation 
        of migratory birds, anadromous and interjurisdictional fish, marine 
        mammals, endangered species and threatened species, and the habitats on 
        which these species depend;
Whereas global warming and sea-level rise has already begun to affect some of 
        the Nation's most valued natural resources such as the coral reefs near 
        Buck Island National Park in St. Croix, Virgin Islands, and Blackwater 
        National Wildlife Refuge on the Chesapeake Bay, and other areas; and
Whereas amendments to the National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 
        1966 that were made by the National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement 
        Act of 1997 (Public Law 105-57) require that the Secretary of the 
        Interior shall prepare a comprehensive conservation plan for each 
        national wildlife refuge within 15 years after the date of enactment of 
        such Act: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That it is the sense of the Congress that--
            (1) the United States Fish and Wildlife Service should 
        incorporate consideration of the effects of global warming and 
        sea-level rise into the comprehensive conservation plan for 
        each coastal national wildlife refuge;
            (2) each such comprehensive conservation plan should 
        address, with respect to the refuge concerned, how global 
        warming and sea-level rise will affect--
                    (A) the ecological integrity of the refuge;
                    (B) the distribution, migration patterns, and 
                abundance of fish, wildlife, and plant populations and 
                related habitats of the refuge;
                    (C) the archaeological and cultural values of the 
                refuge;
                    (D) such areas within the refuge that are suitable 
                for use as administrative sites or visitor facilities; 
                and
                    (E) opportunities for compatible wildlife-dependent 
                recreational uses of the refuge; and
            (3) the Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife 
        Service, in consultation with the United States Geological 
        Survey, should conduct an assessment of the potential impacts 
        of global warming and sea-level rise on coastal national 
        wildlife refuges.
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