[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 239 Introduced in House (IH)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 239

 To preserve the Arctic coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife 
   Refuge, Alaska, as wilderness in recognition of its extraordinary 
  natural ecosystems and for the permanent good of present and future 
                       generations of Americans.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 9, 2015

Mr. Huffman (for himself and Mr. Fitzpatrick) introduced the following 
     bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To preserve the Arctic coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife 
   Refuge, Alaska, as wilderness in recognition of its extraordinary 
  natural ecosystems and for the permanent good of present and future 
                       generations of Americans.

    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 ``Udall-Eisenhower Arctic Wilderness 
Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND STATEMENT OF POLICY.

    (a) Findings.--The Congress finds the following:
            (1) Americans cherish the continued existence of expansive, 
        unspoiled wilderness ecosystems and wildlife found on their 
        public lands, and feel a strong moral responsibility to protect 
        this wilderness heritage as an enduring resource to bequeath 
        undisturbed to future generations of Americans.
            (2) It is widely believed by ecologists, wildlife 
        scientists, public land specialists, and other experts that the 
        wilderness ecosystem centered around and dependent upon the 
        Arctic coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, 
        Alaska, represents the very epitome of a primeval wilderness 
        ecosystem and constitutes the greatest wilderness area and 
        diversity of wildlife habitats of its kind in the United 
        States.
            (3) President Dwight D. Eisenhower initiated protection of 
        the wilderness values of the Arctic coastal plain in 1960 when 
        he set aside 8,900,000 acres establishing the Arctic National 
        Wildlife Range expressly ``for the purpose of preserving unique 
        wildlife, wilderness and recreational values''.
            (4) In 1980, when the Congress acted to strengthen the 
        protective management of the Eisenhower-designated area with 
        the enactment of the Alaska National Interest Lands 
        Conservation Act (Public Law 96-487), Representative Morris K. 
        Udall led the effort to more than double the size of the Arctic 
        National Wildlife Refuge and extend statutory wilderness 
        protection to most of the original area.
            (5) Before the enactment of the Alaska National Interest 
        Lands Conservation Act, the House of Representatives twice 
        passed legislation that would have protected the entire 
        Eisenhower-designated area as wilderness, including the Arctic 
        coastal plain.
            (6) A majority of Americans have supported and continue to 
        support preserving and protecting the Arctic National Wildlife 
        Refuge, including the Arctic coastal plain, from any industrial 
        development and consider oil and gas exploration and 
        development in particular to be incompatible with the purposes 
        for which this incomparable wilderness ecosystem has been set 
        aside.
            (7) When the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge was 
        established in 1980 by paragraph (2) of section 303 of the 
        Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (Public Law 96-
        487; 94 Stat. 2390; 16 U.S.C. 668dd note), subparagraph 
        (B)(iii) of such paragraph specifically stated that one of the 
        purposes for which the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is 
        established and managed would be to provide the opportunity for 
        continued subsistence uses by local residents, and, therefore, 
        the lands designated as wilderness within the Refuge, including 
        the area designated by this Act, are and will continue to be 
        managed consistent with such subparagraph.
            (8) Canada has taken action to preserve those portions of 
        the wilderness ecosystem of the Arctic that exist on its side 
        of the international border and provides strong legal 
        protection for the habitat of the Porcupine River caribou herd 
        that migrates annually through both countries to calve on the 
        Arctic coastal plain.
            (9) The extension of full wilderness protection for the 
        Arctic coastal plain within the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge 
        will still leave most of the North Slope of Alaska available 
        for the development of energy resources, which will allow 
        Alaska to continue to contribute significantly to meeting the 
        energy needs of the United States without despoiling the unique 
        Arctic coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
    (b) Statement of Policy.--The Congress hereby declares that it is 
the policy of the United States--
            (1) to honor the decades of bipartisan efforts that have 
        increasingly protected the great wilderness ecosystem of the 
        Arctic coastal plain;
            (2) to sustain this natural treasure for the current 
        generation of Americans; and
            (3) to do everything possible to protect and preserve this 
        magnificent natural ecosystem so that it may be bequeathed in 
        its unspoiled natural condition to future generations of 
        Americans.

SEC. 3. DESIGNATION OF ADDITIONAL WILDERNESS, ARCTIC NATIONAL WILDLIFE 
              REFUGE, ALASKA.

    (a) Inclusion of Arctic Coastal Plain.--In furtherance of the 
Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.), an area within the Arctic 
National Wildlife Refuge in the State of Alaska comprising 
approximately 1,559,538 acres, as generally depicted on a map entitled 
``Arctic National Wildlife Refuge--1002 Area Alternative E--Wilderness 
Designation'' and dated October 28, 1991, is hereby designated as 
wilderness and, therefore, as a component of the National Wilderness 
Preservation System. The map referred to in this subsection shall be 
available for inspection in the offices of the Secretary of the 
Interior.
    (b) Administration.--The Secretary of the Interior shall administer 
the area designated as wilderness by subsection (a) in accordance with 
the Wilderness Act as part of the wilderness area already in existence 
within the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge as of the date of the 
enactment of this Act.
                                 <all>