[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 135 (Thursday, September 26, 1996)]
[House]
[Page H11261]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 TENSAS RIVER NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE

  Mr. SAXTON. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and concur in 
the Senate amendments to the bill (H.R. 2660) to increase the amount 
authorized to be appropriated to the Department of the Interior for the 
Tensas River National Wildlife Refuge.
  The Clerk read as follows:

       Senate amendments:
       Page 2, after line 12 insert:

     SEC. 2. BAYOU SAUVAGE URBAN NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE.

       (a) Refuge Expansion.--Section 502(b)(1) of the Emergency 
     Wetlands Resources Act of 1986 (Public Law 99-645; 100 Stat. 
     3590), is amended by inserting after the first sentence the 
     following: ``In addition, the Secretary may acquire, within 
     such period as may be necessary, an area of approximately 
     4,228 acres, consisting of approximately 3,928 acres located 
     north of Interstate 10 between Little Woods and Pointe-aux-
     Herbes and approximately 300 acres south of Interstate 10 
     between the Maxent Canal and Michoud Boulevard that contains 
     the Big Oak Island archaeological site, as depicted on the 
     map entitled ``Bayou Sauvage Urban National Wildlife Refuge 
     Expansion'', dated August, 1996, on file with the United 
     States Fish and Wildlife Service.''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New 
Jersey [Mr. Saxton] and the gentleman from American Samoa [Mr. 
Faleomavaega] each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New Jersey [Mr. Saxton].
  Mr. SAXTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  (Mr. SAXTON asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. SAXTON. Mr. Speaker, on April 23 of this year, the House 
overwhelmingly adopted H.R. 2660, a bill introduced by our colleague 
from Louisiana, Jim McCrery, to increase the authorization level for 
the Tensas River National Wildlife Refuge.
  The other body has not acted on this legislation and while they made 
no changes in the Tensas River provision, they did add a new title to 
the bill dealing with the Bayou Sauvage National Wildlife Refuge in 
Louisiana.
  This refuge was established in 1986 to protect 19,000 areas of 
coastal wetlands. In fact, the refuge, which is located within the 
corporate limits of the city of New Orleans, has the distinction of 
having the largest amount of coastal wetlands in the United States that 
is easily accessible to city residents.
  Title II of H.R. 2660 will allow the Secretary of the Interior to 
acquire an additional 4,228 acres of land. According to the authors of 
this provision, the inclusion of this property within the refuge will 
enhance the populations of migratory, shore, and wading birds, protect 
threatened and endangered species, encourage natural diversity of fish 
and wildlife species, and provide valuable opportunities to the public 
for environmental education on some of our Nation's essential coastal 
wetlands.
  I am pleased to present this bill to the House and strongly believe 
that these modifications in two refuge units in Louisiana are 
consistent with the fundamental goals of our National Wildlife Refuge 
System.
  I urge a vote in favor of H.R. 2660 and compliment Jim McCrery for 
his outstanding leadership in this matter.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  (Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA asked and was given permission to revise and extend 
his remarks.)
  Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, I support this piece of legislation. 
It expands our national wildlife refuge system. It authorizes land 
acquisition in the State of Louisiana for the protection and 
conservation of wildlife. The administration also has given its support 
of this legislation. I want to commend the gentleman from Louisiana who 
is the chief sponsor of this legislation. I urge the adoption of this 
bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. SAXTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the 
gentleman from Shreveport, LA [Mr. McCrery], the author of this bill.
  Mr. McCRERY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from New Jersey [Mr. 
Saxton], the chairman of the subcommittee, for yielding me this time, 
and I thank the gentleman from American Samoa [Mr. Faleomavaega] for 
his kind remarks, and also the gentleman from Massachusetts [Mr. 
Studds], the ranking minority member of the subcommittee, for their 
help and cooperation in getting this bill to the floor.
  Also, as we all know, staff always play an important part in getting 
legislation through the various hoops and hurdles in the legislative 
process, and I want to thank the staff of the subcommittee as well for 
their hard work, particularly Harry Burroughs.
  This bill, as Chairman Saxton explained, would increase to $20 
million the authorization for land purchases in the Tensas National 
Wildlife Refuge. This refuge encompasses 64,000 acres in two parishes, 
or counties, in my district, Tensas and Madison Parishes, and the 
refuge is home to some of the Nation's rarest species, including the 
bald eagle and the peregrine falcon.
  The Tensas Refuge also hosts the largest remaining population of the 
endangered Louisiana black bear. Also, a wide variety of plant species 
are found in this tract, including the largest tract of bottomland 
hardwoods remaining in the Mississippi River delta.
  So it is a very important piece of land, and we want to preserve it 
for future generations. We have done a good job in seeing to that so 
far.
  This bill, by the way, will not enlarge the boundaries of the refuge. 
It simply will allow us to purchase from willing sellers inholdings 
within the current boundaries of the refuge, and this will make 
management of the area easier and more effective, and no land will be 
purchased from anyone other than willing sellers and owners of 
inholdings in this existing refuge.
  In closing, let me again thank the gentleman from New Jersey [Mr. 
Saxton], the gentleman from Massachusetts [Mr. Studds], and the members 
of the subcommittee and the full committee for their support in getting 
this legislation to the floor. I urge my colleagues to support it and 
urge its approval.
  Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, I urge the adoption of the bill, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. SAXTON. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from New Jersey [Mr. Saxton] that the House suspend the rules 
and concur in the Senate amendments to the bill, H.R. 2660.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the Senate amendment were 
concurred in.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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