[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 15 (Tuesday, January 28, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E84]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             CIBOLA NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE CORRECTION ACT

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                           HON. DUNCAN HUNTER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, January 28, 2003

  Mr. HUNTER. Mr. Speaker, today I am introducing legislation on behalf 
of my friend, Mr. Frank Dokter, to right a past error by the Department 
of Interior in designating the Cibola National Wildlife Refuge. In the 
last Congress, similar legislation that would have adjusted the Refuge 
boundaries to allow a family business to continue, was passed by the 
House, but unfortunately did not see similar outcome in the Senate.
  Mr. Dokter and his family operate Walter's Camp, a Bureau of Land 
Management (BLM) concession on land near the lower Colorado River in 
Imperial County, California, near and within the Cibola Refuge. The 
facility provides visitors with a family-friendly outdoors experience, 
which includes camping, hiking, canoeing, fishing, birdwatching and 
rock-hounding. In an increasingly crowded Southern California, Mr. 
Dokter and his family have provided a welcome diversion from city life 
to many of the region's outdoors enthusiasts.
  Walter's Camp was first authorized in 1962, and in August 1964, 
Public Land Order 3442 withdrew 16,627 acres along the Colorado River 
to create the Refuge. The withdrawal erroneously included the 140.32 
acre Walter's Camp, but neither the BLM nor the Fish and Wildlife 
Service immediately recognized the mistake. The BLM continued to renew 
the original permit, allowing the recreational concession use to 
continue unbroken until the present time. However, given the discovery 
of the past mistake, the BLM does not have the authority to continue 
issuing the concession contracts to Walter's Camp.
  The Fish and Wildlife Service and the BLM agree that the land has 
``insignificant, if any, existing . . . or potential . . . wildlife 
habitat value,'' as stated in a Department of Interior memo. Therefore, 
I have introduced this legislation to correct this mistake and allow 
the BLM to continue to issue contracts to Walter's Camp.
  Again, Mr. Speaker, I offer my sincere recommendation that this land 
be taken out of the Cibola National Wildlife Refuge, and that Mr. 
Dokter's family be allowed to continue their valuable and productive 
service to our region.

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