[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 9]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 12386-12388]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




        CLARIFICATION OF LEGISLATIVE INTENT ON SANTA ROSA ISLAND

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. DUNCAN HUNTER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                          Monday, May 14, 2007

  Mr. HUNTER. Madam Speaker, after reading an opinion from the 
Department of the Interior Solicitor, I feel compelled to clarify the 
intent of Section 1077(c) of P.L. 109-364. While others may 
misinterpret and even distort the actual impact of this language upon 
the healthy Kaibab Mule Deer and Roosevelt Elk herds that are currently 
living on Santa Rosa island, I want to make clear this section's intent 
is to protect both herds from extermination. It is just that simple and 
it does not do anything more narrow or broad. Nothing could emphasize 
this intent more clearly than Conference Report 109-702's explanation 
that

[[Page 12387]]

Section 1077 was intended to ``prohibit the Secretary of the Interior 
from exterminating or nearly exterminating the deer and elk on the 
island.''
  Clearly, when this provision became law, it directed the National 
Park Service (NPS) to allow the deer and elk that have thrived on Santa 
Rosa Island to remain on the Island beyond 2011--the last year of the 
term within the settlement agreement. The use of helicopters is 
included within the settlement agreement and referenced by Section 
1077(c) as it is likely the most effective way to conduct an 
extermination program. Section 1077(c) was not intended to prohibit 
only that method of extermination. These beautiful and healthy animals 
should remain on the island for visitors to enjoy. They should not be 
ruthlessly and systematically destroyed for some ill-conceived notion 
of native versus non-native, as others advocate.
  The Solicitor has acted inappropriately by pulling a theory of 
congressional intent out of the air. Clearly, the intent of the 
language was not to ``preclude the Department of the Interior from 
participating in any plan approved in the settlement agreement.'' In 
fact, the language, which is now law, was intended to do what it 
clearly states: (1) Vitiate the settlement agreement with respect to 
the deer and elk draw-down and eradication plan and (2) allow the elk 
and deer to remain on Santa Rosa Island indefinitely. I want to 
highlight the intent of allowing the deer to remain on the Island and 
make it clear that means these herds must be left to live on Santa Rosa 
Island. The congressional intent of this section was not to protect 
them only from slaughter, but also to protect them from relocation.
  I must add, I find it deeply troubling that the administration, when 
testifying against the same provision before the Senate Committee on 
Energy and Natural Resources on May 16, 2006, testified that this 
provision would, ``. . . require the Secretary of the Interior to stop 
the plan to remove the deer and elk from the island as required by a 
court-ordered settlement agreement. This provision would effectively 
overturn the 1998 settlement agreement, that the NPS is legally bound 
to, that requires the phase-out of non-native deer and elk over several 
years and their complete removal from the Island by the end of 2011.'' 
I am bewildered why such an about-face has been made on a provision 
that is identical to the current law provision, having just passed the 
House of Representatives.
  In closing, I hope this statement clarifies the intent of both P.L. 
109-364 and the accompanying Conference Report 109-702. Both are clear 
on their face, but as the lead House negotiator of the Conference 
Committee of H.R. 5122, I felt it important to clear up any uncertainty 
brought forward by interpretations following a short-sighted agenda. 
This important conservation provision must stand and be properly 
interpreted so that the elk and deer are not slaughtered. Simply 
restated, it would be a tragedy to have these healthy populations of 
elk and mule deer exterminated from public lands to forward a misguided 
agenda of what belongs on Santa Rosa Island. Section 1077(c) is 
intended to prevent such eradication carried out by NPS or other 
parties to the settlement agreement.
  My intent was clearly for the elk and deer herds to remain on Santa 
Rosa. This intent was clearly manifested in my numerous floor and 
committee statements in which I described my intent that wounded 
veterans are to be allowed to hunt these animals following the transfer 
of Santa Rosa from private ownership. My committee and floor statements 
regarding Santa Rosa Island, particularly floor statements made on 
December 16, 2005, and May 10, 2006, demonstrate this intent.
  I also discussed the Santa Rosa provision with CNN's Anderson Cooper 
on June 13, 2006. A transcript of the interview follows:

       Joe Johns, CNN Correspondent: 25 miles off the coast of 
     Santa Barbara, more than triple the size of Manhattan, the 
     crown jewel of the Channel Islands National Park. The remote 
     and largely untouched Santa Rosa Island. Canyons, coastline, 
     chaparral and pines and you own it. Taxpayers pay $30 million 
     for Santa Rosa Island. A treasure trove of ancient artifacts.
       Torrey Rick, Archaeologist: It's incredible. I mean you 
     don't get this kind of stuff anywhere else in the world, 
     really.
       Johns: Human bones found here date back 13,000 years. It's 
     also unique for its inhabitants. The little island fox, 
     endangered but so far not extinct. With all this at stake and 
     more, the question before Congress is whether this park 
     should be protected and open to all Americans year-round. Or 
     should it also be used as a place where disabled veterans can 
     come to hunt deer and elk? Which means tourists have to be 
     kept safely out of the crossfire. Congressman Duncan Hunter, 
     the powerful chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, 
     has been pushing for months to give the vets special 
     privileges on Santa Rosa.
       Rep. Duncan Hunter, (R) California: I was driving south 
     with a bunch of marines, some guys fresh back from Iraq and 
     one of them said, there's Santa Rosa Island and they're going 
     to close it and they're going to wipe out the entire deer and 
     elk herd.
       Johns: But the idea of handing over hunting rights on an 
     island that's supposed to be for everybody has infuriated 
     some Democrats from California, who say it's like telling the 
     public you bought it, now keep out.
       Rep. Lois Capps, (D) California: It's outrageous and I told 
     him so. This is a Republican leadership that wants to kick 
     taxpayers off a national park that they paid $30 million for. 
     Makes you wonder, first it's Channel Islands National Park, 
     is it going to be Yellowstone, is it going to be the 
     Shenandoah's?
       Johns: It's not that disabled veterans aren't important. 
     It's just that there are plenty of good hunting spots that 
     aren't in national parks. For instance, military bases in 
     remote areas. It's a battle playing out allover America but 
     especially in the west, over how best to use national parks. 
     In this case whether to restore the park to its pristine 
     condition or to allow other uses.
       Much of this is about the animals. The park service only 
     wants animals here that are native to Santa Rosa. So the deer 
     and elk shipped in nearly a century ago by the family that 
     used to own the land must now go. So what about a compromise? 
     Why not allow both hunting and tourists full-time? Well 
     hikers and bullets are not a great trail mix. So long as 
     there's hunting here, the park service has to keep the public 
     out. The park service says the game needs to go.
       Russell Gallipeau, U.S. Park Service: I'm not against 
     providing access to anybody. I just think that hunting and 
     public use of this island are not compatible. And it's not a 
     purpose for which this park was set aside.
       Johns: So as taxpayers you paid for a remote national park, 
     but now a powerful congressman says it should be managed as a 
     place for disabled war vets to hunt deer and elk. For $30 
     million, Santa Rosa may well be the biggest game trophy out 
     there. Joe Johns, CNN, Santa Rosa Island, California.
       Cooper: Well as Joe just mentioned Congressman Duncan 
     Hunter is the force behind the move to keep the elk and deer 
     on the island for hunting. We spoke earlier.
       Cooper: So Congressman Hunter, you know your critics say 
     look, taxpayers spent $30 million to buy Santa Rosa Island. 
     But as long as there's hunting there, 90 percent of it's 
     closed to non-hunters for about half of the year. They say 
     that's unfair.
       Hunter: Well, let me--let's put this in context. My son, 
     who's a marine, did a couple of tours in Iraq and when he 
     came back, he and I started taking wounded marines and 
     soldiers hunting. We went to Arizona, Colorado, lots of good 
     places. We had one hunt we took a person with a spinal 
     disability. That is, a paralyzed veteran into Colorado, into 
     the big national forest. And it's very difficult for them to 
     have a real quality experience. Now, this island, Santa Rosa 
     Island, which is off the California coast, which is 52,000 
     acres, has a very small number of public visitors. About 15 a 
     day from the statistics I've seen.
       Cooper: But the reason that there are only 15, the national 
     park says about 5,000 people a year visit Santa Rosa Island. 
     The reason more people aren't able to do it is because they 
     can only visit about 10 percent of the island for half the 
     year because of this hunting. If you close down the hunting, 
     then the whole island basically would be open to visitors and 
     to taxpayers who paid for it.
       Hunter: Listen, here's all we want. All we want is about 
     two weeks a year for the paralyzed veterans to come over. I 
     would be happy to stipulate that no congressman come over, no 
     VIPs. Only people who are paralyzed veterans, who are very 
     disabled veterans. And actually the reason most people don't 
     go over to Santa Rosa Island is because it's a major boat 
     trip or a plane trip. And tourists who are driving down the 
     coast of California don't want to take a plane or a boat to 
     simply get to another island. So we could easily accommodate 
     the paralyzed veterans, they could have a great time. They 
     could have the adventure of a lifetime.
       And you know something, they may be wheelchair-bound but 
     their spirits are free, they like adventure. This is a great 
     place to take your family. And this could be a special niche 
     for those people. And you know something else, the people of 
     the United States, if the taxpayers knew that this was going 
     to be used by paralyzed veterans, they'd say fine. This is 
     the park service that says, we want to wipe out this deer and 
     elk herd because they're not native. They just want to do it 
     because they've got the power to do it. They could easily 
     accommodate our veterans.
       Cooper: Is this the role of a national park? The national 
     park service which runs this, basically would be subsidizing 
     a hunting program. They say and critics say, look, there are 
     other places for people with disabilities to hunt. We talked 
     to the Paralyzed Veterans Association they say you know some 
     states even allow those with disabilities to hunt from their 
     cars.
       Hunter: Listen, the reason the national park people have 
     their nice jobs and the reasons we as members of the American 
     public

[[Page 12388]]

     get to enjoy national parks is because of people who wear 
     uniforms who go out in dangerous parts of the world and 
     secure our freedom. So let in some paralyzed veterans, many 
     of whom have been injured in combat, to come have a small 
     piece of this island that almost nobody goes to anyway, is a 
     small repayment for their service to our country. I think the 
     taxpayers would appreciate that.
       Cooper: Congressman Hunter, appreciate you joining us, 
     thanks.

  Lastly, a letter provided by the Wounded Warrior Project reaffirms 
discussions and the intent to allow wounded and disabled veterans to 
enjoy Santa Rosa Island. The letter follows:

                                                  August 28, 2006.
     Hon. Duncan L. Hunter,
     Chairman, House Committee on Armed Services,
     House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
       Dear Chairman Hunter: On behalf of the Wounded Warrior 
     Project (WWP), I am responding to your legislation that will 
     cease the elimination of all elk and deer on Santa Rosa 
     Island in California and could provide unrivaled hunting 
     opportunities for severely wounded veterans.
       The Wounded Warrior Project applauds any effort that 
     supports our endeavors to assist severely injured military 
     personnel. WWP has reached thousands of wounded service men 
     and women, providing assistance in the transition from a 
     hospital bed to an independent and productive life and we 
     believe that Santa Rosa could offer the wounded another 
     chance to participate in meaningful and enriching 
     recreational activities such as fishing, hunting and camping.
       This legislation is consistent with Wounded Warrior 
     Project's adaptive sports and outdoors programs like hunting 
     and fishing, snow and water skiing, canoeing and diving. For 
     that reason we encourage the House of Representatives to pass 
     this provision to potentially allow the use of the island for 
     disabled service members.
       We hope that together with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
     Service and other federal organizations, a viable and 
     sustainable daily operations system for the management of 
     Santa Rosa Island can be developed and that our nation's 
     wounded warriors will be able to enjoy the world class 
     hunting that the island has to offer.
       Thank you.
           Sincerely,
                                                       John Melia,
     Executive Director.

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