[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 6]
[House]
[Pages 8311-8312]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




     NORTH CASCADES NATIONAL PARK SERVICE COMPLEX FISH STOCKING ACT

  Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules 
and pass the bill (H.R. 1158) to direct the Secretary of the Interior 
to continue stocking fish in certain lakes in the North Cascades 
National Park, Ross Lake National Recreation Area, and Lake Chelan 
National Recreation Area.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 1158

       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 ``North Cascades National Park 
     Service Complex Fish Stocking Act''.

     SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

       In this Act:
       (1) North cascades national park service complex.--The term 
     ``North Cascades National Park Service Complex'' means 
     collectively the North Cascades National Park, Ross Lake 
     National Recreation Area, and Lake Chelan National Recreation 
     Area.
       (2) Plan.--The term ``plan'' means the document entitled 
     ``North Cascades National Park Service Complex Mountain Lakes 
     Fishery Management Plan and Environmental Impact Statement'' 
     and dated June 2008.
       (3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
     of the Interior.

     SEC. 3. STOCKING OF CERTAIN LAKES IN THE NORTH CASCADES 
                   NATIONAL PARK SERVICE COMPLEX.

       (a) In General.--Subject to subsection (b), the Secretary 
     shall authorize the stocking of fish in lakes in the North 
     Cascades National Park Service Complex.
       (b) Conditions.--
       (1) In general.--The Secretary is authorized to allow 
     stocking of fish in not more than 42 of the 91 lakes in the 
     North Cascades National Park Service Complex that have 
     historically been stocked with fish.
       (2) Native nonreproducing fish.--The Secretary shall only 
     stock fish that are--
       (A) native to the slope of the Cascade Range on which the 
     lake to be stocked is located; and
       (B) nonreproducing, as identified in management alternative 
     B of the plan.
       (3) Considerations.--In making fish stocking decisions 
     under this Act, the Secretary shall consider relevant 
     scientific information, including the plan and information 
     gathered under subsection (c).
       (4) Required coordination.--The Secretary shall coordinate 
     the stocking of fish under this Act with the State of 
     Washington.
       (c) Research and Monitoring.--The Secretary shall--
       (1) continue a program of research and monitoring of the 
     impacts of fish stocking on the resources of the applicable 
     unit of the North Cascades National Park Service Complex; and
       (2) beginning on the date that is 5 years after the date of 
     enactment of this Act and every 5 years thereafter, submit to 
     the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate 
     and the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of 
     Representatives a report that describes the results of the 
     research and monitoring under paragraph (1).

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Washington (Mr. Hastings) and the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Grijalva) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Washington.


                             General Leave

  Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that 
all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their 
remarks and include extraneous materials on the bill under 
consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Washington?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 1158, the North Cascades National Park Service 
Complex Fish Stocking Act, has enjoyed broad bipartisan support, 
passing the last Congress by a voice vote. It was also reported out of 
the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee during a previous 
Congress on a voice vote, with a recommendation that it pass.
  H.R. 1158 is necessary to ensure that the National Park Service, in 
coordination with the State of Washington, has the authority to 
continue stocking fish in certain alpine lakes in the North Cascades 
National Park Complex, including the North Cascades National

[[Page 8312]]

Park, Ross Lake National Recreational Area, and the Lake Chelan 
National Recreational Area.
  In 2008, the National Park Service prepared an environmental impact 
statement regarding the management of the fisheries in these mountain 
lakes. That document identified the preferred alternatives as the one 
to allow continued fish stocking in 42 lakes in that area where the 
Agency concluded there would be no adverse impact on the native 
ecosystems. The Park Service also requested explicit authority to allow 
fish stocking to continue within the park complex. That, of course, is 
exactly what H.R. 1158 does.
  Many tourists visit the park complex for its scenic beauty as well as 
for its fishing opportunities, making fish stocking an important 
component of the central Washington economy.
  Now, Mr. Speaker, let me deviate a bit here. While we are discussing 
public lands legislation, I would also like to inform the House that 
the Committee on Natural Resources will soon begin consideration of 
several proposals to designate new wilderness areas.
  As Public Lands and Environmental Regulations Subcommittee Chairman 
Bishop of Utah stated last week, in July the subcommittee plans to hold 
a legislative hearing on wilderness proposals. Congressman Dan 
Benishek's Sleeping Bear Dunes legislation and Congressman David 
Reichert's Alpine Lakes legislation will be considered at this hearing. 
These and other proposals will be judged on a case-by-case basis.
  Mr. Speaker, Congress has the sole authority to decide which of our 
lands should be included in the wilderness system. Establishing 
wilderness is the most restrictive land-use designation that Congress 
can apply to our Nation's lands. It greatly limits the American 
public's access. The committee will, therefore, carefully and 
thoughtfully examine wilderness proposals to determine if the 
designation is appropriate and listen to local citizens and community 
leaders whose livelihoods and recreational opportunities could be 
affected.
  The committee will also consider proposals to ensure multiple uses of 
our public lands so that they provide a full range of recreational, 
economic, conservation, and resource benefits.
  Any land-use decisions by Congress should be made carefully. It 
should reflect our country's current economic situation, it should keep 
our lands healthy, and it should exemplify the importance of ensuring 
public access to public lands. That's why we are going to have a very 
thoughtful process on wilderness designation now, back to H.R. 1158, 
since this borders a wilderness area.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, as a general matter, the introduction of non-native 
species into wilderness designated areas within a national park should 
be prohibited. In this instance, however, the National Park Service has 
found that fish stocking can continue within the Mather Wilderness 
without harm to other national park resources. Importantly, the 
legislation contains significant protections for those resources.
  We worked closely with Chairman Hastings for the past two Congresses 
to secure House passage of this legislation and are pleased to do so 
again today.

                              {time}  1730

  The chairman is to be commended for his efforts on behalf of the 
North Cascades National Park Complex. We support the legislation and 
reserve the balance of our time.
  Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I have no requests for time, 
and I am prepared to yield back if the gentleman from Arizona will 
yield back.
  Mr. GRIJALVA. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Just for the edification of 
Chairman Hastings, I have 11 wilderness legislation points that I have 
submitted. Hopefully, on a case-by-case basis, you'll get a look at 
some of them.
  With that, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as 
I may consume.
  I will just respond to my friend, I know he has 11. He knows my 
general feeling on that.
  But I do believe that wilderness designation should be taken on a 
case-by-case basis, and we'll go through that process. With any luck 
you may be on that list.
  With that, I yield back my time and urge adoption of H.R. 1158.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Washington (Mr. Hastings) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 1158.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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