[Senate Report 105-270]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



                                                       Calendar No. 503
105th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE

 2d Session                                                     105-270
_______________________________________________________________________


 
 NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE SYSTEM VOLUNTEER AND PARTNERSHIP ENHANCEMENT 
                              ACT OF 1998

                                _______
                                

                 July 28, 1998.--Ordered to be printed

_______________________________________________________________________


    Mr. Chafee, from the Committee on Environment and Public Works, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                         [To accompany S. 2244]

    The Committee on Environment and Public Works, to which was 
referred the bill (S. 2244), to amend the Fish and Wildlife Act 
of 1956 to promote volunteer programs and community 
partnerships for the benefit of national wildlife refuges, and 
for other purposes, having considered the same, reports 
favorably thereon, and recommends that the bill do pass.

                    General Statement and Background

    The National Wildlife Refuge System, administered by the 
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (the Service), consists of 93 
million acres across 514 refuges. It is the only Federal land 
system managed primarily for the benefit of fish, wildlife, and 
plant resources, providing habitat for thousands of species of 
fish and wildlife, including more than 165 species listed as 
endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act. Each 
State of the Union is home to at least one refuge. Refuges are 
visited by approximately 30.9 million people each year. A 
recent study prepared by the Service, Banking on Nature, 
estimates that $401.1 million of sales in regional economies is 
generated directly or indirectly by the Refuge System.
    Since the first refuge was established on Pelican Island in 
1903 by President Theodore Roosevelt, refuges have been 
established administratively by the Secretary of the Interior, 
and legislatively by acts of Congress. In 1966, Congress passed 
the National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act, which 
brought the diverse collection of refuges into a unified system 
of management and established requirements relating to land 
acquisition, management, and disposition. It took another 31 
years--almost 100 years after the first refuge was 
established--before Congress passed the National Wildlife 
Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997, the first ``organic 
law'' of the Refuge System. This law articulated the mission of 
the Refuge System as one to ``administer a national network of 
lands and waters for the conservation, management, and where 
appropriate, restoration of the fish, wildlife, and plant 
resources and their habitats within the United States for the 
benefit of present and future generations of Americans.''
    Notwithstanding the recent legislative initiative and the 
benefits afforded by the Refuge System, it remains poorly 
funded. This has led to a significant backlog in annual 
maintenance, operations, and construction needs. At the 
beginning of fiscal year 1998, unfunded annual maintenance 
needs were estimated at $440 million, unfunded annual 
operations needs were estimated at $455 million, and unfunded 
construction needs were estimated at just over $700 million. 
For fiscal year 1998, Congress appropriated $220.5 million for 
operations and maintenance.
    To help alleviate this backlog and funding shortfall, the 
Service relies on volunteers for assistance. The Refuge System 
has a long history associated with volunteers: the first refuge 
on Pelican Island was staffed by volunteer wardens. In 1978, 
Congress passed the Fish and Wildlife Improvement Act, which 
authorized the Secretary of the Interior to recruit, train, 
accept the services of, and provide incidental expenses for, 
volunteers. In 1982, the Service established a formal volunteer 
program, and since then, the number of volunteers has grown 
from 4,257 individuals donating 128,400 hours of time, to over 
28,800 individuals donating more than 1.5 million hours of time 
in 1997. In 1997, almost 20 percent of all work performed on 
the Refuge System was done by volunteers, amounting to about 
$14 million worth of services at a support cost of only 
$780,000.
    The Service also collaborates with conservation groups, 
academic institutions, business organizations, and other 
entities to provide services for the Refuge System. These 
services span a broad range, including organization of 
volunteer efforts, fundraising for actions benefiting wildlife 
conservation, research, and establishment of education 
programs. These services are generally performed at the local 
level, with individual communities supporting a specific refuge 
in their area. In 1996, the Service established a program 
called the Friends Initiative, to more formally encourage and 
organize these efforts to promote community involvement in 
activities associated with the refuge. With the support of the 
National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, the National Wildlife 
Refuge Association, and the National Audubon Society, 25 new 
Friends groups have been formed by local citizens.
    The Service also relies on donations by individuals or 
organizations for support. These donations can come in the form 
of cash gifts or bequests, or devises of property. The Service 
estimates that the Refuge System received donations of more 
than $2.1 million during the past two fiscal years alone.

                     Objectives of the Legislation

    S. 2244 will foster efforts of the Service with respect to 
volunteers, partnerships, and donations. While these efforts 
are already underway and have proven to be successful in both 
alleviating financial constraints and fostering public 
awareness and appreciation of the Refuge System, this 
legislation reinforces existing administrative actions and 
creates new authorities and mandates to expand these actions.

                      Section-by-Section Analysis

Section 1. Short Title
    Section 1 states that the Act may be cited as the 
``National Wildlife Refuge System Volunteer and Partnership 
Enhancement Act of 1998.''
Section 2. Findings and Purposes
    This section contains the findings of Congress and purposes 
of the Act. The Refuge System plays an integral role in the 
protection of natural resources of the United States. Even with 
the enactment of the National Wildlife System Improvement Act 
of 1997, financial resources available for the Refuge System 
remain limited. Federal funding for the Refuge System can be 
supplemented through volunteer programs, donations, and 
partnerships with community organizations. Public awareness of 
the Refuge System and public participation in conservation of 
resources within the Refuge System can be promoted through 
refuge educational programs. The Act has three purposes: to 
encourage the use of volunteers, to facilitate partnerships, 
and to encourage donations and other contributions.
Section 3. Gifts to Particular National Wildlife Refuges
    Section 3 amends section 7(b)(2) of the Fish and Wildlife 
Act of 1956 to clarify that gifts, devises, or bequests made to 
a particular refuge shall be disbursed without further 
appropriations to that refuge. While current law authorizes the 
Secretary of the Interior to accept gifts, devises, or bequests 
subject to the terms of any restrictive or affirmative covenant 
or other conditions, this bill clarifies and simplifies the law 
with respect to donations to specific refuges.
    In addition, the bill allows gifts, devises, and bequests 
to specific refuges to be matched with Federal funding, subject 
to availability of appropriations and the requirements of the 
National Wildlife Refuge Administration Act of 1966 and other 
applicable law. The amount of Federal funds cannot exceed the 
amount of the non-Federal donation. This provision is intended 
to give individual refuge managers an opportunity to use those 
funds already available for their discretionary use to secure 
additional funds in the form of cash, property, or in-kind 
services. It is expected that operations and maintenance funds 
that do not go to overhead costs, approximately 5 percent of 
any refuge manager's annual budget for operations and 
maintenance, will be used for this purpose. For the entire 
Refuge System, these funds are not expected to amount to more 
than $2 million annually.
    Although involving relatively small amounts of money, this 
program should generate significant benefits. For example, a 
refuge manager may be able to offer matching funds to a local 
landowner who is willing to contribute his or her services to 
improve land management affecting the refuge, e.g., a landowner 
constructing a fence with materials provided by the Service to 
keep cattle from wandering onto the refuge. Because this is a 
new program, the Service should keep careful records of the 
amount of money expended by individual refuge managers, the 
non-Federal contributions, and the nature of the work 
accomplished under this program.
Section 4. Volunteer Enhancement
    Section 4 enhances volunteer efforts within the Refuge 
System. Section 4(a) requires the Secretary to carry out a 
pilot project at two or more wildlife refuges in each Service 
region, but not more than 20 pilot projects nationwide. This 
allows 14 to 20 pilot projects to be carried out, of which nine 
have already been budgeted and approved by the Service. Each 
pilot project shall provide for employment of a full-time 
volunteer coordinator for the refuge, who shall be responsible 
for recruiting, training, and supervising volunteers. The 
volunteer coordinator may also assist partner organizations in 
developing projects and programs and coordinating volunteer 
activities with the organizations. Within three years, the 
Secretary must prepare a report evaluating and making 
recommendations regarding the pilot projects. The bill 
authorizes $2 million annually for fiscal years 1999 through 
2002.
    Section 4(b) amends the Fish and Wildlife Act of 1956 to 
provide for awards and recognition of volunteers. It also 
allows for incidental expenses to be provided without regard to 
the volunteer's place of residence. Currently, volunteers who 
have worked side-by-side Service employees are excluded from 
receiving awards and recognition that may be given to their 
colleagues. In this respect, this bill would allow volunteers 
to be treated in the same manner as employees. Some of those 
awards may be nominal cash awards, which are not expected to 
exceed $100.
    Section 4(c) authorizes the Secretary to establish a Senior 
Volunteer Corps, consisting of volunteers over the age of 50. 
To assist in the recruitment and retention of volunteers, the 
Secretary may provide for additional incidental expenses to 
members of the Corps beyond the incidental expenses otherwise 
provided to volunteers. Members of the Corps must be subject to 
the other provisions applicable to volunteers.
    The purpose of this Corps is to expand the Service's 
existing volunteer program by encouraging persons over the age 
of 50, with the skills, knowledge and time to make long term 
commitments, to volunteer with the Refuge System. It also 
provides an opportunity for older Americans to explore new and 
challenging experiences. In 1993, Congress passed the National 
Community Service Trust Act of 1993, which bolstered the 
National Senior Service Corps programs. The act stated that 
these programs are designed to ``empower older individuals to 
contribute to their communities through volunteer service, 
enhance the lives of volunteers and those who they serve, and 
provide communities with valuable services.'' The Secretary 
should explore the potential for coordinating the Senior 
Volunteer Corps authorized by these programs.
Section 5. Community Partnership Enhancement
    Section 5 amends the Fish and Wildlife Act of 1956 by 
adding a new subsection (d) relating to community partnerships. 
In addition to individual volunteers, there is a significant 
need for a more formalized network of volunteers and other 
community groups to provide assistance to the Refuge System. In 
order to address this need, last year the Service began the 
Friends Initiative through a workshop. This bill provides 
authority for organizing and collaborating with partner 
organizations nationwide. The bill streamlines the requirements 
for establishing community partner organizations. Partner 
organizations can provide financial and technical support, and 
serve as a liaison between the refuge and the community at 
large. For example, they can encourage larger volunteer events, 
develop funding sources and promote cost-sharing programs, and 
serve as a clearinghouse for information and outreach.
    New paragraph (d)(1) defines a partner organization to be 
an organization that: draws its memberships from private 
individuals, organizations, corporations, academic 
institutions, or State or local governments; is established to 
promote the understanding of, education relating to, and the 
conservation of the resources of a particular refuge or complex 
of geographically related refuges; and is described in section 
501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and is tax-exempt. This 
definition is intended to be broadly inclusive, inviting 
persons to participate in community partnerships. However, the 
partner organization must be a tax-exempt entity and must have 
an interest in a specific refuge or refuge complex, regardless 
of the organization's membership. The partner organization 
should serve as a non-profit conduit between the refuge and the 
community at large.
    New subparagraph (d)(2)(A) authorizes the Secretary to 
enter into cooperative agreements with any partner 
organization, academic institution, or State or local 
government agency to carry out one or more projects or programs 
for a refuge or refuge complex. While governmental agencies and 
academic institutions may serve as members of partner 
organizations, they are also free to enter into cooperative 
agreements with the Secretary, independent of those 
organizations.
    Under subparagraph (d)(2)(B), projects and programs must 
comply with the requirements of the National Wildlife Refuge 
System Administration Act of 1966 and the other applicable law, 
and such terms and conditions as the Secretary deems 
appropriate. Projects and programs may promote the stewardship 
of resources of the refuge, support the operation and 
maintenance of the refuge, increase awareness and understanding 
of the refuge and the Refuge System, advance education 
concerning the purpose of the refuge and the mission of the 
System, or contribute financial resources to the refuge.
    Subparagraph (d)(2)(C) allows the Secretary to provide 
funds to match non-Federal funds donated under a cooperative 
agreement. Federal funds cannot exceed the amount of non-
Federal funds donated for the particular project or program. 
Pursuant to subparagraph (d)(2)(D), amounts received by the 
Secretary shall be deposited in a separate account, and shall 
be made available to the Secretary, without further 
appropriations, to pay the costs of incidental expenses related 
to volunteer activities and to carry out cooperative agreements 
for the refuge.
Section 6. Refuge Education Program Development
    Section 6 of the bill creates a new section (7)(e) of the 
Fish and Wildlife Act of 1956, relating to refuge education. 
New paragraph (e)(1) requires the Secretary, not later than one 
year after enactment of the bill, to develop guidance for 
refuge education programs to further the mission of the Refuge 
System and the purposes of individual refuges. The guidance is 
to achieve this by: providing outdoor classroom opportunities 
for students on wildlife refuges that combine educational 
curricula with the personal experiences of students; promoting 
understanding and conservation of resources of the refuges; and 
improving scientific literacy in conjunction with both formal 
and nonformal education programs.
    New paragraph (e)(2) authorizes the Secretary to develop or 
enhance refuge education programs based on the guidance, and 
taking into account the resources of individual refuges and the 
opportunities available for such programs in State, local, and 
private schools. These programs may take place during school 
hours or as part of after-school activities, and may include 
programs for adults. The Secretary should cooperate with State 
and local education authorities and may cooperate with partner 
organizations.
    In 1994, the Service and the National Fish and Wildlife 
Foundation initiated a pilot project known as Earth Stewards, 
which was a partnership among resource professionals, 
neighborhood schools and local communities. Since the the pilot 
project was completed in 1996, the Service has continued their 
educational outreach efforts. In 1997, more than 730,000 
students and teachers took part in at least one environmental 
educational activity presented by the Service. The Service, 
however, does not have any national guidance for developing and 
implementing these programs. S. 2244 requires that guidance be 
developed, in order to better coordinate and encourage them.

                                Hearings

    The committee held a hearing on S. 2244 on July 7, 1998. 
Testimony on this bill was given by John Rogers, Deputy 
Director for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Molly 
Krival, past president of the Ding Darling Wildlife Society. 
Written testimony was received from the National Audubon 
Society.

                          Legislative History

    S. 2244 was introduced by Senator Chafee on June 26, 1998, 
and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works. 
A similar bill, H.R. 1856, was introduced by Congressman Saxton 
on June 10, 1997, received from the House of Representatives 
and referred to this committee on November 5, 1997. The 
committee met on July 22, 1998, to consider both bills. S. 2244 
was ordered reported by voice vote. Senator Chafee offered a 
substitute amendment to H.R. 1856, which was accepted by voice 
vote, to make it conform with S. 2244. H.R. 1856 was ordered 
reported, as amended, by voice vote.

                           Regulatory Impact

    In compliance with section 11(b) of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, the committee makes an evaluation 
of the regulatory impact of the reported bill. The reported 
bill will have no regulatory impact. This bill will not have 
any adverse impact on the personal privacy of individuals.

                          Mandates Assessment

    In compliance with the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 
(Public Law 104-4), the committee finds that this bill would 
impose no Federal intergovernmental unfunded mandates on State, 
local, or tribal governments. All of its governmental 
directives are imposed on Federal agencies. The bill does not 
directly impose any private sector mandates.

                          Cost of Legislation

    Section 403 of the Congressional Budget and Impoundment 
Control Act requires that a statement of the cost of the 
reported bill, prepared by the Congressional Budget Office, be 
included in the report. That statement follows:

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                     Washington, DC, July 27, 1998.

Hon. John H. Chafee, Chairman,
Committee on Environment and Public Works,
U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.

    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 2244, the National 
Wildlife Refuge System Volunteer and Partnership Enhancement 
Act of 1998.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contacts are Deborah 
Reis (for Federal costs), who can be reached at 226-2860, and 
Marjorie Miller (for the State and local impact), who can be 
reached at 225-3220.

            Sincerely,
                                           June E. O'Neill,
                                                          Director.
                                ------                                


               Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate

    S. 2244; National Wildlife Refuge System Volunteer and 
Partnership Enhancement Act of 1998, as ordered reported by the 
Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works on July 22, 
1998
Summary
    Assuming appropriation of the authorized amounts, CBO 
estimates that implementing S. 2244 would cost $17 million over 
the next five years. S. 2244 also would affect direct spending 
by allowing the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to 
collect and spend amounts earned at wildlife refuges by certain 
nonfederal organizations. Pay-as-you-go procedures would 
therefore apply to the bill, but CBO estimates that any 
receipts and spending resulting from this authority would be 
less than $500,000 annually. S. 2244 contains no 
intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the 
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) and would impose no costs 
on State, local, or tribal governments.
Description of the Bill's Major Provisions
    S. 2244 would amend the Fish and Wildlife Act of 1956 to 
promote community involvement at national wildlife refuges. To 
encourage the use of individual volunteers, section 4 would 
direct the USFWS to conduct pilot projects under which a full-
time volunteer coordinator would be hired for each of up to 20 
refuges nationwide. This section also would authorize the 
agency to create a senior volunteer corps composed of 
volunteers over the age of 50 and would authorize for the corps 
(subject to appropriations under section 7) the payment of 
incidental expenses beyond those generally provided for 
volunteers such as reimbursements for mileage or fuel.
    Section 5 would address more formal agency-community 
relationships by authorizing the USFWS to execute cooperative 
agreements with organizations such as nonprofit groups, 
academic institutions, and State or local agencies. Under such 
agreements, the partner organizations could help finance 
programs and projects that benefit wildlife refuges.
    Amounts received by the agency under these agreements (that 
is, profits from sales or other activities conducted by the 
partner organization) would be deposited in a separate account 
in the U.S. Treasury and would be available without 
appropriation to carry out cooperative agreements and to pay 
volunteer expenses. The agency would be authorized (subject to 
appropriation) to match nonfederal funds donated under this 
section.
    Section 6 would direct the USFWS to create a new refuge 
education program to provide outdoor classroom opportunities 
for students and to promote understanding and conservation of 
fish, wildlife, and other refuge resources.
    Finally, S. 2244 would authorize the appropriation of $2 
million annually through fiscal year 2002 for the new pilot 
projects and $2 million annually through 2004 for paying 
incidental volunteer expenses, implementing community 
partnership agreements, providing matching funds, and 
developing and implementing the new refuge education program.
Estimated Cost to the Federal Government
    For purposes of this estimate, CBO assumes that the entire 
amounts authorized by S. 2244 will be appropriated for each 
fiscal year. Outlay estimates are based on spending patterns 
for similar programs. The estimated budgetary impact of S. 2244 
is shown in the following table. The costs of this legislation 
fall within budget function 300 (natural resources and 
environment).

                                                                                                                
                                     By Fiscal Year, in Millions of Dollars                                     
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                   1998    1999    2000    2001    2002    2003 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                Spending Subject to Appropriation                                                               
USFWS Baseline Spending Under Current Law:                                                                      
    Estimated Authorization Level\1\............................     595     619     641     664     686     711
    Estimated Outlays...........................................     578     613     638     662     684     704
                                                                                                                
Proposed Changes:                                                                                               
    Estimated Authorization Level...............................       0       4       4       4       4       2
    Estimated Outlays...........................................       0       3       4       4       4       2
                                                                                                                
USFWS Spending Under S. 2244:                                                                                   
    Estimated Authorization Level\1\............................     595     623     645     668     690     713
    Estimated Outlays...........................................     578     616     642     666     688     706
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ The 1998 level is the amount appropriated for USFWS resource management for that year. The levels shown for 
  1999 through 2003 are CBO baseline projections assuming increases for anticipated inflation.                  

Basis of Estimate
    The volunteer pilot projects, community partnership 
agreements, senior volunteer corps, and refuge education 
program authorized by this bill would constitute new programs 
in the Federal budget. There is no spending for such activities 
under current law. The table shows changes relative to CBO 
baseline projections, including increases for anticipated 
inflation, for USFWS resource management activities. If the 
comparison were made to a baseline without discretionary 
inflation, the incremental cost of the bill would be the same--
but the total estimated authorization level would be $595 
million for each year under current law and $599 million for 
each year under S. 2244.
    Enacting S. 2244 also would increase offsetting receipts 
and outlays from direct spending authority by allowing the 
USFWS to collect and use amounts earned by partner 
organizations. CBO estimates that this authority would generate 
offsetting receipts of less than $500,000 annually. Because 
these collections would lead to additional spending in the same 
amounts, the net impact on the Federal budget would be 
negligible in each year.
Pay-As-You-Go Considerations
    The Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 
1985 specifies pay-as-you-go procedures for legislation 
affecting direct spending or receipts. Although enacting S. 
2244 would affect direct spending, CBO estimates that the 
amounts involved would be less than $500,000 annually.
Estimated Impact on State, Local, and Tribal Governments
    S. 2244 contains no intergovernmental mandates as defined 
in UMRA and would impose no costs on State, local, or tribal 
governments. State and local entities might voluntarily incur 
some costs should they choose to enter into cooperative 
agreements with the Secretary of the Interior, as authorized by 
this bill.
Estimated Impact on the Private Sector
    S. 2244 would impose no new private-sector mandates as 
defined in UMRA.
Previous CBO Estimate
    On October 8, 1997, CBO submitted a cost estimate for H.R. 
1856, the National Wildlife Refuge System Volunteer and 
Community Partnership Act of 1997, as ordered reported by the 
House Committee on Resources on October 1, 1997. The 
differences in the estimates reflect the differences in 
authorizations. The House version of H.R. 1856 would authorize 
about $2 million a year through 2003, while S. 2244 would 
authorize $4 million a year for 1999 through 2002, and $2 
million a year for 2003 and 2004.
    Estimate Prepared by: Federal Costs: Deborah Reis (226-
2860); Impact on State, Local, and Tribal Governments: Marjorie 
Miller (225-3220).
    Estimate Approved by: Paul N. Van de Water, Assistant 
Director for Budget Analysis.

                        Changes in Existing Law

    In compliance with section 12 of rule XXVI of the Standing 
Rules of the Senate, changes in existing law made by the bill 
as reported are shown as follows: Existing law proposed to be 
omitted is enclosed in [black brackets], new matter is printed 
in italic, existing law in which no change is proposed is shown 
in roman:

                           United States Code

                         Title 16--Conservation

                  Chapter 9--Fish and Wildlife Service

    Sec. 741, 742.    *    *    *

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

    Sec. 742f. Powers of Secretaries of the Interior and 
Commerce.--
    (a) Policies, procedures, and recommendations.--The 
Secretary of the Interior, with such advice and assistance as 
he may require from the Assistant Secretary for Fish and 
Wildlife, shall consider and determine the policies and 
procedures that are necessary and desirable in carrying out 
efficiently and in the public interest the laws relating to 
fish and wildlife. The Secretary, with the assistance of the 
departmental staff herein authorized, shall--
            (1) develop and recommend measures which are 
        appropriate to assure the maximum sustainable 
        production of fish and fishery products and to prevent 
        unnecessary and excessive fluctuations in such 
        production;
            (2) study the economic condition of the industry, 
        and whenever he determines that any segment of the 
        domestic fisheries has been seriously disturbed either 
        by wide fluctuation in the abundance of the resource 
        supporting it, or by unstable market or fishing 
        conditions or due to any other factors he shall make 
        such recommendations to the President and the Congress 
        as he deems appropriate to aid in stabilizing the 
        domestic fisheries;
            (3) develop and recommend special promotional and 
        informational activities with a view to stimulating the 
        consumption of fishery products whenever he determines 
        that there is a prospective or actual surplus of such 
        products; and
            (4) take such steps as may be required for the 
        development, advancement, management, conservation, and 
        protection of fish and wildlife resources including, 
        but not limited to, research, development of existing 
        facilities, and acquisition by purchase or exchange of 
        land and water, or interests therein.
    (b) Gifts, devises, or bequests for performance of 
activities and services of United States Fish and Wildlife 
Service; restrictive or affirmative covenants or conditions of 
servitude; separate account in Treasury; disbursement orders; 
gifts or bequests to United States for Federal tax purposes.--
            (1) In furtherance of the purposes of this Act, the 
        Secretary of the Interior is authorized to accept any 
        gifts, devises, or bequests of real and personal 
        property, or proceeds therefrom, or interests therein, 
        for the benefit of the United States Fish and Wildlife 
        Service, in performing its activities and services. 
        Such acceptance may be subject to the terms of any 
        restrictive or affirmative covenant, or condition of 
        servitude, if such terms are deemed by the Secretary to 
        be in accordance with law and compatible with the 
        purpose for which acceptance is sought.
            [(2) Any]
            (2) Use of gifts, devises, and bequests.--
                    (A) In general.--Any gifts and bequests of 
                money and proceeds from the sales of other 
                property received as gifts or bequests pursuant 
                to this subsection shall be deposited in a 
                separate account in the Treasury and shall be 
                disbursed upon order of the Secretary for the 
                benefit of programs administered by the United 
                States Fish and Wildlife Service.
                    (B) Gifts, devises, and bequests to 
                particular refuges.--
                            (i) Disbursal.--Any gift, devise, 
                        or bequest made for the benefit of a 
                        particular national wildlife refuge or 
                        complex of geographically related 
                        refuges shall be disbursed only for the 
                        benefit of that refuge or complex of 
                        refuges and without further 
                        appropriations.
                            (ii) Matching.--Subject to the 
                        availability of appropriations and the 
                        requirements of the National Wildlife 
                        Refuge Administration Act of 1966 (16 
                        U.S.C. 668dd et seq.) and other 
                        applicable law, the Secretary may 
                        provide funds to match gifts, devises, 
                        and bequests made for the benefit of a 
                        particular national wildlife refuge or 
                        complex of geographically related 
                        refuges. With respect to each gift, 
                        devise, or bequest, the amount of 
                        Federal funds may not exceed the amount 
                        (or, in the case of property or in-kind 
                        services, the fair market value) of the 
                        gift, devise, or bequest.
            (3) For the purpose of Federal income, state, and 
        gift taxes, property, or proceeds therefrom, or 
        interests therein, accepted under this subsection shall 
        be considered as a gift or bequest to the United 
        States.
    (c) Volunteer services; incidental expenses; Federal 
employee status; authorization of appropriations.--
            (1) The Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary 
        of Commerce may each recruit, train, and accept, 
        without regard to the provisions of title 5, the 
        services of individuals without compensation as 
        volunteers for, or in aid of programs conducted by 
        either Secretary through the United States Fish and 
        Wildlife Service or the National Oceanic and 
        Atmospheric Administration.
            (2) The Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary 
        of Commerce are each authorized to provide for 
        incidental expenses such as transportation, uniforms, 
        lodging, awards (including nominal cash awards) and 
        recognition, and subsistence of such volunteers without 
        regard to their places of residence.
            (3) Except as otherwise provided in this 
        subsection, a volunteer shall not be deemed a Federal 
        employee and shall not be subject to the provisions of 
        law relating to Federal employment, including those 
        relative to hours of work, rates of compensation, 
        leave, unemployment compensation, and Federal employee 
        benefits.
            (4) For the purpose of the tort claim provisions of 
        title 28, a volunteer under this subsection shall be 
        considered a Federal employee.
            (5) For the purposes of subchapter I of chapter 81 
        of title 5, relating to compensation to Federal 
        employees for work injuries, volunteers under this 
        subsection shall be deemed employees of the United 
        States within the meaning of the term ``employees'' as 
        defined in section 8101 of title 5, and the provisions 
        of that subchapter shall apply.
            [(6) There are authorized to be appropriated to 
        carry out this subsection $100,000 for the Secretary of 
        the Interior and $50,000 for the Secretary of Commerce 
        for each of the fiscal years 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 
        1984, 1985, and 1986.]
            (6) Senior volunteer corps.--The Secretary of the 
        Interior may establish a Senior Volunteer Corps, 
        consisting of volunteers over the age of 50. To assist 
        in the recruitment and retention of the volunteers, the 
        Secretary may provide for additional incidental 
        expenses to members of the Corps beyond the incidental 
        expenses otherwise provided to volunteers under this 
        subsection. The members of the Corps shall be subject 
        to the other provisions of this subsection.
    (d) Community Partnership Enhancement.--
            (1) Definition of partner organization.--In this 
        subsection, the term `partner organization' means an 
        organization that--
                    (A) draws its membership from private 
                individuals, organizations, corporations, 
                academic institutions, or state or local 
                governments;
                    (B) is established to promote the 
                understanding of, education relating to, and 
                the conservation of the fish, wildlife, plants, 
                and cultural and historical resources of a 
                particular refuge or complex of geographically 
                related refuges; and
                    (C) is described in section 501(c)(3) of 
                the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and is exempt 
                from taxation under section 501(a) of that 
                Code.
            (2) Cooperative agreements.--
                    (A) In general.--The Secretary of the 
                Interior may enter into a cooperative agreement 
                (within the meaning of chapter 63 of title 31, 
                United States Code) with any partner 
                organization, academic institution, or State or 
                local government agency to carry out 1 or more 
                projects or programs for a refuge or complex of 
                geographically related refuges in accordance 
                with this subsection.
                    (B) Projects and programs.--Subject to the 
                requirements of the National Wildlife Refuge 
                System Administration Act of 1966 (16 U.S.C. 
                668dd et seq.) and other applicable law, and 
                such terms and conditions as the Secretary 
                determines to be appropriate, the Secretary may 
                approve projects and programs for a refuge or 
                complex of geographically related refuges 
                that--
                            (i) promote the stewardship of 
                        resources of the refuge through habitat 
                        maintenance, restoration, and 
                        improvement, biological monitoring, or 
                        research;
                            (ii) support the operation and 
                        maintenance of the refuge through 
                        constructing, operating, maintaining, 
                        or improving the facilities and 
                        services of the refuge;
                            (iii) increase awareness and 
                        understanding of the refuge and the 
                        National Wildlife Refuge System through 
                        the development, publication, or 
                        distribution of educational materials 
                        and products;
                            (iv) advance education concerning 
                        the purposes of the refuge and the 
                        mission of the System through the use 
                        of the refuge as an outdoor classroom 
                        and development of other educational 
                        programs; or
                            (v) contribute financial resources 
                        to the refuge, under terms that require 
                        that the net revenues be used 
                        exclusively for the benefit of the 
                        refuge, through donation of net 
                        revenues from the sale of educational 
                        materials and products and through 
                        encouragement of gifts, devises, and 
                        bequests.
                    (C) Federal funding and ownership.--
                            (i) Matching.--Subject to the 
                        availability of appropriations and the 
                        requirements of the National Wildlife 
                        Refuge Administration Act of 1966 (16 
                        U.S.C. 668dd et seq.) and other 
                        applicable law, the Secretary may 
                        provide funds to match non-Federal 
                        funds donated under a cooperative 
                        agreement under this paragraph. With 
                        respect to each project or program, the 
                        amount of funds provided by the 
                        Secretary may not exceed the amount of 
                        the non-Federal funds donated through 
                        the project or program.
                            (ii) Use of federal funds.--Any 
                        Federal funds used to fund a project or 
                        program under a cooperative agreement 
                        may be used only for expenses directly 
                        related to the project or program and 
                        may not be used for operation or 
                        administration of any non-Federal 
                        entity.
                            (iii) Ownership of facilities.--Any 
                        new facility, improvement to an 
                        existing facility, or other permanent 
                        improvement to a refuge constructed 
                        under this subsection shall be the 
                        property of the United States 
                        Government.
                    (D) Treasury account.--Amounts received by 
                the Secretary of the Interior as a result of 
                projects and programs under subparagraph (B) 
                shall be deposited in a separate account in the 
                Treasury. Amounts in the account that are 
                attributable to activities at a particular 
                refuge or complex of geographically related 
                refuges shall be available to the Secretary of 
                the Interior, without further appropriation, to 
                pay the costs of incidental expenses related to 
                volunteer activities, and to carry out 
                cooperative agreements for the refuge or 
                complex of refuges.
    (e) Refuge Education Program Enhancement.--
            (1) Guidance.--Not later than 1 year after the date 
        of enactment of this subsection, the Secretary of the 
        Interior shall develop guidance for refuge education 
        programs to further the mission of the National 
        Wildlife Refuge System and the purposes of individual 
        refuges through--
                    (A) providing outdoor classroom 
                opportunities for students on national wildlife 
                refuges that combine educational curricula with 
                the personal experiences of students relating 
                to fish, wildlife, and plants and their habitat 
                and to the cultural and historical resources of 
                the refuges;
                    (B) promoting understanding and 
                conservation of fish, wildlife, and plants and 
                cultural and historical resources of the 
                refuges; and
                    (C) improving scientific literacy in 
                conjunction with both formal and nonformal 
                education programs.
            (2) Refuge programs.--Based on the guidance 
        developed under paragraph (1), the Secretary of the 
        Interior may develop or enhance refuge education 
        programs as appropriate, based on the resources of 
        individual refuges and the opportunities available for 
        such programs in State, local, and private schools. In 
        developing and implementing each program, the Secretary 
        should cooperate with State and local education 
        authorities, and may cooperate with partner 
        organizations in accordance with subsection (d).
    (f) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized 
to be appropriated to the Secretary of the Interior to carry 
out subsections (b), (c), (d), and (e) $2,000,000 for each of 
fiscal years 1999 through 2004.

                                
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