[Senate Report 109-191]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 303
109th Congress Report
SENATE
1st Session 109-191
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JAMES CAMPBELL NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE EXPANSION ACT OF 2005
_______
December 8, 2005.--Ordered to be printed
Filed under authority of the order of the Senate of November 18, 2005
_______
Mr. Inhofe, from the Committee on Environment and Public Works,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[to accompany S. 1165]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Environment and Public Works, to which was
referred a bill (S. 1165) to provide for the expansion of the
James Campbell National Wildlife Refuge, Honolulu County,
Hawaii, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon
with an amendment and recommends that the bill, as amended, do
pass.
General Statement and Background
The James Campbell National Wildlife Refuge (Refuge) is
located near Kahuku Point on the northeastern tip of the Island
of Oahu and is part of the City and County of Honolulu, Hawaii.
The Refuge was established on December 17, 1976, through a 55-
year lease between the Estate of James Campbell (Estate) and
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service). Two refuge units
are separated by approximately one mile of open space used for
agricultural purposes. The Refuge is managed to provide optimum
recovery habitat for all four endangered Hawaiian waterbird
species. A multitude of wintering migratory waterfowl and
migratory shorebird species also thrive on the Refuge units.
Through careful management, the Refuge has become the premier
recovery site on Oahu for endangered Hawaiian stilts, coots,
moorhens, and ducks. It also serves as an important site for
wildlife-dependent public use featuring wildlife observation
and photography and environmental education and interpretation.
The principal land acquisition authority for the Refuge has
been the Endangered Species Act (16 U.S.C. 1531-1543), as
amended, and the Fish and Wildlife Act of 1956 (16 U.S.C. 742a-
742j), as amended. Authority for acquiring additional lands
could also be derived from the Emergency Wetlands Resources Act
(16 U.S.C. 3901-3931), which authorizes the purchase of
wetlands that are not acquired under the authority of the
Migratory Bird Conservation Act, consistent with the wetlands
priority conservation plan.
Objectives of the Legislation
S. 1165 would expand the Refuge boundary to include
additional lands currently owned in fee by the Estate of James
Campbell. The expansion would provide additional habitat,
including shoreline, freshwater wetlands and sand dunes, as
well as make the current refuge units contiguous. Expanding the
Refuge boundary to allow for the acquisition of additional
lands for habitat conservation from a willing seller will also
prevent the land from being sold at a later time and used for
development, thus protecting the habitat value of the land and
the existing Refuge units.
Section-by-Section Analysis
Section 1. Short title.
This section provides that this Act may be cited as the
``James Campbell National Wildlife Refuge Expansion Act of
2005''.
Sec. 2. Findings.
This section provides congressional findings supporting the
need for the Act.
Sec. 3. Definitions.
This section provides definitions for terms relevant to the
Act.
Sec. 4. Expansion of Refuge.
This section expands the boundary of the refuge to include
approximately 1,100 acres of land depicted on a map dated
October 20, 2005 on file in the office of the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service.
Sec. 5. Acquisition of land and water.
This section provides the authority for the Secretary of
the Interior to acquire, subject to the availability of
appropriated funds, any land, water or interest within the
boundary of the refuge.
Sec. 6. Authorization of appropriations.
This section authorizes to be appropriated such sums as are
necessary to carry out the Act.
Legislative History
On June 6, 2005, Senator Inouye introduced S. 1165, which
was cosponsored by Senator Akaka. The bill was received, read
twice and referred to the Senate Committee on Environment and
Public Works. The committee met on November 17, 2005 to
consider the bill. S. 1165 was ordered favorably reported, as
amended, by voice vote.
Hearings
No committee hearings were held on S. 1165.
Rollcall Votes
The Committee on Environment and Public Works met to
consider S. 1165 on November 17, 2005. The committee agreed to
an amendment offered jointly by Senator Inhofe and Senator
Jeffords by voice vote. The bill was ordered favorably
reported, as amended, by voice vote. No roll call votes were
taken.
Regulatory Impact Statement
In compliance with section 11(b) of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, the committee finds that S. 1165
does not create any additional regulatory burdens, nor will it
cause 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 S. 1165 would not
impose Federal intergovernmental unfunded mandates on State,
local, or tribal governments.
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:
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S. 1165, James Campbell National Wildlife Refuge Expansion Act of 2005,
As ordered reported by Senate Committee on Environment and
Public Works on November 17, 2005
S. 1165 would establish a statutory boundary for the James
Campbell National Wildlife Refuge in Hawaii. CBO estimates that
implementing S. 1165 would cost about $20 million over the next
5 years, assuming appropriation of the necessary amounts.
Enacting the bill would not affect direct spending or revenues.
The legislation contains no intergovernmental or private-
sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act
and would have no significant impact on the budgets of State,
local, or tribal governments.
S. 1165 would expand the boundary of the James Campbell
National Wildlife Refuge, which was established
administratively in 1976, to include a total of about 1,100
acres. The bill would authorize the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service (USFWS) to acquire land within the new boundary,
subject to the availability of appropriated funds. Based on
information provided by the USFWS and assuming appropriation of
the necessary amounts, CBO estimates that the agency would
spend $19 million over the next 3 years to purchase about 750
acres of land that would be added by the bill to the refuge's
administrative boundary. About half of this land, worth an
estimated $7 million, is the subject of an existing agency
proposal to expand the refuge administratively and might be
purchased even in the absence of this legislation (but possibly
not for several years). We estimate that the USFWS would spend
about $500,000 a year to restore and manage the acreage added
by the bill once it has been acquired.
The CBO contact for this estimate is Deborah Reis. This
estimate was approved by Peter H. Fontaine, Deputy Assistant
Director for Budget Analysis.
Changes in Existing Law
Section 12 of rule XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate
requires the committee to publish changes in existing law made
by the bill as reported. Passage of this bill will make no
changes to existing law.