[House Report 114-84]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
114th Congress } { Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
1st Session } { 114-84
======================================================================
COROLLA WILD HORSES PROTECTION ACT
_______
April 20, 2015.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Bishop of Utah, from the Committee on Natural Resources, submitted
the following
R E P O R T
together with
ADDITIONAL VIEWS
[To accompany H.R. 152]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred
the bill (H.R. 152) to direct the Secretary of the Interior to
enter into an agreement to provide for management of the free-
roaming wild horses in and around the Currituck National
Wildlife Refuge, having considered the same, report favorably
thereon without amendment and recommend that the bill do pass.
PURPOSE OF THE BILL
The purpose of H.R. 152 is to direct the Secretary of the
Interior to enter into an agreement to provide for management
of the free-roaming wild horses in and around the Currituck
National Wildlife Refuge.
BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION
There is evidence that Corolla horses were introduced to
the Currituck Outer Banks by Spanish explorers 500 years ago.
In 2007, the National Horse of the Americas Registry recognized
and registered these horses as Colonial Spanish Mustangs. The
Corolla horses are a key part of North Carolina's heritage and
are recognized as the state horse. Today, the herd is comprised
of about 83 animals that live on approximately 7,544 acres of
public and private lands. Of the total acreage, 4,671 acres are
privately owned; 2,495 acres are part of the Currituck National
Wildlife Refuge (NWR); 326 acres are found in the North
Carolina National Estuarine Research Reserve; and 51 acres are
owned by The Nature Conservancy.
In 1988, the Corolla Wild Horse Fund (CWHF) was established
to support Spanish mustangs in the wild and to educate the
public about the history of the herd. The Fund was also
instrumental in the enactment of a 1989 ordinance which made it
unlawful for any person to lure, attract, or entice a wild
horse to come within 50 feet of any person or for any person to
lure or entice a wild horse out of a wild horse sanctuary. In
Currituck County, the wild horse sanctuary extends from
Corolla, North Carolina, to the Virginia state line.
The Currituck NWR was established by the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service in 1984 to manage waterfowl, migratory birds,
and endangered species such as piping plovers and sea turtles.
The Service allows wild horses to freely roam the Refuge as
long as the horses do not significantly impact existing
wildlife populations or habitat. While the Service has been
unable to quantify any negative impacts of the eight Corolla
horses that utilize Refuge land, the Service views the Corolla
wild horses as feral domestic animals.
In 2007, a wild horse management plan was approved with the
concurrence of the CWHF, Currituck County, the State of North
Carolina, and the Service. Under this plan, the maximum number
of horses was limited to 60 and the Service was permitted to
control the herd population ``through adoption, relocation,
auction or contraceptive fertility methods.'' Equine genetic
scientists believe a herd comprised of just 60 horses threatens
the herd's existence and viability due to high levels of
inbreeding and low levels of genetic diversity. Dr. Gus
Colthran of the College of Veterinary Medicine at Texas A&M
University has found that ``[h]orses of the Corolla herd show
levels of genetic variability that are among the lowest seen in
any horse population. Under the circumstances that the Corolla
herd is now in, a minimum number of 110 should be considered.''
In April 2008, the CWHF formally requested that the maximum
herd size be increased and that a small number of mares from
the Shackleford Banks herd be introduced into the herd to
restore diversity to the Corolla horses' gene pool. Both
requests were denied by the Service, and the 2007 management
plan has now expired. The proponents argue that the primary
reasons for this legislation are the refusal of the Service to
renegotiate the terms of the current agreement and the view of
the CWHF that, ``[w]ithout introductions from the Shackleford
Banks herd and a larger herd size, the wild horses of Corolla
are at great risk of genetic collapse and disappearing
altogether. Managing the wild horses of Corolla at a maximum of
60 is managing for extinction.''
H.R. 152 would require the Secretary of the Interior to
enter into a new agreement with the CWHF, Currituck County, and
the State of North Carolina within 180 days after the date of
enactment. Under the terms of the new agreement, the size of
the herd would be not less than 110 and not more than 130 free-
roaming wild horses. It would also provide for the cost-
effective management of the herd and the introduction of a
small number of free-roaming wild horses from the herd at the
Cape Lookout National Seashore to improve the herd's genetics.
There is no cost to the federal government for the
management of these horses and no authorization of
appropriations. All expenses related to the wild horse
management throughout their range have been and would continue
to be paid by the CWHF.
The Committee on Natural Resources reported an identical
bill (H.R. 126) on May 17, 2013 (House Report 113-77). The
House of Representatives passed H.R. 126 by voice vote on June
3, 2013.
COMMITTEE ACTION
H.R. 152 was introduced on January 6, 2015, by Congressman
Walter B. Jones (R-NC). The bill was referred to the Committee
on Natural Resources, and within the Committee to the
Subcommittee on Federal Lands. On March 24, 2015, the Natural
Resources Committee met to consider the bill. The Subcommittee
on Federal Lands was discharged by unanimous consent. No
amendments were offered, and the bill was ordered favorably
reported to the House of Representatives by unanimous consent
on March 25, 2015.
COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Regarding clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the
Committee on Natural Resources' oversight findings and
recommendations are reflected in the body of this report.
COMPLIANCE WITH HOUSE RULE XIII
1. Cost of Legislation. Clause 3(d)(1) of rule XIII of the
Rules of the House of Representatives requires an estimate and
a comparison by the Committee of the costs which would be
incurred in carrying out this bill. However, clause 3(d)(2)(B)
of that rule provides that this requirement does not apply when
the Committee has included in its report a timely submitted
cost estimate of the bill prepared by the Director of the
Congressional Budget Office under section 402 of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974. Under clause 3(c)(3) of rule
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and section
403 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee has
received the following cost estimate for this bill from the
Director of the Congressional Budget Office:
H.R. 152--Corolla Wild Horses Protection Act
H.R. 152 would require the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
(USFWS) to enter into an agreement with the Corolla Wild Horse
Fund (CWHF), a nonprofit organization, to manage wild horses in
and around the Currituck National Wildlife Refuge. The wild
horse population in the area is currently managed under a
similar agreement between USFWS and CWHF. The new agreement
would require CWHF to maintain a wild horse population totaling
between 110 and 130 and would specify that CWHF is responsible
for certain costs associated with managing that population.
Based on information provided by CWHF, CBO expects that,
under the bill, the organization would manage the wild horse
population using private funds; we estimate that the federal
government would incur no significant additional costs to
manage or mitigate the effects of horses on the refuge. If,
however, CWHF was unable to maintain the population at the
level specified by the bill, CBO expects that USFWS would incur
costs totaling roughly $200,000 a year to manage the horses.
Such spending would be subject to the availability of
appropriated funds. Enacting H.R. 152 would not affect direct
spending or revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do
not apply.
H.R. 152 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and
would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Jeff LaFavre.
The estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant
Director for Budget Analysis.
2. Section 308(a) of Congressional Budget Act. As required
by clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of
Representatives and section 308(a) of the Congressional Budget
Act of 1974, this bill does not contain any new budget
authority, spending authority, credit authority, or an increase
or decrease in revenues or tax expenditures. According to the
Congressional Budget Office, because the wild horse population
would be managed by a private organization, the federal
government would incur no significant additional costs to
manage or mitigate the effect of the horses on the Currituck
National Wildlife Refuge.
3. General Performance Goals and Objectives. As required by
clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, the general performance goal or
objective of this bill is to direct the Secretary of the
Interior to enter into an agreement to provide for management
of the free-roaming wild horses in and around the Currituck
National Wildlife Refuge.
EARMARK STATEMENT
This bill does not contain any Congressional earmarks,
limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined
under clause 9(e), 9(f), and 9(g) of rule XXI of the Rules of
the House of Representatives.
COMPLIANCE WITH PUBLIC LAW 104-4
This bill contains no unfunded mandates.
COMPLIANCE WITH H. RES. 5
Directed Rule Making. The Chairman does not believe that
this bill directs any executive branch official to conduct any
specific rule-making proceedings.
Duplication of Existing Programs. This bill does not
establish or reauthorize a program of the federal government
known to be duplicative of another program. Such program was
not included in any report from the Government Accountability
Office to Congress pursuant to section 21 of Public Law 111-139
or identified in the most recent Catalog of Federal Domestic
Assistance published pursuant to the Federal Program
Information Act (Public law 95-220, as amended by Public Law
98-169) as relating to other programs.
PREEMPTION OF STATE, LOCAL OR TRIBAL LAW
This bill is not intended to preempt any State, local or
tribal law.
CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW
If enacted, this bill would make no changes in existing
law.
ADDITIONAL VIEWS
H.R. 152 would call upon the Secretary of the Interior to
enter into an agreement with the Corolla Wild Horse Fund, as
well as local and state authorities, to provide for the
management of the free-roaming wild horses in and around the
Currituck National Wildlife Refuge on North Carolina's Outer
Banks. Wild horses live on the public and private lands of
Currituck County and may be descendant from those brought by
the Spanish, or may have been put there more recently to avoid
mainland taxes and provide summer grazing. H.R. 152 would
require the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (the Service) to
maintain a herd of no less than 110 horses, with a target
population of 120-130 horses.
These wild horses are not native to the United States, and
have a destructive impact on native plant and animal species
and their habitat. The Currituck National Wildlife Refuge was
established in 1984 to preserve and protect an important
coastal barrier island ecosystem. The 4,500 acre Refuge
provides essential habitat for migrating waterfowl and
endangered species such as piping plover, sea turtles, and sea
beach amaranth. The Service views the horses as feral, and
manages them to minimize damage to the Refuge as time and funds
allow, including by fencing them out of critical habitat areas
and off of Refuge lands when practicable.
The Service opposes H.R. 152 because it would undermine the
agency's ability to fulfill its core conservation mission at
Currituck Wildlife Refuge, forcing the Service to instead
devote scarce resources to caring for non-native animals that
degrade wildlife habitat. We share the Service's concerns, and
support the ongoing effort to resolve this conflict
administratively, rather than through legislation. Indeed, in
2007 the Service entered into a joint management agreement with
the Corolla Wild Horse Fund, the County of Currituck, and the
North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources
to implement a cooperative management strategy for horses on
public and private lands, and we believe that framework should
be used to address any new management issues.
Further, the Service has indicated that a land exchange is
in the work that would allow the Refuge to trade damaged
habitat currently occupied by horses for higher-quality habitat
in nearby areas. It is our understanding the Service and the
Corolla Wild Horse Fund have agreed in principle to this
exchange, pending approval by the local board of supervisors.
Should such an exchange occur, we believe it would nullify any
argument in favor of this legislation.
Rauul M. Grijalva.
Niki Tsongas.
[all]