I think Mr. Dingell would be interested in this, because he is a very astute fellow when he gets into these things. He is quick to catch something like this. I think he would be talking along the same lines I am talking today. Mr. FINNEGAN. Mr. Chairman, this could be done, and it is a good suggestion. Mr. LENNON. For whatever it is worth. Mr. FINNEGAN. I think the problem we had with attempting to do this at this point was that we did not want really to send the bill back to conference, that if there was no amendment by the Senate, it would pass without going to conference. But obviously this could be done. Mr. LENNON. You can easily see the problem that is going to arise on the floor of the House, if that bill comes to the floor Of course, if it does not come to conference, the question is not going to arise; but it is not very often that the Senate does not add its thought to the piece before legislation comes back to the House. Mr. FINNEGAN. On this recommendation of yours, Mr. Chairman, we could do this. Mr. LENNON. Consider it, and file with counsel to this committee your judgment in the form of a brief on this proposal that I suggested. Mr. FINNEGAN. Yes, sir. (The information requested follows:) Hon. WARREN G. MAGNUSON, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY, Washington, D.C., June 24, 1966. Chairman, Committee on Commerce, Washington, D.C. DEAR SENATOR MAGNUSON: Recently, the Subcommittee on Fisheries and Wildlife Conservation of the Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries of the House of Representatives held hearings on H.R. 12324, a bill "To amend the Act of August 22, 1957, relating to the conservation and protection of key deer and other wildlife." The bill amends the Act of August 22, 1957 (16 U.S.C. 696), which authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to acquire lands in Monroe County, Florida, for the conservation of Key deer and other wildlife. Under this Act, not more than $35,000 of appropriated funds can now be used to acquire these lands. The maximum amount of lands that can now be acquired in 6 townships in Monroe County is 1,000 acres. In addition, no land can now be acquired by condemnation that is traversed at any point by U.S. highway No. 1. The Key deer is a diminutive race of the white-tailed deer and is considered to be an endangered mammal. There are about 400 of these animals protected within the National Key Deer Refuge in Florida and vicinity. They cannot be hunted under State law. Some, however, have been killed by automobiles. During the hearings on this bill, the Chairman of the subcommittee (Congressman Dingell) observed that since the Key deer is a threatened species of wildlife, it would be appropriate to include the amendment as part of the Housepassed bill, H.R. 9424 which is designed to give protection to endangered species of wildlife. We agreed that this approach is desirable and Chairman Dingell has indicated that his Committee would not object. Also, Congressman Fascell, the sponsor of the bill has concurred. We therefore recommend that the enclosed amendment be added to H.R. 9424. An explanation of the amendment is also enclosed. We also urge that your Committee take early and favorable action on H.R. 9424. The Bureau of the Budget has advised that there is no objection to the presentation of this report from the standpoint of the Administration's program. Sincerely yours, JOHN A. CARVER, Jr., Under Secretary of the Interior. 65-204-66-pt. 1. 4 AMENDMENT TO H.R. 9424 On page 12, of the House-passed bill (H.R. 9424), add a new section to read as follows: "SEC. 10. (a) The first sentence in section 1 of the Act of August 22, 1957 (71 Stat. 412; 16 U.S.C. 696), is amended to read as follows: 'SEC. 1. In order to protect and preserve in the national interest the key deer and other wildlife resources in the Florida Keys, the Secretary of the Interiør is authorized to acquire by purchase, lease, exchange, and donation, including the use of donated funds, such as lands or interests therein in townships 65 and 66 south, ranges 28, 29, and 30 east, Monroe County, Florida, as he shall find to be suitable for the conservation and management of the said key deer and other wildlife: Provided, That no lands within a 1000-foot zone adjacent to either side of U.S. highway Numbered 1 in Monroe County shall be acquired for the Key Deer National Wildlife Refuge by condemnation. The Secretary, in the exercise of his exchange authority, may accept title to any non-Federal property in townships 65 and 66 south, ranges 28, 29, and 30 east, Moneroe County, Florida, and in exchange therefor convey to the grantor of such property any federally owned property under his jurisdiction which he classifies as suitable for exchange or other disposal. The values of the properties so exchanged either shall be approximately equal, or if they are not approximately equal the values shall be equalized by the payment of cash to the grantor or to the Secretary as the circumstances require.' "(b) The second and third sentences of section 3 of the Act of August 22, 1957 (71 Stat. 413; 16 U.S.C. 696b) are repealed." EXPLANATION OF AMENDMENT TO H.R. 9424 The Act of August 22, 1957 (16 U.S.C. 693), which authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to acquire lands in Monroe County, Florida, for the conservation of Key deer and other wildlife. Under this Act, not more than $35,000 of appropriated funds can be used to acquire these lands. The maximum amount of lands that can be acquired in 6 townships in Monroe County is 1,000 acres. In addition, no land can be acquired by condemnation that is traversed at any point by U.S. highway No. 1. The amendment removes the above acreage limitation from the Act. To date, we have acquired title to 762.6 acres of land within the 6 townships in Monroe County. Of this total, 523.4 acres were donated and 239.2 acres were purchased with appropriated and donated funds. Under the present acreage limitation. we can acquire an additional 237.4 acres only. As much as 6,664 acres of the needed habitat within the 6 townships have been leased in the past pursuant to the Interior Department's Appropriation Act, 1954 (67 Stat. 261, 272), and subsequent appropriations Acts. About 5,337 acres are currently under lease. The present 762.6 acres of land in fee are not adequate to sustain and protect these animals. The lands under lease now afford some additional protection, but these leases are on a year-to-year basis and can be terminated on 90-days notice at the option of the landowner. While we do not intend to acquire all of these lands in fee, because of their high cost, we believe we should acquire some either in fee or long-term lease (probably 50 years or more). We estimate that we may need to acquire at least 1,800 acres in fee, much of which is now under short-term lease, at a cost of about $1.8 million. This added fee acreage is the minimum acreage required to assure the perpetuation of Key deer. It will not, however, be sufficient to maintain the present size of the herd or increase it. We hope to be able to negotiate some long-term leases for this purpose. The amendment also deletes the dollar limitation on acquisitions by appropriated funds. The total cost of the acreage acquired in fee is $54,851 of which $34,500 was from appropriated funds. The remainder was from donations. Obviously, we cannot rely entirely on donations to acquire the 1,800 acres we need. In addition, the amendment expands the present exchange provisions of the 1957 Act. The expansion provides that all exchanges must be of approximately equal value. If they are not of approximately equal value, the amendment authorizes the Secretary to receive from, or pay cash to, the grantor to equalize the values of the properties to be exchanged. Since the Key deer is a threatened species of wildlife, the land and water conservation fund will be available for the acquisition of the needed lands. Preservation of wildlife habitat, such as would be possible under this amendment, also would benefit a number of resident bird species, several of which have been in almost as precarious a situation as the Key deer. Among these are the roseate spoonbill and the great white heron. Other species of birds of this area, which are seldom found elsewhere, include the white-crowned pigeon and the reddish egret. The American crocodile, which is rare in Florida, also occurs here. Some of the lands now under lease are on islands traversed by U.S. highway No. 1. Some of these leased lands should be acquired in fee for the protection of the Key deer. We hope that we can work out an acceptable agreement with the owners of these lands to purchase them at a fair and reasonable price. We are handicapped, however, by the restriction in the present Act on our condemnation authority if the owners insist on a price which we feel is too high. We have only two alternatives-pay the higher price or give up on the idea of purchasing the land. Both alternatives are undesirable. Recently, the President, in his message on the "Preservation of Our Natural Heritage", said: "The spiraling cost of land acquisitions by the Federal Government, particularly for water resourc, and recreational purposes, is a matter of increasing concern. "Land owners whose property is acquired by the Federal Government are, of course, entitled to just compensation as provided by the Constitution. At the same time, land for the use of the general public should not be burdened with the increased price resulting from speculative activities. "I have requested the Director of the Bureau of the Budget, together with the Attorney General, the Secretary of the Interior, and the heads of the other agencies principally concerned, to investigate procedures for protecting the Government against such artificial price spirals." The authority to condemn is a good check against these price spirals since it leaves determination of "just compensation" to the court. The amendment therefore limits the prohibition against condemnation to a zone along U.S. Highway No. 1. Mr. LENNON. Gentlemen, we are going to have to recess for the day. I am advised that the chairman of the subcommittee, Mr. Dingell, wants it to be announced that these hearings will be resumed Thursday morning at 10 o'clock. The full committee meets tomorrow in executive session. If there are gentlemen here who were to testify on Mr. Fascell's bill, H.R. 12324, who want to return Thursday morning, I am sure that the chairman of the subcommittee would be delighted to hear them before we get into the other three bills, or if you prefer to file your statement today for the record, that may be done. Is there anyone here who would desire to have his statement that he intended to make this morning filed in the hearing record as of today, or would you prefer to return Thursday morning? Mr. MCELROY. Mr. Chairman, two gentlemen just left that had statements, and I told them to return Thursday. Mr. LENNON. If they prefer to personally testify, we would be delighted, and I am sure that Chairman Dingell would be delighted to have them Thursday morning. The hearing will stand adjourned, then, until Thursday morning at 10 o'clock. We appreciate your attendance and help, gentlemen. (Whereupon, at 12:10 p.m., the committee adjourned to reconvene at 10 a.m., Thursday, May 5, 1966.) MISCELLANEOUS FISHERIES LEGISLATION KEY DEER-DUCK STAMPS THURSDAY, MAY 5, 1966 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SUBCOMMITTEE ON FISHERIES AND WILDLIFE CONSERVATION Washington, D.C. The subcommittee met at 10 a.m., pursuant to recess, in room 1334, Longworth House Office Building, Hon. John D. Dingell (chairman of the subcommittee) presiding. Mr. DINGELL. The subcommittee will come to order. This morning the committee is hearing a bill dealing with the preservation of key deer, H.R. 12324, and a series of bills dealing with the duck stamp and migratory bird conservation fund, H.R. 13495, H.R. 11967, and H.R. 14136. Our first witness this morning will be the distinguished president of the National Audubon Society, a valued friend of the chairman, Carl Buchheister. Mr. Buchheister, the Chair in indeed pleased to welcome you this morning. STATEMENT OF CARL W. BUCHHEISTER, PRESIDENT, NATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY Mr. BUCHHEISTER. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. DINGELL. Mr. Buchheister, the Chair is indeed happy to welcome you. It is a pleasure to see an old friend and a conservationist who is properly and widely respected. Mr. BUCHHEISTER. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. The purpose of H.R. 12324 is to remove two limitations that were written into the Key Deer Refuge Act when it was passed in 1957. One of the limitations applied to the size of the National Wildlife Refuge to be established for the purpose of assuring survival of the unique and endangered subspecies of the whitetail deer that inhabits parts of the Florida Keys. It said the refuge could not exceed 1,000 acres. The other limitation said not more than $35,000 could be appropriated by Congress to acquire lands for the refuge. The National Audubon Society, through its branches in southern Florida and also through the work of its experienced Florida field representative, Mr. Charles M. Brookfield, has been actively involved in the campaign to save the key deer since its beginning. |