PARTICIPATION BY COUNTIES IN REFUGE RECEIPTS WEDNESDAY, APRIL 22, 1964 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SUBCOMMITTEE ON FISHERIES AND WILDLIFE CONSERVATION Mr. THOMPSON. The subcommittee will come to order. This morning the Subcommittee on Fisheries and Wildlife Conservation will begin hearings on bills designed to increase the participation by counties in revenues from national wildlife refuge systems. Since there are four bills, all of which are very similar, the chairman and the subcommittee have decided to consider them in a group. The bills are H.R. 2393, by Congressman Dingell; H.R. 5996, by Congressman Ostertag; H.R. 1127, by Congressman Short; and H.R. 9030, by Congressman Andrews. (COMMITTEE NOTE.-H.R. 1004, by the late Mr. Nygaard, was reintroduced by his successor, Congressman Andrews, as H.R. 9030. Congressman Thompson subsequently introduced H.R. 11008, which was requested to appear at this point in the record.) (The bills referred to and departmental reports follow:) [H.R. 2393, 88th Cong., 1st sess.] A BILL To increase the participation by counties in revenues from the National Wildlife Refuge System by amending the Act of June 15, 1935, relating to such participation, and for other purposes Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That, effective only during the time provided in section 2 of this Act, section 401 of the Act of June 15, 1935, as amended (49 Stat. 378, 383; 16 U.S.C. 715s), relating to the participation by the counties in revenues from wildlife refuges, is amended to read as follows: "SEC. 401. (a) The revenues from all collections received by the Secretary of the Interior, during each fiscal year in connection with the operation and management of those particular areas of the National Wildlife Refuge System that are solely or primarily administered by him through the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, which are obtained from the sale or other disposition of animals, timber, hay, grass, or other products of the soil, minerals, shell, sand, or gravel, from other privileges or from leases for public accommodations or facilities incidental to but not in conflict with the basic purposes of particular areas of that system shall be covered into the United States Treasury and be reserved in a separate fund for disposition as hereafter prescribed. Amounts in the fund shall remain available until expended and may be expended by the Secretary of the Interior without further appropriation in the manner hereafter prescribed. The National Wildlife Refuge System (hereafter referred to as the "System") comprises those areas and lands administered by the Secretary that are included in the following descriptive categories: wildlife refuges, wildlife ranges, game ranges, wildlife management areas, and waterfowl production areas. "(b) The Secretary of the Interior may pay from the fund any necessary expenses incurred by him in connection with the revenue-producing measures set forth in subsection (a). The Secretary shall reserve 50 per centum of net refuge revenues annually for a period of ten fiscal years beginning with the first full fiscal year following enactment of this Act. Such revenues shall be added to and used for purposes of the migratory bird conservation fund established pursuant to section 4 of the Migratory Bird Hunting Stamp Act (16 U.S.C. 718d). "(c) The Secretary of the Interior, at the end of each fiscal year, shall make the following payments out of the net receipts (after payment of necessary expenses and deduction of revenues for land acquisition purposes stipulated in subsection (b) above) for such fiscal year to those counties in which the aforesaid areas of the system, as prescribed in subsection (a) hereof, are situated, which funds shall be expended solely for the benefit of the public schools and roads in such counties: "(1) to each county in which reserved public lands in an area of the system are situated, an amount equal to 25 per centum of the net receipts collected by the Secretary from such reserved public lands in the particular area of the System: Provided, That when any such area is situated in more than one county the distributive share to each county from the aforesaid receipts shall be proportional to its acreage of such reserve public lands therein; and "(2) to each county in which lands in the System are situated that have been acquired in fee by the United States, three-fourths of 1 per centum of the cost of the lands, exclusive of improvements to such property subsequent to Federal acquisition, such cost to be adjusted to represent current values as determined by the Secretary. The aforesaid determination by the Secretary shall be accomplished in such manner as he shall consider to be equitable and in the public interest, and his determination hereunder shall be final and conclusive. "The aforesaid payments to counties in the United States for any one year shall not exceed the amount of net receipts of the fund for that year and, in case the net receipts are insufficient for a particular year to pay the aggregate amount of payments for that year to the counties, the payment to each county shall be reduced proportionately. "After July 1, 1964, the Secretary shall have authority to close the season for taking of migratory birds in any State in which there is in effect a provision of State law (1) permitting the taking of migratory birds in such State by residents thereof and (2) prohibiting the taking of migratory birds within such State by citizens of the United States who are not residents of such State. "(d) Any moneys remaining in the fund after all payments are made for any fiscal year may be used by the Secretary thereafter for management of the System including, but not limited to, the construction, improvement, repair, and alteration of buildings, roads, and other facilities, and for enforcement of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, as amended (16 U.S.C. 703–711). "(e) The disposition or sale of surplus animals, minerals, and other products, the grant of privileges, and the carrying out of any other activities that result in the collection of any revenues may be accomplished upon such terms, conditions, or regulations as the Secretary shall determine to be in the best interest of the United States or for the advancement of knowledge and the dissemination of information regarding the conservation of wildlife, including sale in the open market, exchange of animals of the same or other kinds, and gifts or loans to public or private institutions for exhibition or propagation." SEC. 2. The amendment made by this Act shall be effective only with respect to revenues received during the first fiscal year beginning after the date of enactment of this Act, and the succeeding nineteen fiscal years, and during the period such amendment is in effect the provisions of the paragraph entitled "Management of National Wildlife Refuges" in the General Appropriation Act, 1951, approved September 6, 1950 (64 Stat. 595, 693-694), shall not be effective. SEC. 3. The second proviso in section 3 of the Act of October 4, 1961 (75 Stat. 813; 16 U.S.C. 715k-5), is hereby repealed. [H.R. 1004, H.R. 1127, H.R., 9030, 88th Cong., 1st sess.] A BILL To increase the participation by counties in revenues from the National Wildlife Refuge System by amending the Act of June 15, 1935, relating to such participation, and for other purposes Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That section 401 of the Act of June 15, 1935, as amended (49 Stat. 378, 383; 16 U.S.C. 715s), relating to the participation by the counties in revenues from wildlife refuges, is amended to read as follows: "SEC. 401. (a) The revenues from all collections received by the Secretary of the Interior, during each fiscal year in connection with the operation and management of those particular areas of the National Wildlife Refuge System that are solely or primarily administered by him through the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, which are obtained from the sale or other disposition of animals, timber, hay, grass, or other products of the soil, minerals, shell, sand or gravel, from other privileges, or from leases for public accommodations or facilities incidental to but not in conflict with the basic purposes of particular areas of that System, shall be covered into the United States Treasury and be reserved in a separate fund for disposition as hereafter prescribed. Amounts in the fund shall remain available until expended and may be expended by the Secretary of the Interior without further appropriation in the manner hereafter prescribed. The National Wildlife Refuge System (hereafter referred to as the 'System') comprises those areas and lands administered by the Secretary that are included in the following descriptive categories: wildlife refuges, wildlife ranges, game ranges, wildlife management areas, and waterfowl production areas. "(b) The Secretary of the Interior may pay from the fund any necessary expenses incurred by him in connection with the revenue-producing measures set forth in subsection (a). "(c) The Secretary of the Interior, at the end of each fiscal year, shall make the following payments out of the net receipts (after payment of necessary expenses) and from such other amounts available for such purpose for such fiscal year to those counties in which the aforesaid areas of the System, as prescribed in subsection (a) hereof, are situated: "(1) to each county in which reserved public lands in an area of the System are situated, an amount equal to 25 per centum of the net receipts collected by the Secretary for such reserved public lands in the particular area of the System: Provided, That when any such area is situated in more than one county the disrtibutive share to each county from the aforesaid receipts shall be proportional to its acreage of such reserved public lands therein; and "(2) to each county in which lands in the System are situated that have been acquired in fee by the United States, 1 per centum of the cost of the lands, exclusive of improvements to such property subsequent to Federal acquisition, such cost to be adjusted to represent current values as determined by the Secretary: Provided, That in those States having a program under which annual payments are made to counties for lands acquired by said State for fish and wildlife purposes the payments under this subsection shall not exceed the amount that would be paid by said State under the program in effect therein. The aforesaid determination by the Secretary shall be accomplished in such manner as he shall consider to be equitable and in the public interest, and his determination hereunder shall be final and conclusive. "There are hereby authorized to be appropriated each fiscal year such amounts as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this subsection, to remain available until expended. "(d) Any moneys remaining in the fund after all payments are made for any fiscal year may be used by the Secretary thereafter for management of the System including but not limited to the construction, improvement, repair and alteration of buildings, roads, and other facilities, and for enforcement of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, as amended (16 U.S.C. 703-711). "(e) The disposition or sale of surplus animals, minerals, and other products, the grant of privileges, and the carrying out of any other activities that result in the collection of any revenues may be accomplished upon such terms, conditions, or regulations as the Secretary shall determine to be in the best interest of the United States or for the advancement of knowledge and the dissemination of information regarding the conservation of wildlife, including sale in the open market, exchange of animals of the same or other kinds, and gifts or loans to public or private institutions for exhibition or propagation. "(f) In acquiring any land in fee for the National Wildlife Refuge System after the effective date of this section against which there is outstanding bonded indebtedness incurred by a local governmental subdivision or other legal entity. the Secretary of the Interior is authorized to make provision for the full lumpsum payment of the pro rata share of the total obligation chargeable against such land at the time of the acquisition thereof by the United States, whether by purchase or condemnation, and the payment in full of such proportional share of the entire obligation shall be a prerequisite to obtaining a marketable title to such land." SEC. 2. That the Interior Department Appropriation Act, 1951 (64 Stat. 595). is amended by striking out the paragraph entitled "Management of National Wildlife Refuges" under the heading "Fish and Wildlife Service." SEC. 3. That section 5 of the Migratory Bird Conservation Act of 1929 (16 U.S.C. 7158) is amended by inserting “(a)” after “SEC. 5.” and by inserting at the end thereof a new subsection as follows: "(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of the Federal Property Administrative Services Act of 1949, the Secretary of the Interior may, upon determination that any land acquired in fee under the provisions of this Act is no longer required for the purposes of this Act, and the State has no interest in acquiring such surplus land, dispose of such land at public auction to the highest bidder. Any amounts received by the Secretary of the Interior for land disposed of under the provisions of this subsection shall be paid by him into the migratory bird conservation fund, established pursuant to section 4 of the Act of March 16. 1934 (48 Stat. 451), to be available for the purposes of such fund until expended." SEC. 4. The amendments made by the first section and section 2 of this Act shall become effective on the first day of the first fiscal year beginning after the enactment of the Act. The amendment made by section 3 of this Act shall become effective on such date of enactment. [H.R. 5996, 88th Cong., 1st sess.] A BILL To increase the participation by counties in revenues from the National Wildlife Refuge System by amending the Act of June 15, 1935, relating to such participation, and for other purposes Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That section 401 of the Act of June 15, 1935, as amended (16 U.S.C. 715s), relating to the participation by the counties in revenues from wildlife refuges, is amended to read as follows: "SEC. 401. (a) The revenues from all collections received by the Secretary of the Interior, during each fiscal year in connection with the operation and management of those particular areas of the National Wildlife Refuge System that are solely or primarily administered by him through the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, which are obtained from the sale or other disposition of animals, timber, hay, grass, or other products of the soil, minerals, shell, sand, or gravel, from other privileges, or from leases for public accommodations or facilities incidental to but not in conflict with the basic purposes of particular areas of that System, shall be covered into the United States Treasury and be reserved in a separate fund for disposition as hereafter prescribed. Amounts in the fund shall remain available until expended and may be expended by the Secretary of the Interior without further appropriation in the manner hereafter prescribed. The National Wildlife Refuge System (hereafter referred to as the 'System') comprises those areas and lands administered by the Secretary that are included in the following descriptive categories: wildlife refuges, wildlife ranges, game ranges, wildlife management areas, and waterfowl production areas. "(b) The Secretary of the Interior may pay from the fund any necessary expenses incurred by him in connection with the revenue-producing measures set forth in subsection (a). |