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MISCELLANEOUS FISHERIES LEGISLATION

KEY DEER-DUCK STAMPS

TUESDAY, MAY 3, 1966

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,

SUBCOMMITTEE ON FISHERIES AND WILDLIFE CONSERVATION
OF THE COMMITTEE ON MERCHANT MARINE AND FISHERIES,

Washington, D.C. The subcommittee met at 10:15 a.m., pursuant to call, in room 1334, Longworth House Office Building, Hon. Alton Lennon presiding. Mr. LENNON. Gentlemen, the meeting will come to order. This morning the Subcommittee on Fisheries and Wildlife Conservation will begin hearings on several bills designed to protect and conserve certain wildlife resources.

The first bill to be heard is H.R. 12324, by Mr. Fascell, of Florida, which would make certain amendments to the National Key Deer Refuge Act.

Following Mr. Fascell's bill, the subcommittee will hear testimony on H.R. 13495, by the subcommittee chairman, Mr. Dingell-who, by the way, was called to the White House this morning and will not be with us today, but will be with us when these hearings are resumed on Thursday-relating to the acquisition of wetlands for conservation of migratory waterfowl, and two types of bills relating to the Federal Migratory Bird Hunting Stamp. The first type is H.R. 14136, by Mr. Dingell, the subcommittee chairman, and identical bills, H.R. 14470, by Mr. Reuss, and H.R. 14561, by Mr. Saylor, which would increase the cost of the hunting stamp; and the other type, H.R. 11967, by Mr. Dingell; and identical bills, H.R. 12429, by Mr. Reuss, H.R. 12630, by Mr. Morton, and H.R. 12722, by Mr. Saylor, which would authorize the overprinting of a certain number of hunting stamps.

Let the bills and agency reports appear in the record at this point. Without objection, that will be done.

(The bills and agency reports follow :)

[H.R. 12324, 89th Cong., 2d sess.]

A BILL To amend the Act of August 22, 1957, relating to the conservation and protection of key deer and other wildlife

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the first sentence in section 1 of the Act of August 22, 1957 (71 Stat. 412; 16 U.S.C. 696), is deleted and the following is inserted therein:

"SECTION 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 Interior is authorized to acquire by purchase, lease, exchange, and donation, including the use of donated funds, such lands or interests therein in townships 65 and 66 south, ranges 28, 29 and 30 east, Monroe County, Florida, as he shall

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find to be suitable for the conservation and management of the said key deer and other wildlife: Provided, That no lands shall be acquired by condemnation on any island that is traversed at any point by United States Highway Numbered 1. 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, Monroe 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."

SEC. 2. 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).

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR,

Hon. EDWARD A. GARMATZ,

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY, Washington, D.C., May 2, 1966.

Chairman, Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, House of Representatives, Washington, D.C.

Dear Mr. GaRMATZ: Your Committee has requested this Department's views and recommendations 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." We recommend the enactment of H.R. 12324.

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 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 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.

H.R. 12324 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 appropriation 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.

H.R. 12324 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, H.R. 12324 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 bill 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 bill, 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.

Recently, your Committee considered and the House of Representatives passed the "endangered species" bill, H.R. 9424. That bill is now pending before the Senate Committee on Commerce. H.R. 9424 also authorizes the acquisition of land for various endangered species of wildlife, including the Key deer. In view of the specific limitations in the 1957 Act, however, we believe that H.R. 9424 would not now be available for the acquisition of lands for the National Key Deer Refuge.

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 National Heritage", said:

"The spiraling cost of land acquisitions by the Federal Government, particularly for water resource 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. We therefore urge the Committee to either delete the proviso on page 2 of the bill or limit the prohibition against condemnation to a zone along U.S. highway No. 1 by amending the proviso on page 2 of the bill to read as follows: "Provided, That no lands within a 1,000-foot zone adjacent to either site of U.S. highway Numbered 1 in Monroe County shall be acquired for the Key Deer National Wildlife Refuge by condemnation."

In addition to the Key Deer National Wildlife Refuge, we also administer the Sanibel, Anclote, and St. Marks National Wildlife Refuges in Florida.

The Department administers the Sanibel National Wildlife Refuge on Sanibel Island in Lee County, Florida, partly on withdrawn public land of the United States and partly on land owned by the State of Florida, by agreement with the State. In order to facilitate effective management and control of the Sanibel National Wildlife Refuge, it is desirable to obtain fee title to the State lands within the refuge area.

The Department also administers the Anclote National Wildlife Refuge in Pasco and Pinellas Counties, Florida, on public lands of the United States known as Anclote Keys. These lands are more valuable for public recreational use than for wildlife and the State of Florida now operates a State park on a portion of Anclote Key under a Use Agreement with the Department.

The State of Florida also desires to establish a new State park in Wakulla County, Florida, to serve the citizens in that area, including the City of Tallahassee. A suitable site exists on acquired land of the St. Marks Refuge in Wakulla County which has greater value for recreation than for wildlife.

Lee County, Florida, has constructed a public school on a 25-acre tract of land on Sanibel Island which was deeded to the County by the State. The surveys which were subsequently made by the United States have revealed that this 25acre school site is located on the public land of the United States.

In order to resolve all of these problems, an exchange of lands with the State of Florida has been suggested. Recently, the Trustees of the Internal Improvement Fund of the State have approved the idea on behalf of the State. The proposal is for the State to convey to the United States about 3,175 acres of lands

and water bottoms at Sanibel Island, and we would convey to the State lands at Anclote Keys containing about 208.34 acres, and about 369 acres at St. Marks, and the 25-acre school site at Sanibel. These lands are deemed to be equal in value.

Adequate authority does now exist under the Recreation and Public Purposes Act, as amended (43 U.S.C. 869 et seq.), to convey the 25-acre school site at Sanibel and the 208.34 acres at Anclote Keys. We, however, lack authority to convey the acquired lands at St. Marks.

We recommend that H.R. 12324 be amended as follows:

1. Amend the title of the bill by changing the period to a comma and adding "and for other purposes."

2. Add a new section at the end of the bill to read as follows:

"SEC. 3. The Secretary of the Interior may accept title to approximately 3,175 acres, more or less, of land and waters owned by the State of Florida and located on Sanibel Island in Lee County, Florida, to be administered by him as part of the Sanibel National Wildlife Refuge, and in exchange therefor convey to the State of Florida about 208.34 acres, more or less, at Anclote National Wildlife Refuge to be used for public park and recreation purposes, and 25 acres on Sanibel Island to be used for public educational purposes, all located in Florida. The lands to be exchanged pursuant to this section are deemed to be equal in value. Title to any portion of the lands conveyed to the State of Florida pursuant to this section shall automatically revert to the United States upon a finding by the Secretary that such portion is being used for purposes other than those for which the lands were conveyed."

It should be noted that all of these refuges are within the National Wildlife Refuge System. If the House-passed endangered species bill (H.R. 9424) is enacted, this new section would not be necessary, since adequate authority is contained in that bill for the exchange contemplated here.

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,

STANLEY A. CAIN,

Assistant Secretary of the Interior.

Hon. EDWARD A. GARMATZ,

OFFICE OF THE DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL,
Washington, D.C., May 3, 1966.

Chairman, Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, House of Representatives, Washington, D.C.

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: This is in response to your request for the views of the Department of Justice concerning 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."

This bill would remove the existing acreage (1,000 acres) and financial ($35,000) limitations on acquisitions of land for the National Key Deer Refuge established by the Act of August 22, 1957, (71 Stat. 412; 16 U.S.C. 696). The bill would continue to allow the exchange of properties of approximately equal value and would further permit the exchange of properties which are not of approximately equal value if an equalizing payment is made.

Whether this legislation should be enacted involves policy considerations as to which the Department of Justice makes no recommendation.

The Bureau of the Budget has advised that there is no objection to the submission of this report from the standpoint of the Administration's program. Sincerely,

RAMSEY CLARK, Deputy Attorney General.

[H.R. 11967, H.R. 12429, H.R. 12630, H.R. 12722, 89th Cong., 2d sess.]

BILLS To amend the Migratory Bird Hunting Stamp Act of March 26, 1934, to authorize the overprinting of certain of such stamps, and for other purposes

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That (a) section 2 of the Act of March 16, 1934, commonly referred to as the Migratory Bird Hunting Stamp Act (16 U.S.C.

718b) is amended by inserting “(a)" immediately after "SEC. 2." and by adding at the end thereof the following:

"(b) The Secretary of the Interior is authorized to increase to $5 per stamp the value of so many of the stamps issued pursuant to subsection (a) of this section as he determines necessary, and to overprint such stamps to indicate such increased value. Such overprinted stamps shall be issued and sold in the same manner and subject to the same conditions as are stamps issued and sold under subsection (a) of this section.

"(c) Any person desiring to purchase a migratory bird hunting stamp may purchase either a $3 stamp issued under subsection (a) of this section or a $5 stamp issued under subsection (b) of this section."

(b) Section 4 of such Act of March 16, 1934 (16 U.S.C. 718d), is amended (1) by striking out in subsection (b) thereof "subsection (c) of this section" and inserting in lieu thereof "subsections (c) and (d) of this section", and (2) by adding at the end thereof the following new subsection:

"(d) The Secretary of the Interior shall use 40 per centum of all moneys received from the sale of overprinted stamps authorized by subsection (b) of section 2 of this Act to make grants to public and nonprofit organizations for the purpose of acquiring land anywhere in the North American Continent for the preservation and conservation of migratory waterfowl. Each such grant shall be subject to the condition that such land shall be used solely as habitat for, or for the propagation of, migratory waterfowl, and if such land shall ever cease to be used for such purposes the grantee shall immediately repay to the migratory bird conservation fund an amount equal to the grant. Such grants shall be made in accordance with such regulations the Secretary shall prescribe to protect the interest of the United States."

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR,

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY, Washington, D.C., May 2, 1966.

Hon. EDWARD A. GARMATZ,

Chairman, Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries,
House of Representatives, Washington, D.C.

DEAR MR. GARMATZ: Your Committee has requested the views and recommendations of this Department on H.R. 11967, a bill "To amend the Migratory Bird Hunting Stamp Act of March 26, 7934, to authorize the overprinting of certain of such stamps, and for other purposes." Other identical bills on this subject are H.R. 12429, H.R. 12630, and H.R. 12722.

H.R. 11967 amends section 2 of the Migratory Bird Hunting Stamp Act, as amended (16 U.S.C. 718b), by authorizing the Secretary of the Interior to increase the value of some "duck stamps" from $3 to $5 through overprinting. The pruchaser is given the option of buying either a $3 or $5 “duck stamp." All of the money from these increased value stamps would be deposited in the migratory bird conservation fund. The bill directs the Secretary to use 40 percent of these special receipts for grants to public and nonprofit organizations, for the purpose of acquiring land anywhere in the North American Continent, including Canada, to conserve migratory waterfowl only, not all migratory birds. These organizations could include all of the 50 States (our records show that ducks in varying numbers are produced in all of the 50 States), Canada, the Canadian provinces, and such organizations as Ducks Unlimited and Izaak Walton League clubs. Broadly speaking, the grants could be used not only for the actual cost of the land, but also for the incidental costs of land acquisition. The grant is conditioned on the land being used solely for habitat or propagation purposes, and if it ever ceases to be used for these purposes the grantee must repay the grant.

We presume that the primary obpective of this bill is to encourage the preservation of waterfowl breeding habitat in the prairie provinces of Canada. We wholeheartedly support this objective since the most productive waterfowl nesting grounds on the continent are located in these provinces. We are doubtful, however, that this bill will raise sufficient additional or new revennes to make this grant program really effective, especially when the potential number of eligible grantees is so great. We believe that at the very least this number should be reduced so that the grants will only go to organizations that are in a position to carry out what we understand the bill's objective to be.

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