H.R. 2454 (rh) To assure the long-term conservation of mid-continent light geese and [Reported in House] ...

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106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2454


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             August 3, 1999

 Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and 
                              Public Works

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT


 
 To assure the long-term conservation of mid-continent light geese and 
    the biological diversity of the ecosystem upon which many North 
  American migratory birds depend, by directing the Secretary of the 
 Interior to implement rules to reduce the overabundant population of 
                       mid-continent light geese.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Arctic Tundra Habitat Emergency 
Conservation Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

    (a) Findings.--The Congress finds the following:
            (1) The winter index population of mid-continent light 
        geese was 800,000 birds in 1969, while the total population of 
        such geese is more than 5,200,000 birds today.
            (2) The population of mid-continent light geese is 
        expanding by over 5 percent each year, and in the absence of 
        new wildlife management actions it could grow to more than 
        6,800,000 breeding light geese in 3 years.
            (3) The primary reasons for this unprecedented population 
        growth are--
                    (A) the expansion of agricultural areas and the 
                resulting abundance of cereal grain crops in the United 
                States;
                    (B) the establishment of sanctuaries along the 
                United States flyways of migrating light geese; and
                    (C) a decline in light geese harvest rates.
            (4) As a direct result of this population explosion, the 
        Hudson Bay Lowlands Salt-Marsh ecosystem in Canada is being 
        systematically destroyed. This ecosystem contains approximately 
        135,000 acres of essential habitat for migrating light geese 
        and many other avian species. Biologists have testified that 
        one-third of this habitat has been destroyed, one-third is on 
        the brink of devastation, and the remaining one-third is 
        overgrazed.
            (5) The destruction of the Arctic tundra is having a severe 
        negative impact on many avian species that breed or migrate 
        through this habitat, including the following:
                    (A) Canada Goose.
                    (B) American Wigeon.
                    (C) Dowitcher.
                    (D) Hudsonian Godwit.
                    (E) Stilt Sandpiper.
                    (F) Northern Shoveler.
                    (G) Red-Breasted Merganser.
                    (H) Oldsquaw.
                    (I) Parasitic Jaeger.
                    (J) Whimbrel.
                    (K) Yellow Rail.
            (6) It is essential that the current population of mid-
        continent light geese be reduced by 50 percent by the year 2005 
        to ensure that the fragile Arctic tundra is not irreversibly 
        damaged.
    (b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are the following:
            (1) To reduce the population of mid-continent light geese.
            (2) To assure the long-term conservation of mid-continent 
        light geese and the biological diversity of the ecosystem upon 
        which many North American migratory birds depend.

SEC. 3. FORCE AND EFFECT OF RULES TO CONTROL OVERABUNDANT MID-CONTINENT 
              LIGHT GEESE POPULATIONS.

    (a) Force and Effect.--
            (1) In general.--The rules published by the Service on 
        February 16, 1999, relating to use of additional hunting 
        methods to increase the harvest of mid-continent light geese 
        (64 Fed. Reg. 7507-7517) and the establishment of a 
        conservation order for the reduction of mid-continent light 
        goose populations (64 Fed. Reg. 7517-7528), shall have the 
        force and effect of law.
            (2) Public notice.--The Secretary, acting through the 
        Director of the Service, shall take such action as is necessary 
        to appropriately notify the public of the force and effect of 
        the rules referred to in paragraph (1).
    (b) Application.--Subsection (a) shall apply only during the period 
that--
            (1) begins on the date of the enactment of this Act; and
            (2) ends on the latest of--
                    (A) the effective date of rules issued by the 
                Service after such date of enactment to control 
                overabundant mid-continent light geese populations;
                    (B) the date of the publication of a final 
                environmental impact statement for such rules under 
                section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy 
                Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C)); and
                    (C) May 15, 2001.
    (c) Rule of Construction.--This section shall not be construed to 
limit the authority of the Secretary or the Service to issue rules, 
under another law, to regulate the taking of mid-continent light geese.

SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Mid-continent light geese.--The term ``mid-continent 
        light geese'' means Lesser snow geese (Anser caerulescens 
        caerulescens) and Ross' geese (Anser rossii) that primarily 
        migrate between Canada and the States of Alabama, Arkansas, 
        Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, 
        Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, 
        New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, 
        Tennessee, Texas, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
            (2) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of the Interior.
            (3) Service.--The term ``Service'' means the United States 
        Fish and Wildlife Service.

            Passed the House of Representatives August 2, 1999.

            Attest:

                                                 JEFF TRANDAHL,

                                                                 Clerk.

                              By Martha C. Morrison,

                                                          Deputy Clerk.

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