H.R. 765 (rh) To ensure maintenance of a herd of wild horses in Cape Lookout National Seashore. ...

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105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 765


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 23, 1997

                                Received

                           September 3, 1997

    Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural 
                               Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT


 
To ensure maintenance of a herd of wild horses in Cape Lookout National 
                               Seashore.

    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 ``Shackleford Banks Wild Horses 
Protection Act''.

SEC. 2. MAINTENANCE OF WILD HORSES IN CAPE LOOKOUT NATIONAL SEASHORE.

    Section 5 of the Act entitled ``An Act to provide for the 
establishment of the Cape Lookout National Seashore in the State of 
North Carolina, and for other purposes'', approved March 10, 1966 (16 
U.S.C. 459g-4), is amended by inserting ``(a)'' after ``Sec. 5.'', and 
by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(b)(1) The Secretary, in accordance with this subsection, shall 
allow a herd of free roaming horses in the seashore.
    ``(2) Within 180 days after enactment of this subsection, the 
Secretary shall enter into an agreement with the Foundation for 
Shackleford Horses (a nonprofit corporation established under the laws 
of the State of North Carolina) to provide for management of free 
roaming horses in the seashore. The agreement shall--
            ``(A) provide for cost-effective management of the horses; 
        and
            ``(B) allow the Foundation to adopt any of those horses 
        that the Secretary removes from the seashore.
    ``(3)(A) The Secretary shall accommodate the historic population 
level of the free roaming horse herd in the seashore, which shall be 
considered to be not less than 100 horses and not more than 110 horses.
    ``(B) The Secretary may not remove, or assist in or permit the 
removal of, any free roaming horses from Federal lands within the 
boundaries of the seashore unless--
            ``(i) the number of free roaming horses in the seashore 
        exceeds 110;
            ``(ii) there is an emergency or a need to protect public 
        health and safety, as defined in the agreement under paragraph 
        (2); or
            ``(iii) there is concern for the persistence and viability 
        of the horse population that is cited in the most recent 
        findings of annual monitoring of the horses under paragraph 
        (4).
    ``(4) The Secretary shall annually monitor, assess, and make 
available to the public findings regarding the population structure and 
health of the free roaming horses in the national seashore.
    ``(5) Nothing in this subsection shall be construed as creating 
liability for the United States for any damages caused by the free 
roaming horses to property located inside or outside the boundaries of 
the seashore.''.

            Passed the House of Representatives July 22, 1997.

            Attest:

                                                ROBIN H. CARLE,

                                                                 Clerk.

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