|
CAPITOL FLYER
Monday, January 8, 2007
***************
Capitol
Flyer is intended to keep you abreast of the latest developments
in Washington affecting the National Wildlife Refuge System.
***************
Table of Contents:
***************
110th Congress Convenes
Democrats formally took control of Congress January 4, as the House and Senate convened the 1st Session of the 110th Congress with newly elected Democratic majorities as a result of the November midterm elections.
Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) was elected as the first woman to serve as speaker of the House. She pledged to stick to an ambitious plan to push through legislation on several fronts during the first 100 hours the House is in session. Ethics, minimum wage and stem cell research top the list of legislative priorities.
In the Senate, Harry Reid (D-NV) took over as majority leader, where Democrats hold a 51-49 edge. In the House, Democrats hold a 233-202 majority.
(return
to table of contents)
Arctic Wilderness Bill Introduced
On January 5, the second day of the new Congress, Reps. Edward Markey (D-MA) and Jim Ramstad (R-MN) introduced H.R. 39, the “Udall-Eisenhower Arctic Wilderness Act.” The legislation would make the 1.2 million acre coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge a permanently protected wilderness area.
H.R. 39 would end the annual attempts to open the Arctic Refuge to oil drilling by energy companies. The legislation may have a hard time in the Senate, where 60 votes would be needed to overcome an expected filibuster by pro-drilling Republicans.
The coastal plain of the Arctic Refuge is believed to contain approximately 10.5 billion barrels of oil, according to the Interior Department. However, the area is a biologically rich ecosystem within the Refuge where polar bears, caribou, musk ox and millions of birds abound.
(return
to table of contents)
Stateside LWCF Funding Approved
For the past four decades, funding in the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) has been responsible for the creation and development of more than 40,000 national, state, and local parks, refuges, forests, and recreation areas in all fifty states. The LWCF receives its support from offshore oil and gas revenue. Unfortunately, over the years LWCF funding appropriated by Congress has declined.
In the final days of the 109th Congress, however, legislation was passed establishing a new and permanent conservation fund from offshore drilling for stateside LWCF. Signed by President Bush December 20, 2006, the new law allows a "conservation royalty" of 12.5 percent of lease revenues that will accrue from an expansion of new oil and gas drilling in 8.3 million acres of the eastern Gulf of Mexico.
Senators Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Ken Salazar (D-CO) led the LWCF effort. Their estimates of future funding to states and localities are about $10 million to $30 million annually, starting in 2009, but funding could increase by 2016. This represents the first-ever dedicated revenue stream for the stateside LWCF program.
(return
to table of contents)
Bison Range Agreement Terminated – New Agreement Planned
On December 10, 2006, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) Director Dale Hall terminated the controversial annual funding agreement (AFA) with the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (CSKT) at the National Bison Range in Montana. For the past 18 months, under the AFA, approximately half of the budget and staff positions at the National Bison Range Complex have been turned over from the FWS to the CSKT.
Director Hall terminated the AFA due to concerns about the tribal contractor’s reliability, incomplete work, leadership and behavior. Hall’s decision was based on documentation from the FWS’ Region 6 office.
Although the AFA expired this past September, the FWS and CSKT had continued to operate under its terms while they attempted to negotiate a new agreement.
However, on December 29, 2006, the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) issued a press release announcing the Department’s intentions to renew negotiations with the CSKT for a new AFA. Officials from the Department of the Interior are expected to visit the National Bison Range later this month. However, an employee grievance filed by federal FWS employees at the Bison Range citing a hostile work environment is still pending.
The NWRA believes that a National Wildlife Refuge System AFA policy, developed with full public input, should be completed prior to negotiation of any new agreement. Further, investigations into grievances filed by refuge staff must be completed before negotiations are reinitiated. An AFA at the Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska (the only other one in existence at a refuge) has been determined a success by observers; however, that agreement is substantially different in structure from the Bison Range agreement.
(return
to table of contents)
Midway Atoll NWR Draft Visitor Services Plan Released
The FWS and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have issued a draft plan for allowing a regularly scheduled visitor program to resume on Midway Atoll. The plan proposes a small-scale visitor program on the remote atoll, primarily for wildlife viewing, photography, environmental education, and interpretation.
The visitor services plan would allow up to 30 overnight guests on Midway at any one time during 2007, and possibly higher numbers in the future depending on lodging and transportation. A small number of private sailboats and cruise ships would also be allowed to stop at Midway. Visitors would be offered guided interpretive history, wildlife, snorkeling, and kayaking tours; opportunities to help restore habitat and historic resources; and time to explore Midway’s trails and photograph the wildlife and scenery.
The plan also outlines visitor fees, permit requirements and staffing, among other things. The draft plan is available at http://www.fws.gov/midway, http://www.hawaiireefs.noaa.gov, or by calling the FWS in Honolulu, HI, at 808.792.9530. Comments on the draft plan will be accepted through February 6, 2007, and should be sent by e-mail to midway@fws.gov.
(return
to table of contents)
Take
Action!
You can make your voice heard by utilizing the Refuge Action Network (RAN), a free, fast and easy way to respond to important national wildlife refuge alerts. Using the RAN system, you can send an e-mail or fax (even if you don't own a fax machine) to your elected officials with a click or two of your mouse.
Please
visit the NWRA Web site or contact Michael Woodbridge,
Director of Government Affairs, at 202.333.9073 or mwoodbridge@refugenet.org
for more information.
(return to table of contents)
***************
Capitol
Flyer, a monthly e-newsletter from the NWRA, is prepared by Michael
Woodbridge, NWRA's Director of Government Affairs.
For additional information, please contact mwoodbridge@refugenet.org. |
