[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 39 Introduced in House (IH)]
110th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 39
To preserve the Arctic coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife
Refuge, Alaska, as wilderness in recognition of its extraordinary
natural ecosystems and for the permanent good of present and future
generations of Americans.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 4, 2007
Mr. Markey (for himself and Mr. Ramstad) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To preserve the Arctic coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife
Refuge, Alaska, as wilderness in recognition of its extraordinary
natural ecosystems and for the permanent good of present and future
generations of Americans.
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 ``Udall-Eisenhower Arctic Wilderness
Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND STATEMENT OF POLICY.
(a) Findings.--The Congress finds the following:
(1) Americans cherish the continued existence of expansive,
unspoiled wilderness ecosystems and wildlife found on their
public lands, and feel a strong moral responsibility to protect
this wilderness heritage as an enduring resource to bequeath
undisturbed to future generations of Americans.
(2) It is widely believed by ecologists, wildlife
scientists, public land specialists, and other experts that the
wilderness ecosystem centered around and dependent upon the
Arctic coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge,
Alaska, represents the very epitome of a primeval wilderness
ecosystem and constitutes the greatest wilderness area and
diversity of wildlife habitats of its kind in the United
States.
(3) President Dwight D. Eisenhower initiated protection of
the wilderness values of the Arctic coastal plain in 1960 when
he set aside 8,900,000 acres establishing the Arctic National
Wildlife Refuge expressly ``for the purpose of preserving
unique wildlife, wilderness and recreational values''.
(4) In 1980, when the Congress acted to strengthen the
protective management of the Eisenhower-designated area with
the enactment of the Alaska National Interest Lands
Conservation Act (Public Law 96-487), Representative Morris K.
Udall led the effort to more than double the size of the Arctic
National Wildlife Refuge and extend statutory wilderness
protection to most of the original area.
(5) Before the enactment of the Alaska National Interest
Lands Conservation Act, the House of Representatives twice
passed legislation that would have protected the entire
Eisenhower-designated area as wilderness, including the Arctic
coastal plain.
(6) A majority of Americans have supported and continue to
support preserving and protecting the Arctic National Wildlife
Refuge, including the Arctic coastal plain, from any industrial
development and consider oil and gas exploration and
development in particular to be incompatible with the purposes
for which this incomparable wilderness ecosystem has been set
aside.
(7) When the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge was
established in 1980 by paragraph (2) of section 303 of the
Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (Public Law 96-
487; 94 Stat. 2390; 16 U.S.C. 668dd note), subparagraph
(B)(iii) of such paragraph specifically stated that one of the
purposes for which the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is
established and managed would be to provide the opportunity for
continued subsistence uses by local residents, and, therefore,
the lands designated as wilderness within the Refuge, including
the area designated by this Act, are and will continue to be
managed consistent with such subparagraph.
(8) Canada has taken action to preserve those portions of
the wilderness ecosystem of the Arctic that exist on its side
of the international border and provides strong legal
protection for the habitat of the Porcupine River caribou herd
that migrates annually through both countries to calve on the
Arctic coastal plain.
(9) The extension of full wilderness protection for the
Arctic coastal plain within the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
will still leave most of the North Slope of Alaska available
for the development of energy resources, which will allow
Alaska to continue to contribute significantly to meeting the
energy needs of the United States without despoiling the unique
Arctic coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
(b) Statement of Policy.--The Congress hereby declares that it is
the policy of the United States--
(1) to honor the decades of bipartisan efforts that have
increasingly protected the great wilderness ecosystem of the
Arctic coastal plain;
(2) to sustain this natural treasure for the current
generation of Americans; and
(3) to do everything possible to protect and preserve this
magnificent natural ecosystem so that it may be bequeathed in
its unspoiled natural condition to future generations of
Americans.
SEC. 3. DESIGNATION OF ADDITIONAL WILDERNESS, ARCTIC NATIONAL WILDLIFE
REFUGE, ALASKA.
(a) Inclusion of Arctic Coastal Plain.--In furtherance of the
Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.), an area within the Arctic
National Wildlife Refuge in the State of Alaska comprising
approximately 1,559,538 acres, as generally depicted on a map entitled
``Arctic National Wildlife Refuge--1002 Area Alternative E--Wilderness
Designation'' and dated October 28, 1991, is hereby designated as
wilderness and, therefore, as a component of the National Wilderness
Preservation System. The map referred to in this subsection shall be
available for inspection in the offices of the Secretary of the
Interior.
(b) Administration.--The Secretary of the Interior shall administer
the area designated as wilderness by subsection (a) in accordance with
the Wilderness Act as part of the wilderness area already in existence
within the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge as of the date of the
enactment of this Act.
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