[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 770 Introduced in House (IH)]
108th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 770
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
February 13, 2003
Mr. Markey (for himself, Mrs. Johnson of Connecticut, Mr. Allen, Mr.
Ackerman, Mr. Andrews, Mr. Baird, Ms. Baldwin, Mr. Ballance, Mr. Bass,
Mr. Becerra, Ms. Berkley, Mr. Berman, Mr. Bishop of New York, Mr.
Blumenauer, Mr. Boehlert, Mr. Boucher, Ms. Corrine Brown of Florida,
Mr. Brown of Ohio, Mr. Cardin, Ms. Carson of Indiana, Mrs. Capps, Mr.
Clay, Mr. Costello, Mr. Crowley, Mr. Cummings, Mr. Davis of Florida,
Mrs. Davis of California, Mr. DeFazio, Ms. DeGette, Ms. DeLauro, Mr.
Delahunt, Mr. Deutsch, Mr. Doggett, Mr. Engel, Ms. Eshoo, Mr.
Etheridge, Mr. Evans, Mr. Farr, Mr. Fattah, Mr. Filner, Mr. Frank of
Massachusetts, Mr. Frelinghuysen, Mr. Ford, Mr. Gephardt, Mr. Grijalva,
Mr. Gutierrez, Ms. Harman, Mr. Hastings of Florida, Mr. Hill, Mr.
Hinchey, Mr. Hoeffel, Mr. Holt, Mr. Honda, Ms. Hooley of Oregon, Mr.
Inslee, Mr. Israel, Mr. Jackson of Illinois, Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson
of Texas, Mrs. Jones of Ohio, Mr. Kennedy of Rhode Island, Mr. Kildee,
Mr. Kleczka, Mr. Kucinich, Mr. Langevin, Mr. Lantos, Mr. Leach, Ms.
Lee, Mr. Levin, Ms. Lofgren, Mrs. Lowey, Mr. Lynch, Mrs. Maloney, Mr.
Matsui, Mrs. McCarthy of New York, Ms. McCarthy of Missouri, Ms.
McCollum, Mr. McDermott, Mr. McGovern, Mr. McNulty, Mr. Meehan, Mr.
Meeks of New York, Mr. Menendez, Mr. Michaud, Ms. Millender-McDonald,
Mr. Miller of North Carolina, Mr. George Miller of California, Mr.
Moran of Virginia, Mr. Nadler, Mrs. Napolitano, Mr. Neal of
Massachusetts, Ms. Norton, Mr. Obey, Mr. Olver, Mr. Owens, Mr. Pallone,
Mr. Pascrell, Mr. Pastor, Mr. Payne, Mr. Price of North Carolina, Mr.
Rangel, Mr. Rothman, Ms. Roybal-Allard, Mr. Sabo, Ms. Linda T. Sanchez
of California, Ms. Loretta Sanchez of California, Mr. Sanders, Ms.
Schakowsky, Mr. Schiff, Mr. Scott of Virginia, Mr. Serrano, Mr. Shays,
Mr. Sherman, Ms. Slaughter, Mr. Smith of New Jersey, Mr. Snyder, Ms.
Solis, Mr. Spratt, Mr. Stark, Mrs. Tauscher, Mr. Tierney, Mr. Towns,
Mr. Udall of Colorado, Mr. Udall of New Mexico, Ms. Velazquez, Mr. Van
Hollen, Mr. Visclosky, Ms. Watson, Mr. Watt, Mr. Waxman, Mr. Weiner,
Mr. Wexler, Ms. Woolsey, and Mr. Wu) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on 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 ``Morris K. Udall Arctic Wilderness
Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND STATEMENT OF POLICY.
(a) Findings.--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) Congress strengthened the protective management of the
Eisenhower-designated area in 1980 with the enactment of the
Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (Public Law 96-
487; 94 Stat. 2371), section 303(2) of which established the
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, more than doubled the size of
the wildlife refuge, and extended 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) 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.
(8) The extension of full wilderness protection for the
Arctic coastal plain within the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
will still leave 95 percent of the North Slope of Alaska
without such wilderness protection, so that development of
energy resources in Alaska can 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.--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'', dated October 28, 1991, and available for inspection in
the offices of the Secretary of the Interior, is hereby designated as
wilderness and, therefore, as a component of the National Wilderness
Preservation System.
(b) Administration.--The area designated as wilderness under
subsection (a) shall be administered by the Secretary of the Interior
in accordance with the provisions of 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.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR E258-259)
Referred to the House Committee on Resources.
Committee Hearings Held.
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