To provide for the establishment of the Western Riverside County Wildlife Refuge.

IB Union Calendar No. 514 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 2956 [Report No. 116–629] To provide for the establishment of the Western Riverside County Wildlife Refuge. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 23, 2019 Mr. CALVERT (for himself, Mr. AGUILAR, and Mr. TAKANO) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources DECEMBER 8, 2020 Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] [For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on May 23, 2019] VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:38 Dec 09, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H2956.RH H2956 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 2956 RH A BILL To provide for the establishment of the Western Riverside County Wildlife Refuge. VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:04 Dec 09, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H2956.RH H2956 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 2956 RH Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. ESTABLISHMENT. 3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Interior (in 4 this Act referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’), acting through the 5 United States Fish and Wildlife Service, shall establish as 6 a national wildlife refuge the lands, waters, and interests 7 therein acquired under section 4. The national wildlife ref- 8 uge shall be known as the Western Riverside County Na- 9 tional Wildlife Refuge (in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Wild- 10 life Refuge’’). 11 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the Wildlife Refuge 12 shall be— 13 (1) to conserve, manage, and restore wildlife 14 habitats for the benefit of present and future genera- 15 tions of Americans; 16 (2) to conserve species listed as threatened or en- 17 dangered under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 18 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) or the California Endangered 19 Species Act (California Fish and Game Code 2050– 20 2068), or which is a covered species under the West- 21 ern Riverside County Multiple Species Habitat Con- 22 servation Plan; 23 (3) to support the recovery and protection of 24 threatened and endangered species under the Endan- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:04 Dec 09, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H2956.RH H2956 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 2956 RH gered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.); 1 and 2 (4) to provide for wildlife habitat connectivity 3 and migratory corridors within the Western Riverside 4 County Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan 5 Area. 6 (c) NOTIFICATION OF ESTABLISHMENT.—The Sec- 7 retary shall publish notice of the establishment of the Wild- 8 life Refuge in the Federal Register. 9 SEC. 2. BOUNDARIES. 10 The Secretary shall include within the boundaries of 11 the Wildlife Refuge the lands and waters within the Western 12 Riverside County Multiple Species Habitat Conservation 13 Plan Area (as depicted on maps and described in the Final 14 Western Riverside County Multiple Species Habitat Con- 15 servation Plan dated June 17, 2003) that are owned by the 16 Federal Government, a State, or a political subdivision of 17 a State on the date of enactment of this Act. 18 SEC. 3. ADMINISTRATION. 19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Upon the establishment of the Wild- 20 life Refuge and thereafter, the Secretary shall administer 21 all federally owned lands, waters, and interests in the Wild- 22 life Refuge in accordance with the National Wildlife Refuge 23 System Administration Act of 1966 (16 U.S.C. 668dd et 24 seq.) and this Act. The Secretary may use such additional 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:04 Dec 09, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H2956.RH H2956 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 2956 RH statutory authority as may be available to the Secretary 1 for the conservation, management, and restoration of fish 2 and wildlife and natural resources, the development of com- 3 patible wildlife dependent outdoor recreation opportunities, 4 and the facilitation of fish and wildlife interpretation and 5 education as the Secretary considers appropriate to carry 6 out the purposes of this Act and serve the objectives of the 7 Western Riverside County Multiple Species Habitat Con- 8 servation Plan. 9 (b) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS REGARDING NON- 10 FEDERAL LANDS.—The Secretary may enter into coopera- 11 tive agreements with the State of California, any political 12 subdivision thereof, or any other person— 13 (1) for the management, in a manner consistent 14 with this Act and the Western Riverside County Mul- 15 tiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan, of lands 16 that are owned by such State, subdivision, or other 17 person and located within the boundaries of the Wild- 18 life Refuge; 19 (2) to promote public awareness of the natural 20 resources of the Western Riverside County Multiple 21 Species Habitat Conservation Plan Area; or 22 (3) to encourage public participation in the con- 23 servation of those resources. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:04 Dec 09, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H2956.RH H2956 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 2956 RH SEC. 4. ACQUISITION AND TRANSFERS OF LANDS AND 1 WATERS FOR WILDLIFE REFUGE. 2 (a) ACQUISITIONS.—In addition to lands and waters 3 acquired pursuant to section 2, the Secretary may acquire 4 by donation, purchase with donated or appropriated funds, 5 or exchange the lands and water, or interest therein (includ- 6 ing conservation easements), within the boundaries of the 7 Wildlife Refuge, except that the lands, water, and interests 8 therein owned by the State of California and its political 9 subdivisions may be acquired only by donation. 10 (b) TRANSFERS.— 11 (1) IN GENERAL.—The head of any Federal de- 12 partment or agency other than the Department of the 13 Interior that has jurisdiction of any Federal property 14 located within the boundaries of the Wildlife Refuge 15 as described by this Act shall, not later than 1 year 16 after the date of the enactment of this Act, submit to 17 the Secretary an assessment of the suitability of such 18 property for inclusion in the Wildlife Refuge. 19 (2) ASSESSMENT.—Any assessment under para- 20 graph (1) shall include— 21 (A) parcel descriptions and best existing 22 land surveys for such property; 23 (B) a list of existing special reservations, 24 designations, or purposes of the property; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:04 Dec 09, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H2956.RH H2956 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 2956 RH (C) a list of all known or suspected haz- 1 ardous substance contamination of such prop- 2 erty, and any facilities, surface water, or 3 groundwater on such property; 4 (D) the status of withdrawal of such prop- 5 erty from— 6 (i) the Mineral Leasing Act; and 7 (ii) the General Mining Act of 1872; 8 and 9 (E) a recommendation as to whether such 10 property is or is not suitable for inclusion in the 11 Wildlife Refuge. 12 (3) INCLUSION IN WILDLIFE REFUGE.— 13 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall, not 14 later than 60 days after receiving an assessment 15 submitted pursuant to paragraph (1), determine 16 if the property described in such assessment is 17 suitable for inclusion in the Wildlife Refuge. 18 (B) TRANSFER.—If the Secretary deter- 19 mines the property in an assessment submitted 20 under paragraph (1) is suitable for inclusion in 21 the Wildlife Refuge, the head of the Federal de- 22 partment or agency that has jurisdiction of such 23 property shall transfer such property to the ad- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:04 Dec 09, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H2956.RH H2956 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 2956 RH ministrative jurisdiction of the Secretary for the 1 purposes of this Act. 2 (4) PROPERTY UNSUITABLE FOR INCLUSION.— 3 Property determined by the Secretary to be unsuitable 4 for inclusion in the Wildlife Refuge based on an as- 5 sessment submitted under paragraph (1) shall be sub- 6 sequently transferred to the Secretary for purposes of 7 this Act by the head of the department or agency that 8 has jurisdiction of such property if such property be- 9 comes suitable for inclusion in the Wildlife Refuge as 10 determined by the Secretary in consultation with the 11 head of the department or agency that has jurisdic- 12 tion of such property. 13 (5) PUBLIC ACCESS.—If property transferred to 14 the Secretary under this subsection allows for public 15 access at the time of transfer, such access shall be 16 maintained unless such access— 17 (A) would be incompatible with the pur- 18 poses of the Wildlife Refuge; 19 (B) would jeopardize public health or safe- 20 ty; or 21 (C) must be limited due to emergency cir- 22 cumstances. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:04 Dec 09, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H2956.RH H2956 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:04 Dec 09, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H2956.RH H2956 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS Union Calendar No. 514 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 2956 [Report No. 116–629] A BILL To provide for the establishment of the Western Riverside County Wildlife Refuge. DECEMBER 8, 2020 Reported with an amendment, committed to the Com- mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:38 Dec 09, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6651 Sfmt 6651 E:\BILLS\H2956.RH H2956 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS