National Wildlife Refuge System Volunteer and Community Partnership Enhancement Act of 1998

PUBLIC LAW 105–242—OCT. 5, 1998

NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE SYSTEM
VOLUNTEER AND COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP
ENHANCEMENT ACT OF 1998

112 STAT. 1574

PUBLIC LAW 105–242—OCT. 5, 1998

Public Law 105–242
105th Congress
An Act
Oct. 5, 1998
[H.R. 1856]

National Wildlife
Refuge System
Volunteer and
Community
Partnership
Enhancement
Act of 1998.
16 USC 742a
note.
16 USC 742f
note.

To amend the Fish and Wildlife Act of 1956 to promote volunteer programs and
community partnerships for the benefit of national wildlife refuges, and for other
purposes.

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 ‘‘National Wildlife Refuge System
Volunteer and Community Partnership Enhancement Act of 1998’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that—
(1) the National Wildlife Refuge System (referred to in
this Act as the ‘‘System’’), consisting of more than 500 refuges
and 93,000,000 acres, plays an integral role in the protection
of the natural resources of the United States;
(2) the National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act
of 1997 (Public Law 105–57; 111 Stat. 1252) significantly
improved the law governing the System, although the financial
resources for implementing this law and managing the System
remain limited;
(3) by encouraging volunteer programs and donations, and
facilitating non-Federal partnerships with refuges, Federal
funding for the refuges can be supplemented and the System
can fully benefit from the amendments made by the National
Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997; and
(4) by encouraging refuge educational programs, public
awareness of the resources of the System and public participation in the conservation of those resources can be promoted.
(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are—
(1) to encourage the use of volunteers to assist the United
States Fish and Wildlife Service in the management of refuges
within the System;
(2) to facilitate partnerships between the System and nonFederal entities to promote public awareness of the resources
of the System and public participation in the conservation
of those resources; and
(3) to encourage donations and other contributions by persons and organizations to the System.
SEC. 3. GIFTS TO PARTICULAR NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGES.

Section 7(b)(2) of the Fish and Wildlife Act of 1956 (16 U.S.C.
742f (b)(2)) is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘(2) Any’’ and inserting the following:

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112 STAT. 1575

‘‘(2) USE OF GIFTS, DEVISES, AND BEQUESTS.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Any’’; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(B) GIFTS, DEVISES, AND BEQUESTS TO PARTICULAR
REFUGES.—
‘‘(i) DISBURSAL.—Any gift, devise, or bequest made
for the benefit of a particular national wildlife refuge
or complex of geographically related refuges shall be
disbursed only for the benefit of that refuge or complex
of refuges and without further appropriations.
‘‘(ii) MATCHING.—Subject to the availability of
appropriations and the requirements of the National
Wildlife Refuge Administration Act of 1966 (16 U.S.C.
668dd et seq.) and other applicable law, the Secretary
may provide funds to match gifts, devises, and bequests
made for the benefit of a particular national wildlife
refuge or complex of geographically related refuges.
With respect to each gift, devise, or bequest, the
amount of Federal funds may not exceed the amount
(or, in the case of property or in-kind services, the
fair market value) of the gift, devise, or bequest.’’.
SEC. 4. VOLUNTEER ENHANCEMENT.

(a) PILOT PROJECTS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the availability of appropriations, the Secretary of the Interior shall carry out a pilot
project at 2 or more national wildlife refuges or complexes
of geographically related refuges in each United States Fish
and Wildlife Service region, but not more than 20 pilot projects
nationwide.
(2) VOLUNTEER COORDINATOR.—Each pilot project shall provide for the employment of a full-time volunteer coordinator
for the refuge or complex of geographically related refuges.
The volunteer coordinator shall be responsible for recruiting,
training, and supervising volunteers. The volunteer coordinator
may be responsible for assisting partner organizations in developing projects and programs under cooperative agreements
under section 7(d) of the Fish and Wildlife Act of 1956 (as
added by section 5) and coordinating volunteer activities with
partner organizations to carry out the projects and programs.
(3) REPORT.—Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior shall submit
a report to the Committee on Resources of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Environment and Public
Works of the Senate evaluating and making recommendations
regarding the pilot projects.
(4) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this subsection $2,000,000
for each of fiscal years 1999 through 2002.
(b) AWARDS AND RECOGNITION FOR VOLUNTEERS.—Section
7(c)(2) of the Fish and Wildlife Act of 1956 (16 U.S.C. 742f (c)(2))
is amended—
(1) by inserting ‘‘awards (including nominal cash awards)
and recognition,’’ after ‘‘lodging,’’; and
(2) by inserting ‘‘without regard to their places of residence’’
after ‘‘volunteers’’.

16 USC 742f
note.

Deadline.

112 STAT. 1576

PUBLIC LAW 105–242—OCT. 5, 1998

(c) SENIOR VOLUNTEER CORPS.—Section 7(c) of the Fish and
Wildlife Act of 1956 (16 U.S.C. 742f (c)) is amended by striking
paragraph (6) and inserting the following:
‘‘(6) SENIOR VOLUNTEER CORPS.—The Secretary of the
Interior may establish a Senior Volunteer Corps, consisting
of volunteers over the age of 50. To assist in the recruitment
and retention of the volunteers, the Secretary may provide
for additional incidental expenses to members of the Corps
beyond the incidental expenses otherwise provided to volunteers
under this subsection. The members of the Corps shall be
subject to the other provisions of this subsection.’’.
SEC. 5. COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP ENHANCEMENT.

Section 7 of the Fish and Wildlife Act of 1956 (16 U.S.C.
742f ) is amended by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(d) COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP ENHANCEMENT.—
‘‘(1) DEFINITION OF PARTNER ORGANIZATION.—In this subsection, the term ‘partner organization’ means an organization
that—
‘‘(A) draws its membership from private individuals,
organizations, corporations, academic institutions, or State
or local governments;
‘‘(B) is established to promote the understanding of,
education relating to, and the conservation of the fish,
wildlife, plants, and cultural and historical resources of
a particular refuge or complex of geographically related
refuges; and
‘‘(C) is described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986 and is exempt from taxation under
section 501(a) of that Code.
‘‘(2) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Interior may
enter into a cooperative agreement (within the meaning
of chapter 63 of title 31, United States Code) with any
partner organization, academic institution, or State or local
government agency to carry out 1 or more projects or
programs for a refuge or complex of geographically related
refuges in accordance with this subsection.
‘‘(B) PROJECTS AND PROGRAMS.—Subject to the requirements of the National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 1966 (16 U.S.C. 668dd et seq.) and other
applicable law, and such terms and conditions as the Secretary determines to be appropriate, the Secretary may
approve projects and programs for a refuge or complex
of geographically related refuges that—
‘‘(i) promote the stewardship of resources of the
refuge through habitat maintenance, restoration, and
improvement, biological monitoring, or research;
‘‘(ii) support the operation and maintenance of the
refuge through constructing, operating, maintaining,
or improving the facilities and services of the refuge;
‘‘(iii) increase awareness and understanding of the
refuge and the National Wildlife Refuge System
through the development, publication, or distribution
of educational materials and products;
‘‘(iv) advance education concerning the purposes
of the refuge and the mission of the System through

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112 STAT. 1577

the use of the refuge as an outdoor classroom and
development of other educational programs; or
‘‘(v) contribute financial resources to the refuge,
under terms that require that the net revenues be
used exclusively for the benefit of the refuge, through
donation of net revenues from the sale of educational
materials and products and through encouragement
of gifts, devises, and bequests.
‘‘(C) FEDERAL FUNDING AND OWNERSHIP.—
‘‘(i) MATCHING.—Subject to the availability of
appropriations and the requirements of the National
Wildlife Refuge Administration Act of 1966 (16 U.S.C.
668dd et seq.) and other applicable law, the Secretary
may provide funds to match non-Federal funds donated
under a cooperative agreement under this paragraph.
With respect to each project or program, the amount
of funds provided by the Secretary may not exceed
the amount of the non-Federal funds donated through
the project or program.
‘‘(ii) USE OF FEDERAL FUNDS.—Any Federal funds
used to fund a project or program under a cooperative
agreement may be used only for expenses directly
related to the project or program and may not be
used for operation or administration of any non-Federal
entity.
‘‘(iii) OWNERSHIP OF FACILITIES.—Any new facility,
improvement to an existing facility, or other permanent
improvement to a refuge constructed under this subsection shall be the property of the United States
Government.
‘‘(D) TREASURY ACCOUNT.—Amounts received by the
Secretary of the Interior as a result of projects and programs under subparagraph (B) shall be deposited in a
separate account in the Treasury. Amounts in the account
that are attributable to activities at a particular refuge
or complex of geographically related refuges shall be available to the Secretary of the Interior, without further appropriation, to pay the costs of incidental expenses related
to volunteer activities, and to carry out cooperative agreements for the refuge or complex of refuges.’’.
SEC. 6. REFUGE EDUCATION PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT.

Section 7 of the Fish and Wildlife Act of 1956 (16 U.S.C.
742f ) (as amended by section 5) is amended by adding at the
end the following:
‘‘(e) REFUGE EDUCATION PROGRAM ENHANCEMENT.—
‘‘(1) GUIDANCE.—Not later than 1 year after the date of
enactment of this subsection, the Secretary of the Interior shall
develop guidance for refuge education programs to further the
mission of the National Wildlife Refuge System and the purposes of individual refuges through—
‘‘(A) providing outdoor classroom opportunities for students on national wildlife refuges that combine educational
curricula with the personal experiences of students relating
to fish, wildlife, and plants and their habitat and to the
cultural and historical resources of the refuges;

Deadline.

112 STAT. 1578

PUBLIC LAW 105–242—OCT. 5, 1998
‘‘(B) promoting understanding and conservation of fish,
wildlife, and plants and cultural and historical resources
of the refuges; and
‘‘(C) improving scientific literacy in conjunction with
both formal and nonformal education programs.
‘‘(2) REFUGE PROGRAMS.—Based on the guidance developed
under paragraph (1), the Secretary of the Interior may develop
or enhance refuge education programs as appropriate, based
on the resources of individual refuges and the opportunities
available for such programs in State, local, and private schools.
In developing and implementing each program, the Secretary
should cooperate with State and local education authorities,
and may cooperate with partner organizations in accordance
with subsection (d).’’.

SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

Section 7 of the Fish and Wildlife Act of 1956 (16 U.S.C.
742f ) (as amended by section 6) is amended by adding at the
end the following:
‘‘(f ) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is authorized
to be appropriated to the Secretary of the Interior to carry out
subsections (b), (c), (d), and (e) $2,000,000 for each of fiscal years
1999 through 2004.’’.
Approved October 5, 1998.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY—H.R. 1856:
HOUSE REPORTS: No. 105–329 (Comm. on Resources).
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD:
Vol. 143 (1997): Nov. 4, considered and passed House.
Vol. 144 (1998): Sept. 11, considered and passed Senate, amended.
Sept. 18, House concurred in Senate amendments.

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