S. HRG. 105±840 WILDLIFE CONSERVATION LEGISLATION HEARING BEFORE THE COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS UNITED STATES SENATE ONE HUNDRED FIFTH CONGRESS SECOND SESSION JULY 7, 1998 S. 263, BEAR PROTECTION ACT S. 361, RHINO AND TIGER PRODUCT LABELING ACT H.R. 2807, RHINO AND TIGER PRODUCT LABELING ACT H.R. 3113, RHINOCEROS AND TIGER CONSERVATION REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 1998 S. 659, GREAT LAKES FISH AND WILDLIFE RESTORATION ACT OF 1997 S. 1970, NEOTROPICAL MIGRATORY BIRD CONSERVATION ACT OF 1998 S. 2094, FISH AND WILDLIFE REVENUE ENHANCEMENT ACT OF 1998 S. 2244, NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE SYSTEM VOLUNTEER AND PARTNERSHIP ACT OF 1998 Printed for the use of the Committee on Environment and Public Works ( U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 52±302 CC WASHINGTON : 1999 For sale by the U.S. Government Printing Office Superintendent of Documents, Congressional Sales Office, Washington DC 20402 COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS JOHN H. CHAFEE, Rhode Island, Chairman JOHN W. WARNER, Virginia MAX BAUCUS, Montana ROBERT SMITH, New Hampshire DANIEL PATRICK MOYNIHAN, New York DIRK KEMPTHORNE, Idaho FRANK R. LAUTENBERG, New Jersey JAMES M. INHOFE, Oklahoma HARRY REID, Nevada CRAIG THOMAS, Wyoming BOB GRAHAM, Florida CHRISTOPHER S. BOND, Missouri JOSEPH I. LIEBERMAN, Connecticut TIM HUTCHINSON, Arkansas BARBARA BOXER, California WAYNE ALLARD, Colorado RON WYDEN, Oregon JEFF SESSIONS, Alabama JIMMIE POWELL, Staff Director J. THOMAS SLITER, Minority Staff Director (II) CONTENTS JULY 7, 1998 Page OPENING STATEMENTS Allard, Hon. Wayne, U.S. Senator from the State of Colorado ............................ 4 Baucus, Hon. Max, U.S. Senator from the State of Montana .............................. 3 Chafee, Hon. John H., U.S. Senator from the State of Rhode Island ................. 1 Graham, Hon. Bob, U.S. Senator from the State of Florida ................................ 25 Kempthorne, Hon. Dirk, U.S. Senator from the State of Idaho ........................... 6 Letter from Stephen P. Mealey, director, Idaho Fish & Game ..................... 7 List, International Investments for Migratory Bird Conservation ............... 8 Lautenberg, Hon. Frank, U.S. Senator from the State of New Jersey ............... 25 Moynihan, Hon. Daniel Patrick, U.S. Senator from the State of New York ...... 24 WITNESSES Crane, Thomas, program manager, Great Lakes Commission ............................ 45 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 109 Hemley, Ginette, Vice President for Species Conservation, World Wildlife Fund ...................................................................................................................... 33 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 66 Report, While Supplies Last, The Sale of Tiger and Other Endangered Species Medicines in North America, TRAFFIC North America .............. 73 Krival, Molly, past president, ``Ding'' Darling Wildlife Society ............................ 41 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 105 Pacelle, Wayne, senior vice president, the Humane Society of the United States .................................................................................................................... 35 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 94 Rogers, Hon. John, Deputy Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ................. 26 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 54 Vehrs, Kristin, deputy director, American Zoo and Aquarium Association ........ 38 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 101 Taylor, Gary, legislative director, International Association of Fish and Wild- life Agencies .......................................................................................................... 43 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 106 ADDITIONAL MATERIAL Statements: Abraham, Hon. Spencer, U.S. Senator from the State of Michigan ............. 49 Beard, Dan, senior vice president, National Audubon Society ..................... 112 Daschle, Hon. Thomas A., U.S. Senator from the State of South Dakota ... 48 Glenn, Hon. John, U.S. Senator from the State of Ohio ............................... 48 McConnell, Hon. Mitch, U.S. Senator from the Commonwealth of Ken- tucky .............................................................................................................. 50 Mills, David R., chairman of the Board of County Commissioners of Sarasota County, FL ..................................................................................... 113 Texts of bills: S. 263, Bear Protection Act .............................................................................. 116 S. 361, Rhino and Tiger Product Labeling Act .............................................. 122 H.R. 2807, Rhino and Tiger Product Labeling Act ........................................ 144 H.R. 3113, Rhinoceros and Tiger Conservation Reauthorization Act .......... 151 S. 659, Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Restoration Act ................................ 153 S. 1970, Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act ................................. 126 (iii) iv Page Texts of billsÐContinued S. 2094, Fish and Wildlife Revenue Enhancement Act ................................. 139 S. 2244, National Wildlife Refuge System Volunteer and Partnership Enhancement Act .......................................................................................... 166 WILDLIFE CONSERVATION LEGISLATION TUESDAY, JULY 7, 1998 U.S. SENATE, COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS, Washington, DC. The committee met, pursuant to notice, at 9 a.m. in room 406, Senate Dirksen Building, Hon. John H. Chafee (chairman of the committee) presiding. Present: Senators Chafee, Allard, and Baucus. OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. JOHN H. CHAFEE, U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF RHODE ISLAND Senator CHAFEE. The committee will come to order. Good morning. We have a full order of business before us today. We will hear testimony on eight bills relating to the conservation of fish and wildlife. While all the bills seek to further conservation efforts here in the United States and abroad, they do so through a variety of mechanisms including financial, administrative, sci- entific, and enforcement programs. There is a broad spectrum of views on these bills. Some range from avid enthusiasm and support to stiff opposition. And the wit- nesses for today's hearings will cover this spectrum. Most of the witnesses will speak on several bills, given that their expertise cov- ers different bills or related topics. I hope that the witnesses will also provide recommendations for changes that they believe will improve the bills. With the array of bills before us, I'm just going to spend a minute summarizing each of them. Now, I note that our order isn't the same as listed here on the sheet before us that the committee has, but this is the way they are going to come up, is my under- standing. The first is S. 2094, the Fish and Wildlife Revenue Enhancement Act of 1998, introduced by Senator Allard. I am a cosponsor of that as are several others. This bill would authorize revenues from the sale of items derived from fish and wildlife to go to the Fish and Wildlife Service rather than into the general treasury. It would also allow the Fish and Wildlife Service to use the revenues to cover the cost of shipping, storing, and disposing of these items, which include: loans to schools, museums, zoos, and Native Ameri- cans for educational and religious purposes. The bill would not change existing law which prohibits the sale of items made from threatened or endangered species, marine mammals, or migratory birds. (1) 2 The second bill, S. 2244, the National Wildlife Refuge System Volunteer and Partnership Enhancement Act of 1998, was intro- duced by me and cosponsored by 14 of my colleagues. This bill pro- motes volunteer activities, individual donations, partnership pro- grams, and education programs connected with the National Wild- life Refuge System. The Refuge System has a long history of rely- ing on volunteers, with about 25,000 volunteers currently perform- ing 20 percent of all the work done on the Refuge System. The third topic relates to protection of rhinos and tigers. There are three bills pending before the committee, two entitled the Rhino and Tiger Product Labeling Act, S. 361 and H.R. 2807, and one, H.R. 3113, to reauthorize the Rhinoceros and Tiger Conserva- tion Act of 1994. S. 361 was introduced by Senator Jeffords, and that would amend the Endangered Species Act to prohibit the import and ex- port of any product labelled as containing species listed as endan- gered under the Endangered Species Act or listed in Appendix I of CITES. Senator Jeffords has expressed a desire to conform his bill to the House bill, which is H.R. 2807. This bill would amend the Rhino and Tiger Conservation Act rather than the Endangered Species Act to prohibit the sale, import, and export of products in- tended for human consumption and claiming to contain rhino or tiger parts. In addition, H.R. 2807 would provide for civil and criminal penalties for any person violating this prohibition, and for authority for forfeitures of