16 U.S.C. § 742f : US Code - Section 742F: Powers of Secretaries of the Interior and Commerce

Search 16 U.S.C. § 742f : US Code - Section 742F: Powers of Secretaries of the Interior and Commerce

(a) Policies, procedures, and recommendations
The Secretary of the Interior, with such advice and assistance as
he may require from the Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife,
shall consider and determine the policies and procedures that are
necessary and desirable in carrying out efficiently and in the
public interest the laws relating to fish and wildlife. The
Secretary, with the assistance of the departmental staff herein
authorized, shall -
(1) develop and recommend measures which are appropriate to
assure the maximum sustainable production of fish and fishery
products and to prevent unnecessary and excessive fluctuations in
such production;
(2) study the economic condition of the industry, and whenever
he determines that any segment of the domestic fisheries has been
seriously disturbed either by wide fluctuation in the abundance
of the resource supporting it, or by unstable market or fishing
conditions or due to any other factors he shall make such
recommendations to the President and the Congress as he deems
appropriate to aid in stabilizing the domestic fisheries;
(3) develop and recommend special promotional and informational
activities with a view to stimulating the consumption of fishery
products whenever he determines that there is a prospective or
actual surplus of such products; and
(4) take such steps as may be required for the development,
advancement, management, conservation, and protection of fish and
wildlife resources including, but not limited to, research,
development of existing facilities, and acquisition by purchase
or exchange of land and water, or interests therein.
(b) Gifts, devises, or bequests for performance of activities and
services of United States Fish and Wildlife Service; restrictive
or affirmative covenants or conditions of servitude; separate
account in Treasury; disbursement orders; gifts or bequests to
United States for Federal tax purposes
(1) In furtherance of the purposes of this Act, the Secretary of
the Interior is authorized to accept any gifts, devises, or
bequests of real and personal property, or proceeds therefrom, or
interests therein, for the benefit of the United States Fish and
Wildlife Service, in performing its activities and services. Such
acceptance may be subject to the terms of any restrictive or
affirmative covenant, or condition of servitude, if such terms are
deemed by the Secretary to be in accordance with law and compatible
with the purpose for which acceptance is sought.
(2) Use of gifts, devises, and bequests. -
(A) In general. - Any gifts and bequests of money and proceeds
from the sales of other property received as gifts or bequests
pursuant to this subsection shall be deposited in a separate
account in the Treasury and shall be disbursed upon order of the
Secretary for the benefit of programs administered by the United
States Fish and Wildlife Service.
(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.
(3) For the purpose of Federal income, estate, and gift taxes,
property, or proceeds therefrom, or interests therein, accepted
under this subsection shall be considered as a gift or bequest to
the United States.
(c) Volunteer services; incidental expenses; Federal employee
status; authorization of appropriations
(1) The Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Commerce
may each recruit, train, and accept, without regard to the
provisions of title 5, the services of individuals without
compensation as volunteers for, or in aid of programs conducted by
either Secretary through the United States Fish and Wildlife
Service or the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
(2) The Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Commerce
are each authorized to provide for incidental expenses such as
transportation, uniforms, lodging, awards (including nominal cash
awards) and recognition, and subsistence of such volunteers without
regard to their places of residence.
(3) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, a volunteer
shall not be deemed a Federal employee and shall not be subject to
the provisions of law relating to Federal employment, including
those relative to hours of work, rates of compensation, leave,
unemployment compensation, and Federal employee benefits.
(4) For the purpose of the tort claim provisions of title 28, a
volunteer under this subsection shall be considered a Federal
employee.
(5) For the purposes of subchapter I of chapter 81 of title 5,
relating to compensation to Federal employees for work injuries,
volunteers under this subsection shall be deemed employees of the
United States within the meaning of the term "employees" as defined
in section 8101 of title 5, and the provisions of that subchapter
shall apply.
(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.
(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 title 26 and is
exempt from taxation under section 501(a) of that title.
(2) Cooperative agreements
(A) In general
Notwithstanding chapter 63 of title 31, the Secretary of the
Interior may negotiate and enter into a cooperative agreement
with a partner organization, academic institution, State or
local government agency, or other person to implement one or
more projects or programs for a refuge or complex of
geographically related refuges in accordance with the purposes
of this subsection and in compliance with the policies of other
relevant authorities, regulations, and policy guidance.
(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 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.
(e) Refuge education program enhancement
(1) Guidance
Not later than 1 year after October 5, 1998, 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;
(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) of this section.
(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) of this
section $2,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2004 through 2009.