Clarification of Legislative Intent on Santa Rosa Island

Floor Speech

CLARIFICATION OF LEGISLATIVE INTENT ON SANTA ROSA ISLAND -- (Extensions of Remarks - May 14, 2007)

* Mr. HUNTER. Madam Speaker, after reading an opinion from the Department of the Interior Solicitor, I feel compelled to clarify the intent of Section 1077 (c) of P.L. 109-364. While others may misinterpret and even distort the actual impact of this language upon the healthy Kaibab Mule Deer and Roosevelt Elk herds that are currently living on Santa Rosa island, I want to make clear this section's intent is to protect both herds from extermination. It is just that simple and it does not do anything more narrow or broad. Nothing could emphasize this intent more clearly than Conference Report 109-702's explanation that Section 1077 was intended to ``prohibit the Secretary of the Interior from exterminating or nearly exterminating the deer and elk on the island.''

* Clearly, when this provision became law, it directed the National Park Service (NPS) to allow the deer and elk that have thrived on Santa Rosa Island to remain on the Island beyond 2011--the last year of the term within the settlement agreement. The use of helicopters is included within the settlement agreement and referenced by Section 1077(c) as it is likely the most effective way to conduct an extermination program. Section 1077(c) was not intended to prohibit only that method of extermination. These beautiful and healthy animals should remain on the island for visitors to enjoy. They should not be ruthlessly and systematically destroyed for some ill-conceived notion of native versus non-native, as others advocate.

* The Solicitor has acted inappropriately by pulling a theory of congressional intent out of the air. Clearly, the intent of the language was not to ``preclude the Department of the Interior from participating in any plan approved in the settlement agreement.'' In fact, the language, which is now law, was intended to do what it clearly states: (1) vitiate the settlement agreement with respect to the deer and elk draw-down and eradication plan and (2) allow the elk and deer to remain on Santa Rosa Island indefinitely. I want to highlight the intent of allowing the deer to remain on the Island and make it clear that means these herds must be left to live on Santa Rosa Island. The congressional intent ofthis section was not to protect them only from slaughter, but also to protect them from relocation.

* I must add, I find it deeply troubling that the administration, when testifying against the same provision before the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources on May 16, 2006, testified that this provision would, ``..... require the Secretary of the Interior to stop the plan to remove the deer and elk from the island as required by a court-ordered settlement agreement. This provision would effectively overturn the 1998 settlement agreement, that the NPS is legally bound to, that requires the phase-out of non-native deer and elk over several years and their complete removal from the Island by the end of 2011.'' I am bewildered why such an about-face has been made on a provision that is identical to the current law provision, having just passed the House of Representatives.

* In closing, I hope this statement clarifies the intent of both P.L. 109-364 and the accompanying Conference Report 109-702. Both are clear on their face, but as the lead House negotiator of the Conference Committee of H.R. 5122, I felt it important to clear up any uncertainty brought forward by interpretations following a short-sighted agenda. This important conservation provision must stand and be properly interpreted so that the elk and deer are not slaughtered. Simply restated, it would be a tragedy to have these healthy populations of elk and mule deer exterminated from public lands to forward a misguided agenda of what belongs on Santa Rosa Island. Section 1077(c) is intended to prevent such eradication carried out by NPS or other parties to the settlement agreement.

* My intent was clearly for the elk and deer herds to remain on Santa Rosa. This intent was clearly manifested in my numerous floor and committee statements in which I described my intent that wounded veterans are to be allowed to hunt these animals following the transfer of Santa Rosa from private ownership. My committee and floor statements regarding Santa Rosa Island, particularly floor statements made on December 16, 2005, and May 10, 2006, demonstrate this intent.

* I also discussed the Santa Rosa provision with CNN's Anderson Cooper on June 13, 2006. A transcript of the interview follows:

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REP. DUNCAN HUNTER, (R) CALIFORNIA: I was driving south with a bunch of marines, some guys fresh back from Iraq and one of them said, there's Santa Rosa Island and they're going to close it and they're going to wipe out the entire deer and elk herd.

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HUNTER: Well, let me--let's put this in context. My son, who's a marine, did a couple of tours in Iraq and when he came back, he and I started taking wounded marines and soldiers hunting. We went to Arizona, Colorado, lots of good places. We had one hunt we took a person with a spinal disability. That is, a paralyzed veteran into Colorado, into the big national forest. And it's very difficult for them to have a real quality experience. Now, this island, Santa Rosa Island, which is off the California coast, which is 52,000 acres, has a very small number of public visitors. About 15 a day from the statistics I've seen.

COOPER: But the reason that there are only 15, the national park says about 5,000 people a year visit Santa Rosa Island. The reason more people aren't able to do it is because they can only visit about 10 percent of the island for half the year because of this hunting. If you close down the hunting, then the whole island basically would be open to visitors and to taxpayers who paid for it.

HUNTER: Listen, here's all we want. All we want is about two weeks a year for the paralyzed veterans to come over. I would be happy to stipulate that no congressman come over, no VIPs. Only people who are paralyzed veterans, who are very disabled veterans. And actually the reason most people don't go over to Santa Rosa Island is because it's a major boat trip or a plane trip. And tourists who are driving down the coast of California don't want to take a plane or a boat to simply get to another island. So we could easily accommodate the paralyzed veterans, they could have a great time. They could have the adventure of a lifetime.

And you know something, they may be wheelchair-bound but their spirits are free, they like adventure. This is a great place to take your family. And this could be a special niche for those people. And you know something else, the people of the United States, if the taxpayers knew that this was going to be used by paralyzed veterans, they'd say fine.

This is the park service that says, we want to wipe out this deer and elk herd because they're not native. They just want to do it because they've got the power to do it. They could easily accommodate our veterans.

COOPER: Is this the role of a national park? The national park service which runs this, basically would be subsidizing a hunting program. They say and critics say, look, there are other places for people with disabilities to hunt. We talked to the Paralyzed Veterans Association they say you know some states even allow those with disabilities to hunt from their cars.

HUNTER: Listen, the reason the national park people have their nice jobs and the reasons we as members of the American public get to enjoy national parks is because of people who wear uniforms who go out in dangerous parts of the world and secure our freedom. So let in some paralyzed veterans, many of whom have been injured in combat, to come have a small piece of this island that almost nobody goes to anyway, is a small repayment for their service to our country. I think the taxpayers would appreciate that.

COOPER: Congressman Hunter, appreciate you joining us, thanks.

* Lastly, a letter provided by the Wounded Warrior Project reaffirms discussions and the intent to allow wounded and disabled veterans to enjoy Santa Rosa Island. The letter follows:

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