Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 117.djvu/1447

 117 STAT. 1428

PUBLIC LAW 108–136—NOV. 24, 2003

(d) DEFENSE INSPECTOR GENERAL.—Funds are hereby authorized to be appropriated for the Department of Defense for fiscal year 2004 for expenses, not otherwise provided for, for the Office of the Inspector General of the Department of Defense, $162,449,000, of which— (1) $160,049,000 is for Operation and Maintenance; (2) $2,100,000 is for Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation; and (3) $300,000 is for Procurement.

Subtitle B—Environmental Provisions SEC. 311. REAUTHORIZATION AND MODIFICATION OF TITLE I OF SIKES ACT.

(a) REAUTHORIZATION.—Section 108 of the Sikes Act (16 U.S.C. 670f) is amended by striking ‘‘fiscal years 1998 through 2003’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘fiscal years 2004 through 2008’’. (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING SECTION 107.—(1) Congress finds the following: (A) The Department of Defense maintains over 25,000,000 acres of valuable fish and wildlife habitat on approximately 400 military installations nationwide. (B) These lands contain a wealth of plant and animal life, vital wetlands for migratory birds, and nearly 300 federally listed threatened species and endangered species. (C) Increasingly, land surrounding military bases are being developed with residential and commercial infrastructure that fragments fish and wildlife habitat and decreases its ability to support a diversity of species. (D) Comprehensive conservation plans, such as integrated natural resource management plans under the Sikes Act (16 U.S.C. 670 et seq.), can ensure that these ecosystem values can be protected and enhanced while allowing these lands to meet the needs of military operations. (E) Section 107 of the Sikes Act (16 U.S.C. 670e–2) requires sufficient numbers of professionally trained natural resources management personnel and natural resources law enforcement personnel to be available and assigned responsibility to perform tasks necessary to carry out title I of the Sikes Act, including the preparation and implementation of integrated natural resource management plans. (F) Managerial and policymaking functions performed by Department of Defense on-site professionally trained natural resource management personnel on military installations are appropriate governmental functions. (G) Professionally trained civilian biologists in permanent Federal Government career managerial positions are essential to oversee fish and wildlife and natural resource conservation programs and are essential to the conservation of wildlife species on military land. (2) It is the sense of Congress that the Secretary of Defense should take whatever steps are necessary to ensure that section 107 of the Sikes Act (16 U.S.C. 670e–2) is fully implemented consistent with the findings made in paragraph (1).

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