(8) Reimburse the Department of Labor, Bureau of Employees Compensation for payments made to Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife emplovees, $41,089.

Need for Increase: (1) Preservation of Steamboat Bertrand, $-31,000 and an increase of one position. In FY 1970 a supplemental appropriation of $105,000 was approved for the preservation of the Steamer Bertrand. This project is a joint project with this Bureau and the National Park Service. The level of the program in FY 1971 is $74,000 or a reduction of $31,000 from the FY 1970 program level. The $74,000 is needed to finance this special project at the DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge, Nebraska. On April 1, 1865, the "Bertrand" became one of more than 250 steamships to be lost to the Missouri River between 1819 and 1897. In the fall of 1967, two Omaha men requested and obtained a permit from the Government to search for and recover the "Bertrand" which they believed to he located on DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge. A sunken steamboat was located on the refuge in March 1968, and its identity established as the "Bertrand" in November 1968. From that time through the fall of 1969, the ship's cargo was excavated and totals more than two million artifacts.

In April 1969, the Secretary of the Interior's Advisory Board on National Parks, Historic Sites, Buildings and Monuments recognized the boat as having National historical significance. With this recognition, every effort has been and is being expended to insure that the historical value of the boat and its cargo is preserved for the benefit and enjoyment of the American public. Facilities are now under construction at DeSoto Refuge for artifact care and preservation work. Included will be a temporary building which will house laboratory equipment and provide adequate storage space for the voluminous cargo. Arrangements will be made to permit public viewing of the artifacts and the preservation work. It is anticipated that this facility will be completed by May 1970.

Funds requested for the Bertrand are required to conduct a successful and orderly operational program to preserve the artifacts, and to accommodate the intense public interest in the boat. The needs for the Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife are based on the premise that the National Park Service will provide the technical staff for the laboratory operations and the Bureau will largely provide the work facilities, operational costs, and interpretive programs and staff to accommodate the public interest.

In FY 1970, $110,000 was allocated from the National Wildlife Refuge Fund in addition to the $105,000 authorized as a supplemental appropriation from the Management and Investigation of Resources account.

(2) Canal rehabilitation, Mattamuskeet Refuge, $100,000 and two positions. This increase is needed to implement a major rehabilitation project of cleaning the canal system at Mattamuskeet Refuge. Management of this 50,000-acre refuge depends upon controlling water levels in Mattamuskeet Lake, an outstanding waterfowl area. Through the years, drainage canals have become clogged with sediment to the point that controlling water levels is no longer possible. This has retarded drainage of private lands adjacent to the refuge and jeopardized production of valuable crops. There are approximately 37 miles of canals servicing the area, with over 1,700,000 cu. yards of sediment to be removed. The amount requested herein will permit ini-` tiation of the project and dredging at least three miles of canals.

(3) Wilderness studies, $150,000 and seven positions. This increase is needed for seven additional employees necessary to staff the wilderness program. Wilderness studies on 30 refuges covering approximately one million acres were completed during the first 3-year period. Studies on 60 additional refuges covering 25 million acres remain to be completed by September 3, 1974, in compliance with Public Law 88-577.

Earlier projections indicated that $1,000,000 with 31 employees would be needed by

FY 1971 to step up the program sufficiently to meet the rendrements of the Plderness Act. The $150,000 increase requested here will ratse funcing of this rich important program to 42 percent of the operational level helsever remired tr plete the program by September 1974.

(4) Improved service to refuge visitors, $260,9" and six positions. Is increase is needed to upgrade public use and wildlife innerstecore screams of selected refuges. The increase will permit greater efforts toward recreationa management, interpretation, visitor protection and maintenance of puris une factities at high use recreational areas. In 1969, refure visits are expected to reach 17,000,000. Most of the use is concentrated on refures Located near what areas and has been increasing at the rate of about 10 percent each wear. Additional power and services are essential to providing quality outdoor experiences to the increasing numbers of visitors. The fund increase will perniz endowment of six full-time personnel and ten seasonal employees for supervising and servicing the intensified use.

Both the quality and quantity of services for the public at many high-use refuses have been stretched so thin that criticisms are being levied from all areas. It is inconceivable that greater pressures can be sustained without additional supporting services. Greater numbers of visitors intensify safety hazards in areas of high recreational uses. A cutback in the number of refure visitors and the hours of operation will be necessary if minimum supporting services are not provided.

(5) Operation and maintenance of new refuges, $291,- and 14 positions. These funds are required for the operation of nine new refuses to provide minimum staffing and permit a basic management and operation program, and for operation of one refuge formerly funded by appropriations to the Bureau of Reclamation. Funds and positions by refuge follow:

Izembek, Alaska - $45,000. This 415,015-acre range is located near the western end of the Alaska peninsula. Gigantic flights of ducks, geese and shorebirds converge through the area in the spring and fall. The range also supports many large brown bears and herds of Stone's caribou. Vast eelgrass beds provide ideal food for large numbers of black brant, Emperor geese, and lesser Canada geese. Waterfowl population surveys, bear inventories and biological investigation of food resources are essential to effective management. Management of this important area should be initiated in FY 1971.

Kesterson, California - $40,000. As a part of the overall water management program of the Central Valley, California, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation developed the Kesterson Reservoir in the San Joaquin Valley. Under the provisions of the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act, the Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife was given the responsibility of managing a 7,260-acre waterfowl refuge on the reservoir. The formal agreement was signed in April 1969. The staff will consist of one full-time employee.

This refuge will supply feed and resting area for a maximum of 200,000 ducks and