[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1137 Introduced in House (IH)]
113th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 1137
To authorize the Secretary of the Interior, through the United States
Fish and Wildlife Service, to conduct a Joint Venture Program to
protect, restore, enhance, and manage migratory bird populations, their
habitats, and the ecosystems they rely on, through voluntary actions on
public and private lands, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 13, 2013
Mr. Kind (for himself and Mr. Wittman) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To authorize the Secretary of the Interior, through the United States
Fish and Wildlife Service, to conduct a Joint Venture Program to
protect, restore, enhance, and manage migratory bird populations, their
habitats, and the ecosystems they rely on, through voluntary actions on
public and private lands, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Joint Ventures for Bird Habitat
Conservation Act of 2013''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.
(a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
(1) migratory birds are of great ecological and economic
value to the Nation, contributing to biological diversity,
advancing the well-being of human communities through
pollination, seed dispersal, and other ecosystem services, and
bringing tremendous enjoyment to the tens of millions of
Americans who study, watch, feed, or hunt these birds;
(2) sustainable populations of migratory birds depend on
the conservation, protection, restoration, and enhancement of
terrestrial, wetland, marine, and other aquatic habitats
throughout their ranges in the United States, as well as the
rest of North America, the Caribbean, and Central and South
America;
(3) birds are good indicators of environmental health and
provide early warning of the impacts of environmental change,
helping to yield the most out of every dollar invested in
conservation;
(4) human and environmental stressors are causing the
decline of populations of many migratory bird species, many of
them once common, and climate change will exacerbate the
impacts of these stressors on migratory bird populations;
(5) the coordination of Federal, State, tribal, and local
government natural resource conservation efforts and the
formation of partnerships that include a diversity of
nongovernmental conservation organizations, private landowners,
and other relevant stakeholders is necessary to accomplish the
conservation of migratory bird populations, their habitats, and
the ecosystem functions they rely on;
(6) hunters, through their purchase of Federal migratory
bird hunting stamps and State hunting licenses, have long
supported the conservation of migratory birds and their
habitats in the United States through the various State and
Federal programs that are supported by the fees charged for
such purchases;
(7) the Department of the Interior, through the United
States Fish and Wildlife Service, is authorized under a number
of broad statutes to undertake many activities with partners to
conserve natural resources, including migratory birds and their
habitat;
(8) through these authorities, the Service has created and
supported a number of joint ventures with diverse partners to
help protect, manage, enhance, and restore migratory bird
habitat throughout much of the United States and to conserve
migratory bird species;
(9) the North American Waterfowl Management Plan, adopted
by the United States and Canada in 1986, with Mexico joining as
a signatory in 1994, was the first truly landscape-level
approach to conserving migratory game birds and the wetland
habitats on which they depend, and became the foundation for
the voluntary formation of Joint Ventures;
(10) since the adoption of the North American Waterfowl
Management Plan, joint ventures have expanded their application
to all native birds and other wildlife species that depend on
wetlands and associated upland habitats, resulting in
significant conservation benefits over the last 20 years;
(11) States possess broad trustee and management authority
over fish and wildlife resources within their borders, and have
utilized their authorities to undertake conservation programs
to conserve resident and migratory birds and their habitats;
(12) consistent with applicable Federal and State laws, the
Federal Government and the States each have management
responsibilities affecting fish and wildlife resources, and
should work cooperatively in fulfilling these responsibilities;
(13) other domestic and international conservation projects
authorized under the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation
Act (16 U.S.C. 6101 et seq.) and the North American Wetlands
Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 4401 et seq.), and additional bird
conservation projects authorized under other Federal
authorities, can expand and increase the effectiveness of the
joint ventures in protecting and enhancing migratory bird
habitats throughout the different ranges of species native to
the United States; and
(14) the voluntary partnerships fostered by these joint
ventures have served as innovative models for cooperative and
effective landscape conservation, with far-reaching benefits to
other fish and wildlife populations, and similar joint ventures
should be authorized specifically to reinforce the importance
and multiple benefits of these models to encourage adaptive
resource management and the implementation of flexible
conservation strategies in the 21st century.
(b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to establish a program
administered by the Director, in coordination with other Federal
agencies with management authority over fish and wildlife resources and
the States, to develop, implement, and support innovative, voluntary,
cooperative, and effective conservation strategies and conservation
actions to--
(1) promote, primarily, sustainable populations of
migratory birds, and, secondarily, the fish and wildlife
species associated with their habitats;
(2) encourage stakeholder and government partnerships
consistent with the goals of protecting, improving, and
restoring habitat;
(3) establish, implement, and improve science-based
migratory bird conservation plans and promote and facilitate
broader landscape-level conservation of fish and wildlife
habitat; and
(4) coordinate related conservation activities of the
Service and other Federal agencies to maximize the efficient
and effective use of funds appropriated or otherwise made
available to support projects and activities to enhance bird
populations and other populations of fish and wildlife and
their habitats.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Conservation action.--The term ``conservation action''
means activities that--
(A) support the protection, restoration, adaptive
management, conservation, or enhancement of migratory
bird populations, their terrestrial, wetland, marine,
or other habitats, and other wildlife species supported
by those habitats, including--
(i) biological and geospatial planning;
(ii) landscape and conservation design;
(iii) habitat protection, enhancement, and
restoration;
(iv) monitoring and tracking;
(v) applied research; and
(vi) public outreach and education;
(B) are conducted on lands or waters that--
(i) are administered for the long-term
conservation of such lands or waters and the
migratory birds thereon, including the marine
environment; or
(ii) are not primarily held or managed for
conservation but provide habitat value for
migratory birds; and
(C) incorporate adaptive management and science-
based monitoring, where applicable, to improve outcomes
and ensure efficient and effective use of Federal
funds.
(2) Director.--The term ``Director'' means the Director of
the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.
(3) Implementation plan.--The term ``Implementation Plan''
means an Implementation Plan approved by the Director under
section 5.
(4) Indian tribe.--The term ``Indian tribe'' has the
meaning given that term in section 4 of the Indian Self-
Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b).
(5) Joint venture.--The term ``Joint Venture'' means a
self-directed, voluntary partnership, established and conducted
in accordance with section 5.
(6) Management board.--The term ``Management Board'' means
a Joint Venture Management Board established in accordance with
section 5.
(7) Migratory birds.--The term ``migratory birds'' means
those species included in the list of migratory birds that
appears in section 10.13 of title 50, Code of Federal
Regulations, under the authority of the Migratory Bird Treaty
Act.
(8) Program.--The term ``Program'' means the Joint Ventures
Program conducted in accordance with this Act.
(9) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of the Interior.
(10) Service.--The term ``Service'' means the United States
Fish and Wildlife Service.
(11) State.--The term ``State'' means--
(A) any State of the United States, the District of
Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the
Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of
the Northern Mariana Islands; and
(B) one or more agencies of a State government
responsible under State law for managing fish or
wildlife resources.
SEC. 4. JOINT VENTURES PROGRAM.
(a) In General.--The Secretary shall conduct, through the United
States Fish and Wildlife Service, a Joint Ventures Program administered
by the Director. The Director, through the Program, shall develop an
administrative framework for the approval and establishment and
implementation of Joint Ventures, that--
(1) provides financial and technical assistance to support
regional migratory bird conservation partnerships;
(2) develops and implements plans to protect and enhance
migratory bird populations throughout their range, that are
focused on regional landscapes and habitats that support those
populations;
(3) complements and supports activities by the Secretary
and the Director to fulfill obligations under--
(A) the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (16 U.S.C. 701 et
seq.);
(B) the Migratory Bird Conservation Act (16 U.S.C.
715 et seq.);
(C) the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act
(16 U.S.C. 6101 et seq.);
(D) the North American Wetlands Conservation Act
(16 U.S.C. 4401 et seq.);
(E) the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act of 1980
(16 U.S.C. 2901 et seq.); and
(F) the Partners for Fish and Wildlife Act (16
U.S.C. 3771 et seq.); and
(4) support the goals and objectives of--
(A) the North American Waterfowl Management Plan;
(B) the United States Shorebird Conservation Plan;
(C) the North American Waterbird Conservation Plan;
(D) the Partners in Flight North American Landbird
Conservation Plan; and
(E) other treaties, conventions, agreements, or
strategies entered into by the United States and
implemented by the Secretary that promote the
conservation of migratory bird populations and their
habitats.
(b) Guidelines.--Within 180 days after the date of enactment of
this Act the Secretary, through the Director, shall publish in the
Federal Register guidelines for the implementation of this Act,
including regarding requirements for approval of proposed Joint
Ventures and administration, oversight, coordination among, and
evaluation of approved Joint Ventures.
(c) Coordination With States.--In the administration of the program
authorized under this section, the Director shall coordinate and
cooperate with the States to fulfill the purposes of this Act.
SEC. 5. JOINT VENTURE ESTABLISHMENT AND ADMINISTRATION.
(a) Establishment.--
(1) In general.--The Director, through the Program, may
enter into an agreement with eligible partners described in
paragraph (2) to establish a Joint Venture to fulfill one or
more of the purposes set forth in paragraphs (1) through (3) of
section 2(b).
(2) Eligible partners.--The eligible partners referred to
in paragraph (1) are the following:
(A) Federal and State agencies with jurisdiction
over migratory bird resources, their habitats, or that
implement program activities that affect migratory bird
habitats or the ecosystems they rely on.
(B) Affected regional, local, and tribal
governments, private landowners, land managers, and
other private stakeholders.
(C) Nongovernmental organizations with expertise in
bird conservation or fish and wildlife conservation or
natural resource and landscape management generally.
(D) Other relevant stakeholders.
(b) Management Board.--
(1) In general.--An agreement under this section for a
Joint Venture shall establish a Management Board in accordance
with this subsection.
(2) Membership.--The Management Board shall include a
diversity of members representing stakeholder interests from
the appropriate geographic region, including, as appropriate,
representatives from the Service and other Federal agencies
that have management authority over fish and wildlife resources
on public lands or in the marine environment, or that implement
programs that affect migratory bird habitats, and
representatives from the States, and may include--
(A) regional governments and Indian tribes;
(B) academia or the scientific community;
(C) nongovernmental landowners or land managers;
(D) nonprofit conservation or other relevant
organizations with expertise in migratory bird
conservation, or in fish and wildlife conservation
generally; and
(E) private organizations with a dedicated interest
in conserving migratory birds and their habitats.
(3) Functions and responsibilities.--
(A) Organization and operations plan.--A Management
Board, in accordance with the guidelines published by
the Director under section 4 and in coordination with
the Director, shall develop, publish, and comply with a
plan that specifies the organizational structure of the
Joint Venture and prescribes its operational practices
and procedures.
(B) Administration.--Subject to applicable Federal
and State law, the Management Board shall manage the
personnel and operations of the Joint Venture,
including--
(i) by appointing a coordinator for the
Joint Venture in consultation with the
Director, to manage the daily and long-term
operations of the Joint Venture;
(ii) approval of other full- or part-time
administrative and technical non-Federal
employees as the Management Board determines
necessary to perform the functions of the Joint
Venture, meet objectives specified in the
Implementation Plan, and fulfill the purpose of
this Act; and
(iii) establishment of committees, steering
groups, focus groups, geographic or taxonomic
groups, or other organizational entities to
assist in implementing the relevant
Implementation Plan.
(4) Use of service and federal agency employees.--Subject
to the availability of appropriations and upon the request from
a Management Board, and after consultation with and approval of
the Director, the head of any Federal agency may detail to the
Management Board, on a reimbursable or nonreimbursable basis,
any agency personnel to assist the Joint Venture in performing
its functions under this Act.
(c) Implementation Plan.--
(1) Submission of plan to director.--Before the Director
enters into an agreement to establish a Joint Venture under
subsection (a), the Management Board for the Joint Venture
shall submit to the Director a proposed Implementation Plan
that shall contain, at a minimum, the following elements:
(A) A strategic framework for migratory bird
conservation that includes biological planning;
conservation design; habitat restoration, protection,
and enhancement; applied research; and monitoring and
evaluation activities.
(B) Provisions for effective communication among
member participants within the Joint Venture.
(C) A long-term strategy to conduct public outreach
and education regarding the purposes and activities of
the Joint Venture and activities to regularly
communicate to the general public information generated
by the Joint Venture.
(D) Coordination with laws and conservation plans
referred to in section 4(a)(3) and (4) that are
relevant to migratory birds, and other relevant
regional, national, or international initiatives
identified by the Director to conserve migratory birds,
their habitats, ecological functions, and associated
populations of fish and wildlife.
(E) An organizational plan that--
(i) identifies the initial membership of
the Management Board and establishes procedures
for updating the membership of the Management
Board as appropriate;
(ii) describes the organizational structure
of the Joint Venture, including proposed
committees and subcommittees, and procedures
for revising and updating the structure, as
necessary; and
(iii) provides a strategy to increase
stakeholder participation or membership in the
Joint Venture.
(F) Procedures to coordinate the development,
implementation, oversight, monitoring, tracking, and
reporting of conservation actions approved by the
Management Board and an evaluation process to determine
overall effectiveness of activities undertaken by the
Joint Venture.
(G) A strategy to encourage the contribution of
non-Federal financial resources, donations, gifts and
in-kind contributions to support the objectives of the
Joint Venture and fulfillment of the Implementation
Plan.
(2) Review.--The Director shall--
(A) coordinate the review of a proposed
Implementation Plan submitted under this section; and
(B) ensure that such plan is circulated for review
for a period not to exceed 90 days, to--
(i) bureaus within the Service and other
appropriate bureaus or agencies within the
Department of the Interior;
(ii) appropriate regional migratory bird
Flyway Councils;
(iii) national and international boards
that oversee bird conservation initiatives
under the plans specified in section 4(a)(4);
(iv) relevant State agencies, regional
governmental entities, and Indian tribes;
(v) nongovernmental conservation
organizations, academic institutions, or other
stakeholders engaged in existing Joint Ventures
that have knowledge or expertise of the
geographic or ecological scope of the Joint
Venture; and
(vi) other relevant stakeholders considered
necessary by the Director to ensure a
comprehensive review of the proposed
Implementation Plan.
(3) Approval.--The Director shall approve an Implementation
Plan submitted by the Management Board for a Joint Venture if
the Director finds that--
(A) the plan provides for implementation of
conservation actions to conserve waterfowl and other
native migratory birds and their habitats and
ecosystems either--
(i) in a specific geographic area of the
United States; or
(ii) across the range of a specific species
or similar group of like species;
(B) the members of the Joint Venture--
(i) accept the responsibility for
implementation of national or international
bird conservation plans in the region of the
United States to which the plan applies; and
(ii) have demonstrated to the satisfaction
of the Director the capacity to implement
conservation actions identified in the plan,
including (I) the design, funding, monitoring,
and tracking of conservation projects that
advance the objectives of the Joint Venture;
and (II) reporting and conduct of public
outreach regarding such projects; and
(C) the plan maximizes, to the extent practicable,
coordination with other relevant and active
conservation plans or programs within the geographic
scope of the Joint Venture to conserve, protect,
recover, or restore migratory bird habitats and other
fish and wildlife habitat within the operating region
of the Joint Venture.
SEC. 6. GRANTS AND OTHER ASSISTANCE.
(a) In General.--Except as provided in subsection (b), and subject
to the availability of appropriations, the Director may award grants of
financial assistance to implement a Joint Venture through--
(1) support of the activities of the Management Board of
the Joint Venture and to pay for necessary administrative costs
and services, personnel, and meetings, travel, and other
business activities; and
(2) support for specific conservation actions and other
activities necessary to carry out the Implementation Plan.
(b) Limitation.--A Joint Venture is not eligible for assistance or
support authorized in this section unless the Joint Venture is
operating under an Implementation Plan approved by the Director under
section 5.
(c) Conservation Action Grant Criteria.--The Secretary, through the
Director, within 180 days after date of enactment of this Act and after
consultation with representatives from Management Boards and equivalent
entities of joint ventures referred to in section 8, shall publish
guidelines for determining funding allocations among joint ventures and
priorities for funding among conservation action proposals to meet the
purpose of this Act and respective Implementation Plans.
(d) Matching Requirements.--If a Management Board determines that
two or more proposed conservation actions are of equal value toward
fulfillment of the relevant Implementation Plan, priority shall be
given to the action or actions for which there exist non-Federal
matching contributions that are equal to or exceed the amount of
Federal funds available for such action or actions.
(e) Technical Assistance.--The Secretary, through the Director, may
provide technical and administrative assistance for implementation of
Joint Ventures and the expenditure of financial assistance under this
subsection.
(f) Acceptance and Use of Donations.--The Secretary, through the
Director, may accept and use donations of funds, gifts, and in-kind
contributions to provide assistance under this section.
SEC. 7. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.
(a) Annual Reports by Management Boards.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary, acting through the
Director, shall--
(A) require each Management Board to submit annual
reports for all approved Joint Ventures of the
Management Board; and
(B) publish within 180 days after the date of
enactment of this Act guidelines to implement this
subsection.
(2) Contents.--Each annual report shall include--
(A) a description and justification of all
conservation actions approved and implemented by the
Management Board during the period covered by the
report;
(B) when appropriate based upon the goals and
objectives of an Implementation Plan, an estimate of
the total number of acres of migratory bird habitat
either restored, protected, or enhanced as a result of
such conservation actions;
(C) the amounts and sources of Federal and non-
Federal funding for such conservation actions;
(D) the amounts and sources of funds expended for
administrative and other expenses of the Joint Venture
of the Management Board, including all donations,
gifts, and in-kind contributions provided for the Joint
Venture;
(E) the status of progress made in achieving the
strategic framework of the Implementation Plan of such
Joint Venture and fulfillment of the purpose of this
Act; and
(F) other elements considered necessary by the
Director to insure transparency and accountability by
Management Boards in the implementation of its
responsibilities under this Act.
(b) Joint Venture Program 5-Year Reviews.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary, acting through the
Director, shall at 5 years after the date of enactment of this
Act and at 5-year intervals thereafter, complete an objective
and comprehensive review and evaluation of the Program.
(2) Review contents.--Each review under this subsection
shall include--
(A) an evaluation of the effectiveness of the
Program in meeting the purpose of this Act specified in
section 2(b);
(B) an evaluation of all approved Implementation
Plans, especially the effectiveness of existing
conservation strategies, priorities, and methods to
meet the objectives of such plans and fulfill the
purpose of this Act; and
(C) recommendations to revise the Program or to
amend or otherwise revise Implementation Plans to
ensure that activities undertaken pursuant to this Act
address the effects of climate change on migratory bird
populations and their habitats, and fish and wildlife
habitats, in general.
(3) Consultation.--The Secretary, acting through the
Director, in the implementation of this subsection--
(A) shall consult with other appropriate Federal
agencies with responsibility for the conservation or
management of fish and wildlife habitat and appropriate
State agencies; and
(B) may consult with appropriate, Indian tribes,
Flyway Councils, or regional conservation
organizations, public and private landowners, members
of academia and the scientific community, and other
nonprofit conservation or private stakeholders.
(4) Public comment.--The Secretary, through the Director,
shall provide for adequate opportunities for general public
review and comment of the Program as part of the 5-year
evaluations conducted pursuant to this subsection.
SEC. 8. TREATMENT OF EXISTING JOINT VENTURES.
For purposes of this Act, the Director--
(1) shall treat as a Joint Venture any joint venture
recognized by the Director before the date of the enactment of
this Act in accordance with the United States Fish and Wildlife
Services manual (721FW6); and
(2) shall treat as an Implementation Plan an implementation
plan adopted by the management board for such joint venture.
SEC. 9. RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER AUTHORITIES.
(a) Authorities, etc. of Secretary.--Nothing in this Act affects
authorities, responsibilities, obligations, or powers of the Secretary
under any other Act.
(b) State Authority.--Nothing in this Act preempts any provision or
enforcement of a State statute or regulation relating to the management
of fish and wildlife resources within such State.
SEC. 10. FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT.
The Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply
to any boards, committees, or other groups established under this Act.
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