113 HR 1137 IH: Joint Ventures for Bird Habitat Conservation Act of 2013
U.S. House of Representatives
2013-03-13
text/xml
EN
Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.
1.This Act may be cited as the
Joint Ventures for Bird Habitat
Conservation Act of 2013
.
2.
(a)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)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.
3.In this Act:
(1)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)The
term Director
means the Director of the United States Fish and
Wildlife Service.
(3)The term Implementation Plan
means an
Implementation Plan approved by the Director under section 5.
(4)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)The term Joint Venture
means a
self-directed, voluntary partnership, established and conducted in accordance
with section 5.
(6)The term Management Board
means a Joint
Venture Management Board established in accordance with section 5.
(7)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)The
term Program
means the Joint Ventures Program conducted in
accordance with this Act.
(9)The
term Secretary
means the Secretary of the Interior.
(10)The
term Service
means the United States Fish and Wildlife
Service.
(11)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.
4.
(a)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)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)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.
5.Joint Venture
establishment and administration
(a)
(1)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)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)
(1)An agreement under this section for a Joint Venture shall
establish a Management Board in accordance with this subsection.
(2)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 planA 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)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 employeesSubject 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)
(1)Submission of
plan to DirectorBefore 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)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)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.
6.Grants and other
assistance
(a)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)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 criteriaThe
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)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)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 donationsThe Secretary, through the Director, may accept
and use donations of funds, gifts, and in-kind contributions to provide
assistance under this section.
7.
(a)Annual reports
by management boards
(1)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)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)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)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)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)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.
8.Treatment of
existing joint venturesFor
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.
9.Relationship to
other authorities
(a)Authorities,
etc. of SecretaryNothing in this Act affects authorities,
responsibilities, obligations, or powers of the Secretary under any other
Act.
(b)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.
10.Federal Advisory
Committee ActThe Federal
Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to any boards,
committees, or other groups established under this Act.