Sage-Grouse Accountability and Private Conservation Act of 2014

Summary: Sage-Grouse Accountability and Private Conservation Act of 2014 - Directs the Department of the Interior to report on the status of the greater sage-grouse conservation efforts by December 15, 2014. Requires the report to include a description of: (1) public (federal and state) and private programs and expenditures, (2) existing state management plans as well as plans that have been announced but not yet implemented, and (3) plans by land management agencies.  Authorizes the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to provide funding under its agricultural land easements program for a conservation easement in an amount that is up to 75% of the value of land with greater or Gunnison sage-grouse habitat of special environmental significance. Adds maximizing the protection of that habitat as a consideration when ranking applications to the program.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Sage-Grouse Accountability and 
Private Conservation Act of 2014''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) pursuant to the court-approved work schedule described 
        in the Joint Motion for Approval of Settlement Agreement and 
        Order of Dismissal of Guardians Claims entitled ``In Re 
        Endangered Species Act Section 4 Deadline Litigation'' (D.D.C. 
        2011), not later than September 30, 2015, the Secretary is 
        scheduled to issue a decision on whether to proceed with 
        listing the greater sage-grouse as a threatened or endangered 
        species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 
        1531 et seq.);
            (2) the Federal Government, through programs of the 
        Department of the Interior and the Department of Agriculture, 
        has invested substantial funds on greater and Gunnison sage-
        grouse conservation efforts to avoid the greater and Gunnison 
        sage-grouse being listed as threatened or endangered species 
        under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et 
        seq.);
            (3) State wildlife management agencies have prepared, and 
        as of the date of enactment of this Act are in the process of 
        implementing, greater and Gunnison sage-grouse conservation 
        plans to complement the conservation efforts of the Federal 
        Government;
            (4) private investment in conservation efforts, 
        independently and in conjunction with Federal cost-share 
        conservation easement programs, has been significant;
            (5) through a combination of Federal, State, and private 
        efforts, significant conservation progress is being made, and 
        further progress will be made following full implementation of 
        State management plans and new Federal conservation programs; 
        and
            (6) farmers, ranchers, developers, and small businesses 
        need certainty, and further clarity on the likelihood of a 
        listing decision will provide that certainty.

SEC. 3. DEFINITION OF SECRETARY.

    In this Act, the term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of the 
Interior.

SEC. 4. GREATER SAGE-GROUSE REPORTING REQUIREMENT.

    (a) In General.--Not later than December 15, 2014, the Secretary 
shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report on the 
status of greater sage-grouse conservation efforts.
    (b) Contents.--In the report required under subsection (a), the 
Secretary shall include--
            (1) a description of public and private programs and 
        expenditures, including State and Federal Government agencies, 
        relating to greater sage-grouse conservation;
            (2) a description of State management plans, including 
        plans that have been announced but not yet implemented;
            (3) a description of Bureau of Land Management plans, or 
        plans by any other land management agencies, relating to 
        greater sage-grouse conservation;
            (4) in accordance with subsection (c), a description of the 
        metrics that, at the discretion of the Secretary, will be used 
        to make a determination of whether the greater sage-grouse 
        should be listed as threatened or endangered under the 
        Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.);
            (5) any outcome under the programs, expenditures, or plans 
        referred to in paragraphs (1) through (3) that can be measured 
        by the metrics described in subsection (c); and
            (6) any recommendations to Congress for legislative actions 
        that could provide certainty to farmers, ranchers, developers, 
        and small businesses and could assist in the conservation of 
        the greater sage-grouse.
    (c) Reported Metrics.--The metrics referred to in subsection (b)(4) 
may include--
            (1) the quantity of acres enrolled in sagebrush and habitat 
        protection in conservation programs established under title XII 
        of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3801 et seq.) or 
        other conservation programs of the Department of Agriculture, 
        including conservation easements, land purchases or swaps, 
        vegetation management or habitat enhancement programs, and 
        fuels management programs;
            (2) data on nonfire related habitat restoration efforts, 
        including native, nonnative, and mixed seeding efforts;
            (3) data on mine reclamation and subsequent restoration 
        efforts intended to restore greater sage-grouse habitat;
            (4) data on conifer removal;
            (5) data on presuppression fire efforts, including--
                    (A) the number of acres associated with fuels 
                management programs; and
                    (B) the number of miles associated with fire 
                breaks;
            (6) data on habitat restoration, including postfire 
        restoration efforts involving native, nonnative, and mixed 
        seeding;
            (7) data on structure removal, power line burial, power 
        line retrofitting or modification, fence modification, fence 
        marking, and fence removal;
            (8) for livestock and rangeland management, data on 
        allotment closure and road closure;
            (9) for travel management, data on road and trail closure 
        and trail rerouting;
            (10) data on greater sage-grouse translocation efforts, 
        including the number of greater sage-grouse translocated, the 
        age of each translocated greater sage-grouse, and the sex of 
        each translocated greater sage-grouse; and
            (11) any other data or metric the Secretary may examine in 
        making the decision on whether to list the greater sage-grouse 
        as a threatened or endangered species under the Endangered 
        Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).

SEC. 5. AGRICULTURAL LAND EASEMENTS.

    (a) In General.--Section 1265B(b)(2)(C)(i) of the Food Security Act 
of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3865b(b)(2)(C)(i)) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``Grasslands'' and inserting ``In 
        general''; and
            (2) by inserting ``and land with greater or Gunnison sage-
        grouse habitat of special environmental significance'' after 
        ``significance''.
    (b) Considerations.--Section 1265B(b)(3)(B) of the Food Security 
Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3865b(b)(3)(B)) is amended--
            (1) in clause (i), by striking ``and'' after the semicolon 
        at the end;
            (2) in clause (ii), by striking the period at the end and 
        inserting ``; and''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
                            ``(iii) maximizing the protection of 
                        greater or Gunnison sage-grouse habitat.''.