North American Wetlands Conservation Act Amendments of 1994

Summary: North American Wetlands Conservation Act Amendments of 1994 - Amends the North American Wetlands Conservation Act to direct the Secretary of the Interior, in 1998 (currently, 1991) and at five-year intervals thereafter, to undertake with the appropriate officials of Canada and Mexico to revise the goals and other elements of the North American Waterfowl Management Plan. Requires the Secretary to develop:  (1) a strategy to assist in conserving the full complement of North American wetlands systems and species dependent on such systems that incorporates existing information on types of wetlands habitats and species; and (2) procedures to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of wetlands conservation projects completed under the Act. Extends the authorization of appropriations to carry out the North American Wetlands Conservation Act through FY 1998. Amends the Partnerships for Wildlife Act to remove a condition on Federal funding for State wildlife conservation and appreciation projects which prohibits such funding from exceeding the State share of the cost of the project. Sets forth required State and private shares of the cost of such projects. Removes provisions which authorize donations from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to carry out such projects and which require the Foundation to donate a specified amount to the Wildlife Conservation and Appreciation Fund. Extends the authorization of appropriations to the Fund through FY 1998.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``North American Wetlands Conservation 
Act Amendments of 1994''.

SEC. 2. MATCHING, REPORTING, AND REVISING REQUIREMENTS.

    (a) Matching Requirement.--Section 8(b) of the North American 
Wetlands Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 4407(b)) is amended by adding at 
the end the following new sentence: ``In the case of a project carried 
out in Mexico, the non-Federal share of the United States contribution 
to the costs of the project may include cash contributions from non-
United States sources that are used to pay costs of the project.''.
    (b) Report to Congress.--Section 10(1) of such Act (16 U.S.C. 
4409(a)(1)) is amended in subparagraph (B) by striking ``and'' after 
the semicolon, in subparagraph (C) by striking the period and inserting 
``; and'', and by adding at the end the following:
            ``(D) wetlands conservation projects funded under this Act, 
        listed and identified by type, conservation mechanism (such as 
        acquisition, easement, or lease), location, and Pduration.''.
    (c) Revisions to Plan.--Section 11 of such Act (16 U.S.C. 4410) is 
amended--
        (1) in the first sentence--
            (A) by striking ``1991'' and inserting ``1998''; and
            (B) by inserting ``and Mexico'' after ``Canada''; and
        (2) by striking the second sentence.

SEC. 3. ASSESSMENT OF PROGRESS IN WETLANDS CONSERVATION.

    The North American Wetlands Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 4401 et 
seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following new section:

``SEC. 19. ASSESSMENT OF PROGRESS IN WETLANDS CONSERVATION.

    ``Not later than January 31, 1996, the Secretary, in cooperation 
with the Council, to further the purposes of the Act shall--
        ``(1) develop and implement a strategy to assist in the 
    implementation of this Act in conserving the full complement of 
    North American wetlands systems and species dependent on those 
    systems, that incorporates information existing on the date of the 
    issuance of the strategy in final form on types of wetlands 
    habitats and species dependent on the habitats; and
        ``(2) develop and implement procedures to monitor and evaluate 
    the effectiveness of wetlands conservation projects completed under 
    this Act.''.
SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR ALLOCATIONS UNDER NORTH 
AMERICAN WETLANDS CONSERVATION ACT.
    Section 7(c) of the North American Wetlands Conservation Act (16 
U.S.C. 4406(c)) is amended by striking ``$15,000,000'' and all that 
follows through the end of the sentence and inserting the following: 
``$20,000,000 for each of fiscal years 1995 and 1996 and $30,000,000 
for each of fiscal years 1997 and 1998.''.

SEC. 5. CONSERVATION OF COASTAL WETLANDS.

    Section 306(c) of the Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and 
Restoration Act (16 U.S.C. 3955(c)) is amended by inserting ``in 
coastal wetlands ecosystems'' after ``wetlands conservation projects''.

SEC. 6. WILDLIFE PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM.

    The Partnerships For Wildlife Act (16 U.S.C. 3741 et seq.) is 
amended--
        (1) in section 7103(3) (16 U.S.C. 3742(3)) by inserting ``the 
    States and of'' after ``under the leadership of'';
        (2) in section 7104 (16 U.S.C. 3743)--
            (A) by amending paragraph (2) to read as follows:
        ``(2) The term `designated State agency' means the government 
    agency, department, or division of any State that is empowered 
    under the laws of the State to exercise the functions ordinarily 
    exercised by a State fish and wildlife agency.'';
            (B) in paragraph (4) by striking ``section 5(f)'' and 
        inserting ``section 7105(g)'';
            (C) in paragraph (8)(A) by striking the period and 
        inserting a semicolon; and
            (D) in paragraph (8)(C) by--
                (i) striking ``section 3(5)'' and inserting ``section 
            3(6)''; and
                (ii) striking ``(16 U.S.C. 1362(5))'' and inserting 
            ``(16 U.S.C. 1362(6))'';
        (3) in section 7104 (16 U.S.C. 3743) by--
            (A) redesignating paragraph (8) as paragraph (9); and
            (B) inserting after paragraph (7) the following:
        ``(8) The term `State' means any of the 50 States, the District 
    of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Commonwealth of 
    the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, the United States Virgin 
    Islands, or American Samoa.'';
        (4) in section 7105(d) (16 U.S.C. 3744(d))--
            (A) in paragraph (3) by inserting ``and'' after the 
        semicolon;
            (B) in paragraph (4) by striking ``; and'' and inserting a 
        period; and
            (C) by striking paragraph (5);
        (5) in section 7105 (16 U.S.C. 3744) by amending subsection (e) 
    to read as follows:
    ``(e) Non-Federal Share of Projects.--
        ``(1) State share.--Of the total cost each fiscal year of each 
    project carried out with amounts provided by the Secretary under 
    subsection (a), at least \1/3\ shall be paid with amounts from 
    State, non-Federal sources, except that if designated State 
    agencies from 2 or more States cooperate in implementing such a 
    project at least 30 percent shall be paid with amounts from such 
    State, non-Federal sources. Payments required by this paragraph may 
    not be in the form of an in-kind Pcontribution.
        ``(2) Private share.--Of the total cost each fiscal year of 
    each project carried out with amounts provided by the Secretary 
    under subsection (a), at least \1/3\ shall be paid with amounts 
    from voluntary contributions by private entities or persons, except 
    that if designated State agencies from 2 or more States cooperate 
    in implementing such a project, at least 30 percent shall be paid 
    from such sources. Subject to the approval of the Secretary, such 
    contributions for a project may be in the form of, but are not 
    required to be limited to, private cash donations, and the 
    contribution of materials, equipment, or services necessary for the 
    project.'';
        (6) in section 7105(g) (16 U.S.C. 3744(g))--
            (A) by amending paragraph (2) to read as follows:
    ``(2) The Secretary shall deposit into the Fund amounts 
appropriated to the Secretary for deposit to the Fund, of which not 
more than 4 percent shall be available to the Secretary to defray the 
costs of administering this chapter and evaluating wildlife 
conservation and appreciation projects.''; and
            (B) by striking paragraphs (3) and (4); and
        (7) in section 7105(h) (16 U.S.C. 3744(h))--
            (A) by striking ``1995'' and inserting ``1998''; and
            (B) by striking ``to match the amount of contributions made 
        to the Fund by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation''.







                               Speaker of the House of Representatives.







                            Vice President of the United States and    
                                               President of the Senate.