PUBLIC LAW 109–326—OCT. 11, 2006 120 STAT. 1761

Public Law 109–326

109th Congress

An Act

To amend the Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Restoration Act of 1990 to provide

for implementation of recommendations of the United States Fish and Wildlife

Service contained in the Great Lakes Fishery Resources Restoration Study.

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 ‘‘Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife

Restoration Act of 2006’’.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

Congress finds that—

(1) the Great Lakes have fish and wildlife communities

that are structurally and functionally changing;

(2) successful fish and wildlife management focuses on

the lakes as ecosystems, and effective management requires

the coordination and integration of efforts of many partners;

(3) it is in the national interest to undertake activities

in the Great Lakes Basin that support sustainable fish and

wildlife resources of common concern provided under the recommendations of the Great Lakes Regional Collaboration

authorized under Executive Order 13340 (69 Fed. Reg. 29043;

relating to the Great Lakes Interagency Task Force);

(4) additional actions and better coordination are needed

to protect and effectively manage the fish and wildlife resources,

and the habitats upon which the resources depend, in the

Great Lakes Basin;

(5) as of the date of enactment of this Act, actions are

not funded that are considered essential to meet the goals

and objectives in managing the fish and wildlife resources,

and the habitats upon which the resources depend, in the

Great Lakes Basin; and

(6) the Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Restoration Act

(16 U.S.C. 941 et seq.) allows Federal agencies, States, and

tribes to work in an effective partnership by providing the

funding for restoration work.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

Section 1004 of the Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Restoration

Act of 1990 (16 U.S.C. 941b) is amended—

(1) by striking paragraphs (1), (4), and (12);

(2) by redesignating paragraphs (2), (3), (5), (6), (7), (8),

(9), (10), (11), (13), and (14) as paragraphs (1), (2), (3), (4),

(5), (6), (7), (9), (10), (11), and (12), respectively;

16 USC 941 note.

16 USC 941 note.

Great Lakes Fish

and Wildlife

Restoration Act

of 2006.

Oct. 11, 2006

[S. 2430]

120 STAT. 1762 PUBLIC LAW 109–326—OCT. 11, 2006

(3) in paragraph (4) (as redesignated by paragraph (2)),

by inserting before the semicolon at the end the following:

‘‘, and that has Great Lakes fish and wildlife management

authority in the Great Lakes Basin’’; and

(4) by inserting after paragraph (7) (as redesignated by

paragraph (2)) the following:

‘‘(8) the term ‘regional project’ means authorized activities

of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service related to fish

and wildlife resource protection, restoration, maintenance, and

enhancement impacting multiple States or Indian Tribes with

fish and wildlife management authority in the Great Lakes

basin;’’.

SEC. 4. IDENTIFICATION, REVIEW, AND IMPLEMENTATION OF PROPOSALS.

Section 1005 of the Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Restoration

Act of 1990 (16 U.S.C. 941c) is amended to read as follows:

‘‘SEC. 1005. IDENTIFICATION, REVIEW, AND IMPLEMENTATION OF PROPOSALS AND REGIONAL PROJECTS.

‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (b)(2), the Director—

‘‘(1) shall encourage the development and, subject to the

availability of appropriations, the implementation of fish and

wildlife restoration proposals and regional projects based on

the results of the Report; and

‘‘(2) in cooperation with the State Directors and Indian

Tribes, shall identify, develop, and, subject to the availability

of appropriations, implement regional projects in the Great

Lakes Basin to be administered by Director in accordance with

this section.

‘‘(b) IDENTIFICATION OF PROPOSALS AND REGIONAL PROJECTS.—

‘‘(1) REQUEST BY THE DIRECTOR.—The Director shall

annually request that State Directors and Indian Tribes, in

cooperation or partnership with other interested entities and

in accordance with subsection (a), submit proposals or regional

projects for the restoration of fish and wildlife resources.

‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS FOR PROPOSALS AND REGIONAL

PROJECTS.—A proposal or regional project under paragraph (1)

shall be—

‘‘(A) submitted in the manner and form prescribed

by the Director; and

‘‘(B) consistent with—

‘‘(i) the goals of the Great Lakes Water Quality

Agreement, as amended;

‘‘(ii) the 1954 Great Lakes Fisheries Convention;

‘‘(iii) the 1980 Joint Strategic Plan for Management

of Great Lakes Fisheries, as revised in 1997, and Fish

Community Objectives for each Great Lake and connecting water as established under the Joint Strategic

Plan;

‘‘(iv) the Nonindigenous Aquatic Nuisance Prevention and Control Act of 1990 (16 U.S.C. 4701 et seq.);

‘‘(v) the North American Waterfowl Management

Plan and joint ventures established under the plan;

and

PUBLIC LAW 109–326—OCT. 11, 2006 120 STAT. 1763

‘‘(vi) the strategies outlined through the Great

Lakes Regional Collaboration authorized under Executive Order 13340 (69 Fed. Reg. 29043; relating to the

Great Lakes Interagency Task Force).

‘‘(3) SEA LAMPREY AUTHORITY.—The Great Lakes Fishery

Commission shall retain authority and responsibility to formulate and implement a comprehensive program to eradicate or

minimize sea lamprey populations in the Great Lakes Basin.

‘‘(c) REVIEW OF PROPOSALS.—

‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMITTEE.—There is established

the Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Restoration Proposal Review

Committee, which shall operate under the guidance of the

United States Fish and Wildlife Service.

‘‘(2) MEMBERSHIP AND APPOINTMENT.—

‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Committee shall consist of 2

representatives of each of the State Directors and Indian

Tribes, of whom—

‘‘(i) 1 representative shall be the individual

appointed by the State Director or Indian Tribe to

the Council of Lake Committees of the Great Lakes

Fishery Commission; and

‘‘(ii) 1 representative shall have expertise in wildlife management.

‘‘(B) APPOINTMENTS.—Each representative shall serve

at the pleasure of the appointing State Director or Tribal

Chair.

‘‘(C) OBSERVER.—The Great Lakes Coordinator of the

United States Fish and Wildlife Service shall participate

as an observer of the Committee.

‘‘(D) RECUSAL.—A member of the Committee shall

recuse himself or herself from consideration of proposals

that the member, or the entity that the member represents,

has submitted.

‘‘(3) FUNCTIONS.—The Committee shall—

‘‘(A) meet at least annually;

‘‘(B) review proposals and regional projects developed

in accordance with subsection (b) to assess the effectiveness

and appropriateness of the proposals and regional projects

in fulfilling the purposes of this title; and

‘‘(C) recommend to the Director any of those proposals

and regional projects that should be funded and implemented under this section.

‘‘(d) IMPLEMENTATION OF PROPOSALS AND REGIONAL

PROJECTS.—

‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—After considering recommendations of

the Committee and the goals specified in section 1006, the

Director shall—

‘‘(A) select proposals and regional projects to be implemented; and

‘‘(B) subject to the availability of appropriations and

subsection (e), fund implementation of the proposals and

regional projects.

‘‘(2) SELECTION CRITERIA.—In selecting and funding proposals and regional projects, the Director shall take into account

the effectiveness and appropriateness of the proposals and

regional projects in fulfilling the purposes of other laws

120 STAT. 1764 PUBLIC LAW 109–326—OCT. 11, 2006

applicable to restoration of the fish and wildlife resources and

habitat of the Great Lakes Basin.

‘‘(e) COST SHARING.— ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in paragraphs (2)

and (4), not less than 25 percent of the cost of implementing

a proposal selected under subsection (d) (excluding the cost

of establishing sea lamprey barriers) shall be paid in cash

or in-kind contributions by non-Federal sources.

‘‘(2) REGIONAL PROJECTS.—Regional projects selected under

subsection (d) shall be exempt from cost sharing if the Director

determines that the authorization for the project does not

require a non-Federal cost-share.

‘‘(3) EXCLUSION OF FEDERAL FUNDS FROM NON-FEDERAL

SHARE.—The Director may not consider the expenditure,

directly or indirectly, of Federal funds received by any entity

to be a contribution by a non-Federal source for purposes of

this subsection.

‘‘(4) EFFECT ON CERTAIN INDIAN TRIBES.—Nothing in this

subsection affects an Indian tribe affected by an alternative

applicable cost sharing requirement under the Indian SelfDetermination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450

et seq.).’’.

SEC. 5. GOALS OF UNITED STATES FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE PROGRAMS RELATED TO GREAT LAKES FISH AND WILDLIFE

RESOURCES.

Section 1006 of the Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Restoration

Act of 1990 (16 U.S.C. 941d) is amended by striking paragraph

(1) and inserting the following:

‘‘(1) Restoring and maintaining self-sustaining fish and

wildlife resources.’’.

SEC. 6. ESTABLISHMENT OF OFFICES.

Section 1007 of the Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Restoration

Act of 1990 (16 U.S.C. 941e) is amended—

(1) by striking subsection (a) and inserting the following:

‘‘(a) GREAT LAKES COORDINATION OFFICE.— ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall establish a centrally

located facility for the coordination of all United States Fish

and Wildlife Service activities in the Great Lakes Basin, to

be known as the ‘Great Lakes Coordination Office’.

‘‘(2) FUNCTIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES.—The functional responsibilities of the Great Lakes Coordination Office shall include—

‘‘(A) intra- and interagency coordination;

‘‘(B) information distribution; and

‘‘(C) public outreach.

‘‘(3) REQUIREMENTS.—The Great Lakes Coordination Office

shall—

‘‘(A) ensure that information acquired under this Act

is made available to the public; and

‘‘(B) report to the Director of Region 3, Great Lakes

Big Rivers.’’;

(2) in subsection (b)—

(A) in the first sentence, by striking ‘‘The Director’’

and inserting the following:

‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director’’;.

(B) in the second sentence, by striking ‘‘The office’’

and inserting the following:

PUBLIC LAW 109–326—OCT. 11, 2006 120 STAT. 1765

‘‘(2) NAME AND LOCATION.—The office’’; and

(C) by adding at the end the following:

‘‘(3) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The responsibilities of the Lower

Great Lakes Fishery Resources Office shall include operational

activities of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service related

to fishery resource protection, restoration, maintenance, and

enhancement in the Lower Great Lakes.’’; and

(3) in subsection (c)—

(A) in the first sentence, by striking ‘‘The Director’’

and inserting the following:

‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director’’;.

(B) in the second sentence, by striking ‘‘Each of the

offices’’ and inserting the following:

‘‘(2) NAME AND LOCATION.—Each of the offices’’; and

(C) by adding at the end the following:

‘‘(3) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The responsibilities of the Upper

Great Lakes Fishery Resources Offices shall include operational

activities of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service related

to fishery resource protection, restoration, maintenance, and

enhancement in the Upper Great Lakes.’’.

SEC. 7. REPORTS.

Section 1008 of the Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Restoration

Act of 1990 (16 U.S.C. 941f) is amended to read as follows:

‘‘SEC. 1008. REPORTS.

‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than December 31, 2011, the

Director shall submit to the Committee on Resources of the House

of Representatives and the Committee on Environment and Public

Works of the Senate a report that describes—

‘‘(1) actions taken to solicit and review proposals under

section 1005;

‘‘(2) the results of proposals implemented under section

1005; and

‘‘(3) progress toward the accomplishment of the goals specified in section 1006.

‘‘(b) PUBLIC ACCESS TO DATA.—For each of fiscal years 2007

through 2012, the Director shall make available through a public

access website of the Department information that describes—

‘‘(1) actions taken to solicit and review proposals under

section 1005;

‘‘(2) the results of proposals implemented under section

1005;

‘‘(3) progress toward the accomplishment of the goals specified in section 1006;

‘‘(4) the priorities proposed for funding in the annual budget

process under this title; and

‘‘(5) actions taken in support of the recommendations of

the Great Lakes Regional Collaboration authorized under

Executive Order 13340 (69 Fed. Reg. 29043; relating to the

Great Lakes Interagency Task Force).

‘‘(c) REPORT.—Not later than June 30, 2007, the Director shall

submit to the Committee on Environment and Public Works of

the Senate and the Committee on Resources of the House of Representatives the 2002 report required under this section as in

effect on the day before the date of enactment of the Great Lakes

Fish and Wildlife Restoration Act of 2006.’’.

Deadline.

Website.

Deadline.

120 STAT. 1766 PUBLIC LAW 109–326—OCT. 11, 2006

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY—S. 2430:

SENATE REPORTS: No. 109–270 (Comm. on Environment and Public Works).

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 152 (2006):

July 11, considered and passed Senate.

Sept. 27, considered and passed House, amended.

Sept. 29, Senate concurred in House amendment.

Æ

SEC. 8. CONTINUED MONITORING AND ASSESSMENT OF STUDY

FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS.

The Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service—

(1) shall continue to monitor the status, and the assessment, management, and restoration needs, of the fish and

wildlife resources of the Great Lakes Basin; and

(2) may reassess and update, as necessary, the findings

and recommendations of the report entitled ‘‘Great Lakes

Fishery Resources Restoration Study’’, submitted to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives on September 13, 1995.

SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

Section 1009 of the Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Restoration

Act of 1990 (16 U.S.C. 941g) is amended to read as follows:

‘‘SEC. 1009. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated to the Director for

each of fiscal years 2007 through 2012—

‘‘(1) $14,000,000 to implement fish and wildlife restoration

proposals as selected by the Director under section 1005(e),

of which—

‘‘(A) not more than the lesser of 33 1/3 percent or

$4,600,000 may be allocated to implement regional projects

by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, as selected

by the Director under section 1005(e); and

‘‘(B) the lesser of 5 percent or $700,000 shall be allocated to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service to

cover costs incurred in administering the proposals by any

entity; and

‘‘(2) $2,000,000, which shall be allocated for the activities of the Great Lakes Coordination Office in East Lansing,

Michigan, of the Upper Great Lakes Fishery Resources

Office, and the Lower Great Lakes Fishery Resources Office

under section 1007.’’.

Approved October 11, 2006.

16 USC 941 note.