IIB 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 1771 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 22, 2008 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and 

Public Works 

AN ACT 

To assist in the conservation of cranes by supporting and 

providing, through projects of persons and organizations 

with expertise in crane conservation, financial resources 

for the conservation programs of countries the activities 

of which directly or indirectly affect cranes and the ecosystems of cranes. 

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1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Crane Conservation 

5 Act of 2008’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PURPOSES. 

7 The purposes of this Act are— 

8 (1) to perpetuate healthy populations of cranes; 

9 (2) to assist in the conservation and protection 

10 of cranes by supporting— 

11 (A) conservation programs in countries in 

12 which endangered and threatened cranes occur; 

13 and 

14 (B) the efforts of private organizations 

15 committed to helping cranes; and 

16 (3) to provide financial resources for those pro17 grams and efforts. 

18 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

19 In this Act: 

20 (1) CONSERVATION.— 

21 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘conserva22 tion’’ means the use of any method or proce23 dure to improve the viability of crane popu24 lations and the quality of the ecosystems and 

25 habitats on which the crane populations depend 

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1 to help the species achieve sufficient popu2 lations in the wild to ensure the long-term via3 bility of the species. 

4 (B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘conserva5 tion’’ includes the carrying out of any activity 

6 associated with scientific resource management, 

7 such as— 

8 (i) protection, restoration, and man9 agement of habitat; 

10 (ii) research and monitoring of known 

11 populations; 

12 (iii) the provision of assistance in the 

13 development of management plans for 

14 managed crane ranges; 

15 (iv) enforcement of the Convention; 

16 (v) law enforcement and habitat pro17 tection through community participation; 

18 (vi) reintroduction of cranes to the 

19 wild; 

20 (vii) conflict resolution initiatives; and 

21 (viii) community outreach and edu22 cation. 

23 (2) CONVENTION.—The term ‘‘Convention’’ has 

24 the meaning given the term in section 3 of the En25 dangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1532). 

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1 (3) FUND.—The term ‘‘Fund’’ means the 

2 Crane Conservation Fund established by section 

3 5(a). 

4 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

5 the Secretary of the Interior. 

6 SEC. 4. CRANE CONSERVATION ASSISTANCE. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the availability of ap8 propriations and in consultation with other appropriate 

9 Federal officials, the Secretary shall use amounts in the 

10 Fund to provide financial assistance for projects relating 

11 to the conservation of cranes for which project proposals 

12 are approved by the Secretary in accordance with this sec13 tion. 

14 (b) PROJECT PROPOSALS.— 

15 (1) APPLICANTS.— 

16 (A) IN GENERAL.—An applicant described 

17 in subparagraph (B) that seeks to receive as18 sistance under this section to carry out a 

19 project relating to the conservation of cranes 

20 shall submit to the Secretary a project proposal 

21 that meets the requirements of this section. 

22 (B) ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS.—An applicant 

23 described in this subparagraph is— 

24 (i) any relevant wildlife management 

25 authority of a country that— 

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1 (I) is located within the African, 

2 Asian, European, or North American 

3 range of a species of crane; and 

4 (II) carries out 1 or more activi5 ties that directly or indirectly affect 

6 crane populations; 

7 (ii) the Secretariat of the Convention; 

8 and 

9 (iii) any person or organization with 

10 demonstrated expertise in the conservation 

11 of cranes. 

12 (2) REQUIRED ELEMENTS.—A project proposal 

13 submitted under paragraph (1)(A) shall include— 

14 (A) a concise statement of the purpose of 

15 the project; 

16 (B)(i) the name of each individual respon17 sible for conducting the project; and 

18 (ii) a description of the qualifications of 

19 each of those individuals; 

20 (C) a concise description of— 

21 (i) methods to be used to implement 

22 and assess the outcome of the project; 

23 (ii) staff and community management 

24 for the project; and 

25 (iii) the logistics of the project; 

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1 (D) an estimate of the funds and the pe2 riod of time required to complete the project; 

3 (E) evidence of support for the project by 

4 appropriate government entities of countries in 

5 which the project will be conducted, if the Sec6 retary determines that such support is required 

7 to ensure the success of the project; 

8 (F) information regarding the source and 

9 amount of matching funding available for the 

10 project; and 

11 (G) any other information that the Sec12 retary considers to be necessary for evaluating 

13 the eligibility of the project to receive assistance 

14 under this Act. 

15 (c) PROJECT REVIEW AND APPROVAL.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall— 

17 (A) not later than 30 days after receiving 

18 a final project proposal, provide a copy of the 

19 proposal to other appropriate Federal officials; 

20 and 

21 (B) review each project proposal in a time22 ly manner to determine whether the proposal 

23 meets the criteria described in subsection (d). 

24 (2) CONSULTATION; APPROVAL OR DIS25 APPROVAL.—Not later than 180 days after receiving 

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1 a project proposal, and subject to the availability of 

2 appropriations, the Secretary, after consulting with 

3 other appropriate Federal officials, shall— 

4 (A) consult on the proposal with the gov5 ernment of each country in which the project is 

6 to be carried out; 

7 (B) after taking into consideration any 

8 comments resulting from the consultation, ap9 prove or disapprove the proposal; and 

10 (C) provide written notification of the ap11 proval or disapproval to— 

12 (i) the applicant that submitted the 

13 proposal; 

14 (ii) other appropriate Federal offi15 cials; and 

16 (iii) each country described in sub17 paragraph (A). 

18 (d) CRITERIA FOR APPROVAL.—The Secretary may 

19 approve a project proposal under this section if the Sec20 retary determines that the proposed project will enhance 

21 programs for conservation of cranes by assisting efforts 

22 to— 

23 (1) implement conservation programs; 

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1 (2) address the conflicts between humans and 

2 cranes that arise from competition for the same 

3 habitat or resources; 

4 (3) enhance compliance with the Convention 

5 and other applicable laws that— 

6 (A) prohibit or regulate the taking or trade 

7 of cranes; or 

8 (B) regulate the use and management of 

9 crane habitat; 

10 (4) develop sound scientific information on, or 

11 methods for monitoring— 

12 (A) the condition of crane habitat; 

13 (B) crane population numbers and trends; 

14 or 

15 (C) the current and projected threats to 

16 crane habitat and population numbers and 

17 trends; 

18 (5) promote cooperative projects on the issues 

19 described in paragraph (4) among— 

20 (A) governmental entities; 

21 (B) affected local communities; 

22 (C) nongovernmental organizations; or 

23 (D) other persons in the private sector; 

24 (6) carry out necessary scientific research on 

25 cranes; 

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1 (7) provide relevant training to, or support 

2 technical exchanges involving, staff responsible for 

3 managing cranes or habitats of cranes, to enhance 

4 capacity for effective conservation; or 

5 (8) reintroduce cranes successfully back into 

6 the wild, including propagation of a sufficient num7 ber of cranes required for this purpose. 

8 (e) PROJECT SUSTAINABILITY; MATCHING FUNDS.— 

9 To the maximum extent practicable, in determining 

10 whether to approve a project proposal under this section, 

11 the Secretary shall give preference to a proposed project— 

12 (1) that is designed to ensure effective, long13 term conservation of cranes and habitats of cranes; 

14 or 

15 (2) for which matching funds are available. 

16 (f) PROJECT REPORTING.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each person that receives 

18 assistance under this section for a project shall sub19 mit to the Secretary, at such periodic intervals as 

20 are determined by the Secretary, reports that in21 clude all information that the Secretary, after con22 sulting with other appropriate government officials, 

23 determines to be necessary to evaluate the progress 

24 and success of the project for the purposes of— 

25 (A) ensuring positive results; 

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1 (B) assessing problems; and 

2 (C) fostering improvements. 

3 (2) AVAILABILITY TO THE PUBLIC.—Each re4 port submitted under paragraph (1), and any other 

5 documents relating to a project for which financial 

6 assistance is provided under this Act, shall be made 

7 available to the public. 

8 SEC. 5. CRANE CONSERVATION FUND. 

9 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 

10 Multinational Species Conservation Fund established by 

11 the matter under the heading ‘‘MULTINATIONAL SPE12 CIES CONSERVATION FUND’’ in title I of the Depart13 ment of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations 

14 Act, 1999 (112 Stat. 2681–237; 16 U.S.C. 4246) a sepa15 rate account to be known as the ‘‘Crane Conservation 

16 Fund’’, consisting of— 

17 (1) amounts transferred to the Secretary of the 

18 Treasury for deposit into the Fund under subsection 

19 (c); and 

20 (2) amounts appropriated to the Fund under 

21 section 7. 

22 (b) EXPENDITURES FROM FUND.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraphs (2) 

24 and (3), upon request by the Secretary, the Sec25 retary of the Treasury shall transfer from the Fund 

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1 to the Secretary, without further appropriation, such 

2 amounts as the Secretary determines are necessary 

3 to provide assistance under section 4. 

4 (2) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Of the 

5 amounts in the Fund available for each fiscal year, 

6 the Secretary may expend not more than 3 percent, 

7 or $150,000, whichever is greater, to pay the admin8 istrative expenses necessary to carry out this Act. 

9 (3) LIMITATION.—Not more than 20 percent of 

10 the amounts made available from the Fund for any 

11 fiscal year may be used for projects relating to the 

12 conservation of North American crane species. 

13 (c) ACCEPTANCE AND USE OF DONATIONS.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may accept 

15 and use donations to provide assistance under sec16 tion 4. 

17 (2) TRANSFER OF DONATIONS.—Amounts re18 ceived by the Secretary in the form of donations 

19 shall be transferred to the Secretary of the Treasury 

20 for deposit in the Fund. 

21 SEC. 6. ADVISORY GROUP. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—To assist in carrying out this Act, 

23 the Secretary may convene an advisory group consisting 

24 of individuals representing public and private organiza25 tions actively involved in the conservation of cranes. 

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1 (b) PUBLIC PARTICIPATION.— 

2 (1) MEETINGS.—The advisory group shall— 

3 (A) ensure that each meeting of the advi4 sory group is open to the public; and 

5 (B) provide, at each meeting, an oppor6 tunity for interested persons to present oral or 

7 written statements concerning items on the 

8 agenda. 

9 (2) NOTICE.—The Secretary shall provide to 

10 the public timely notice of each meeting of the advi11 sory group. 

12 (3) MINUTES.—Minutes of each meeting of the 

13 advisory group shall be kept by the Secretary and 

14 shall be made available to the public. 

15 (c) EXEMPTION FROM FEDERAL ADVISORY COM16 MITTEE ACT.—The Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 

17 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to the advisory group. 

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1 SEC. 7. FUNDING. 

2 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Fund 

3 $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2009 through 2013, 

4 to remain available until expended. 

Passed the House of Representatives May 21, 2008. 

Attest: LORRAINE C. MILLER, 

Clerk. 

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