I 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1907 

To authorize the acquisition of land and interests in land from willing sellers 

to improve the conservation of, and to enhance the ecological values 

and functions of, coastal and estuarine areas to benefit both the environment and the economies of coastal communities, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 18, 2007 

Mr. SAXTON (for himself and Mrs. CAPPS) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To authorize the acquisition of land and interests in land 

from willing sellers to improve the conservation of, and 

to enhance the ecological values and functions of, coastal 

and estuarine areas to benefit both the environment and 

the economies of coastal communities, and for other purposes. 

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 ‘‘Coastal and Estuarine 

5 Land Protection Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) Coastal and estuarine areas provide impor4 tant nursery habitat for two-thirds of the Nation’s 

5 commercial fish and shellfish, provide nesting and 

6 foraging habitat for coastal birds, harbor significant 

7 natural plant communities, and serve to facilitate 

8 coastal flood control and pollutant filtration. 

9 (2) The Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 

10 (16 U.S.C. 1451 et seq.) recognizes the national im11 portance of these areas and their ecological vulner12 ability to anthropogenic activities by establishing a 

13 comprehensive Federal-State partnership for pro14 tecting natural reserves and managing growth in 

15 these areas. 

16 (3) The National Estuarine Research Reserve 

17 system established under that Act relies on the pro18 tection of pristine designated areas for long-term 

19 protection and for the conduct of education and re20 search critical to the protection and conservation of 

21 coastal and estuarine resources. 

22 (4) Intense development pressures within the 

23 coastal watershed are driving the need to provide 

24 coastal managers with a wider range of tools to pro25 tect and conserve important coastal and estuarine 

26 areas, including protection of ecologically degraded 


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1 areas with potential for restoration for ecological or 

2 recreational purposes. 

3 (5) Protection of undeveloped coastal lands 

4 through the acquisition of interests in property from 

5 a willing seller are a cost-effective means of pro6 viding these areas with permanent protection from 

7 development. 

8 (6) Permanent protection of lands in the coast9 al zone is a necessary component of any program to 

10 maintain and enhance coastal and estuarine areas 

11 for the benefit of the Nation. 

12 (7) Coastal and estuarine areas, in both urban 

13 and rural settings, provide significant opportunities 

14 for recreational and educational activities, including 

15 hunting and fishing, boating, swimming, bird watch16 ing, wildlife observation, restoration, and other ac17 tivities. 

18 (8) Federal-State-nongovernmental organization 

19 pilot land acquisition projects have already substan20 tially contributed to the long-term health and viabil21 ity of coastal and estuarine systems. 

22 (9) Enhanced protection of estuarine and coast23 al areas can be attained through watershed-based 

24 acquisition strategies coordinated through Federal, 

25 State, regional, and local efforts. 


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1 (10) Conserving coastal and estuarine lands can 

2 support the traditional economic and natural re3 source bases of communities in the coastal water4 shed, including well-managed forests that dem5 onstrate outstanding ecological, recreational, histor6 ical, and aesthetic attributes. 

7 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF COASTAL AND ESTUARINE 

8 LAND PROTECTION PROGRAM. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Commerce shall 

10 establish a Coastal and Estuarine Land Protection Pro11 gram, in cooperation with appropriate State, regional, and 

12 other units of government, for the purposes of protecting 

13 the environmental integrity of important coastal and estu14 arine areas, including wetlands and forests, that have sig15 nificant conservation, recreation, ecological, historical, 

16 aesthetic, or watershed protection values, and that are 

17 threatened by conversion from their natural, undeveloped, 

18 or recreational state to other uses or could be managed 

19 or restored to effectively conserve, enhance, or restore eco20 logical function. The program shall be administered by the 

21 National Ocean Service of the National Oceanic and At22 mospheric Administration through the Office of Ocean 

23 and Coastal Resource Management. 

24 (b) PROPERTY ACQUISITION GRANTS.—The Sec25 retary shall make grants under the program to coastal 


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1 States with approved coastal zone management plans or 

2 National Estuarine Research Reserve units for the pur3 pose of acquiring property or interests in property de4 scribed in subsection (a) that will further the goals of— 

5 (1) a Coastal Zone Management Plan or Pro6 gram approved under the Coastal Zone Management 

7 Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1451 et seq.); 

8 (2) a National Estuarine Research Reserve 

9 management plan; or 

10 (3) a regional or State watershed protection 

11 plan involving coastal States with approved coastal 

12 zone management plans. 

13 (c) GRANT PROCESS.—The Secretary shall allocate 

14 funds to coastal States or National Estuarine Research 

15 Reserves under this section through a competitive grant 

16 process in accordance with guidelines that meet the fol17 lowing requirements: 

18 (1) The Secretary shall consult with the State’s 

19 coastal zone management program, any National Es20 tuarine Research Reserve in that State, and the lead 

21 agency designated by the Governor for coordinating 

22 the implementation of this Act (if different from the 

23 coastal zone management program). 

24 (2) Each participating State, after consultation 

25 with nongovernmental and local governmental entiVerDate Aug 31 2005 19:17 Apr 22, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1907.IH H1907

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1 ties, shall identify priority conservation needs within 

2 the State, the values to be protected by inclusion of 

3 lands in the program, and the threats to those val4 ues that should be avoided. 

5 (3) Each participating State shall evaluate how 

6 the acquisition of property or easements might im7 pact working waterfront needs. 

8 (4) The applicant shall identify the values to be 

9 protected by inclusion of the lands in the program, 

10 management activities that are planned and the 

11 manner in which they may affect the values identi12 fied, and any other information from the landowner 

13 relevant to administration and management of the 

14 land. 

15 (5) Awards shall be based on demonstrated 

16 need for protection and ability to successfully lever17 age funds among participating entities, including 

18 Federal programs, regional organizations, State and 

19 other governmental units, landowners, corporations, 

20 or private organizations. 

21 (6) The governor, or the lead agency designated 

22 by the governor for coordinating the implementation 

23 of this Act, shall determine that the application is 

24 consistent with the State’s or territory’s approved 


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1 coastal zone plan, program and policies prior to sub2 mittal to the Secretary. 

3 (7) Priority shall be given to lands described in 

4 subsection (a) that can be effectively managed and 

5 protected and that have significant ecological or wa6 tershed protection value. 

7 (8) In developing guidelines under this section, 

8 the Secretary shall consult with other Federal agen9 cies and non-governmental entities with expertise in 

10 land acquisition and conservation procedures. 

11 (9) Eligible States or National Estuarine Re12 search Reserves may allocate grants to local govern13 ments or agencies eligible for assistance under sec14 tion 306A(e) of the Coastal Zone Management Act 

15 of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1455a) and may acquire lands 

16 in cooperation with nongovernmental entities and 

17 Federal agencies. 

18 (10) The Secretary shall develop measures that 

19 will ensure that property or interests in property ac20 quired in whole or in part through the use of funds 

21 under the program are acquired only from willing 

22 sellers. 

23 (11) The Secretary shall develop performance 

24 measures that the Secretary shall use to evaluate 

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1 plishing its purposes, and shall submit such evalua2 tions to Congress trienially. 

3 (d) MATCHING REQUIREMENTS.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may not 

5 make a grant under the program unless the Federal 

6 funds are matched by non-Federal funds in accord7 ance with this subsection. 

8 (2) MAXIMUM FEDERAL SHARE.— 

9 (A) 75 PERCENT FEDERAL FUNDS.—No 

10 more than 75 percent of the funding for any 

11 project under this section shall be derived from 

12 Federal sources, unless such requirement is 

13 specifically waived by the Secretary. 

14 (B) WAIVER OF REQUIREMENT.—The Sec15 retary may grant a waiver of the limitation in 

16 subparagraph (A) for underserved communities, 

17 communities that have an inability to draw on 

18 other sources of funding because of the small 

19 population or low income of the community, or 

20 for other reasons the Secretary deems appro21 priate. 

22 (3) OTHER FEDERAL FUNDS.—Where financial 

23 assistance awarded under this section represents 

24 only a portion of the total cost of a project, funding 

25 from other Federal sources may be applied to the 


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1 cost of the project. Each portion shall be subject to 

2 match requirements under the applicable provision 

3 of law. 

4 (4) SOURCE OF MATCHING COST SHARE.—For 

5 purposes of paragraph (2)(A), the non-Federal cost 

6 share for a project may be determined by taking into 

7 account the following: 

8 (A) The value of land or a conservation 

9 easement may be used as non-Federal match if 

10 the lands are identified in project plans and ac11 quired within 3 years prior to the submission of 

12 the project application or after the submission 

13 of a project application until the project grant 

14 is closed (not to exceed 3 years). The appraised 

15 value of the land at the time of project closing 

16 will be considered the non-Federal cost share. 

17 The value of land that is held by a nongovern18 mental organization may be used for such pur19 pose if it is held in perpetuity by a qualified 

20 conservation organization, as determined by the 

21 Secretary. 

22 (B) Costs associated with land acquisition, 

23 land management planning, remediation, res24 toration, and enhancement may be used as non25 Federal match if the activities are identified in 


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1 the plan and expenses are incurred within the 

2 period of the grant award, or, for lands de3 scribed in (A), within the same time limits de4 scribed therein. These costs may include either 

5 cash or in-kind contributions. 

6 (e) RESERVATION OF FUNDS FOR NATIONAL ESTUA7 RINE RESEARCH RESERVE SITES.—No less than 15 per8 cent of funds made available under this section shall be 

9 available for acquisitions benefiting National Estuarine 

10 Research Reserves. 

11 (f) LIMIT ON ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—No more 

12 than 5 percent of the funds made available to the Sec13 retary under this section shall be used by the Secretary 

14 for planning or administration of the program. The Sec15 retary shall provide a report to Congress with an account 

16 of all expenditures under this section for fiscal year 2008 

17 and triennially thereafter. 

18 (g) TITLE AND MANAGEMENT OF ACQUIRED PROP19 ERTY.—If any property is acquired in whole or in part 

20 with funds made available through a grant under this sec21 tion, the grant recipient shall provide such assurances as 

22 the Secretary may require that— 

23 (1) the title to the property will be held by the 

24 grant recipient or another appropriate public agency 

25 designated by the recipient in perpetuity; 


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1 (2) the property will be managed in a manner 

2 that is consistent with the purposes for which the 

3 land entered into the program and shall not convert 

4 such property to other uses; and 

5 (3) if the property or interest in land is sold, 

6 exchanged, or divested, funds equal to the correct 

7 value will be returned to the Secretary in accordance 

8 with applicable Federal law for redistribution in the 

9 grant process. 

10 (h) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

11 (1) COASTAL STATE.—The term ‘‘coastal 

12 State’’ has the meaning given the term ‘‘coastal 

13 state’’ by section 304(4) of the Coastal Zone Man14 agement Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1453(4)). 

15 (2) CONSERVATION EASEMENT.—The term 

16 ‘‘conservation easement’’ includes an easement or re17 striction, recorded deed, or a reserve interest deed 

18 where the grantee acquires all rights, title, and in19 terest in a property, that do not conflict with the 

20 goals of this Act except those rights, title, and inter21 ests that may run with the land that are expressly 

22 reserved by a grantor and are agreed to at the time 

23 of purchase. 

24 (3) INTEREST IN PROPERTY.—The term ‘‘inter25 est in property’’ includes a conservation easement. 


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1 (4) OTHER TERMS.—Any term used in this sec2 tion that is defined in section 304 of the Coastal 

3 Zone Management Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1453) 

4 has the meaning given that term in that section. 

5 (i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

6 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary such 

7 sums as may be necessary to carry out this Act for fiscal 

8 years 2008 through 2012. 

Æ 


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