I 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2593 

To secure and conserve Federal public lands and natural resources along 

the international land borders of the United States, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 6, 2007 

Mr. GRIJALVA introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Homeland Security, and in addition to the Committees on Natural Resources and Agriculture, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions 

as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To secure and conserve Federal public lands and natural 

resources along the international land borders of the 

United States, 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 Borderlands Con5 servation and Security Act of 2007’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) The United States-Mexico border area con2 tains a high concentration of protected Federal 

3 lands, including National Parks, National Monu4 ments, National Wildlife Refuges, National Forests, 

5 and Wilderness Areas. These lands are of significant 

6 ecological, educational, historic, cultural, recreational 

7 and economic value to the United States and its peo8 ple. 

9 (2) The United States and Mexico have collabo10 rated to address shared conservation and security 

11 issues, including migratory, imperiled, and invasive 

12 species, border operations and security, cultural re13 sources, and trans-boundary pollution. 

14 (3) Federal lands and resources along the 

15 United States-Mexico border have suffered extensive 

16 damage from the effects of unauthorized immigra17 tion, human and drug smuggling, and border en18 forcement activities. 

19 (4) Increased coordination and planning be20 tween the Department of Homeland Security and 

21 Federal land management agencies can help avoid 

22 and mitigate damage to Federal lands and resources 

23 along the United States-Mexico border while improv24 ing border security. 


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1 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are to pro2 vide a means whereby the Federal lands and resources 

3 along the United States-Mexico border are provided the 

4 highest protection possible from the effects of unauthor5 ized immigration, human and drug smuggling, and border 

6 enforcement activities, while ensuring that all operations 

7 necessary to achieve border security are undertaken. 

8 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

9 (a) PROTECTED LAND.—The term ‘‘protected land’’ 

10 means land under the jurisdiction of the Secretary con11 cerned. 

12 (b) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the 

13 Secretary of Homeland Security. 

14 (c) SECRETARY CONCERNED.—The term ‘‘Secretary 

15 concerned’’ means— 

16 (1) with respect to land under the jurisdiction 

17 of the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Ag18 riculture; and 

19 (2) with respect to land under the jurisdiction 

20 of the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of the 

21 Interior. 

22 SEC. 4. PROTECTION OF BORDERLAND ENVIRONMENT. 

23 (a) BORDER PROTECTION STRATEGY.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than May 30, 

25 2008, the Secretary, the Secretary of the Interior, 


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1 and the Secretary of Agriculture shall jointly develop 

2 a border protection strategy that supports the bor3 der security needs of the United States in the man4 ner that best protects— 

5 (A) units of the National Park System; 

6 (B) National Forest System land; 

7 (C) land under the jurisdiction of the Bu8 reau of Land Management; 

9 (D) land under the jurisdiction of the 

10 United States Fish and Wildlife Service; and 

11 (E) other relevant land under the jurisdic12 tion of the Department of the Interior or the 

13 Department of Agriculture. 

14 (2) TRIBAL LANDS.—The Secretary, in con15 sultation with Tribal officials, shall jointly develop a 

16 border protection strategy for tribal lands along the 

17 United States-Mexico border. 

18 (b) REQUIRED TRAINING.—The Secretary, in co19 operation with the Secretary concerned, shall provide— 

20 (1) Federal land resource training for Customs 

21 and Border Protection agents assigned to patrol pro22 tected land; and 

23 (2) cultural resource training for Customs and 

24 Border Protection agents assigned to patrol tribal 

25 lands. 


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1 (c) COORDINATION.—In providing training for Cus2 toms and Border Protection agents under subsection 

3 (b)(1), the Secretary shall coordinate with the Secretary 

4 concerned to ensure that the training is appropriate to the 

5 mission of the relevant agency of the Department of the 

6 Interior or the Department of Agriculture to minimize the 

7 adverse impact on natural and cultural resources from 

8 border enforcement activities. 

9 (d) INVENTORY OF COSTS AND ACTIVITIES.—The 

10 Secretary concerned shall develop and submit to the Sec11 retary an inventory of costs incurred by the Secretary con12 cerned relating to illegal border activity and border en13 forcement activities, including the cost of— 

14 (1) infrastructure; 

15 (2) equipment; 

16 (3) training; 

17 (4) recurring maintenance; 

18 (5) construction of facilities; 

19 (6) restoration of natural and cultural re20 sources; 

21 (7) recapitalization of facilities; and 

22 (8) operations. 

23 (e) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The Secretary shall— 

24 (1) develop joint recommendations with the Sec25 retary of the Interior and the Secretary of AgriVerDate Aug 31 2005 22:43 Jun 08, 2007 Jkt 059196 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2593.IH H2593

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1 culture for an appropriate cost recovery mechanism 

2 relating to items identified in subsection (d); and 

3 (2) not later than May 30, 2008, submit to the 

4 appropriate congressional committees (as defined in 

5 section 2 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 

6 U.S.C. 101)), including the Subcommittee on Na7 tional Parks of the Senate and the Subcommittee on 

8 National Parks, Forests, and Public Lands of the 

9 House of Representatives, the recommendations de10 veloped under paragraph (1). 

11 SEC. 5. BORDER BARRIER CONSTRUCTION. 

12 (a) FENCING AND OTHER BARRIERS ON PUBLIC

13 LANDS.—Section 102(b)(1) of the Illegal Immigration Re14 form and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (Public 

15 Law 104–208; 8 U.S.C. 1103 note) is amended— 

16 (1) in subparagraph (A), in the matter pre17 ceding clause (i), by striking ‘‘the Secretary of 

18 Homeland Security shall provide for least 2 layers of 

19 reinforced fencing, the installation of additional 

20 physical barriers, roads, lighting, cameras, and sen21 sors—’’ and inserting ‘‘the Secretary of Homeland 

22 Security, in consultation with the Secretary of Agri23 culture, the Secretary of the Interior, or the heads 

24 of other Federal agencies, as appropriate, and State, 

25 local, and tribal officials, shall provide for fencing, 


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1 vehicle barriers, roads, lighting, cameras, sensors, or 

2 other surveillance and barrier tools as necessary—’’; 

3 (2) in subparagraph (B)(i), by striking ‘‘2007’’ 

4 and inserting ‘‘2008’’; and 

5 (3) by adding after subparagraph (C) the fol6 lowing new subparagraph: 

7 ‘‘(D) MANNER OF CONSTRUCTION.—In 

8 carrying out the requirements of subsection (a), 

9 the Secretary of Homeland Security shall, 

10 where practicable, prioritize the use of un11 manned aerial vehicles, remote cameras, sen12 sors, vehicle barriers, or other low impact bor13 der enforcement techniques on lands under the 

14 jurisdiction of the Secretary of Agriculture, the 

15 Secretary of the Interior, or other Federal 

16 agencies.’’. 

17 (b) APPLICABILITY OF EXISTING LAWS.—Section 

18 102(c) of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant 

19 Responsibility Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1103 note), is re20 pealed. 

21 (c) FEDERAL LANDS.—In fulfilling the requirements 

22 of section 102(b)(1) of the Illegal Immigration Reform 

23 and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 as amended by 

24 subsection (a), the Secretary of Homeland Security shall 

25 not commence any construction of fencing on any lands 


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1 under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of Agriculture or 

2 the Secretary of the Interior prior to the submission to 

3 Congress by the Secretary of Homeland Security of the 

4 Border Protection Strategy mandated by section 4(a) of 

5 this Act. 

6 SEC. 6. BORDERLANDS CONSERVATION FUND. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall— 

8 (1) establish a program to provide financial as9 sistance for projects consistent with the goal of im10 proved management of ecologically sensitive or listed 

11 species, improved wildlife habitat to aid in the man12 agement of these species, and mitigating the impacts 

13 of border enforcement, human and drug smuggling, 

14 and unauthorized immigration on these species, 

15 pending approval of project applications; and 

16 (2) subject to the availability of funds, award 

17 grants to eligible organizations to promote conserva18 tion of these species. 

19 (b) DEFINITIONS.— 

20 (1) In this section: 

21 (A) CONSERVATION.—The term ‘‘conserva22 tion’’ means the use of methods and procedures 

23 necessary to prevent the diminution of, and to 

24 sustain viable populations of species that occur 

25 in the United States—Mexico borderlands. This 


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1 includes all activities associated with the protec2 tion and management of wildlife species of the 

3 borderland region and with the protection of the 

4 habitat upon which they depend. 

5 (B) FUND.—The term ‘‘fund’’ means the 

6 Borderland Conservation Fund established in 

7 this section. 

8 (C) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 

9 means the Secretary of the Interior. 

10 (c) PROJECT PROPOSALS.— 

11 (1) SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS.—A proposal 

12 for a project for the conservation of species identi13 fied in this Act may be submitted to the Secretary 

14 by— 

15 (A) any local wildlife management author16 ity in the United States or Mexico; and 

17 (B) any person or non-governmental orga18 nization with the demonstrated ability and ex19 perience working with the taxa for which a pro20 posal is submitted. 

21 (2) ELEMENTS.—A proposal submitted under 

22 paragraph (1) shall contain the following elements: 

23 (A) A concise statement of the proposed 

24 action that includes a statement of need and 


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1 benefits to the species to be achieved by the 

2 project proposal. 

3 (B) An outline of methods to be used to 

4 accomplish the tasks outlined in the project 

5 proposal. 

6 (C) The name of the project applicant and 

7 their affiliation. 

8 (D) An estimate of the cost and time 

9 frame for project completion. 

10 (E) Identification of all mechanisms to en11 sure local involvement in the project. 

12 (F) Assurances that the project has re13 ceived endorsement of the responsible wildlife 

14 management authority and other appropriate 

15 authorities. 

16 (G) Information on the source and amount 

17 of any matching funds to be used for comple18 tion of the project. 

19 (d) PROJECT REVIEW AND APPROVAL.—The Sec20 retary shall— 

21 (1) establish a protocol for soliciting and re22 viewing proposals for Borderland Conservation Fund 

23 monies; and 


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1 (2) within the framework established by the 

2 Secretary, call for proposals in all years when funds 

3 are available in the Borderland Conservation Fund. 

4 (e) CRITERIA FOR APPROVAL.—To be eligible for ap5 proval, a project must enhance conservation of wildlife 

6 species and their habitat by assisting efforts to— 

7 (1) develop sound scientific information on— 

8 (A) population trends for approved wildlife 

9 species; 

10 (B) identification of threats to wildlife pop11 ulations or the habitat upon which they depend, 

12 particularly due to border security measures, 

13 construction, enforcement, or illegal activity; 

14 and 

15 (C) identification of methods to improve 

16 habitat conditions or to improve the status of 

17 the wildlife species, particularly those impacted 

18 by border security measures, construction, en19 forcement, or illegal activity; 

20 (2) implement species or habitat conservation 

21 plans; 

22 (3) promote cooperation among local citizens, 

23 wildlife and habitat management agencies, and non24 governmental organizations in programs that would 

25 be approved under this Act; and 


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1 (4) build local capacity to implement scientif2 ically sound wildlife or habitat management pro3 grams. 

4 (f) MATCHING FUNDS.—In determining whether to 

5 approve project proposals under this section, the Secretary 

6 shall give preference to projects with matching non-Fed7 eral funds. 

8 (g) PROJECT REPORTING.— 

9 (1) RECIPIENT REPORTS.—In any year for 

10 which a recipient is awarded funds under this Act, 

11 the recipient shall submit a report to the Secretary 

12 that outlines significant accomplishments of the 

13 project, significant deviations from the approved 

14 project proposal, and financial expenditures related 

15 to the project for that year. 

16 (2) SECRETARIAL REPORTS.—The Secretary 

17 shall submit an annual report to Congress outlining 

18 accomplishments under this Act related to the im19 proved conservation of borderland resources. 

20 (h) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 

21 Multinational Species Conservation Fund a separate ac22 count to be known as the ‘‘Borderland Conservation 

23 Fund’’ consisting of— 


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1 (1) amounts transferred to the Secretary of the 

2 Treasury for deposit into the Borderland Conserva3 tion Fund; 

4 (2) amounts appropriated to the fund; and 

5 (3) any interest earned on investments from 

6 funds held within the fund. 

7 (i) EXPENDITURES FROM THE FUND.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 

9 upon request by the Secretary, the Secretary of the 

10 Treasury shall transfer from the Borderland Con11 servation Fund to the Secretary, without further ap12 propriation, such amounts as the Secretary deter13 mines necessary to carry out projects under this Act. 

14 (2) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Of the 

15 amounts in the account available for each fiscal 

16 year, the Secretary may expend not more than 3 

17 percent or $80,000, whichever is greater, of the fund 

18 balance annually to pay the administrative expenses 

19 necessary to carry out this Act. 

20 (3) FOCUS.—Not less than 30 percent of the 

21 amounts made available to the fund for each fiscal 

22 year shall be expended for projects carried out in 

23 Mexico. 

24 (j) INVESTMENTS OF AMOUNTS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Treas2 ury shall invest amounts in the fund that are not, 

3 in the judgment of the Secretary of the Treasury, 

4 required to meet withdrawals. Investments may be 

5 made only in interest-bearing obligations of the 

6 United States. 

7 (2) ACQUISITIONS OF OBLIGATIONS.—For the 

8 purpose of investments under paragraph (1), obliga9 tions may be acquired— 

10 (A) on original issue at the issue price; or 

11 (B) by purchase of outstanding obligations 

12 at the market price. 

13 (3) SALE OF OBLIGATIONS.—Any obligation ac14 quired by the fund may be sold by the Secretary of 

15 the Treasury at the market price. 

16 (4) CREDITS TO FUND.—The interest on, and 

17 the proceeds from the sale or redemption of, any ob18 ligations held in the fund shall be credited to and 

19 form a part of the fund. 

20 (k) TRANSFERS OF AMOUNTS.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—The amounts required to be 

22 transferred to the fund under this section shall be 

23 transferred at least monthly from the general fund 

24 of the Treasury to the fund on the basis of estimates 

25 made by the Secretary of the Treasury. 


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1 (2) ADJUSTMENTS.—Proper adjustment shall 

2 be made in amounts subsequently transferred to the 

3 extent prior estimates were in excess of or less than 

4 the amounts required to be transferred. 

5 (l) ACCEPTANCE AND USE OF DONATIONS.—The 

6 Secretary may accept and use donations to provide assist7 ance under section 4. Amounts received by the Secretary 

8 in the form of donations shall be transferred to the Sec9 retary of the Treasury for deposit into the Fund. 

10 (m) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

11 are authorized to be appropriated to the fund through the 

12 Secretary $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2009 

13 through 2013. 

Æ 


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