I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 273

To provide for the eradication and control of nutria in Maryland and 

Louisiana. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 8, 2003

Mr. GILCHREST (for himself and Mr. TAUZIN) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Resources 

A BILL

To provide for the eradication and control of nutria in 

Maryland and Louisiana.

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 ‘‘Nutria Eradication 

5 and Control Act of 2003’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 

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

8 (1) Wetlands and tidal marshes of the Chesa9 peake Bay and in Louisiana provide significant cul-
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1 tural, economic, and ecological benefits to the Na2 tion. 

3 (2) The South American nutria (Myocastor 

4 coypus) is directly contributing to substantial marsh 

5 loss in Maryland and Louisiana on Federal, State, 

6 and private land. 

7 (3) Traditional harvest methods to control or 

8 eradicate nutria have failed in Maryland and have 

9 had limited success in the eradication of nutria in 

10 Louisiana. Consequently, marsh loss is accelerating. 

11 (4) The nutria eradication and control pilot 

12 program authorized by Public Law 105–322 is to 

13 develop new and effective methods for eradication of 

14 nutria. 

15 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to author16 ize the Secretary of the Interior to provide financial assist17 ance to the State of Maryland and the State of Louisiana 

18 for a program to implement measures to eradicate or con19 trol nutria and restore marshland damaged by nutria. 

20 SEC. 3. NUTRIA ERADICATION PROGRAM. 

21 (a) GRANT AUTHORITY.—The Secretary of the Inte22 rior (in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’), subject 

23 to the availability of appropriations, may provide financial 

24 assistance to the State of Maryland and the State of Lou25 isiana for a program to implement measures to eradicate 
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1 or control nutria and restore marshland damaged by nu2 tria. 

3 (b) GOALS.—The goals of the program shall be to—

4 (1) eradicate nutria in Maryland; 

5 (2) eradicate or control nutria in Louisiana and 

6 other States; and 

7 (3) restore marshland damaged by nutria. 

8 (c) ACTIVITIES.—In the State of Maryland, the Sec9 retary shall require that the program consist of manage10 ment, research, and public education activities carried out 

11 in accordance with the document published by the United 

12 States Fish and Wildlife Service entitled ‘‘Eradication 

13 Strategies for Nutria in the Chesapeake and Delaware 

14 Bay Watersheds’’, dated March 2002. 

15 (d) COST SHARING.—

16 (1) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share of 

17 the costs of the program may not exceed 75 percent 

18 of the total costs of the program. 

19 (2) IN-KIND CONTRIBUTIONS.—The non-Fed20 eral share of the costs of the program may be pro21 vided in the form of in-kind contributions of mate22 rials or services. 

23 (e) LIMITATION ON ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—

24 Not more than 5 percent of financial assistance provided 
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1 by the Secretary under this section may be used for ad2 ministrative expenses. 

3 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—For fi4 nancial assistance under this section, there is authorized 

5 to be appropriated to the Secretary $4,000,000 for the 

6 State of Maryland program and $2,000,000 for the State 

7 of Louisiana program for each of fiscal years 2004, 2005, 

8 2006, 2007, and 2008. 

9 SEC. 4. REPORT. 

10 No later than 6 months after the date of the enact11 ment of this Act, the Secretary and the National Invasive 

12 Species Council shall—

13 (1) give consideration to the 2002 report for 

14 the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries 

15 titled ‘‘Nutria in Louisiana’’, and the 2002 docu16 ment entitled ‘‘Eradication Strategies for Nutria in 

17 the Chesapeake and Delaware Bay Watersheds’’; 

18 and 

19 (2) develop, in cooperation with the State of 

20 Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries and 

21 the State of Maryland Department of Natural Re22 sources, a long-term nutria control or eradication 

23 program, as appropriate, with the objective to sig24 nificantly reduce and restore the damage nutria 
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1 cause to coastal wetlands in the States of Louisiana 

2 and Maryland.

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