I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3545

To establish a program of research and other activities to provide for the 

recovery of the southern sea otter. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 20, 2003

Mr. FARR introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Resources 

A BILL

To establish a program of research and other activities to 

provide for the recovery of the southern sea otter.

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 ‘‘Southern Sea Otter 

5 Recovery and Research Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) Sea otters were hunted to near extinction in 

9 the 18th and 19th centuries along the west coast of 

10 the United States. Today a small population of 
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1 southern sea otters exists along the California coast2 line. 

3 (2) Southern sea otters are listed as a threat4 ened species under the Endangered Species Act of 

5 1973, and are recognized as depleted under the Ma6 rine Mammal Protection Act of 1972. 

7 (3) Southern sea otters have educational, eco8 nomic, ecological, and scientific importance to the 

9 people of California and the Nation. 

10 (4) Recent studies have—

11 (A) determined that an elevated level of 

12 mortality, particularly in adult southern sea ot13 ters, is limiting recovery of the population; and 

14 (B) determined that the major threats to 

15 the southern sea otter are largely due to de16 graded marine ecosystems, including infectious 

17 diseases, sequestration of contaminants, food 

18 resource limitations, and coastal oil spills. 

19 (5) Enactment of provisions to implement the 

20 United States Fish and Wildlife Service document 

21 entitled ‘‘Final Revised Recovery Plan for the South22 ern Sea Otter (Enhydra lutris nereis’’) could lead to 

23 delisting of the southern sea otter under the Endan24 gered Species Act of 1973. 
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1 (6) Research underlies every aspect of recov2 ering southern sea otter populations, educating citi3 zens and stakeholders, and restoring coastal eco4 systems. 

5 SEC. 3. SOUTHERN SEA OTTER RECOVERY PROGRAM. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Interior, act7 ing through the United States Fish and Wildlife Service 

8 (in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’), shall carry 

9 out a recovery program for southern sea otter populations 

10 along the coast of California. The recovery program shall 

11 include the following: 

12 (1) Monitoring and analysis of southern sea 

13 otter population demographics and life history pa14 rameters, including a biannual population census. 

15 (2) Protection of southern sea otter popu16 lations. 

17 (3) Reduction or elimination of potential factors 

18 limiting southern sea otter populations that are re19 lated to human activities. 

20 (4) Assessment of southern sea otter health in 

21 accordance with the Southern Sea Otter Health As22 sessment Plan developed under subsection (c). 

23 (5) Education and outreach to the public about 

24 southern sea otters and their survival. 
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1 (b) ANNUAL REPORT.—The Secretary shall annually 

2 submit to the Congress a report on the status of southern 

3 sea otter populations. 

4 (c) HEALTH ASSESSMENT PLAN.—The Secretary 

5 shall—

6 (1) in consultation with the Southern Sea Otter 

7 Recovery Implementation Team established under 

8 section 5, develop a Southern Sea Otter Health As9 sessment Plan; 

10 (2) collect and analyze tissue samples from 

11 southern sea otters; 

12 (3) after such analysis, submit the tissue sam13 ples to the Secretary of Commerce for inclusion in 

14 the National Marine Mammal Tissue Bank provided 

15 for under section 407 of the Marine Mammal Pro16 tection Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1421f) to allow for 

17 managed access to the tissues by other researchers; 

18 and 

19 (4) review progress on the implementation of 

20 the Southern Sea Otter Health Assessment Plan de21 veloped under paragraph (1) and report the status 

22 of the plan as part of the report under subsection 

23 (b). 
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1 (d) CONTENTS OF PLAN.—The Southern Sea Otter 

2 Health Assessment Plan developed under subsection 

3 (a)(1) shall include—

4 (1) mechanisms to assess and evaluate, among 

5 other matters, the immunology, virology, toxicology, 

6 parasitology, endocrinology, and nutritional status of 

7 southern sea otters; and 

8 (2) identification of centers of expertise and re9 sources to implement the plan. 

10 (e) PROMOTION OF ECOSYSTEM SUSTAINABILITY.—

11 In implementing this section, the Secretary shall seek to 

12 promote ecosystem sustainability, in cooperation with the 

13 Secretary of Commerce and State fisheries management 

14 agencies. 

15 SEC. 4. SOUTHERN SEA OTTER RESEARCH PROGRAM. 

16 (a) GRANT AUTHORITY.—The Secretary of the Inte17 rior shall award competitive grants to support research re18 garding southern sea otters. 

19 (b) RESEARCH SUBJECTS.—Research funded with 

20 grants under this section—

21 (1) shall be in accordance with the research 

22 goals established by the Sea Otter Recovery Imple23 mentation Team under section 5; and 

24 (2) shall include the following topics: 
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1 (A) Southern sea otter demographics and 

2 natural history. 

3 (B) Contaminant sequestration. 

4 (C) Infectious diseases and parasites af5 fecting southern sea otters. 

6 (D) Limitations on the availability of food 

7 resources for southern sea otters. 

8 (c) RECOMMENDATION OF GRANTS BY ADVISORY

9 BOARD REQUIRED.—The Secretary—

10 (1) shall submit each grant proposal submitted 

11 under this section to the Southern Sea Otter Recov12 ery Implementation Team established under section 

13 5; and 

14 (2) may not make a grant under this section 

15 unless the grant proposal has been recommended by 

16 such Team. 

17 SEC. 5. SOUTHERN SEA OTTER RECOVERY IMPLEMENTA18 TION TEAM. 

19 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of the Interior 

20 shall establish the Southern Sea Otter Recovery Imple21 mentation Team (in this section referred to as the 

22 ‘‘Team’’). The Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 App. 

23 U.S.C.) shall not apply to the Team. 

24 (b) FUNCTIONS.—The Team shall—
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1 (1) make recommendations to the Secretary re2 garding overall southern sea otter recovery program 

3 administration and research goals; 

4 (2) serve as a link between the recovery pro5 gram and stakeholders; 

6 (3) review the recommendations of the Sci7 entific Advisory Committee established by section 6; 

8 and 

9 (4) make recommendations to the Secretary re10 garding funding of scientific research under section 

11 4. 

12 (c) MEMBERSHIP.—

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Team shall have bal14 anced representation and shall consist of no more 

15 than 13 members. The Secretary shall, in consulta16 tion with the Marine Mammal Commission, appoint 

17 members of the Team from among— 

18 (A) individuals who are representatives of 

19 Federal, State, or local agencies with expertise 

20 in sea otter management; 

21 (B) individuals who are representatives of 

22 local marine user groups; 

23 (C) individuals who are representatives of 

24 marine conservation and other public interest 

25 organizations; 
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1 (D) individuals who are representatives of 

2 organizations involved in southern sea otter res3 cue, rehabilitation, and release; and 

4 (E) individuals who are representatives of 

5 scientific and educational organizations. 

6 (2) CHAIRMAN.—The Team shall elect a mem7 ber of the Team as chairman of the Team for a 

8 term of 3 years. A member of the Team may not 

9 serve more than 2 terms as chairman. 

10 (d) CONFLICTS OF INTEREST.—A member of the 

11 Team who participated in the development of a proposal 

12 may not participate in the review and recommendation of 

13 grants under section 4(c) with respect to the proposal by 

14 the Team. 

15 (e) STAFFING AND ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary may 

16 make available to the Team any staff, information, admin17 istrative services, or assistance the Secretary determines 

18 is reasonably required to enable the Team to carry out 

19 its function. 

20 (f) ADMINISTRATION.—

21 (1) INTERNAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGULA22 TIONS.—The Team shall adopt rules, procedures, 

23 and other internal administrative regulations as may 

24 be necessary to carry out its functions. 
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1 (2) SUBSIDIARY BODIES.—The Team may es2 tablish such subsidiary bodies as it considers nec3 essary to carry out its functions. 

4 (g) PUBLIC PARTICIPATION AND PROCEDURAL MAT5 TERS.—The following apply with respect to the conduct 

6 of business meetings of the Team: 

7 (1) Each meeting shall be open to the public, 

8 and interested persons shall be allowed to present 

9 oral or written statements on items on the agenda. 

10 (2) Regular business meetings of the Team 

11 shall occur at least once a year. Other extraordinary 

12 meetings of the Team may be held at the call of the 

13 chairman. 

14 (3) Timely notice of each meeting, including the 

15 time, place, and agenda of the meeting, shall be pub16 lished locally and in the Federal Register. 

17 (4) Minutes of each meeting shall be kept, and 

18 shall contain a summary of attendees and matters 

19 discussed. 

20 SEC. 6. SCIENTIFIC ADVISORY COMMITTEE. 

21 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall establish 

22 the Southern Sea Otter Recovery Scientific Advisory Com23 mittee (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Advisory Com24 mittee’’). The Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 App. 

25 U.S.C.) shall not apply to the Advisory Committee. 
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1 (b) FUNCTIONS.—The Advisory Committee shall—

2 (1) evaluate the scientific merit and quality of 

3 southern sea otter research proposals submitted for 

4 funding in response to a request by the Secretary for 

5 proposals, based on the research goals established by 

6 the Secretary; and 

7 (2) make recommendations to the Southern Sea 

8 Otter Recovery Implementation Team established by 

9 section 5 regarding funding of such proposals. 

10 (c) MEMBERSHIP.—The Advisory Committee shall 

11 have balanced representation, and shall consist of no more 

12 than 11 members appointed by the Secretary from among 

13 individuals with a doctorate or equivalent education de14 gree. The Secretary shall, in consultation with the Marine 

15 Mammal Commission and the Sea Otter Recovery Imple16 mentation Team established under section 5, appoint 

17 members of the Team from among—

18 (1) representatives of Federal, State, or local 

19 agencies with expertise in sea otter management; 

20 (2) representatives of local marine user groups; 

21 (3) representatives of marine conservation and 

22 other public interest organizations; 

23 (4) representatives of organizations involved in 

24 southern sea otter rescue, rehabilitation, and release; 

25 and 
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1 (5) representatives of scientific and educational 

2 organizations. 

3 (d) TERMS.—

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para5 graph (2), the term of a member of the Advisory 

6 Committee shall be 3 years. 

7 (2) INITIAL APPOINTMENTS.—Of the members 

8 first appointed as members of the Advisory Com9 mittee—

10 (A) 3 shall be appointed to an initial term 

11 of 1 year; and 

12 (B) 3 shall be appointed to an initial term 

13 of 2 years. 

14 (e) CONFLICTS OF INTEREST.—A member of the Ad15 visory Committee who participated in the development of 

16 a proposal may not participate in the review and rec17 ommendation of grants under section 4(c) with respect to 

18 the proposal by the Advisory Committee. 

19 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be appro21 priated to the Secretary of the Interior to carry out this 

22 Act $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2004 through 

23 2009, of which $2,000,000 each fiscal year shall be for 

24 grants under section 4. 
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1 (b) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Of amounts avail2 able each fiscal year to carry out section 6, the Secretary 

3 may expend not more than 6 percent or $80,000, which4 ever is greater, to pay the administrative expenses nec5 essary to carry out section 6.

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