I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3378

To assist in the conservation of marine turtles and the nesting habitats 

of marine turtles in foreign countries. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 28, 2003

Mr. GILCHREST introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Resources 

A BILL

To assist in the conservation of marine turtles and the 

nesting habitats of marine turtles in foreign countries.

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 ‘‘Marine Turtle Con5 servation Act of 2003’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that—

8 (1) marine turtle populations have declined to 

9 the point that the long-term survival of the logger10 head, green, hawksbill, Kemp’s ridley, olive ridley, 
2

•HR 3378 IH 

1 and leatherback turtle in the wild is in serious jeop2 ardy; 

3 (2) 6 of the 7 recognized species of marine tur4 tles are listed as threatened or endangered species 

5 under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 

6 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), and all 7 species have been in7 cluded in Appendix I of CITES; 

8 (3) because marine turtles are long-lived, late9 maturing, and highly migratory, marine turtles are 

10 particularly vulnerable to the impacts of human ex11 ploitation and habitat loss; 

12 (4) illegal international trade seriously threat13 ens wild populations of some marine turtle species, 

14 particularly the hawksbill turtle; 

15 (5) the challenges facing marine turtles are im16 mense, and the resources available have not been 

17 sufficient to cope with the continued loss of nesting 

18 habitats caused by human activities and the con19 sequent diminution of marine turtle populations; 

20 (6) because marine turtles are flagship species 

21 for the ecosystems in which marine turtles are 

22 found, sustaining healthy populations of marine tur23 tles provides benefits to many other species of wild24 life, including many other threatened or endangered 

25 species; 
3

•HR 3378 IH 

1 (7) marine turtles are important components of 

2 the ecosystems that they inhabit, and studies of wild 

3 populations of marine turtles have provided impor4 tant biological insights; 

5 (8) changes in marine turtle populations are 

6 most reliably indicated by changes in the numbers of 

7 nests and nesting females; and 

8 (9) the reduction, removal, or other effective 

9 addressing of the threats to the long-term viability 

10 of populations of marine turtles will require the joint 

11 commitment and effort of—

12 (A) countries that have within their bound13 aries marine turtle nesting habitats; and 

14 (B) persons with expertise in the conserva15 tion of marine turtles. 

16 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to assist 

17 in the conservation of marine turtles and the nesting habi18 tats of marine turtles in foreign countries by supporting 

19 and providing financial resources for projects to conserve 

20 the nesting habitats, conserve marine turtles in those habi21 tats, and address other threats to the survival of marine 

22 turtles. 

23 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

24 In this Act: 
4

•HR 3378 IH 

1 (1) CITES.—The term ‘‘CITES’’ means the 

2 Convention on International Trade in Endangered 

3 Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (27 UST 1087; 

4 TIAS 8249). 

5 (2) CONSERVATION.—The term ‘‘conservation’’ 

6 means the use of all methods and procedures nec7 essary to protect nesting habitats of marine turtles 

8 in foreign countries and of marine turtles in those 

9 habitats, including—

10 (A) protection, restoration, and manage11 ment of nesting habitats; 

12 (B) onsite research and monitoring of 

13 nesting populations, nesting habitats, annual 

14 reproduction, and species population trends; 

15 (C) assistance in the development, imple16 mentation, and improvement of national and re17 gional management plans for nesting habitat 

18 ranges; 

19 (D) enforcement and implementation of 

20 CITES and laws of foreign countries to—

21 (i) protect and manage nesting popu22 lations and nesting habitats; and 

23 (ii) prevent illegal trade of marine 

24 turtles; 
5

•HR 3378 IH 

1 (E) training of local law enforcement offi2 cials in the interdiction and prevention of—

3 (i) the illegal killing of marine turtles 

4 on nesting habitat; and 

5 (ii) illegal trade in marine turtles; 

6 (F) initiatives to resolve conflicts between 

7 humans and marine turtles over habitat used by 

8 marine turtles for nesting; 

9 (G) community outreach and education; 

10 and 

11 (H) strengthening of the ability of local 

12 communities to implement nesting population 

13 and nesting habitat conservation programs. 

14 (3) FUND.—The term ‘‘Fund’’ means the Ma15 rine Turtle Conservation Fund established by section 

16 5. 

17 (4) MARINE TURTLE.—

18 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘marine tur19 tle’’ means any member of the family 

20 Cheloniidae or Dermochelyidae. 

21 (B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘marine tur22 tle’’ includes—

23 (i) any part, product, egg, or offspring 

24 of a turtle described in subparagraph (A); 

25 and 
6

•HR 3378 IH 

1 (ii) a carcass of such a turtle. 

2 (5) MULTINATIONAL SPECIES CONSERVATION

3 FUND.—The term ‘‘Multinational Species Conserva4 tion Fund’’ means the fund established under the 

5 heading ‘‘multinational species conservation fund’’ in 

6 title I of the Department of the Interior and Related 

7 Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999 (16 U.S.C. 

8 4246). 

9 (6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

10 the Secretary of the Interior. 

11 SEC. 4. MARINE TURTLE CONSERVATION ASSISTANCE. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the availability of 

13 funds and in consultation with other Federal officials, the 

14 Secretary shall use amounts in the Fund to provide finan15 cial assistance for projects for the conservation of marine 

16 turtles for which project proposals are approved by the 

17 Secretary in accordance with this section. 

18 (b) PROJECT PROPOSALS.—

19 (1) ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS.—A proposal for a 

20 project for the conservation of marine turtles may be 

21 submitted to the Secretary by—

22 (A) any wildlife management authority of 

23 a foreign country that has within its boundaries 

24 marine turtle nesting habitat if the activities of 
7

•HR 3378 IH 

1 the authority directly or indirectly affect marine 

2 turtle conservation; or 

3 (B) any other person or group with the 

4 demonstrated expertise required for the con5 servation of marine turtles. 

6 (2) REQUIRED ELEMENTS.—A project proposal 

7 shall include—

8 (A) a statement of the purposes of the 

9 project; 

10 (B) the name of the individual with overall 

11 responsibility for the project; 

12 (C) a description of the qualifications of 

13 the individuals that will conduct the project; 

14 (D) a description of—

15 (i) methods for project implementa16 tion and outcome assessment; 

17 (ii) staff and community management 

18 for the project; and 

19 (iii) the logistics of the project; 

20 (E) an estimate of the funds and time re21 quired to complete the project; 

22 (F) evidence of support for the project by 

23 appropriate governmental entities of the coun24 tries in which the project will be conducted, if 
8

•HR 3378 IH 

1 the Secretary determines that such support is 

2 required for the success of the project; 

3 (G) information regarding the source and 

4 amount of matching funding available for the 

5 project; and 

6 (H) any other information that the Sec7 retary considers to be necessary for evaluating 

8 the eligibility of the project for funding under 

9 this Act. 

10 (c) PROJECT REVIEW AND APPROVAL.—

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

12 (A) not later than 30 days after receiving 

13 a project proposal, provide a copy of the pro14 posal to other Federal officials, as appropriate; 

15 and 

16 (B) review each project proposal in a time17 ly manner to determine whether the proposal 

18 meets the criteria specified in subsection (d). 

19 (2) CONSULTATION; APPROVAL OR DIS20 APPROVAL.—Not later than 180 days after receiving 

21 a project proposal, and subject to the availability of 

22 funds, the Secretary, after consulting with other 

23 Federal officials, as appropriate, shall—
9

•HR 3378 IH 

1 (A) consult on the proposal with the gov2 ernment of each country in which the project is 

3 to be conducted; 

4 (B) after taking into consideration any 

5 comments resulting from the consultation, ap6 prove or disapprove the project proposal; and 

7 (C) provide written notification of the ap8 proval or disapproval to the person that sub9 mitted the project proposal, other Federal offi10 cials, and each country described in subpara11 graph (A). 

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

13 approve a project proposal under this section if the project 

14 will help recover and sustain viable populations of marine 

15 turtles in the wild by assisting efforts in foreign countries 

16 to implement marine turtle conservation programs. 

17 (e) PROJECT SUSTAINABILITY.—To the maximum 

18 extent practicable, in determining whether to approve 

19 project proposals under this section, the Secretary shall 

20 give preference to conservation projects that are designed 

21 to ensure effective, long-term conservation of marine tur22 tles and their nesting habitats. 

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

24 approve project proposals under this section, the Secretary 
10

•HR 3378 IH 

1 shall give preference to projects for which matching funds 

2 are available. 

3 (g) PROJECT REPORTING.—

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

5 assistance under this section for a project shall sub6 mit to the Secretary periodic reports (at such inter7 vals as the Secretary may require) that include all 

8 information that the Secretary, after consultation 

9 with other government officials, determines is nec10 essary to evaluate the progress and success of the 

11 project for the purposes of ensuring positive results, 

12 assessing problems, and fostering improvements. 

13 (2) AVAILABILITY TO THE PUBLIC.—Reports 

14 under paragraph (1), and any other documents re15 lating to projects for which financial assistance is 

16 provided under this Act, shall be made available to 

17 the public. 

18 SEC. 5. MARINE TURTLE CONSERVATION FUND. 

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

20 Multinational Species Conservation Fund a separate ac21 count to be known as the ‘‘Marine Turtle Conservation 

22 Fund’’, consisting of—

23 (1) amounts transferred to the Secretary of the 

24 Treasury for deposit into the Fund under subsection 

25 (e); 
11

•HR 3378 IH 

1 (2) amounts appropriated to the Fund under 

2 section 6; and 

3 (3) any interest earned on investment of 

4 amounts in the Fund under subsection (c). 

5 (b) EXPENDITURES FROM FUND.—

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

7 request by the Secretary, the Secretary of the Treas8 ury shall transfer from the Fund to the Secretary, 

9 without further appropriation, such amounts as the 

10 Secretary determines are necessary to carry out sec11 tion 4. 

12 (2) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Of the 

13 amounts in the account available for each fiscal 

14 year, the Secretary may expend not more than 3 

15 percent, or up to $80,000, whichever is greater, to 

16 pay the administrative expenses necessary to carry 

17 out this Act. 

18 (c) INVESTMENT OF AMOUNTS.—

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Treas20 ury shall invest such portion of the Fund as is not, 

21 in the judgment of the Secretary of the Treasury, 

22 required to meet current withdrawals. Investments 

23 may be made only in interest-bearing obligations of 

24 the United States. 
12

•HR 3378 IH 

1 (2) ACQUISITION OF OBLIGATIONS.—For the 

2 purpose of investments under paragraph (1), obliga3 tions may be acquired—

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

5 (B) by purchase of outstanding obligations 

6 at the market price. 

7 (3) SALE OF OBLIGATIONS.—Any obligation ac8 quired by the Fund may be sold by the Secretary of 

9 the Treasury at the market price. 

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

11 the proceeds from the sale or redemption of, any ob12 ligations held in the Fund shall be credited to and 

13 form a part of the Fund. 

14 (d) TRANSFERS OF AMOUNTS.—

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

16 transferred to the Fund under this section shall be 

17 transferred at least monthly from the general fund 

18 of the Treasury to the Fund on the basis of esti19 mates made by the Secretary of the Treasury. 

20 (2) ADJUSTMENTS.—Proper adjustment shall 

21 be made in amounts subsequently transferred to the 

22 extent prior estimates were in excess of or less than 

23 the amounts required to be transferred. 

24 (e) ACCEPTANCE AND USE OF DONATIONS.—The 

25 Secretary may accept and use donations to provide assist-
13

•HR 3378 IH 

1 ance under section 4. Amounts received by the Secretary 

2 in the form of donations shall be transferred to the Sec3 retary of the Treasury for deposit in the Fund. 

4 SEC. 6. ADVISORY GROUP. 

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

6 the Secretary may convene an advisory group consisting 

7 of individuals representing public and private organiza8 tions actively involved in the conservation of marine tur9 tles. 

10 (b) PUBLIC PARTICIPATION.—

11 (1) MEETINGS.—The Advisory Group shall—

12 (A) ensure that each meeting of the advi13 sory group is open to the public; and 

14 (B) provide, at each meeting, an oppor15 tunity for interested persons to present oral or 

16 written statements concerning items on the 

17 agenda. 

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

19 the public timely notice of each meeting of the advi20 sory group. 

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

22 advisory group shall be kept by the Secretary and 

23 shall be made available to the public. 
14

•HR 3378 IH 

1 (c) EXEMPTION FROM FEDERAL ADVISORY COM2 MITTEE ACT.—The Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 

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

4 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

5 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Fund 

6 $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2005 through 2009. 

7 SEC. 8. REPORT TO CONGRESS. 

8 Not later than October 1, 2005, the Secretary shall 

9 submit to the Congress a report on the results and effec10 tiveness of the program carried out under this Act, includ11 ing recommendations concerning how this Act might be 

12 improved and whether the Fund should be continued in 

13 the future.

Æ