II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2807 

To require the Secretary of Commerce to establish and carry out a grant 

program to conserve, restore, and manage kelp forest ecosystems, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 14, 2023 

Mr. MERKLEY (for himself, Mr. KING, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, and Mr. HEINRICH) 

introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 

Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To require the Secretary of Commerce to establish and carry 

out a grant program to conserve, restore, and manage 

kelp forest ecosystems, 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 ‘‘Help Our Kelp Act’’. 

5 SEC. 2. GRANTS TO CONSERVE, RESTORE, AND MANAGE 

6 KELP FOREST ECOSYSTEMS. 

7 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Administrator shall es8 tablish, not later than 180 days after the date of the en9 actment of this Act, and carry out a grant program under 


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1 which the Administrator shall award grants to eligible en2 tities described in subsection (b) to carry out eligible 

3 projects described in subsection (c) relating to the con4 servation, restoration, or management of kelp forest eco5 systems. 

6 (b) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—To be eligible for a grant 

7 under this section, an entity shall— 

8 (1) be— 

9 (A) a member of the fishing industry; 

10 (B) an institution of higher education; 

11 (C) a nonprofit organization; 

12 (D) an Indian Tribe; 

13 (E) a State agency; or 

14 (F) a local government; 

15 (2) consult or collaborate with any other entity 

16 described in paragraph (1) throughout the develop17 ment or implementation of a project relating to the 

18 conservation, restoration, or management of kelp 

19 forest ecosystems; and 

20 (3) submit to the Administrator an application 

21 describing that project at such time, in such man22 ner, and containing such information as the Admin23 istrator may require, including information regard24 ing— 


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1 (A) what criteria will be used to monitor 

2 and evaluate the effectiveness of the project; 

3 and 

4 (B) the qualifications of the applicant to 

5 conduct, monitor, and evaluate the project. 

6 (c) ELIGIBLE PROJECTS.—The Administrator shall 

7 award grants to eligible entities for projects that— 

8 (1) address the greatest relative regional de9 clines in kelp forest ecosystems; 

10 (2) focus on elements such as— 

11 (A) the long-term resilience of kelp forest 

12 ecosystems; 

13 (B) long-term socioeconomic resilience re14 lated to kelp forest ecosystems; 

15 (C) kelp forest seeding and connectivity; 

16 (D) reestablishing or recovering natural 

17 trophic relationships and structure to support 

18 the resilience of kelp forest ecosystems through 

19 actions such as predator control through tar20 geted urchin removal and the recovery of sun21 flower sea stars; 

22 (E) monitoring and assessment of kelp for23 est ecosystems; 

24 (F) integration of Indigenous knowledge 

25 and cultural practices into restoration and monVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:54 Sep 15, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2807.IS S2807

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1 itoring of kelp forest ecosystems through con2 sultation with Indian Tribes or promotion of 

3 Federal or State co-management with Indian 

4 Tribes; or 

5 (G) other efforts to restore kelp forest eco6 systems and prevent large scale losses of kelp 

7 forests; or 

8 (3) are identified by Indian Tribes or Federal 

9 or State restoration or management plans as focal 

10 areas for recovery of kelp forests and associated spe11 cies. 

12 (d) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para14 graph (2), the amount of Federal funding received 

15 as a grant under this section by an eligible entity 

16 may not exceed 85 percent of the total cost of the 

17 project for which the grant is awarded. For the pur18 poses of this paragraph, the non-Federal share of 

19 the costs of a project may be provided by in-kind 

20 contributions and other noncash support. 

21 (2) WAIVER.—The Administrator may waive all 

22 or part of the requirement in paragraph (1) if the 

23 Administrator determines that— 

24 (A) no reasonable means are available 

25 through which an eligible entity applying for a 


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1 grant under this section can meet that require2 ment; 

3 (B) the probable benefit of the project out4 weighs the public interest in such requirement; 

5 and 

6 (C) the project undertaken is established 

7 on lands owned by or held in trust for an In8 dian Tribe. 

9 (e) GUIDELINES AND CRITERIA.—The Administrator 

10 shall— 

11 (1) issue guidelines for implementation of the 

12 grant program established under subsection (a); and 

13 (2) establish criteria for evaluating eligible 

14 projects based on best practices, best available 

15 science, and community engagement to rank eligible 

16 projects under subsection (c). 

17 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be 

19 appropriated to the Administrator $5,000,000 for 

20 each of fiscal years 2024 through 2028 to carry out 

21 this section. 

22 (2) AVAILABILITY TO INDIAN TRIBES.— 

23 (A) IN GENERAL.—Of the amount author24 ized to be appropriated by paragraph (1) for a 

25 fiscal year, not less than $750,000 shall be 


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1 available to award grants under this section to 

2 eligible entities that are Indian Tribes. 

3 (B) CONTINGENCY; OUTREACH.—If no In4 dian tribe is awarded a grant under this section 

5 in a fiscal year— 

6 (i) for that fiscal year, the amount de7 scribed in subparagraph (A) shall be made 

8 available to award grants under this sec9 tion to other eligible entities; and 

10 (ii) the Administrator shall conduct 

11 outreach to inform Indian Tribes and orga12 nizations that work with Indian Tribes of 

13 the grant program established under sub14 section (a). 

15 (g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

16 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis17 trator’’ means the Secretary of Commerce, acting 

18 through the Administrator of the National Oceanic 

19 and Atmospheric Administration. 

20 (2) FISHING INDUSTRY.—The term ‘‘fishing in21 dustry’’ means— 

22 (A) processors; 

23 (B) commercial fishermen; and 

24 (C) recreational fishermen. 


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1 (3) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian Tribe’’ 

2 has the meaning given that term in section 4 of the 

3 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 

4 Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). 

5 (4) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

6 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 

7 meaning given that term in section 101(a) of the 

8 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)). 

9 (5) KELP FOREST ECOSYSTEM.—The term 

10 ‘‘kelp forest ecosystem’’ means a naturally occur11 ring, biotic system dominated by canopy-forming, 

12 stipitate, or prostrate benthic macroalgae and associ13 ated taxa. 

14 (6) LOCAL GOVERNMENT.—The term ‘‘local 

15 government’’ means a unit of general local govern16 ment, a school district, or other special district es17 tablished under State law. 

18 (7) NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION.—The term 

19 ‘‘nonprofit organization’’ means an organization— 

20 (A) described in section 501(c)(3) of the 

21 Internal Revenue Code of 1986; and 

22 (B) exempt from tax under section 501(a) 

23 of such Code. 

Æ 


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