II 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 197 

To assist in the conservation of cranes by supporting and providing, through 

projects of persons and organizations with expertise in crane conservation, financial resources for the conservation programs of countries the 

activities of which directly or indirectly affect cranes and the ecosystems 

of cranes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 9, 2009 

Mr. FEINGOLD (for himself, Mr. CRAPO, Mrs. BOXER, Mr. CARDIN, Mr. 

BROWNBACK, Mr. KERRY, Mr. KOHL, and Ms. LANDRIEU) introduced the 

following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works 

A BILL 

To assist in the conservation of cranes by supporting and 

providing, through projects of persons and organizations 

with expertise in crane conservation, financial resources 

for the conservation programs of countries the activities 

of which directly or indirectly affect cranes and the ecosystems of cranes. 

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 ‘‘Crane Conservation 

5 Act of 2009’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. PURPOSES. 

2 The purposes of this Act are— 

3 (1) to perpetuate healthy populations of cranes; 

4 (2) to assist in the conservation and protection 

5 of cranes by supporting— 

6 (A) conservation programs in countries in 

7 which endangered and threatened cranes occur; 

8 and 

9 (B) the efforts of private organizations 

10 committed to helping cranes; and 

11 (3) to provide financial resources for those pro12 grams and efforts. 

13 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

14 In this Act: 

15 (1) CONSERVATION.— 

16 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘conserva17 tion’’ means the use of any method or proce18 dure to improve the viability of crane popu19 lations and the quality of the ecosystems and 

20 habitats on which the crane populations depend 

21 to help the species achieve sufficient popu22 lations in the wild to ensure the long-term via23 bility of the species. 

24 (B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘conserva25 tion’’ includes the carrying out of any activity 


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1 associated with scientific resource management, 

2 such as— 

3 (i) protection, restoration, and man4 agement of habitat; 

5 (ii) research and monitoring of known 

6 populations; 

7 (iii) the provision of assistance in the 

8 development of management plans for 

9 managed crane ranges; 

10 (iv) enforcement of the Convention; 

11 (v) law enforcement and habitat pro12 tection through community participation; 

13 (vi) reintroduction of cranes to the 

14 wild; 

15 (vii) conflict resolution initiatives; and 

16 (viii) community outreach and edu17 cation. 

18 (2) CONVENTION.—The term ‘‘Convention’’ has 

19 the meaning given the term in section 3 of the En20 dangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1532). 

21 (3) FUND.—The term ‘‘Fund’’ means the 

22 Crane Conservation Fund established by section 

23 5(a). 

24 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

25 the Secretary of the Interior. 


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1 SEC. 4. CRANE CONSERVATION ASSISTANCE. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the availability of ap3 propriations and in consultation with other appropriate 

4 Federal officials, the Secretary shall use amounts in the 

5 Fund to provide financial assistance for projects relating 

6 to the conservation of cranes for which project proposals 

7 are approved by the Secretary in accordance with this sec8 tion. 

9 (b) PROJECT PROPOSALS.— 

10 (1) APPLICANTS.— 

11 (A) IN GENERAL.—An applicant described 

12 in subparagraph (B) that seeks to receive as13 sistance under this section to carry out a 

14 project relating to the conservation of cranes 

15 shall submit to the Secretary a project proposal 

16 that meets the requirements of this section. 

17 (B) ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS.—An applicant 

18 described in this subparagraph is— 

19 (i) any relevant wildlife management 

20 authority of a country that— 

21 (I) is located within the African, 

22 Asian, European, or North American 

23 range of a species of crane; and 

24 (II) carries out one or more ac25 tivities that directly or indirectly af26 fect crane populations; 


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1 (ii) the Secretariat of the Convention; 

2 and 

3 (iii) any person or organization with 

4 demonstrated expertise in the conservation 

5 of cranes. 

6 (2) REQUIRED ELEMENTS.—A project proposal 

7 submitted under paragraph (1)(A) shall include— 

8 (A) a concise statement of the purpose of 

9 the project; 

10 (B)(i) the name of each individual respon11 sible for conducting the project; and 

12 (ii) a description of the qualifications of 

13 each of those individuals; 

14 (C) a concise description of— 

15 (i) methods to be used to implement 

16 and assess the outcome of the project; 

17 (ii) staff and community management 

18 for the project; and 

19 (iii) the logistics of the project; 

20 (D) an estimate of the funds and the pe21 riod of time required to complete the project; 

22 (E) evidence of support for the project by 

23 appropriate government entities of countries in 

24 which the project will be conducted, if the SecVerDate Nov 24 2008 20:23 Jan 10, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S197.IS S197

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1 retary determines that such support is required 

2 to ensure the success of the project; 

3 (F) information regarding the source and 

4 amount of matching funding available for the 

5 project; and 

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

8 the eligibility of the project to receive assistance 

9 under 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 final project proposal, provide a copy of the 

14 proposal to other appropriate Federal officials; 

15 and 

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

18 meets the criteria described 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 appropriations, the Secretary, after consulting with 

23 other appropriate Federal officials, shall— 


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

3 to be carried out; 

4 (B) after taking into consideration any 

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

7 (C) provide written notification of the ap8 proval or disapproval to— 

9 (i) the applicant that submitted the 

10 proposal; 

11 (ii) other appropriate Federal offi12 cials; and 

13 (iii) each country described in sub14 paragraph (A). 

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

16 approve a project proposal under this section if the Sec17 retary determines that the proposed project will enhance 

18 programs for conservation of cranes by assisting efforts 

19 to— 

20 (1) implement conservation programs; 

21 (2) address the conflicts between humans and 

22 cranes that arise from competition for the same 

23 habitat or resources; 

24 (3) enhance compliance with the Convention 

25 and other applicable laws that— 


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1 (A) prohibit or regulate the taking or trade 

2 of cranes; or 

3 (B) regulate the use and management of 

4 crane habitat; 

5 (4) develop sound scientific information on, or 

6 methods for monitoring— 

7 (A) the condition of crane habitat; 

8 (B) crane population numbers and trends; 

9 or 

10 (C) the current and projected threats to 

11 crane habitat and population numbers and 

12 trends; 

13 (5) promote cooperative projects on the issues 

14 described in paragraph (4) among— 

15 (A) governmental entities; 

16 (B) affected local communities; 

17 (C) nongovernmental organizations; or 

18 (D) other persons in the private sector; 

19 (6) carry out necessary scientific research on 

20 cranes; 

21 (7) provide relevant training to, or support 

22 technical exchanges involving, staff responsible for 

23 managing cranes or habitats of cranes, to enhance 

24 capacity for effective conservation; or 


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1 (8) reintroduce cranes successfully back into 

2 the wild, including propagation of a sufficient num3 ber of cranes required for this purpose. 

4 (e) PROJECT SUSTAINABILITY; MATCHING FUNDS.— 

5 To the maximum extent practicable, in determining 

6 whether to approve a project proposal under this section, 

7 the Secretary shall give preference to a proposed project— 

8 (1) that is designed to ensure effective, long9 term conservation of cranes and habitats of cranes; 

10 or 

11 (2) for which matching funds are available. 

12 (f) PROJECT REPORTING.— 

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

14 assistance under this section for a project shall sub15 mit to the Secretary, at such periodic intervals as 

16 are determined by the Secretary, reports that in17 clude all information that the Secretary, after con18 sulting with other appropriate government officials, 

19 determines to be necessary to evaluate the progress 

20 and success of the project for the purposes of— 

21 (A) ensuring positive results; 

22 (B) assessing problems; and 

23 (C) fostering improvements. 

24 (2) AVAILABILITY TO THE PUBLIC.—Each re25 port submitted under paragraph (1), and any other 


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1 documents relating to a project for which financial 

2 assistance is provided under this Act, shall be made 

3 available to the public. 

4 SEC. 5. CRANE CONSERVATION FUND. 

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

6 Multinational Species Conservation Fund established by 

7 the matter under the heading ‘‘MULTINATIONAL SPE8 CIES CONSERVATION FUND’’ in title I of the Depart9 ment of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations 

10 Act, 1999 (112 Stat. 2681–237; 16 U.S.C. 4246) a sepa11 rate account to be known as the ‘‘Crane Conservation 

12 Fund’’, consisting of— 

13 (1) amounts transferred to the Secretary of the 

14 Treasury for deposit into the Fund under subsection 

15 (c); and 

16 (2) amounts appropriated to the Fund under 

17 section 7. 

18 (b) EXPENDITURES FROM FUND.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraphs (2) 

20 and (3), upon request by the Secretary, the Sec21 retary of the Treasury shall transfer from the Fund 

22 to the Secretary, without further appropriation, such 

23 amounts as the Secretary determines are necessary 

24 to provide assistance under section 4. 


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1 (2) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Of the 

2 amounts in the Fund available for each fiscal year, 

3 the Secretary may expend not more than 3 percent, 

4 or $150,000, whichever is greater, to pay the admin5 istrative expenses necessary to carry out this Act. 

6 (3) LIMITATION.—Not more than 20 percent of 

7 the amounts made available from the Fund for any 

8 fiscal year may be used for projects relating to the 

9 conservation of North American crane species. 

10 (c) ACCEPTANCE AND USE OF DONATIONS.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may accept 

12 and use donations to provide assistance under sec13 tion 4. 

14 (2) TRANSFER OF DONATIONS.—Amounts re15 ceived by the Secretary in the form of donations 

16 shall be transferred to the Secretary of the Treasury 

17 for deposit in the Fund. 

18 SEC. 6. ADVISORY GROUP. 

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

20 the Secretary may convene an advisory group consisting 

21 of individuals representing public and private organiza22 tions actively involved in the conservation of cranes. 

23 (b) PUBLIC PARTICIPATION.— 

24 (1) MEETINGS.—The advisory group shall— 


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1 (A) ensure that each meeting of the advi2 sory group is open to the public; and 

3 (B) provide, at each meeting, an oppor4 tunity for interested persons to present oral or 

5 written statements concerning items on the 

6 agenda. 

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

8 the public timely notice of each meeting of the advi9 sory group. 

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

11 advisory group shall be kept by the Secretary and 

12 shall be made available to the public. 

13 (c) EXEMPTION FROM FEDERAL ADVISORY COM14 MITTEE ACT.—The Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 

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

16 SEC. 7. FUNDING. 

17 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

18 authorized to be appropriated to the Fund $5,000,000 for 

19 each of fiscal years 2009 through 2013, to remain avail20 able until expended. 

21 (b) OFFSET.—Of amounts appropriated to, and avail22 able at the discretion of, the Secretary for programmatic 

23 and administrative expenditures, a total of $25,000,000 

24 shall be used to establish the Fund. 

Æ 


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