II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1747 

To authorize research and recovery activities to provide for the protection, 

conservation, and recovery of the Florida manatee, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

AUGUST 3, 2017 

Mr. NELSON introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To authorize research and recovery activities to provide for 

the protection, conservation, and recovery of the Florida 

manatee, 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 ‘‘Florida Manatee Re5 search and Recovery Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 

8 (1) FLORIDA MANATEE.—The term ‘‘Florida 

9 manatee’’ means the subspecies Trichechus manatus 

10 latirostris. 

mstockstill on DSK30JT082PROD with BILLS

2 

•S 1747 IS

1 (2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

2 the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Di3 rector of the United States Fish and Wildlife Serv4 ice. 

5 SEC. 3. MANATEE RESEARCH AND RECOVERY. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 

7 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall begin 

8 to carry out research and recovery activities specific to 

9 Florida manatee populations in the United States. 

10 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—The research and recovery ac11 tivities under subsection (a) shall— 

12 (1) be informed by— 

13 (A) the prioritized research and recovery 

14 recommendations of— 

15 (i) the Florida Manatee Recovery 

16 Plan (Trichechus manatus latirostris) 

17 Third Revision, published by the United 

18 States Fish and Wildlife Service and dated 

19 October 30, 2001, or any subsequent revi20 sion published after the date of enactment 

21 of this Act; and 

22 (ii) any other recovery, research, or 

23 conservation plan that supersedes or sup24 plements the plan referred to in clause (i), 

25 adopted by the United States Fish and 

mstockstill on DSK30JT082PROD with BILLS

3 

•S 1747 IS

1 Wildlife Service after the date of enact2 ment of this Act in accordance with appli3 cable law; 

4 (B) the research and recovery rec5 ommendations of the State of Florida and other 

6 States, the waters of which serve as Florida 

7 manatee habitat; and 

8 (C) the research and recovery rec9 ommendations of the Marine Mammal Commis10 sion under section 4; 

11 (2) include— 

12 (A) monitoring, analyzing, and assessing 

13 Florida manatee population demographics, 

14 health, causes of mortality, and life history pa15 rameters, including range-wide population sur16 veys; and 

17 (B) developing and implementing measures 

18 to mitigate or eliminate factors that limit Flor19 ida manatee recovery, including factors relating 

20 to marine ecosystem health and to human activ21 ity; and 

22 (3) comply with the prohibitions and permitting 

23 requirements of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 

24 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), the Marine Mammal Promstockstill on DSK30JT082PROD with BILLS

4 

•S 1747 IS

1 tection Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.), and 

2 any other applicable law. 

3 SEC. 4. MARINE MAMMAL COMMISSION RECOMMENDA4 TIONS. 

5 Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 

6 of this Act, the Marine Mammal Commission shall rec7 ommend to the Secretary such steps as the Commission 

8 considers necessary or desirable for the protection, con9 servation, and recovery of Florida manatee populations in 

10 the United States. 

11 SEC. 5. FLORIDA MANATEE RESEARCH AND RECOVERY 

12 GRANTS. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish a 

14 peer-reviewed, merit-based process to award competitive 

15 grants for— 

16 (1) research regarding Florida manatees; and 

17 (2) recovery activities that assist in or promote 

18 the protection, conservation, and recovery of Florida 

19 manatees. 

20 (b) PEER REVIEW PANEL.—The Secretary shall es21 tablish as necessary a peer review panel to provide sci22 entific advice and guidance in prioritizing proposals for 

23 grants under this section. 

24 (c) RESEARCH GRANT SUBJECTS.—Research funded 

25 by grants awarded under this section— 

mstockstill on DSK30JT082PROD with BILLS

5 

•S 1747 IS

1 (1) shall be in accordance with the research rec2 ommendations under section 3; and 

3 (2) may include research on topics such as— 

4 (A) causes of Florida manatee mortality; 

5 (B) Florida manatee demographics and 

6 natural history; 

7 (C) sources and effects of poor water qual8 ity on Florida manatees, including pollutants, 

9 nutrients, and toxicants; 

10 (D) methods and mechanisms to address 

11 the sources and effects described in subpara12 graph (C); 

13 (E) sources and effects of diseases and 

14 parasites affecting Florida manatees; 

15 (F) limitations on the availability of food 

16 resources for Florida manatees and the impacts 

17 of food limitation on Florida manatee carrying 

18 capacity; 

19 (G) interactions between Florida manatees 

20 and human activities in the marine environ21 ment; 

22 (H) assessment of the ecological role of 

23 Florida manatees in coastal marine ecosystems, 

24 including as it may pertain to human welfare, 

25 resource use, and ecosystem services; 

mstockstill on DSK30JT082PROD with BILLS

6 

•S 1747 IS

1 (I) assessment of the adequacy of response 

2 and contingency plans for emergencies involving 

3 Florida manatees; and 

4 (J) assessment of the impacts of climate 

5 change on Florida manatees. 

6 (d) RECOVERY GRANT SUBJECTS.—Recovery activi7 ties funded with grants under this section— 

8 (1) shall be conducted in accordance with— 

9 (A) the recovery recommendations under 

10 section 3; and 

11 (B) the findings of the research conducted 

12 under this section; and 

13 (2) may include activities— 

14 (A) to protect, conserve, and recover Flor15 ida manatees; 

16 (B) to reduce, mitigate, or eliminate poten17 tial factors limiting Florida manatee popu18 lations that are related to human activities, in19 cluding— 

20 (i) factors contributing to mortality, 

21 adversely affecting health, or restricting 

22 distribution and abundance; and 

23 (ii) factors that harm or reduce the 

24 quality of Florida manatee habitat or the 

25 health of coastal marine ecosystems; and 

mstockstill on DSK30JT082PROD with BILLS

7 

•S 1747 IS

1 (C) to implement emergency response and 

2 contingency plans. 

3 SEC. 6. REPORT TO CONGRESS. 

4 The Secretary shall— 

5 (1) not later than 2 years after the date of en6 actment of this Act, submit to the Committee on 

7 Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Sen8 ate and the Committee on Natural Resources of the 

9 House of Representatives a report on— 

10 (A) the status of Florida manatee popu11 lations; 

12 (B) the research and recovery activities 

13 under this Act; 

14 (C) the grant review and award process 

15 authorized by this Act; and 

16 (D) any relevant formal consultations con17 ducted during the 2 years preceding the date of 

18 enactment of this Act, and any other consulta19 tions the Secretary determines to be relevant, 

20 under section 7 of the Endangered Species Act 

21 of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1536) with respect to the 

22 Florida manatee; and 

23 (2) not later than 3 years after the date of en24 actment of this Act, and every 5 years thereafter, 

25 submit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

mstockstill on DSK30JT082PROD with BILLS

8 

•S 1747 IS

1 Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on 

2 Natural Resources of the House of Representatives 

3 and make available to the public a report that in4 cludes— 

5 (A) an evaluation of— 

6 (i) Florida manatee health; 

7 (ii) causes of Florida manatee mor8 tality; and 

9 (iii) the interactions of Florida 

10 manatees with coastal and inland aquatic 

11 ecosystems; 

12 (B) an evaluation of actions taken— 

13 (i) to improve Florida manatee health; 

14 (ii) to reduce Florida manatee mor15 tality; and 

16 (iii) to improve and protect Florida 

17 manatee habitat; 

18 (C) recommendations for actions that may 

19 be taken under current law— 

20 (i) to improve Florida manatee health; 

21 (ii) to reduce the occurrence of 

22 human-related Florida manatee mortality; 

23 and 

mstockstill on DSK30JT082PROD with BILLS

9 

•S 1747 IS

1 (iii) to improve the health of the 

2 coastal marine ecosystems that serve as 

3 Florida manatee habitat; 

4 (D) recommendations for funding to carry 

5 out this Act; and 

6 (E) a description of any formal consulta7 tions that the Secretary determines to be rel8 evant to the research and recovery activities au9 thorized by this Act conducted in accordance 

10 with section 7 of the Endangered Species Act of 

11 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1536) after the date of enact12 ment of this Act. 

13 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be appro15 priated to the Secretary to carry out the provisions of this 

16 Act $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2018 through 

17 2022. 

18 (b) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Of the amounts 

19 made available each fiscal year under subsection (a), the 

20 Secretary may expend not more than the greater of 7 per21 cent of the amounts or $150,000 to pay the administrative 

22 expenses incurred carrying out this Act. 

Æ 

mstockstill on DSK30JT082PROD with BILLS