I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2697 

To assist in the conservation of rare felids and rare canids by supporting 

and providing financial resources for the conservation programs of nations within the range of rare felid and rare canid populations and 

projects of persons with demonstrated expertise in the conservation of 

rare felid and rare canid populations. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 9, 2015 

Mr. GRIJALVA (for himself, Mrs. DAVIS of California, Mr. FARR, Ms. MOORE, 

Mr. NADLER, and Ms. NORTON) introduced the following bill; which was 

referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To assist in the conservation of rare felids and rare canids 

by supporting and providing financial resources for the 

conservation programs of nations within the range of 

rare felid and rare canid populations and projects of 

persons with demonstrated expertise in the conservation 

of rare felid and rare canid populations. 

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 ‘‘Rare Cats and Canids 

5 Act of 2015’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. PURPOSES. 

2 The purposes of this Act are to provide financial re3 sources and to foster international cooperation— 

4 (1) to restore and perpetuate healthy popu5 lations of rare felids and rare canids in the wild; and 

6 (2) to assist in the conservation of rare felid 

7 and rare canid populations worldwide. 

8 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

9 In this Act: 

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

11 Convention on International Trade in Endangered 

12 Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, done at Wash13 ington March 3, 1973 (27 UST 1087; TIAS 8249), 

14 including its appendices. 

15 (2) CONSERVATION.—The term ‘‘conserva16 tion’’— 

17 (A) means the methods and procedures 

18 necessary to bring a population, subspecies, 

19 species, or taxon of rare felid or rare canid to 

20 the point at which there are sufficient popu21 lations in the wild to ensure its long-term via22 bility; and 

23 (B) includes all activities associated with 

24 protection and management of a population, 

25 subspecies, species, or taxon of rare felid or 

26 rare canid, including— 


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1 (i) maintenance, management, protec2 tion, and restoration of rare felid or rare 

3 canid habitat; 

4 (ii) research and monitoring; 

5 (iii) law enforcement; 

6 (iv) community outreach and edu7 cation; 

8 (v) conflict resolution initiatives; and 

9 (vi) strengthening the capacity of local 

10 communities, governmental agencies, non11 governmental organizations and other in12 stitutions to implement conservation pro13 grams. 

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

15 Cats and Canids Conservation Fund established by 

16 section 5. 

17 (4) IUCN RED LIST.—The term ‘‘IUCN Red 

18 List’’ means the Red List of Threatened Species 

19 Maintained by the World Conservation Union. 

20 (5) RARE CANID.— 

21 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

22 subparagraph (B), the term ‘‘rare canid’’ 

23 means any population, subspecies, species, or 

24 taxon in the family Canidae that is listed in the 


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1 IUCN Red List as near threatened, vulnerable, 

2 endangered, or critically endangered. 

3 (B) EXCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘rare canid’’ 

4 does not include any subspecies or population 

5 that is native to the area comprised of the 

6 United States and Canada. 

7 (6) RARE FELID.— 

8 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

9 subparagraph (B), the term ‘‘rare felid’’ means 

10 any population, subspecies, species, or taxon in 

11 the family Felidae that is listed in the IUCN 

12 Red List as near threatened, vulnerable, endan13 gered, or critically endangered. 

14 (B) EXCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘rare felid’’ 

15 does not include— 

16 (i) any subspecies or population that 

17 is native to the area comprised of the 

18 United States and Canada; and 

19 (ii) any tiger (Panthera tigris). 

20 (7) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

21 the Secretary of the Interior. 

22 SEC. 4. FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE. 

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

24 funds and in consultation with other appropriate Federal 

25 officials, the Secretary shall use amounts in the Fund to 


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1 provide financial assistance for projects for the conserva2 tion of rare felid and rare canids for which project pro3 posals are approved by the Secretary in accordance with 

4 this section. 

5 (b) PROJECT PROPOSALS.— 

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

7 project for the conservation of rare felid and canids 

8 may be submitted to the Secretary by— 

9 (A) any wildlife management authority of 

10 a country that has within its boundaries any 

11 part of the range of a rare felid or rare canid, 

12 respectively; and 

13 (B) any person or group with the dem14 onstrated expertise required for the conserva15 tion in the wild of rare felids or rare canids, re16 spectively. 

17 (2) PROJECT PROPOSALS.—To be considered 

18 for financial assistance for a project under this Act, 

19 an applicant shall submit a project proposal that in20 cludes— 

21 (A) a concise statement of the purposes of 

22 the project; 

23 (B) the name of the individual responsible 

24 for conducting the project; 


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1 (C) a description of the qualifications of 

2 the individuals who will conduct the project; 

3 (D) a concise description of— 

4 (i) methods for project implementa5 tion and outcome assessment; 

6 (ii) staffing for the project; 

7 (iii) the logistics of the project; and 

8 (iv) community involvement in the 

9 project; 

10 (E) an estimate of funds and time required 

11 to complete the project; 

12 (F) evidence of support for the project by 

13 appropriate governmental entities of the coun14 tries in which the project will be conducted, if 

15 the Secretary determines that such support is 

16 required for the success of the project; 

17 (G) information regarding the source and 

18 amount of matching funding available for the 

19 project; and 

20 (H) any other information that the Sec21 retary considers to be necessary for evaluating 

22 the eligibility of the project for funding under 

23 this Act. 

24 (c) PROJECT REVIEW AND APPROVAL.— 

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


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1 (A) not later than 30 days after receiving 

2 a project proposal, provide a copy of the pro3 posal to the appropriate Federal officials; and 

4 (B) review each project proposal in a time5 ly manner to determine if the proposal meets 

6 the criteria specified in subsection (d). 

7 (2) CONSULTATION; APPROVAL OR DIS8 APPROVAL.—Not later than 180 days after receiving 

9 a project proposal, and subject to the availability of 

10 funds, the Secretary, after consulting with other ap11 propriate Federal officials, shall— 

12 (A) ensure the proposal contains assur13 ances that the project will be implemented in 

14 consultation with relevant wildlife management 

15 authorities and other appropriate government 

16 officials with jurisdiction over the resources ad17 dressed by the project; 

18 (B) approve or disapprove the proposal; 

19 and 

20 (C) provide written notification of the ap21 proval or disapproval to the person who sub22 mitted the proposal, other appropriate Federal 

23 officials, and each country within whose borders 

24 the project will take place. 


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

2 approve a project proposal under this section if the project 

3 will contribute to conservation of rare felids or rare canids 

4 in the wild by assisting efforts to— 

5 (1) implement conservation programs; 

6 (2) address the conflicts between humans and 

7 rare felids or rare canids, respectively, that arise 

8 from competition for the same habitat or resources; 

9 (3) enhance compliance with CITES, the En10 dangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et 

11 seq.), and other applicable laws that prohibit or reg12 ulate the taking or trade of rare felids and rare 

13 canids or regulate the use and management of rare 

14 felid and rare canid habitat; 

15 (4) develop sound scientific information on, or 

16 methods for monitoring— 

17 (A) the condition and health of rare felid 

18 or rare canid habitat; 

19 (B) rare felid or rare canid population 

20 numbers and trends; and 

21 (C) the ecological characteristics and re22 quirements of populations of rare felids or rare 

23 canids for which there are little or no data; 

24 (5) promote cooperative projects among govern25 ment entities, affected local communities, nongovernVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:22 Jun 10, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2697.IH H2697

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1 mental organizations, and other persons in the pri2 vate sector; or 

3 (6) funds will not be appropriated for the pur4 chase or lease of lands to be used as suitable habitat 

5 for felids or canids. 

6 (e) PROJECT SUSTAINABILITY.—In approving project 

7 proposals under this section, the Secretary shall give pref8 erence to conservation projects that are designed to ensure 

9 effective, long-term conservation of rare felids and rare 

10 canids and their habitats. 

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

12 approve project proposals under this section, the Secretary 

13 shall give preference to projects for which there exists 

14 some measure of matching funds. 

15 (g) PROJECT REPORTING.— 

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

17 assistance under this section for a project shall sub18 mit to the Secretary periodic reports (at such inter19 vals as the Secretary considers necessary) that in20 clude all information that the Secretary, after con21 sultation with other appropriate government offi22 cials, determines is necessary to evaluate the 

23 progress and success of the project for the purposes 

24 of ensuring positive results, assessing problems, and 

25 fostering improvements. 


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1 (2) AVAILABILITY TO THE PUBLIC.—Reports 

2 under paragraph (1), and any other documents re3 lating to projects for which financial assistance is 

4 provided under this Act, shall be made available to 

5 the public. 

6 (h) LIMITATIONS ON USE FOR CAPTIVE BREEDING

7 OR DISPLAY.—Amounts provided as a grant under this 

8 Act may not be used for captive breeding unless as part 

9 of an accredited reintroduction or restoration program. 

10 (i) ADVISORY GROUP.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—To assist in carrying out 

12 this Act, the Secretary may convene an advisory 

13 group consisting of individuals representing public 

14 and private organizations actively involved in the 

15 conservation of felids and canids. 

16 (2) PUBLIC PARTICIPATION.— 

17 (A) MEETINGS.—The advisory group 

18 shall— 

19 (i) ensure that each meeting of the 

20 advisory group is open to the public; and 

21 (ii) provide, at each meeting, an op22 portunity for interested persons to present 

23 oral or written statements concerning 

24 items on the agenda. 


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1 (B) NOTICE.—The Secretary shall provide 

2 to the public timely notice of each meeting of 

3 the advisory group, including the meeting agen4 da. 

5 (C) MINUTES.—Minutes of each meeting 

6 of the advisory group shall be kept by the Sec7 retary and shall be made available to the public. 

8 (3) EXEMPTION FROM FEDERAL ADVISORY

9 COMMITTEE ACT.—The Federal Advisory Committee 

10 Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to the advisory 

11 group. 

12 SEC. 5. RARE CATS AND CANIDS CONSERVATION FUND. 

13 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established, in the 

14 Multinational Species Conservation Fund established in 

15 title I of the Department of the Interior and Related 

16 Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999 under the heading 

17 ‘‘MULTINATIONAL SPECIES CONSERVATION 

18 FUND’’, a separate account to be known as the ‘‘Rare 

19 Cats and Canids Conservation Fund’’, consisting of— 

20 (1) amounts transferred to the Secretary of the 

21 Treasury for deposit into such account under sub22 section (c); and 

23 (2) amounts appropriated to such account 

24 under section 6. 

25 (b) EXPENDITURES FROM FUND.— 


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

2 upon request by the Secretary, the Secretary of the 

3 Treasury shall transfer from the Fund to the Sec4 retary, without further appropriation, such amounts 

5 as the Secretary determines are necessary to provide 

6 assistance under section 4. 

7 (2) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Of the 

8 amounts in the Fund available for each fiscal year, 

9 the Secretary may expend not more than three per10 cent, or up to $100,000, whichever is greater, to pay 

11 the administrative expenses necessary to carry out 

12 this Act. 

13 (c) ACCEPTANCE AND USE OF DONATIONS.—The 

14 Secretary may accept and use donations to provide assist15 ance under section 4, and may make public on the Internet 

16 Web site and in publications of the Department of the In17 terior that the Secretary is authorized to accept and use 

18 such donations. Amounts received by the Secretary in the 

19 form of such donations shall be transferred to the Sec20 retary of the Treasury for deposit into the Fund. 

21 SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

22 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Fund, 

23 $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2016 through 2020 

24 to carry out this Act. 

Æ 


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