I 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2083 

To amend the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 to reduce predation 

on endangered Columbia River salmon and other nonlisted species, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 8, 2017 

Ms. HERRERA BEUTLER (for herself and Mr. SCHRADER) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To amend the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 to 

reduce predation on endangered Columbia River salmon 

and other nonlisted species, 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 ‘‘Endangered Salmon 

5 and Fisheries Predation Prevention Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) There are 13 groups of salmon and 

9 steelhead that are listed as threatened species or enVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:03 Apr 18, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2083.IH H2083

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1 dangered species under the Endangered Species Act 

2 of 1973 that migrate through the lower Columbia 

3 River. All lower Columbia River tributaries contain 

4 listed species including Chinook, Chum and Coho 

5 salmon as well as winter-run steelhead. 

6 (2) The people of the Northwest United States 

7 are united in their desire to restore healthy salmon 

8 and steelhead runs because they are integral to the 

9 region’s culture and economy. 

10 (3) The Columbia River treaty Tribes retain 

11 important rights with respect to salmon and 

12 steelhead. 

13 (4) Federal, State, and Tribal governments 

14 have spent billions of dollars to assist the recovery 

15 of Columbia River basin salmon and steelhead popu16 lations. 

17 (5) One of the factors negatively impacting 

18 salmonid populations is increased predation by ma19 rine mammals, including California sea lions. 

20 (6) The population of California sea lions has 

21 increased 10-fold over the last 3 decades, and is cur22 rently approximately 300,000 animals. 

23 (7) Biologists estimate that in recent years as 

24 many as 3,000 California sea lions have been for25 aging from the lower 145 miles of the Columbia 


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1 River up to Bonneville Dam during the peak spring 

2 salmonid run. 

3 (8) Historically, California sea lions, whose 

4 habitat is fundamentally salt water, did not venture 

5 very far up into the Columbia River. 

6 (9) The percentage of the spring salmonid run 

7 that has been eaten or killed by California sea lions 

8 at Bonneville Dam has increased 7-fold since 2002. 

9 (10) Federal, State and Tribal estimates indi10 cate that sea lions are consuming at least 20 percent 

11 of the Columbia River spring chinook run and 15 

12 percent of Willamette River steelhead run, two 

13 salmonid species listed under the Endangered Spe14 cies Act of 1973. 

15 (11) In recent years, California sea lions have 

16 congregated with greater frequency near Willamette 

17 Falls and Bonneville Dam and have entered the fish 

18 ladders that salmon must use to return to their his19 toric and biological spawning grounds. 

20 (12) These California sea lions have not been 

21 responsive to extensive hazing methods employed to 

22 discourage this behavior. 

23 (13) The process established under the 1994 

24 amendment to the Marine Mammal Protection Act 

25 of 1972 to address predatory sea lion behavior negaVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:03 Apr 18, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2083.IH H2083

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1 tively impacting threatened or endangered salmon 

2 runs is protracted and has not worked. 

3 (14) The National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

4 Administration has observed that— 

5 (A) management efforts to reduce pinniped 

6 predation of endangered and threatened salmon 

7 and steelhead in the area around Bonneville 

8 Dam has been insufficient to reduce the sever9 ity of the threat; and 

10 (B) efforts need to focus more on the lower 

11 river and at Willamette Falls. 

12 (15) In the interest of protecting Columbia 

13 River threatened and endangered salmonids, a tem14 porary expedited procedure is urgently needed to 

15 allow removal of the minimum number of California 

16 sea lions as is necessary to protect the passage of 

17 threatened and endangered salmonids in the Colum18 bia River and its tributaries. 

19 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

20 It is the sense of the Congress that— 

21 (1) preventing predation by sea lions, recovery 

22 of listed salmonid stocks, and preventing future list23 ings of fish stocks in the Columbia River under the 

24 Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et 

25 seq.) is a vital priority; and 


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1 (2) the Federal Government should continue to 

2 fund lethal and nonlethal removal measures for pre3 venting such predation. 

4 SEC. 4. TAKING OF SEA LIONS ON THE COLUMBIA RIVER 

5 AND ITS TRIBUTARIES TO PROTECT ENDAN6 GERED AND THREATENED SPECIES OF SALM7 ON AND OTHER NONLISTED FISH SPECIES. 

8 Section 120(f) of the Marine Mammal Protection Act 

9 of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1389(f)) is amended to read as fol10 lows: 

11 ‘‘(f) TEMPORARY MARINE MAMMAL REMOVAL AU12 THORITY ON THE WATERS OF THE COLUMBIA RIVER OR

13 ITS TRIBUTARIES.— 

14 ‘‘(1) REMOVAL AUTHORITY.—Notwithstanding 

15 any other provision of this Act, the Secretary may 

16 issue a permit to an eligible entity to authorize the 

17 intentional lethal taking on the waters of the Colum18 bia River and its tributaries of individually identifi19 able sea lions that are part of a population that is 

20 not categorized under this Act as depleted for the 

21 purpose of protecting species of salmon that are list22 ed as endangered species or threatened species 

23 under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 

24 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and other nonlisted fish spe25 cies. 


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1 ‘‘(2) PERMIT PROCESS.— 

2 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity may 

3 apply to the Secretary for a permit under this 

4 subsection. 

5 ‘‘(B) DEADLINE FOR CONSIDERATION OF

6 APPLICATION.—The Secretary shall approve or 

7 deny an application for a permit under this sub8 section by not later than 30 days after receiving 

9 the application. 

10 ‘‘(C) DURATION OF PERMIT.—A permit 

11 under this subsection shall be effective for no 

12 more than one year after the date it is issued, 

13 but may be renewed by the Secretary. 

14 ‘‘(3) LIMITATIONS.— 

15 ‘‘(A) LIMITATION ON PERMIT AUTHOR16 ITY.—Subject to subparagraph (B), a permit 

17 issued under this subsection shall not authorize 

18 the lethal taking of more than 100 sea lions 

19 during the duration of the permit. 

20 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION ON ANNUAL TAKINGS.— 

21 The cumulative number of sea lions authorized 

22 to be taken each year under all permits in ef23 fect under this subsection shall not exceed 10 

24 percent of the annual potential biological re25 moval level. 


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1 ‘‘(4) TRAINING IN NATURAL RESOURCES MAN2 AGEMENT.—Permit holders exercising lethal removal 

3 authority pursuant to this Act shall be trained in 

4 natural resource management. 

5 ‘‘(5) DELEGATION OF PERMIT AUTHORITY.— 

6 Any eligible entity may delegate to any other eligible 

7 entity the authority to administer its permit author8 ity under this subsection. 

9 ‘‘(6) NEPA.—Section 102(2)(C) of the Na10 tional Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 

11 4332(2)(C)) shall not apply with respect to this sub12 section and the issuance of any permit under this 

13 subsection during the 5-year period beginning on the 

14 date of the enactment of this subsection. 

15 ‘‘(7) SUSPENSION OF PERMITTING AUTHOR16 ITY.—If, 5 years after the date of the enactment of 

17 this subsection, the Secretary, after consulting with 

18 State and tribal fishery managers, determines that 

19 lethal removal authority is no longer necessary to 

20 protect salmonid and other fish species from sea lion 

21 predation, the Secretary may suspend the issuance 

22 of permits under this subsection. 

23 ‘‘(8) ELIGIBLE ENTITY DEFINED.—In this sub24 section, the term ‘eligible entity’ means each of the 

25 State of Washington, the State of Oregon, the State 


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1 of Idaho, the Nez Perce Tribe, the Confederated 

2 Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, the Con3 federated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation 

4 of Oregon, the Confederated Tribes and Bands of 

5 the Yakama Nation, the Columbia River Inter-Tribal 

6 Fish Commission, and the Cowlitz Indian Tribe. 

7 ‘‘(9) INDIVIDUAL PINNIPED EXCEPTION.—For 

8 purposes of this section, any pinniped located up9 stream of river mile 112 of the Columbia River and 

10 all tributaries that include spawning habitat of 

11 threatened or endangered salmon or steelhead is 

12 deemed to be individually identifiable.’’. 

13 SEC. 5. TREATY RIGHTS OF FEDERALLY RECOGNIZED IN14 DIAN TRIBES. 

15 Nothing in this Act or the amendment made by this 

16 Act shall be construed to affect or modify any treaty or 

17 other right of any federally recognized Indian Tribe. 

Æ 


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