I 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4953 

To amend the Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Restoration Act of 1990 to 

provide for implementation of recommendations of the United States 

Fish and Wildlife Service contained in the Great Lakes Fishery Resources Restoration Study. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 14, 2006 

Mr. KILDEE (for himself and Mr. KIRK) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on Resources 

A BILL 

To amend the Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Restoration 

Act of 1990 to provide for implementation of recommendations of the United States Fish and Wildlife 

Service contained in the Great Lakes Fishery Resources 

Restoration Study. 

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 ‘‘Great Lakes Fish and 

5 Wildlife Restoration Act of 2006’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds that— 


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1 (1) the Great Lakes have fish and wildlife com2 munities that are structurally and functionally 

3 changing; 

4 (2) successful fish and wildlife management fo5 cuses on the lakes as ecosystems, and effective man6 agement requires the coordination and integration of 

7 efforts of many partners; 

8 (3) it is in the national interest to undertake 

9 activities in the Great Lakes Basin that support sus10 tainable fish and wildlife resources of common con11 cern provided under the recommendations of the 

12 Great Lakes Regional Collaboration authorized 

13 under Executive Order 13340 (69 Fed. Reg. 29043; 

14 relating to the Great Lakes Interagency Task 

15 Force); 

16 (4) additional actions and better coordination 

17 are needed to protect and effectively manage the fish 

18 and wildlife resources, and the habitats upon which 

19 the resources depend, in the Great Lakes Basin; 

20 (5) as of the date of enactment of this Act, ac21 tions are not funded that are considered essential to 

22 meet the goals and objectives in managing the fish 

23 and wildlife resources, and the habitats upon which 

24 the resources depend, in the Great Lakes Basin; and 


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1 (6) the Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Restora2 tion Act (16 U.S.C. 941 et seq.) allows Federal 

3 agencies, States, and tribes to work in an effective 

4 partnership by providing the funding for restoration 

5 work. 

6 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

7 Section 1004 of the Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife 

8 Restoration Act of 1990 (16 U.S.C. 941b) is amended— 

9 (1) by striking paragraphs (1), (4), and (12); 

10 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (2), (3), (5), 

11 (6), (7), (8), (9), (10), (11), (13), and (14) as para12 graphs (1), (2), (3), (4), (5), (6), (7), (9), (10), 

13 (11), and (12), respectively; 

14 (3) in paragraph (4) (as redesignated by para15 graph (2)), by inserting before the semicolon at the 

16 end the following: ‘‘, and that has Great Lakes fish 

17 and wildlife management authority in the Great 

18 Lakes Basin’’; and 

19 (4) by inserting after paragraph (7) (as redesig20 nated by paragraph (2)) the following: 

21 ‘‘(8) the term ‘regional project’ means author22 ized activities of the United States Fish and Wildlife 

23 Service related to fish and wildlife resource protec24 tion, restoration, maintenance, and enhancement 

25 that benefit the Great Lakes basin;’’. 


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1 SEC. 4. IDENTIFICATION, REVIEW, AND IMPLEMENTATION 

2 OF PROPOSALS. 

3 Section 1005 of the Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife 

4 Restoration Act of 1990 (16 U.S.C. 941c) is amended to 

5 read as follows: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 1005. IDENTIFICATION, REVIEW, AND IMPLEMENTA7 TION OF PROPOSALS AND REGIONAL 

8 PROJECTS. 

9 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (b)(2), the 

10 Director— 

11 ‘‘(1) shall encourage the development and, sub12 ject to the availability of appropriations, the imple13 mentation of fish and wildlife restoration proposals 

14 and regional projects; and 

15 ‘‘(2) in cooperation with the State Directors 

16 and Indian Tribes, shall identify, develop, and, sub17 ject to the availability of appropriations, implement 

18 regional projects in the Great Lakes Basin to be ad19 ministered by Director in accordance with this sec20 tion. 

21 ‘‘(b) IDENTIFICATION OF PROPOSALS AND REGIONAL

22 PROJECTS.— 

23 ‘‘(1) REQUEST BY THE DIRECTOR.—The Direc24 tor shall annually request that State Directors and 

25 Indian Tribes, in cooperation or partnership with 

26 other interested entities and in accordance with subVerDate Aug 31 2005 02:49 Mar 16, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4953.IH H4953

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1 section (a), submit proposals or regional projects for 

2 the restoration of fish and wildlife resources. 

3 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS FOR PROPOSALS AND RE4 GIONAL PROJECTS.—A proposal or regional project 

5 under paragraph (1) shall be— 

6 ‘‘(A) submitted in the manner and form 

7 prescribed by the Director; and 

8 ‘‘(B) consistent with— 

9 ‘‘(i) the goals of the Great Lakes 

10 Water Quality Agreement, as amended; 

11 ‘‘(ii) the 1954 Great Lakes Fisheries 

12 Convention; 

13 ‘‘(iii) the 1980 Joint Strategic Plan 

14 for Management of Great Lakes Fisheries, 

15 as revised in 1997, and Fish Community 

16 Objectives for each Great Lake and con17 necting water as established under the 

18 Joint Strategic Plan; 

19 ‘‘(iv) the Nonindigenous Aquatic Nui20 sance Prevention and Control Act of 1990 

21 (16 U.S.C. 4701 et seq.); 

22 ‘‘(v) the North American Waterfowl 

23 Management Plan and joint ventures es24 tablished under the plan; and 


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1 ‘‘(vi) the strategies outlined through 

2 the Great Lakes Regional Collaboration 

3 authorized under Executive Order 13340 

4 (69 Fed. Reg. 29043; relating to the Great 

5 Lakes Interagency Task Force). 

6 ‘‘(3) SEA LAMPREY AUTHORITY.—The Great 

7 Lakes Fishery Commission shall retain authority 

8 and responsibility to formulate and implement a 

9 comprehensive program to eradicate or minimize sea 

10 lamprey populations in the Great Lakes Basin. 

11 ‘‘(c) REVIEW OF PROPOSALS.— 

12 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMITTEE.—There 

13 is established the Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife 

14 Restoration Proposal Review Committee, which shall 

15 operate under the guidance of the United States 

16 Fish and Wildlife Service. 

17 ‘‘(2) MEMBERSHIP AND APPOINTMENT.— 

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Committee shall 

19 consist of 2 representatives of each of the State 

20 Directors and Indian Tribes, of whom— 

21 ‘‘(i) 1 representative shall be the indi22 vidual appointed by the State Director or 

23 Indian Tribe to the Council of Lake Com24 mittees of the Great Lakes Fishery Com25 mission; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) 1 representative shall have exper2 tise in wildlife management. 

3 ‘‘(B) APPOINTMENTS.—Each representa4 tive shall serve at the pleasure of the appointing 

5 State Director or Tribal Chair. 

6 ‘‘(C) OBSERVER.—The Great Lakes Coor7 dinator of the United States Fish and Wildlife 

8 Service shall participate as an observer of the 

9 Committee. 

10 ‘‘(D) RECUSAL.—A member of the Com11 mittee shall recuse himself or herself from con12 sideration of proposals that the member, or the 

13 entity that the member represents, has sub14 mitted. 

15 ‘‘(3) FUNCTIONS.—The Committee shall— 

16 ‘‘(A) meet at least annually; 

17 ‘‘(B) review proposals and special projects 

18 developed in accordance with subsection (b) to 

19 assess the effectiveness and appropriateness of 

20 the proposals and special projects in fulfilling 

21 the purposes of this title; and 

22 ‘‘(C) recommend to the Director any of 

23 those proposals and special projects that should 

24 be funded and implemented under this section. 


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1 ‘‘(d) IMPLEMENTATION OF PROPOSALS AND RE2 GIONAL PROJECTS.— 

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—After considering rec4 ommendations of the Committee and the goals speci5 fied in section 1006, the Director shall— 

6 ‘‘(A) select proposals and regional projects 

7 to be implemented; and 

8 ‘‘(B) subject to the availability of appro9 priations and subsection (e), fund implementa10 tion of the proposals and regional projects. 

11 ‘‘(2) SELECTION CRITERIA.—In selecting and 

12 funding proposals and regional projects, the Director 

13 shall take into account the effectiveness and appro14 priateness of the proposals and regional projects in 

15 fulfilling the purposes of other laws applicable to 

16 restoration of the fish and wildlife resources and 

17 habitat of the Great Lakes Basin. 

18 ‘‘(e) COST SHARING.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para20 graphs (2) and (4), not less than 25 percent of the 

21 cost of implementing a proposal selected under sub22 section (d) (excluding the cost of establishing sea 

23 lamprey barriers) shall be paid in cash or in-kind 

24 contributions by non-Federal sources. 


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1 ‘‘(2) REGIONAL PROJECTS.—Regional projects 

2 selected under subsection (d) shall be exempt from 

3 cost sharing if the Director determines that the au4 thorization for the project does not require a non5 Federal cost-share. 

6 ‘‘(3) EXCLUSION OF FEDERAL FUNDS FROM

7 NON-FEDERAL SHARE.—The Director may not con8 sider the expenditure, directly or indirectly, of Fed9 eral funds received by any entity to be a contribution 

10 by a non-Federal source for purposes of this sub11 section. 

12 ‘‘(4) EFFECT ON CERTAIN INDIAN TRIBES.— 

13 Nothing in this subsection affects an Indian tribe af14 fected by an alternative applicable cost sharing re15 quirement under the Indian Self-Determination and 

16 Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450 et seq.).’’. 

17 SEC. 5. GOALS OF UNITED STATES FISH AND WILDLIFE 

18 SERVICE PROGRAMS RELATED TO GREAT 

19 LAKES FISH AND WILDLIFE RESOURCES. 

20 Section 1006 of the Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife 

21 Restoration Act of 1990 (16 U.S.C. 941d) is amended by 

22 striking paragraph (1) and inserting the following: 

23 ‘‘(1) Restoring and maintaining self-sustaining 

24 fish and wildlife resources.’’. 


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1 SEC. 6. ESTABLISHMENT OF OFFICES. 

2 Section 1007 of the Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife 

3 Restoration Act of 1990 (16 U.S.C. 941e) is amended— 

4 (1) by striking subsection (a) and inserting the 

5 following: 

6 ‘‘(a) GREAT LAKES COORDINATION OFFICE.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall establish 

8 a centrally located facility for the coordination of all 

9 United States Fish and Wildlife Service activities in 

10 the Great Lakes Basin, to be known as the ‘Great 

11 Lakes Coordination Office’. 

12 ‘‘(2) FUNCTIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES.—The 

13 functional responsibilities of the Great Lakes Co14 ordination Office shall include— 

15 ‘‘(A) intra- and interagency coordination; 

16 ‘‘(B) information distribution; and 

17 ‘‘(C) public outreach. 

18 ‘‘(3) REQUIREMENTS.—The Great Lakes Co19 ordination Office shall— 

20 ‘‘(A) ensure that information acquired 

21 under this Act is made available to the public; 

22 and 

23 ‘‘(B) report to the Director of Region 3, 

24 Great Lakes Big Rivers.’’; 

25 (2) in subsection (b)— 


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1 (A) in the first sentence, by striking ‘‘The 

2 Director’’ and inserting the following: 

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director’’; 

4 (B) in the second sentence, by striking 

5 ‘‘The office’’ and inserting the following: 

6 ‘‘(2) NAME AND LOCATION.—The office’’; and 

7 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘(3) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The responsibilities 

9 of the Lower Great Lakes Fishery Resources Office 

10 shall include operational activities of the United 

11 States Fish and Wildlife Service related to fishery 

12 resource protection, restoration, maintenance, and 

13 enhancement in the Lower Great Lakes.’’; and 

14 (3) in subsection (c)— 

15 (A) in the first sentence, by striking ‘‘The 

16 Director’’ and inserting the following: 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director’’; 

18 (B) in the second sentence, by striking 

19 ‘‘The office’’ and inserting the following: 

20 ‘‘(2) NAME AND LOCATION.—The office’’; and 

21 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

22 ‘‘(3) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The responsibilities 

23 of the Upper Great Lakes Fishery Resources Offices 

24 shall include operational activities of the United 

25 States Fish and Wildlife Service related to fishery 


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1 resource protection, restoration, maintenance, and 

2 enhancement in the Upper Great Lakes.’’. 

3 SEC. 7. REPORTS. 

4 Section 1008 of the Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife 

5 Restoration Act of 1990 (16 U.S.C. 941f) is amended to 

6 read as follows: 

7 ‘‘SEC. 1008. REPORTS. 

8 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than December 31, 

9 2011, the Director shall submit to the Committee on Re10 sources of the House of Representatives and the Com11 mittee on Environment and Public Works of the Senate 

12 a report that describes— 

13 ‘‘(1) actions taken to solicit and review pro14 posals under section 1005; 

15 ‘‘(2) the results of proposals implemented under 

16 section 1005; and 

17 ‘‘(3) progress toward the accomplishment of the 

18 goals specified in section 1006. 

19 ‘‘(b) ANNUAL REPORTS.—Not later than December 

20 31 of each of fiscal years 2007 through 2012, the Director 

21 shall submit to the 8 Great Lakes States and Indian 

22 Tribes a report that describes— 

23 ‘‘(1) actions taken to solicit and review pro24 posals under section 1005; 


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1 ‘‘(2) the results of proposals implemented under 

2 section 1005; 

3 ‘‘(3) progress toward the accomplishment of the 

4 goals specified in section 1006; 

5 ‘‘(4) the priorities proposed for funding in the 

6 annual budget process under this title; and 

7 ‘‘(5) actions taken in support of the rec8 ommendations of the Great Lakes Regional Collabo9 ration authorized under Executive Order 13340 (69 

10 Fed. Reg. 29043; relating to the Great Lakes Inter11 agency Task Force). 

12 ‘‘(c) STUDY.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than December 

14 16, 2009, the Director, in consultation with State 

15 fish and wildlife resource management agencies, In16 dian Tribes, and the Great Lakes Fishery Commis17 sion, shall— 

18 ‘‘(A) conduct a comprehensive study of the 

19 status, and the assessment, management, and 

20 restoration needs, of the fish and wildlife re21 sources of the Great Lakes Basin, including a 

22 comprehensive review of the accomplishments 

23 that have been achieved under this title through 

24 fiscal year 2008; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) submit to the President of the Senate 

2 and the Speaker of the House of Representa3 tives— 

4 ‘‘(i) the study described in subpara5 graph (A); and 

6 ‘‘(ii) a comprehensive report on the 

7 findings of the study. 

8 ‘‘(d) REPORT.—Not later than June 30, 2006, the 

9 Director shall submit to the Committee on Energy and 

10 Natural Resources of the Senate and the Committee on 

11 Resources of the House of Representatives the 2002 re12 port required under this section as in effect on the day 

13 before the date of enactment of the Great Lakes Fish and 

14 Wildlife Restoration Act of 2006.’’. 

15 SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

16 Section 1009 of the Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife 

17 Restoration Act of 1990 (16 U.S.C. 941g) is amended to 

18 read as follows: 

19 ‘‘SEC. 1009. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

20 ‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated to the Di21 rector for each of fiscal years 2007 through 2012— 

22 ‘‘(1) $12,000,000, of which— 

23 ‘‘(A) $11,400,000 shall be allocated to im24 plement fish and wildlife restoration proposals 


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1 as selected by the Director under section 

2 1005(e); and 

3 ‘‘(B) the lesser of 5 percent or $600,000 

4 shall be allocated to the United States Fish and 

5 Wildlife Service to cover costs incurred in ad6 ministering the proposals by any entity; 

7 ‘‘(2) $6,000,000, which shall be allocated to im8 plement regional projects by the United States Fish 

9 and Wildlife Service, as selected by the Director 

10 under section 1005(e); and 

11 ‘‘(3) $2,000,000, which shall be allocated for 

12 the activities of the Great Lake Coordination Office 

13 in East Lansing, Michigan, of the Upper Great 

14 Lakes Fishery Resources Office, and the Lower 

15 Great Lakes Fishery Resources Office under section 

16 1007.’’. 

Æ 


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