II 

Calendar No. 504 

112TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3525 

To protect and enhance opportunities for recreational hunting, fishing, and 

shooting, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 10, 2012 

Mr. TESTER introduced the following bill; which was read the first time 

SEPTEMBER 11, 2012 

Read the second time and placed on the calendar 

A BILL 

To protect and enhance opportunities for recreational 

hunting, fishing, and shooting, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Sportsmen’s Act of 2012’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 


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TITLE I—HUNTING, FISHING, AND RECREATIONAL SHOOTING 

Subtitle A—Hunting and Recreational Shooting 

Sec. 101. Making public land public. 

Sec. 102. Permits for importation of polar bear trophies taken in sport hunts 

in Canada. 

Sec. 103. Transporting bows through National Parks. 

Subtitle B—Target Practice and Marksmanship Training Support 

Sec. 111. Target practice and marksmanship training. 

Sec. 112. Findings; purpose. 

Sec. 113. Definition of public target range. 

Sec. 114. Amendments to Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act. 

Sec. 115. Sense of Congress regarding cooperation. 

Subtitle C—Fishing 

Sec. 121. Modification of definition of toxic substance to exclude sport fishing 

equipment. 

Sec. 122. Prohibition on sale of billfish. 

Sec. 123. Report on artificial reefs in the Gulf of Mexico. 

TITLE II—NATIONAL FISH HABITAT 

Subtitle A—National Fish Habitat 

Sec. 201. Definitions. 

Sec. 202. National Fish Habitat Board. 

Sec. 203. Fish habitat partnerships. 

Sec. 204. Fish habitat conservation projects. 

Sec. 205. National Fish Habitat Conservation Partnership Office. 

Sec. 206. Technical and scientific assistance. 

Sec. 207. Conservation of aquatic habitat for fish and other aquatic organisms 

on Federal land. 

Sec. 208. Coordination with States and Indian tribes. 

Sec. 209. Accountability and reporting. 

Sec. 210. Regulations. 

Sec. 211. Effect of subtitle. 

Sec. 212. Nonapplicability of Federal Advisory Committee Act. 

Sec. 213. Funding. 

Subtitle B—Duck Stamps 

Sec. 221. Findings. 

Sec. 222. Cost of stamps. 

Sec. 223. Waivers. 

Sec. 224. Permanent electronic duck stamps. 

Subtitle C—Joint Ventures to Protect Migratory Bird Populations 

Sec. 231. Purposes. 

Sec. 232. Definitions. 

Sec. 233. Joint Ventures Program. 

Sec. 234. Administration. 

Sec. 235. Grants and other assistance. 

Sec. 236. Reporting. 


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Sec. 237. Relationship to other authorities. 

Sec. 238. Federal Advisory Committee Act. 

Subtitle D—Reauthorizations 

Sec. 241. North American Wetlands Conservation Act. 

Sec. 242. Partners for Fish and Wildlife Act. 

Sec. 243. National Fish and Wildlife Foundation reauthorization. 

Sec. 244. Multinational Species Conservation Funds Semipostal Stamp. 

Sec. 245. Multinational species conservation funds reauthorizations. 

Sec. 246. Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act. 

Sec. 247. Federal Land Transaction Facilitation Act. 

Sec. 248. Nutria eradication and control. 

1 TITLE I—HUNTING, FISHING, 

2 AND RECREATIONAL SHOOTING 

3 Subtitle A—Hunting and 

4 Recreational Shooting 

5 SEC. 101. MAKING PUBLIC LAND PUBLIC. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 3 of the Land and Water 

7 Conservation Fund Act of 1965 (16 U.S.C. 460l–6) is 

8 amended— 

9 (1) by striking ‘‘SEC. 3. APPROPRIATIONS.— 

10 Moneys’’ and inserting the following: 

11 ‘‘SEC. 3. FUNDING. 

12 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Amounts’’; and 

13 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘(b) PRIORITY LIST.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the availability 

16 of appropriations and notwithstanding any other 

17 provision of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior 

18 and the Secretary of Agriculture shall ensure that, 

19 of the amounts made available for the fund for each 


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1 fiscal year, not less than 1.5 percent of the amounts 

2 shall be made available for projects identified on the 

3 priority list developed under paragraph (2). 

4 ‘‘(2) PRIORITY LIST.—The Secretary of the In5 terior and the Secretary of Agriculture, in consulta6 tion with the head of each affected Federal agency, 

7 shall annually develop a priority list for the sites 

8 under the jurisdiction of the applicable Secretary. 

9 ‘‘(3) CRITERIA.—Projects identified on the pri10 ority list developed under paragraph (2) shall secure 

11 recreational public access to Federal public land in 

12 existence as of the date of enactment of this sub13 section that has significantly restricted access for 

14 hunting, fishing, and other recreational purposes 

15 through rights-of-way or acquisition of land (or any 

16 interest in land) from willing sellers.’’. 

17 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

18 (1) LAND AND WATER CONSERVATION FUND

19 ACT.—The Land and Water Conservation Fund Act 

20 of 1965 (16 U.S.C. 460l–4 et seq.) is amended— 

21 (A) in the proviso at the end of section 

22 2(c)(2) (16 U.S.C. 460l–5(c)(2)), by striking 

23 ‘‘notwithstanding the provisions of section 3 of 

24 this Act’’; 


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1 (B) in the first sentence of section 9 (16 

2 U.S.C. 460l–10a), by striking ‘‘by section 3 of 

3 this Act’’; and 

4 (C) in the third sentence of section 10 (16 

5 U.S.C. 460l–10b), by striking ‘‘by section 3 of 

6 this Act’’. 

7 (2) FEDERAL LAND TRANSACTION FACILITA8 TION ACT.—Section 206(f)(2) of the Federal Land 

9 Transaction Facilitation Act (43 U.S.C. 2305(f)(2)) 

10 is amended by striking ‘‘section 3 of the Land and 

11 Water Conservation Fund Act (16 U.S.C. 460l–6)’’ 

12 and inserting ‘‘the Land and Water Conservation 

13 Fund Act of 1965 (16 U.S.C. 460l–4 et seq.)’’. 

14 SEC. 102. PERMITS FOR IMPORTATION OF POLAR BEAR 

15 TROPHIES TAKEN IN SPORT HUNTS IN CAN16 ADA. 

17 Section 104(c)(5) of the Marine Mammal Protection 

18 Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1374(c)(5)) is amended by strik19 ing subparagraph (D) and inserting the following: 

20 ‘‘(D)(i) The Secretary of the Interior shall, ex21 peditiously after the expiration of the applicable 30- 

22 day period under subsection (d)(2), issue a permit 

23 for the importation of any polar bear part (other 

24 than an internal organ) from a polar bear taken in 

25 a sport hunt in Canada to any person who submits, 


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1 with the permit application, proof that the polar 

2 bear— 

3 ‘‘(I) was legally harvested by the person 

4 before February 18, 1997; or 

5 ‘‘(II) was legally harvested by the person 

6 before May 15, 2008, from a polar bear popu7 lation from which a sport-hunted trophy could 

8 be imported before that date in accordance with 

9 section 18.30(i) of title 50, Code of Federal 

10 Regulations (or a successor regulation). 

11 ‘‘(ii) The Secretary shall issue permits under 

12 clause (i)(I) without regard to subparagraphs (A) 

13 and (C)(ii) of this paragraph, subsection (d)(3), and 

14 sections 101 and 102. 

15 ‘‘(iii) The Secretary shall issue permits under 

16 clause (i)(II) without regard to subparagraph (C)(ii) 

17 of this paragraph, subsection (d)(3), and sections 

18 101 and 102.’’. 

19 SEC. 103. TRANSPORTING BOWS THROUGH NATIONAL 

20 PARKS. 

21 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 

22 (1) bowhunters are known worldwide as among 

23 the most skilled, ethical, and conservation-minded of 

24 all hunters; 


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1 (2) bowhunting organizations at the Federal, 

2 State, and local level contribute significant financial 

3 and human resources to wildlife conservation and 

4 youth education programs throughout the United 

5 States; and 

6 (3) bowhunting contributes $38,000,000,000 

7 each year to the economy of the United States. 

8 (b) POSSESSION OF BOWS IN UNITS OF NATIONAL

9 PARK SYSTEM OR NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE SYS10 TEM.— 

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

12 the Secretary of the Interior shall permit individuals 

13 carrying bows and crossbows to traverse national 

14 park land if the traverse is— 

15 (A) for the sole purpose of hunting on ad16 jacent public or private land; and 

17 (B) the most direct means of access to the 

18 adjacent land. 

19 (2) USE.—Nothing in this section authorizes 

20 the use of the bows or crossbows that are being car21 ried while on national park land. 


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1 Subtitle B—Target Practice and 

2 Marksmanship Training Support 

3 SEC. 111. TARGET PRACTICE AND MARKSMANSHIP TRAIN4 ING. 

5 This subtitle may be cited as the ‘‘Target Practice 

6 and Marksmanship Training Support Act’’. 

7 SEC. 112. FINDINGS; PURPOSE. 

8 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 

9 (1) the use of firearms and archery equipment 

10 for target practice and marksmanship training ac11 tivities on Federal land is allowed, except to the ex12 tent specific portions of that land have been closed 

13 to those activities; 

14 (2) in recent years preceding the date of enact15 ment of this Act, portions of Federal land have been 

16 closed to target practice and marksmanship training 

17 for many reasons; 

18 (3) the availability of public target ranges on 

19 non-Federal land has been declining for a variety of 

20 reasons, including continued population growth and 

21 development near former ranges; 

22 (4) providing opportunities for target practice 

23 and marksmanship training at public target ranges 

24 on Federal and non-Federal land can help— 


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1 (A) to promote enjoyment of shooting, rec2 reational, and hunting activities; and 

3 (B) to ensure safe and convenient locations 

4 for those activities; 

5 (5) Federal law in effect on the date of enact6 ment of this Act, including the Pittman-Robertson 

7 Wildlife Restoration Act (16 U.S.C. 669 et seq.), 

8 provides Federal support for construction and ex9 pansion of public target ranges by making available 

10 to States amounts that may be used for construc11 tion, operation, and maintenance of public target 

12 ranges; and 

13 (6) it is in the public interest to provide in14 creased Federal support to facilitate the construction 

15 or expansion of public target ranges. 

16 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this subtitle is to fa17 cilitate the construction and expansion of public target 

18 ranges, including ranges on Federal land managed by the 

19 Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management. 

20 SEC. 113. DEFINITION OF PUBLIC TARGET RANGE. 

21 In this subtitle, the term ‘‘public target range’’ means 

22 a specific location that— 

23 (1) is identified by a governmental agency for 

24 recreational shooting; 

25 (2) is open to the public; 


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1 (3) may be supervised; and 

2 (4) may accommodate archery or rifle, pistol, or 

3 shotgun shooting. 

4 SEC. 114. AMENDMENTS TO PITTMAN-ROBERTSON WILD5 LIFE RESTORATION ACT. 

6 (a) DEFINITIONS.—Section 2 of the Pittman-Robert7 son Wildlife Restoration Act (16 U.S.C. 669a) is amend8 ed— 

9 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (2) through 

10 (8) as paragraphs (3) through (9), respectively; and 

11 (2) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol12 lowing: 

13 ‘‘(2) the term ‘public target range’ means a 

14 specific location that— 

15 ‘‘(A) is identified by a governmental agen16 cy for recreational shooting; 

17 ‘‘(B) is open to the public; 

18 ‘‘(C) may be supervised; and 

19 ‘‘(D) may accommodate archery or rifle, 

20 pistol, or shotgun shooting;’’. 

21 (b) EXPENDITURES FOR MANAGEMENT OF WILD22 LIFE AREAS AND RESOURCES.—Section 8(b) of the Pitt23 man-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act (16 U.S.C. 

24 669g(b)) is amended— 


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1 (1) by striking ‘‘(b) Each State’’ and inserting 

2 the following: 

3 ‘‘(b) EXPENDITURES FOR MANAGEMENT OF WILD4 LIFE AREAS AND RESOURCES.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para6 graph (2), each State’’; 

7 (2) in paragraph (1) (as so designated), by 

8 striking ‘‘construction, operation,’’ and inserting 

9 ‘‘operation’’; 

10 (3) in the second sentence, by striking ‘‘The 

11 non-Federal share’’ and inserting the following: 

12 ‘‘(3) NON-FEDERAL SHARE.—The non-Federal 

13 share’’; 

14 (4) in the third sentence, by striking ‘‘The Sec15 retary’’ and inserting the following: 

16 ‘‘(4) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary’’; and 

17 (5) by inserting after paragraph (1) (as des18 ignated by paragraph (1) of this subsection) the fol19 lowing: 

20 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.—Notwithstanding the limita21 tion described in paragraph (1), a State may pay up 

22 to 90 percent of the cost of acquiring land for, ex23 panding, or constructing a public target range.’’. 

24 (c) FIREARM AND BOW HUNTER EDUCATION AND

25 SAFETY PROGRAM GRANTS.—Section 10 of the PittmanVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:20 Sep 11, 2012 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3525.PCS S3525

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1 Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act (16 U.S.C. 669h–1) 

2 is amended— 

3 (1) in subsection (a), by adding at the end the 

4 following: 

5 ‘‘(3) ALLOCATION OF ADDITIONAL AMOUNTS.— 

6 Of the amount apportioned to a State for any fiscal 

7 year under section 4(b), the State may elect to allo8 cate not more than 10 percent, to be combined with 

9 the amount apportioned to the State under para10 graph (1) for that fiscal year, for acquiring land for, 

11 expanding, or constructing a public target range.’’; 

12 (2) by striking subsection (b) and inserting the 

13 following: 

14 ‘‘(b) COST SHARING.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para16 graph (2), the Federal share of the cost of any activ17 ity carried out using a grant under this section shall 

18 not exceed 75 percent of the total cost of the activ19 ity. 

20 ‘‘(2) PUBLIC TARGET RANGE CONSTRUCTION OR

21 EXPANSION.—The Federal share of the cost of ac22 quiring land for, expanding, or constructing a public 

23 target range in a State on Federal or non-Federal 

24 land pursuant to this section or section 8(b) shall 


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1 not exceed 90 percent of the cost of the activity.’’; 

2 and 

3 (3) in subsection (c)(1)— 

4 (A) by striking ‘‘Amounts made’’ and in5 serting the following: 

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

7 subparagraph (B), amounts made’’; and 

8 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—Amounts provided for 

10 acquiring land for, constructing, or expanding a 

11 public target range shall remain available for 

12 expenditure and obligation during the 5-fiscal13 year period beginning on October 1 of the first 

14 fiscal year for which the amounts are made 

15 available.’’. 

16 SEC. 115. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING COOPERATION. 

17 It is the sense of Congress that, consistent with appli18 cable laws (including regulations), the Chief of the Forest 

19 Service and the Director of the Bureau of Land Manage20 ment should cooperate with State and local authorities and 

21 other entities to implement best practices for waste man22 agement and removal and carry out other related activities 

23 on any Federal land used as a public target range to en24 courage continued use of that land for target practice or 

25 marksmanship training. 


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1 Subtitle C—Fishing 

2 SEC. 121. MODIFICATION OF DEFINITION OF TOXIC SUB3 STANCE TO EXCLUDE SPORT FISHING EQUIP4 MENT. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 3(2)(B) of the Toxic Sub6 stances Control Act (15 U.S.C. 2602(2)(B)) is amended— 

7 (1) in clause (v), by striking ‘‘, and’’ and insert8 ing ‘‘, or any component of any such article includ9 ing, without limitation, shot, bullets and other pro10 jectiles, propellants, and primers,’’; 

11 (2) in clause (vi) by striking the period at the 

12 end and inserting ‘‘, and’’; and 

13 (3) by inserting after clause (vi) the following: 

14 ‘‘(vii) any sport fishing equipment (as such 

15 term is defined in section 4162(a) of the Internal 

16 Revenue Code of 1986, without regard to para17 graphs (6) through (9) thereof) the sale of which is 

18 subject to the tax imposed by section 4161(a) of 

19 such Code (determined without regard to any ex20 emptions from such tax as provided by section 4162 

21 or 4221 or any other provision of such Code), and 

22 sport fishing equipment components.’’. 

23 (b) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER LAW.—Nothing in this 

24 section or any amendment made by this section affects 


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1 or limits the application of or obligation to comply with 

2 any other Federal, State or local law. 

3 SEC. 122. PROHIBITION ON SALE OF BILLFISH. 

4 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 

5 (1) the United States carefully regulates its do6 mestic fisheries for billfish and participates in inter7 national fishery management bodies in the Atlantic 

8 and Pacific Oceans; 

9 (2) global billfish populations have declined sig10 nificantly because of overfishing primarily through 

11 retention of bycatch by non-United States commer12 cial fishing fleets; and 

13 (3) ending the importation of foreign-caught 

14 billfish for sale in the United States aligns with 

15 United States management measures relating to bill16 fish and protects the significant economic benefits to 

17 the United States economy of recreational fishing 

18 and marine commerce and the traditional cultural 

19 fisheries. 

20 (b) DEFINITION OF BILLFISH.—In this section: 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘billfish’’ means 

22 any fish of the species— 

23 (A) Makaira nigricans (blue marlin); 

24 (B) Kajikia audax (striped marlin); 

25 (C) Istiompax indica (black marlin); 


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1 (D) Istiophorus platypterus (sailfish); 

2 (E) Tetrapturus angustirostris (shortbill 

3 spearfish); 

4 (F) Kajikia albida (white marlin); 

5 (G) Tetrapturus georgii (roundscale spear6 fish); 

7 (H) Tetrapturus belone (Mediterranean 

8 spearfish); or 

9 (I) Tetrapturus pfluegeri (longbill spear10 fish). 

11 (2) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘‘billfish’’ does not 

12 include the species Xiphias gladius (swordfish). 

13 (c) PROHIBITION.—Except as provided in subsection 

14 (e), no person shall offer for sale, sell, or have custody, 

15 control, or possession of for purposes of offering for sale 

16 or selling billfish or products containing billfish. 

17 (d) PENALTY.—For purposes of section 308(a) of the 

18 Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Manage19 ment Act (16 U.S.C. 1858(a)), a violation of this section 

20 shall be treated as an act prohibited by section 307 of 

21 that Act (16 U.S.C. 1857). 

22 (e) EXEMPTIONS FOR TRADITIONAL FISHERIES AND

23 MARKETS.— 

24 (1) UNITED STATES FISHING VESSELS.—Sub25 section (c) does not apply to billfish caught by 


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1 United States fishing vessels and landed in the State 

2 of Hawaii or a Pacific Insular Area (as defined in 

3 section 3 of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Con4 servation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1802)). 

5 (2) FOREIGN FISHING VESSELS.—Subsection 

6 (c) does not apply to billfish landed by foreign fish7 ing vessels in a Pacific Insular Area (as so defined) 

8 if the foreign-caught billfish is exported to non9 United States markets or retained within the State 

10 of Hawaii and the Pacific Insular Areas for local 

11 consumption. 

12 (f) STATEMENT OF CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY.— 

13 Congress enacts this section pursuant to clause 3 of sec14 tion 8 of article I of the Constitution. 

15 SEC. 123. REPORT ON ARTIFICIAL REEFS IN THE GULF OF 

16 MEXICO. 

17 (a) INITIAL REPORT.—Not later than 90 days after 

18 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the 

19 Interior, in coordination with the Secretary of Commerce 

20 and the heads of other Federal and State agencies, shall 

21 submit to the Committee on Energy and Natural Re22 sources of the Senate and the Committee on Natural Re23 sources of the House of Representatives a plan to assess 

24 how best to integrate the goals of the National Fishing 

25 Enhancement Act of 1984 (33 U.S.C. 2101 et seq.) and 


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1 the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1331 

2 et seq.). 

3 (b) CONTENTS OF PLAN.—The plan required under 

4 subsection (a) shall include— 

5 (1) an assessment of the capability of the De6 partment of the Interior to identify and issue a pub7 lic notice of platforms and related structures sched8 uled to be removed in 2012 and 2013 pursuant to 

9 sections 250.1700 through 250.1754 of title 30, 

10 Code of Federal Regulations (as in effect on the 

11 date of enactment of this Act), and the timeframe 

12 set out in the notice to lessees on the decommis13 sioning for platforms and related structures in the 

14 Gulf of Mexico OCS Region (NTL No. 2010–G05) 

15 of the Department of the Interior; 

16 (2) strategies for coordination with relevant 

17 Federal and State agencies and accredited marine 

18 research institutes and university marine biology de19 partments to assess the biodiversity and critical 

20 habitat present at platforms and related structures 

21 subject to removal pursuant to sections 250.1700 

22 through 250.1754 of title 30, Code of Federal Regu23 lations (as in effect on the date of enactment of this 

24 Act), and the timeframe set out in NTL No. 2010– 

25 G05; 


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1 (3) an assessment of the potential impacts of 

2 the removal of the platforms and related structures 

3 pursuant to sections 250.1700 through 250.1754 of 

4 title 30, Code of Federal Regulations (as in effect on 

5 the date of enactment of this Act), and the time6 frame set out in NTL No. 2010–G05 on the Gulf 

7 of Mexico ecosystem and marine habitat; 

8 (4) an assessment of the potential impacts of 

9 not removing the platforms and related structures 

10 pursuant to sections 250.1700 through 250.1754 of 

11 title 30, Code of Federal Regulations (as in effect on 

12 the date of enactment of this Act), and the time13 frame set out in NTL NO. 2010–G05, including po14 tential damage as a result of hurricanes and other 

15 incidents; and 

16 (5) an assessment of the potential impacts of 

17 the removal of platforms and related structures on 

18 the rebuilding plans for Gulf reef fish and habitat, 

19 as developed by the National Marine Fisheries Serv20 ice of the Department of Commerce. 

21 (c) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than 18 months after 

22 the date of submission of the plan developed under sub23 section (a), the Secretary shall submit to the Committee 

24 on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate and the 


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1 Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Rep2 resentatives a final report that includes— 

3 (1) a description of public comments from re4 gional stakeholders, including recreational anglers, 

5 divers, offshore oil and gas companies, marine biolo6 gists, and commercial fisherman; and 

7 (2) findings relative to comments developed 

8 under this subsection, including options to mitigate 

9 potential adverse impacts on marine habitat associ10 ated with the removal of platforms and related 

11 structures pursuant to sections 250.1700 through 

12 250.1754 of title 30, Code of Federal Regulations 

13 (as in effect on the date of enactment of this Act), 

14 and the timeframe set out in NTL No. 2010–G05. 

15 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

16 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of the 

17 Interior to carry out this section such sums as are nec18 essary. 

19 TITLE II—NATIONAL FISH 

20 HABITAT 

21 Subtitle A—National Fish Habitat 

22 SEC. 201. DEFINITIONS. 

23 In this subtitle: 


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1 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT2 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com3 mittees’’ means— 

4 (A) the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

5 and Transportation and the Committee on En6 vironment and Public Works of the Senate; and 

7 (B) the Committee on Natural Resources 

8 of the House of Representatives. 

9 (2) AQUATIC HABITAT.— 

10 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘aquatic 

11 habitat’’ means any area on which an aquatic 

12 organism depends, directly or indirectly, to 

13 carry out the life processes of the organism, in14 cluding an area used by the organism for 

15 spawning, incubation, nursery, rearing, growth 

16 to maturity, food supply, or migration. 

17 (B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘aquatic 

18 habitat’’ includes an area adjacent to an aquat19 ic environment, if the adjacent area— 

20 (i) contributes an element, such as the 

21 input of detrital material or the promotion 

22 of a planktonic or insect population pro23 viding food, that makes fish life possible; 

24 (ii) protects the quality and quantity 

25 of water sources; 


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1 (iii) provides public access for the use 

2 of fishery resources; or 

3 (iv) serves as a buffer protecting the 

4 aquatic environment. 

5 (3) ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR.—The term 

6 ‘‘Assistant Administrator’’ means the Assistant Ad7 ministrator for Fisheries of the National Oceanic 

8 and Atmospheric Administration. 

9 (4) BOARD.—The term ‘‘Board’’ means the Na10 tional Fish Habitat Board established by section 

11 202(a)(1). 

12 (5) CONSERVATION; CONSERVE; MANAGE; MAN13 AGEMENT.—The terms ‘‘conservation’’, ‘‘conserve’’, 

14 ‘‘manage’’, and ‘‘management’’ mean to protect, sus15 tain, and, where appropriate, restore and enhance, 

16 using methods and procedures associated with mod17 ern scientific resource programs (including protec18 tion, research, census, law enforcement, habitat 

19 management, propagation, live trapping and trans20 plantation, and regulated taking)— 

21 (A) a healthy population of fish, wildlife, 

22 or plant life; 

23 (B) a habitat required to sustain fish, wild24 life, or plant life; or 


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1 (C) a habitat required to sustain fish, wild2 life, or plant life productivity. 

3 (6) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 

4 the Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife 

5 Service. 

6 (7) FISH.— 

7 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘fish’’ means 

8 any freshwater, diadromous, estuarine, or ma9 rine finfish or shellfish. 

10 (B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘fish’’ in11 cludes the egg, spawn, spat, larval, and other 

12 juvenile stages of an organism described in sub13 paragraph (A). 

14 (8) FISH HABITAT CONSERVATION PROJECT.— 

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘fish habitat 

16 conservation project’’ means a project that— 

17 (i) is submitted to the Board by a 

18 Partnership and approved by the Secretary 

19 under section 204; and 

20 (ii) provides for the conservation or 

21 management of an aquatic habitat. 

22 (B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘fish habitat 

23 conservation project’’ includes— 

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1 munity by the National Fish Habitat Con2 servation Partnership Office or any other 

3 agency to facilitate the development of 

4 strategies and priorities for the conserva5 tion of aquatic habitats; or 

6 (ii) the obtaining of a real property 

7 interest in land or water, including water 

8 rights, in accordance with terms and condi9 tions that ensure that the real property 

10 will be administered for the long-term con11 servation of— 

12 (I) the land or water; and 

13 (II) the fish dependent on the 

14 land or water. 

15 (9) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ 

16 has the meaning given the term in section 4 of the 

17 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 

18 Act (25 U.S.C. 450b). 

19 (10) NATIONAL FISH HABITAT ACTION PLAN.— 

20 The term ‘‘National Fish Habitat Action Plan’’ 

21 means the National Fish Habitat Action Plan dated 

22 April 24, 2006, and any subsequent revisions or 

23 amendments to that plan. 

24 (11) PARTNERSHIP.—The term ‘‘Partnership’’ 

25 means an entity designated by the Board as a Fish 


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1 Habitat Conservation Partnership pursuant to sec2 tion 203(a). 

3 (12) REAL PROPERTY INTEREST.—The term 

4 ‘‘real property interest’’ means an ownership interest 

5 in— 

6 (A) land; 

7 (B) water (including water rights); or 

8 (C) a building or object that is perma9 nently affixed to land. 

10 (13) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 

11 means the Secretary of the Interior. 

12 (14) STATE AGENCY.—The term ‘‘State agen13 cy’’ means— 

14 (A) the fish and wildlife agency of a State; 

15 (B) any department or division of a de16 partment or agency of a State that manages in 

17 the public trust the inland or marine fishery re18 sources or the habitat for those fishery re19 sources of the State pursuant to State law or 

20 the constitution of the State; or 

21 (C) the fish and wildlife agency of the 

22 Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Vir23 gin Islands, or any other territory or possession 

24 of the United States. 


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1 SEC. 202. NATIONAL FISH HABITAT BOARD. 

2 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is established a board, 

4 to be known as the ‘‘National Fish Habitat 

5 Board’’— 

6 (A) to promote, oversee, and coordinate the 

7 implementation of this subtitle and the National 

8 Fish Habitat Action Plan; 

9 (B) to establish national goals and prior10 ities for aquatic habitat conservation; 

11 (C) to designate Partnerships; and 

12 (D) to review and make recommendations 

13 regarding fish habitat conservation projects. 

14 (2) MEMBERSHIP.—The Board shall be com15 posed of 27 members, of whom— 

16 (A) 1 shall be the Director; 

17 (B) 1 shall be the Assistant Administrator; 

18 (C) 1 shall be the Chief of the Natural Re19 sources Conservation Service; 

20 (D) 1 shall be the Chief of the Forest 

21 Service; 

22 (E) 1 shall be the Assistant Administrator 

23 for Water of the Environmental Protection 

24 Agency; 

25 (F) 1 shall be the President of the Associa26 tion of Fish and Wildlife Agencies; 


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1 (G) 1 shall be the Secretary of the Board 

2 of Directors of the National Fish and Wildlife 

3 Foundation appointed pursuant to section 

4 3(g)(2)(B) of the National Fish and Wildlife 

5 Foundation Establishment Act (16 U.S.C. 

6 3702(g)(2)(B)); 

7 (H) 4 shall be representatives of State 

8 agencies, 1 of whom shall be nominated by a re9 gional association of fish and wildlife agencies 

10 from each of the Northeast, Southeast, Mid11 west, and Western regions of the United States; 

12 (I) 1 shall be a representative of the Amer13 ican Fisheries Society; 

14 (J) 2 shall be representatives of Indian 

15 tribes, of whom— 

16 (i) 1 shall represent Indian tribes 

17 from the State of Alaska; and 

18 (ii) 1 shall represent Indian tribes 

19 from the other States; 

20 (K) 1 shall be a representative of the Re21 gional Fishery Management Councils estab22 lished under section 302 of the Magnuson-Ste23 vens Fishery Conservation and Management 

24 Act (16 U.S.C. 1852); 


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1 (L) 1 shall be a representative of the Ma2 rine Fisheries Commissions, which is composed 

3 of— 

4 (i) the Atlantic States Marine Fish5 eries Commission; 

6 (ii) the Gulf States Marine Fisheries 

7 Commission; and 

8 (iii) the Pacific States Marine Fish9 eries Commission; 

10 (M) 1 shall be a representative of the 

11 Sportfishing and Boating Partnership Council; 

12 and 

13 (N) 10 shall be representatives selected 

14 from each of the following groups: 

15 (i) The recreational sportfishing in16 dustry. 

17 (ii) The commercial fishing industry. 

18 (iii) Marine recreational anglers. 

19 (iv) Freshwater recreational anglers. 

20 (v) Terrestrial resource conservation 

21 organizations. 

22 (vi) Aquatic resource conservation or23 ganizations. 

24 (vii) The livestock and poultry produc25 tion industry. 


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1 (viii) The land development industry. 

2 (ix) The row crop industry. 

3 (x) Natural resource commodity inter4 ests, such as petroleum or mineral extrac5 tion. 

6 (3) COMPENSATION.—A member of the Board 

7 shall serve without compensation. 

8 (4) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—A member of the 

9 Board shall be allowed travel expenses, including per 

10 diem in lieu of subsistence, at rates authorized for 

11 an employee of an agency under subchapter I of 

12 chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code, while 

13 away from the home or regular place of business of 

14 the member in the performance of the duties of the 

15 Board. 

16 (b) APPOINTMENT AND TERMS.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise pro18 vided in this subsection, a member of the Board de19 scribed in any of subparagraphs (H) through (N) of 

20 subsection (a)(2) shall serve for a term of 3 years. 

21 (2) INITIAL BOARD MEMBERSHIP.— 

22 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 

23 days after the date of enactment of this Act, 

24 the representatives of the board established by 

25 the National Fish Habitat Action Plan shall apVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:20 Sep 11, 2012 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00029 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3525.PCS S3525

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1 point the initial members of the Board de2 scribed in subparagraphs (H) through (I) and 

3 (K) through (N) of subsection (a)(2). 

4 (B) TRIBAL REPRESENTATIVES.—Not 

5 later than 180 days after the enactment of this 

6 Act, the Secretary shall provide to the board es7 tablished by the National Fish Habitat Action 

8 Plan a recommendation of not less than 4 tribal 

9 representatives, from which that board shall ap10 point 2 representatives pursuant to subpara11 graph (J) of subsection (a)(2). 

12 (3) TRANSITIONAL TERMS.—Of the members 

13 described in subsection (a)(2)(N) initially appointed 

14 to the Board— 

15 (A) 4 shall be appointed for a term of 1 

16 year; 

17 (B) 4 shall be appointed for a term of 2 

18 years; and 

19 (C) 3 shall be appointed for a term of 3 

20 years. 

21 (4) VACANCIES.— 

22 (A) IN GENERAL.—A vacancy of a member 

23 of the Board described in any of subparagraphs 

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1 section (a)(2) shall be filled by an appointment 

2 made by the remaining members of the Board. 

3 (B) TRIBAL REPRESENTATIVES.—Fol4 lowing a vacancy of a member of the Board de5 scribed in subparagraph (J) of subsection 

6 (a)(2), the Secretary shall recommend to the 

7 Board not less than 4 tribal representatives, 

8 from which the remaining members of the 

9 Board shall appoint a representative to fill the 

10 vacancy. 

11 (5) CONTINUATION OF SERVICE.—An individual 

12 whose term of service as a member of the Board ex13 pires may continue to serve on the Board until a 

14 successor is appointed. 

15 (6) REMOVAL.—If a member of the Board de16 scribed in any of subparagraphs (H) through (N) of 

17 subsection (a)(2) misses 3 consecutive regularly 

18 scheduled Board meetings, the members of the 

19 Board may— 

20 (A) vote to remove that member; and 

21 (B) appoint another individual in accord22 ance with paragraph (4). 

23 (c) CHAIRPERSON.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Board shall elect a 

2 member of the Board to serve as Chairperson of the 

3 Board. 

4 (2) TERM.—The Chairperson of the Board shall 

5 serve for a term of 3 years. 

6 (d) MEETINGS.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Board shall meet— 

8 (A) at the call of the Chairperson; but 

9 (B) not less frequently than twice each cal10 endar year. 

11 (2) PUBLIC ACCESS.—All meetings of the 

12 Board shall be open to the public. 

13 (e) PROCEDURES.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Board shall establish 

15 procedures to carry out the business of the Board, 

16 including— 

17 (A) a requirement that a quorum of the 

18 members of the Board be present to transact 

19 business; 

20 (B) a requirement that no recommenda21 tions may be adopted by the Board, except by 

the vote of 2 22 ⁄3 of all members present and vot23 ing; 


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1 (C) procedures for establishing national 

2 goals and priorities for aquatic habitat con3 servation for the purposes of this subtitle; 

4 (D) procedures for designating Partner5 ships under section 203; and 

6 (E) procedures for reviewing, evaluating, 

7 and making recommendations regarding fish 

8 habitat conservation projects. 

9 (2) QUORUM.—A majority of the members of 

10 the Board shall constitute a quorum. 

11 SEC. 203. FISH HABITAT PARTNERSHIPS. 

12 (a) AUTHORITY TO DESIGNATE.—The Board may 

13 designate Fish Habitat Partnerships in accordance with 

14 this section. 

15 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of a Partnership shall 

16 be— 

17 (1) to coordinate the implementation of the Na18 tional Fish Habitat Action Plan at a regional level; 

19 (2) to identify strategic priorities for fish habi20 tat conservation; 

21 (3) to recommend to the Board fish habitat 

22 conservation projects that address a strategic pri23 ority of the Board; and 

24 (4) to develop and carry out fish habitat con25 servation projects. 


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1 (c) APPLICATIONS.—An entity seeking to be des2 ignated as a Partnership shall submit to the Board an 

3 application at such time, in such manner, and containing 

4 such information as the Board may reasonably require. 

5 (d) APPROVAL.—The Board may approve an applica6 tion for a Partnership submitted under subsection (c) if 

7 the Board determines that the applicant— 

8 (1) includes representatives of a diverse group 

9 of public and private partners, including Federal, 

10 State, or local governments, nonprofit entities, In11 dian tribes, and private individuals, that are focused 

12 on conservation of aquatic habitats to achieve results 

13 across jurisdictional boundaries on public and pri14 vate land; 

15 (2) is organized to promote the health of impor16 tant aquatic habitats and distinct geographical 

17 areas, keystone fish species, or system types, includ18 ing reservoirs, natural lakes, coastal and marine en19 vironments, and estuaries; 

20 (3) identifies strategic fish and aquatic habitat 

21 priorities for the Partnership area in the form of 

22 geographical focus areas or key stressors or impair23 ments to facilitate strategic planning and decision24 making; 


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1 (4) is able to address issues and priorities on a 

2 nationally significant scale; 

3 (5) includes a governance structure that— 

4 (A) reflects the range of all partners; and 

5 (B) promotes joint strategic planning and 

6 decisionmaking by the applicant; 

7 (6) demonstrates completion of, or significant 

8 progress toward the development of, a strategic plan 

9 to address the causes of system decline in fish popu10 lations, rather than simply treating symptoms in ac11 cordance with the National Fish Habitat Action 

12 Plan; and 

13 (7) ensures collaboration in developing a stra14 tegic vision and implementation program that is sci15 entifically sound and achievable. 

16 SEC. 204. FISH HABITAT CONSERVATION PROJECTS. 

17 (a) SUBMISSION TO BOARD.—Not later than March 

18 31 of each calendar year, each Partnership shall submit 

19 to the Board a list of fish habitat conservation projects 

20 recommended by the Partnership for annual funding 

21 under this subtitle. 

22 (b) RECOMMENDATIONS BY BOARD.—Not later than 

23 July 1 of each calendar year, the Board shall submit to 

24 the Secretary a description, including estimated costs, of 

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1 ommends that the Secretary approve and fund under this 

2 subtitle, in order of priority, for the following fiscal year. 

3 (c) CONSIDERATIONS.—The Board shall select each 

4 fish habitat conservation project to be recommended to the 

5 Secretary under subsection (b)— 

6 (1) based on a recommendation of the Partner7 ship that is, or will be, participating actively in car8 rying out the fish habitat conservation project; and 

9 (2) after taking into consideration— 

10 (A) the extent to which the fish habitat 

11 conservation project fulfills a purpose of this 

12 subtitle or a goal of the National Fish Habitat 

13 Action Plan; 

14 (B) the extent to which the fish habitat 

15 conservation project addresses the national pri16 orities established by the Board; 

17 (C) the availability of sufficient non-Fed18 eral funds to match Federal contributions for 

19 the fish habitat conservation project, as re20 quired by subsection (e); 

21 (D) the extent to which the fish habitat 

22 conservation project— 

23 (i) increases fishing opportunities for 

24 the public; 


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1 (ii) will be carried out through a coop2 erative agreement among Federal, State, 

3 and local governments, Indian tribes, and 

4 private entities; 

5 (iii) increases public access to land or 

6 water; 

7 (iv) advances the conservation of fish 

8 and wildlife species that are listed, or are 

9 candidates to be listed, as threatened spe10 cies or endangered species under the En11 dangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 

12 1531 et seq.); 

13 (v) where appropriate, advances the 

14 conservation of fish and fish habitats 

15 under the Magnuson-Stevens Act (16 

16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.) and other relevant 

17 Federal law and State wildlife action plans; 

18 and 

19 (vi) promotes resilience such that de20 sired biological communities are able to 

21 persist and adapt to environmental 

22 stressors such as climate change; and 

23 (E) the substantiality of the character and 

24 design of the fish habitat conservation project. 

25 (d) LIMITATIONS.— 


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1 (1) REQUIREMENTS FOR EVALUATION.—No 

2 fish habitat conservation project may be rec3 ommended by the Board under subsection (b) or 

4 provided financial assistance under this subtitle un5 less the fish habitat conservation project includes an 

6 evaluation plan designed— 

7 (A) to appropriately assess the biological, 

8 ecological, or other results of the habitat protec9 tion, restoration, or enhancement activities car10 ried out using the assistance; 

11 (B) to reflect appropriate changes to the 

12 fish habitat conservation project if the assess13 ment substantiates that the fish habitat con14 servation project objectives are not being met; 

15 and 

16 (C) to require the submission to the Board 

17 of a report describing the findings of the assess18 ment. 

19 (2) ACQUISITION OF REAL PROPERTY INTER20 ESTS.— 

21 (A) IN GENERAL.—No fish habitat con22 servation project that will result in the acquisi23 tion by the State, local government, or other 

24 non-Federal entity, in whole or in part, of any 

25 real property interest may be recommended by 


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1 the Board under subsection (b) or provided fi2 nancial assistance under this subtitle unless the 

3 project meets the requirements of subparagraph 

4 (B). 

5 (B) REQUIREMENTS.— 

6 (i) IN GENERAL.—A real property in7 terest may not be acquired pursuant to a 

8 fish habitat conservation project by a 

9 State, public agency, or other non-Federal 

10 entity unless the State, agency, or other 

11 non-Federal entity is obligated to under12 take the management of the property being 

13 acquired in accordance with the purposes 

14 of this subtitle. 

15 (ii) ADDITIONAL CONDITIONS.—Any 

16 real property interest acquired by a State, 

17 local government, or other non-Federal en18 tity pursuant to a fish habitat conservation 

19 project shall be subject to terms and condi20 tions that ensure that the interest will be 

21 administered for the long-term conserva22 tion and management of the aquatic eco23 system and the fish and wildlife dependent 

24 on that ecosystem. 

25 (e) NON-FEDERAL CONTRIBUTIONS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para2 graph (2), no fish habitat conservation project may 

3 be recommended by the Board under subsection (b) 

4 or provided financial assistance under this subtitle 

5 unless at least 50 percent of the cost of the fish 

6 habitat conservation project will be funded with non7 Federal funds. 

8 (2) PROJECTS ON FEDERAL LAND OR WATER.— 

9 Notwithstanding paragraph (1), Federal funds may 

10 be used for payment of 100 percent of the costs of 

11 a fish habitat conservation project located on Fed12 eral land or water. 

13 (3) NON-FEDERAL SHARE.—The non-Federal 

14 share of the cost of a fish habitat conservation 

15 project— 

16 (A) may not be derived from a Federal 

17 grant program; but 

18 (B) may include in-kind contributions and 

19 cash. 

20 (4) SPECIAL RULE FOR INDIAN TRIBES.—Not21 withstanding paragraph (1) or any other provision of 

22 law, any funds made available to an Indian tribe 

23 pursuant to this subtitle may be considered to be 

24 non-Federal funds for the purpose of paragraph (1). 

25 (f) APPROVAL.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

2 after the date of receipt of the recommendations of 

3 the Board for fish habitat conservation projects 

4 under subsection (b), and based, to the maximum 

5 extent practicable, on the criteria described in sub6 section (c)— 

7 (A) the Secretary shall approve, reject, or 

8 reorder the priority of any fish habitat con9 servation project recommended by the Board 

10 that is not within a marine or estuarine habitat; 

11 and 

12 (B) the Secretary and the Secretary of 

13 Commerce shall jointly approve, reject, or reor14 der the priority of any fish habitat conservation 

15 project recommended by the Board that is with16 in a marine or estuarine habitat. 

17 (2) FUNDING.—If the Secretary, or the Sec18 retary and the Secretary of Commerce jointly, ap19 proves a fish habitat conservation project under 

20 paragraph (1), the Secretary, or the Secretary and 

21 the Secretary of Commerce jointly, shall use 

22 amounts made available to carry out this subtitle to 

23 provide funds to carry out the fish habitat conserva24 tion project. 


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1 (3) NOTIFICATION.—If the Secretary, or the 

2 Secretary and the Secretary of Commerce jointly, re3 jects or reorders the priority of any fish habitat con4 servation project recommended by the Board under 

5 subsection (b), the Secretary, or the Secretary and 

6 the Secretary of Commerce jointly, shall provide to 

7 the Board and the appropriate Partnership a written 

8 statement of the reasons that the Secretary, or the 

9 Secretary and the Secretary of Commerce jointly, re10 jected or modified the priority of the fish habitat 

11 conservation project. 

12 (4) LIMITATION.—If the Secretary, or the Sec13 retary and the Secretary of Commerce jointly, has 

14 not approved, rejected, or reordered the priority of 

15 the recommendations of the Board for fish habitat 

16 conservation projects by the date that is 180 days 

17 after the date of receipt of the recommendations, the 

18 recommendations shall be considered to be approved. 

19 SEC. 205. NATIONAL FISH HABITAT CONSERVATION PART20 NERSHIP OFFICE. 

21 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 1 year after 

22 the date of enactment of this Act, the Director shall estab23 lish an office, to be known as the ‘‘National Fish Habitat 

24 Conservation Partnership Office’’, within the United 

25 States Fish and Wildlife Service. 


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1 (b) FUNCTIONS.—The National Fish Habitat Con2 servation Partnership Office shall— 

3 (1) provide funding for the operational needs of 

4 the Partnerships, including funding for activities 

5 such as planning, project development and imple6 mentation, coordination, monitoring, evaluation, 

7 communication, and outreach; 

8 (2) provide funding to support the detail of 

9 State and tribal fish and wildlife staff to the Office; 

10 (3) facilitate the cooperative development and 

11 approval of Partnerships; 

12 (4) assist the Secretary and the Board in car13 rying out this subtitle; 

14 (5) assist the Secretary in carrying out the re15 quirements of sections 206 and 208; 

16 (6) facilitate communication, cohesiveness, and 

17 efficient operations for the benefit of Partnerships 

18 and the Board; 

19 (7) facilitate, with assistance from the Director, 

20 the Assistant Administrator, and the President of 

21 the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, the 

22 consideration of fish habitat conservation projects by 

23 the Board; 


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1 (8) provide support to the Director regarding 

2 the development and implementation of the inter3 agency operational plan under subsection (c); 

4 (9) coordinate technical and scientific reporting 

5 as required by section 209; 

6 (10) facilitate the efficient use of resources and 

7 activities of Federal departments and agencies to 

8 carry out this subtitle in an efficient manner; and 

9 (11) provide support to the Board for national 

10 communication and outreach efforts that promote 

11 public awareness of fish habitat conservation. 

12 (c) INTERAGENCY OPERATIONAL PLAN.—Not later 

13 than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, and 

14 every 5 years thereafter, the Director, in cooperation with 

15 the Assistant Administrator and the heads of other appro16 priate Federal departments and agencies, shall develop an 

17 interagency operational plan for the National Fish Habi18 tat Conservation Partnership Office that describes— 

19 (1) the functional, operational, technical, sci20 entific, and general staff, administrative, and mate21 rial needs of the Office; and 

22 (2) any interagency agreements between or 

23 among Federal departments and agencies to address 

24 those needs. 

25 (d) STAFF AND SUPPORT.— 


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1 (1) DEPARTMENTS OF INTERIOR AND COM2 MERCE.—The Director and the Assistant Adminis3 trator shall each provide appropriate staff to support 

4 the National Fish Habitat Conservation Partnership 

5 Office, subject to the availability of funds under sec6 tion 213. 

7 (2) STATES AND INDIAN TRIBES.—Each State 

8 and Indian tribe is encouraged to provide staff to 

9 support the National Fish Habitat Conservation 

10 Partnership Office. 

11 (3) DETAILEES AND CONTRACTORS.—The Na12 tional Fish Habitat Conservation Partnership Office 

13 may accept staff or other administrative support 

14 from other entities— 

15 (A) through interagency details; or 

16 (B) as contractors. 

17 (4) QUALIFICATIONS.—The staff of the Na18 tional Fish Habitat Conservation Partnership Office 

19 shall include members with education and experience 

20 relating to the principles of fish, wildlife, and aquat21 ic habitat conservation. 

22 (5) WAIVER OF REQUIREMENT.—The Secretary 

23 may waive all or part of the non-Federal contribu24 tion requirement under section 204(e)(1) if the Sec25 retary determines that— 


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1 (A) no reasonable means are available 

2 through which the affected applicant can meet 

3 the requirement; and 

4 (B) the probable benefit of the relevant 

5 fish habitat conservation project outweighs the 

6 public interest in meeting the requirement. 

7 (e) REPORTS.—Not less frequently than once each 

8 year, the Director shall provide to the Board a report de9 scribing the activities of the National Fish Habitat Con10 servation Partnership Office. 

11 SEC. 206. TECHNICAL AND SCIENTIFIC ASSISTANCE. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Director, the Assistant Ad13 ministrator, and the Director of the United States Geo14 logical Survey, in coordination with the Forest Service and 

15 other appropriate Federal departments and agencies, shall 

16 provide scientific and technical assistance to the Partner17 ships, participants in fish habitat conservation projects, 

18 and the Board. 

19 (b) INCLUSIONS.—Scientific and technical assistance 

20 provided pursuant to subsection (a) may include— 

21 (1) providing technical and scientific assistance 

22 to States, Indian tribes, regions, local communities, 

23 and nongovernmental organizations in the develop24 ment and implementation of Partnerships; 


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1 (2) providing technical and scientific assistance 

2 to Partnerships for habitat assessment, strategic 

3 planning, and prioritization; 

4 (3) supporting the development and implemen5 tation of fish habitat conservation projects that are 

6 identified as high priorities by Partnerships and the 

7 Board; 

8 (4) supporting and providing recommendations 

9 regarding the development of science-based moni10 toring and assessment approaches for implementa11 tion through Partnerships; 

12 (5) supporting and providing recommendations 

13 for a national fish habitat assessment; and 

14 (6) ensuring the availability of experts to con15 duct scientifically based evaluation and reporting of 

16 the results of fish habitat conservation projects. 

17 SEC. 207. CONSERVATION OF AQUATIC HABITAT FOR FISH 

18 AND OTHER AQUATIC ORGANISMS ON FED19 ERAL LAND. 

20 To the extent consistent with the mission and author21 ity of the applicable department or agency, the head of 

22 each Federal department and agency responsible for ac23 quiring, managing, or disposing of Federal land or water 

24 shall cooperate with the Assistant Administrator and the 

25 Director to conserve the aquatic habitats for fish and 


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1 other aquatic organisms within the land and water of the 

2 department or agency. 

3 SEC. 208. COORDINATION WITH STATES AND INDIAN 

4 TRIBES. 

5 The Secretary shall provide a notice to, and coordi6 nate with, the appropriate State agency or tribal agency, 

7 as applicable, of each State and Indian tribe within the 

8 boundaries of which an activity is planned to be carried 

9 out pursuant to this subtitle by not later than 30 days 

10 before the date on which the activity is implemented. 

11 SEC. 209. ACCOUNTABILITY AND REPORTING. 

12 (a) IMPLEMENTATION REPORTS.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after 

14 the date of enactment of this Act, and every 2 years 

15 thereafter, the Board shall submit to the appropriate 

16 congressional committees a report describing the im17 plementation of— 

18 (A) this subtitle; and 

19 (B) the National Fish Habitat Action 

20 Plan. 

21 (2) CONTENTS.—Each report submitted under 

22 paragraph (1) shall include— 

23 (A) an estimate of the number of acres, 

24 stream miles, or acre-feet (or other suitable 

25 measure) of aquatic habitat that was protected, 


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1 restored, or enhanced under the National Fish 

2 Habitat Action Plan by Federal, State, or local 

3 governments, Indian tribes, or other entities in 

4 the United States during the 2-year period end5 ing on the date of submission of the report; 

6 (B) a description of the public access to 

7 aquatic habitats protected, restored, or estab8 lished under the National Fish Habitat Action 

9 Plan during that 2-year period; 

10 (C) a description of the opportunities for 

11 public fishing established under the National 

12 Fish Habitat Action Plan during that period; 

13 and 

14 (D) an assessment of the status of fish 

15 habitat conservation projects carried out with 

16 funds provided under this subtitle during that 

17 period, disaggregated by year, including— 

18 (i) a description of the fish habitat 

19 conservation projects recommended by the 

20 Board under section 204(b); 

21 (ii) a description of each fish habitat 

22 conservation project approved by the Sec23 retary under section 204(f), in order of 

24 priority for funding; 

25 (iii) a justification for— 


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1 (I) the approval of each fish 

2 habitat conservation project; and 

3 (II) the order of priority for 

4 funding of each fish habitat conserva5 tion project; 

6 (iv) a justification for any rejection or 

7 reordering of the priority of each fish habi8 tat conservation project recommended by 

9 the Board under section 204(b) that was 

10 based on a factor other than the criteria 

11 described in section 204(c); and 

12 (v) an accounting of expenditures by 

13 Federal, State, or local governments, In14 dian tribes, or other entities to carry out 

15 fish habitat conservation projects. 

16 (b) STATUS AND TRENDS REPORT.—Not later than 

17 December 31, 2012, and every 5 years thereafter, the 

18 Board shall submit to the appropriate congressional com19 mittees a report describing the status of aquatic habitats 

20 in the United States. 

21 (c) REVISIONS.—Not later than December 31, 2013, 

22 and every 5 years thereafter, the Board shall revise the 

23 goals and other elements of the National Fish Habitat Ac24 tion Plan, after consideration of each report required by 

25 subsection (b). 


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1 SEC. 210. REGULATIONS. 

2 The Secretary may promulgate such regulations as 

3 the Secretary determines to be necessary to carry out this 

4 subtitle. 

5 SEC. 211. EFFECT OF SUBTITLE. 

6 (a) WATER RIGHTS.—Nothing in this subtitle— 

7 (1) establishes any express or implied reserved 

8 water right in the United States for any purpose; 

9 (2) affects any water right in existence on the 

10 date of enactment of this Act; 

11 (3) preempts or affects any State water law or 

12 interstate compact governing water; or 

13 (4) affects any Federal or State law in exist14 ence on the date of enactment of the Act regarding 

15 water quality or water quantity. 

16 (b) STATE AUTHORITY.—Nothing in this subtitle— 

17 (1) affects the authority, jurisdiction, or respon18 sibility of a State to manage, control, or regulate 

19 fish and wildlife under the laws and regulations of 

20 the State; or 

21 (2) authorizes the Secretary to control or regu22 late within a State the fishing or hunting of fish and 

23 wildlife. 

24 (c) EFFECT ON INDIAN TRIBES.—Nothing in this 

25 subtitle abrogates, abridges, affects, modifies, supersedes, 


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1 or alters any right of an Indian tribe recognized by treaty 

2 or any other means, including— 

3 (1) an agreement between the Indian tribe and 

4 the United States; 

5 (2) Federal law (including regulations); 

6 (3) an Executive order; or 

7 (4) a judicial decree. 

8 (d) ADJUDICATION OF WATER RIGHTS.—Nothing in 

9 this subtitle diminishes or affects the ability of the Sec10 retary to join an adjudication of rights to the use of water 

11 pursuant to subsection (a), (b), or (c) of section 208 of 

12 the Department of Justice Appropriation Act, 1953 (43 

13 U.S.C. 666). 

14 (e) EFFECT ON OTHER AUTHORITIES.— 

15 (1) ACQUISITION OF LAND AND WATER.—Noth16 ing in this subtitle alters or otherwise affects the au17 thorities, responsibilities, obligations, or powers of 

18 the Secretary to acquire land, water, or an interest 

19 in land or water under any other provision of law. 

20 (2) PRIVATE PROPERTY PROTECTION.—Nothing 

21 in this subtitle permits the use of funds made avail22 able to carry out this subtitle to acquire real prop23 erty or a real property interest without the written 

24 consent of each owner of the real property or real 

25 property interest. 


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1 (3) MITIGATION.—Nothing in this subtitle per2 mits the use of funds made available to carry out 

3 this subtitle for fish and wildlife mitigation purposes 

4 under— 

5 (A) the Federal Water Pollution Control 

6 Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.); 

7 (B) the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act 

8 (16 U.S.C. 661 et seq.); 

9 (C) the Water Resources Development Act 

10 of 1986 (Public Law 99–662; 100 Stat. 4082); 

11 or 

12 (D) any other Federal law or court settle13 ment. 

14 SEC. 212. NONAPPLICABILITY OF FEDERAL ADVISORY COM15 MITTEE ACT. 

16 The Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) 

17 shall not apply to— 

18 (1) the Board; or 

19 (2) any Partnership. 

20 SEC. 213. FUNDING. 

21 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

22 (1) FISH HABITAT CONSERVATION PROJECTS.— 

23 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Sec24 retary $7,200,000 for each of fiscal years 2012 

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1 servation projects approved under section 204(f), of 

2 which 5 percent shall be made available for each fis3 cal year for projects carried out by Indian tribes. 

4 (2) NATIONAL FISH HABITAT CONSERVATION

5 PARTNERSHIP OFFICE.— 

6 (A) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to 

7 be appropriated to the Secretary for each of fis8 cal years 2012 through 2016 for the National 

9 Fish Habitat Conservation Partnership Office, 

10 and to carry out section 209, an amount equal 

11 to 5 percent of the amount appropriated for the 

12 applicable fiscal year pursuant to paragraph 

13 (1). 

14 (B) REQUIRED TRANSFERS.—The Sec15 retary shall annually transfer to other Federal 

16 departments and agencies such percentage of 

17 the amounts made available pursuant to sub18 paragraph (A) as is required to support partici19 pation by those departments and agencies in 

20 the National Fish Habitat Conservation Part21 nership Office pursuant to the interagency 

22 operational plan under section 205(c). 

23 (3) TECHNICAL AND SCIENTIFIC ASSISTANCE.— 

24 There are authorized to be appropriated for each of 

25 fiscal years 2012 through 2016 to carry out, and 


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1 provide technical and scientific assistance under, sec2 tion 206— 

3 (A) $500,000 to the Secretary for use by 

4 the United States Fish and Wildlife Service; 

5 (B) $500,000 to the Assistant Adminis6 trator for use by the National Oceanic and At7 mospheric Administration; and 

8 (C) $500,000 to the Secretary for use by 

9 the United States Geological Survey. 

10 (4) PLANNING AND ADMINISTRATIVE EX11 PENSES.—There is authorized to be appropriated to 

12 the Secretary for each of fiscal years 2012 through 

13 2016 for use by the Board, the Director, and the 

14 Assistant Administrator for planning and adminis15 trative expenses an amount equal to 3 percent of the 

16 amount appropriated for the applicable fiscal year 

17 pursuant to paragraph (1). 

18 (b) AGREEMENTS AND GRANTS.—The Secretary 

19 may— 

20 (1) on the recommendation of the Board, and 

21 notwithstanding sections 6304 and 6305 of title 31, 

22 United States Code, and the Federal Financial As23 sistance Management Improvement Act of 1999 (31 

24 U.S.C. 6101 note; Public Law 106–107), enter into 

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1 tract with a Partnership or other entity for a fish 

2 habitat conservation project or restoration or en3 hancement project; 

4 (2) apply for, accept, and use a grant from any 

5 individual or entity to carry out the purposes of this 

6 subtitle; and 

7 (3) make funds available to any Federal depart8 ment or agency for use by that department or agen9 cy to provide grants for any fish habitat protection 

10 project, restoration project, or enhancement project 

11 that the Secretary determines to be consistent with 

12 this subtitle. 

13 (c) DONATIONS.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may— 

15 (A) enter into an agreement with any orga16 nization described in section 501(c)(3) of the 

17 Internal Revenue Code of 1986 that is exempt 

18 from taxation under section 501(a) of that 

19 Code to solicit private donations to carry out 

20 the purposes of this subtitle; and 

21 (B) accept donations of funds, property, 

22 and services to carry out the purposes of this 

23 subtitle. 

24 (2) TREATMENT.—A donation accepted under 

25 this section— 


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1 (A) shall be considered to be a gift or be2 quest to, or otherwise for the use of, the United 

3 States; and 

4 (B) may be— 

5 (i) used directly by the Secretary; or 

6 (ii) provided to another Federal de7 partment or agency through an inter8 agency agreement. 

9 Subtitle B—Duck Stamps 

10 SEC. 221. FINDINGS. 

11 Congress finds that— 

12 (1) Federal Migratory Bird Hunting and Con13 servation Stamps (commonly known as ‘‘duck 

14 stamps’’) were created in 1934 as Federal licenses 

15 required for hunting migratory waterfowl; 

16 (2)(A) duck stamps are a vital tool for wetland 

17 conservation; 

18 (B) 98 percent of the receipts from duck stamp 

19 sales are used to acquire important migratory bird 

20 breeding, migration, and wintering habitat, which 

21 are added to the National Wildlife Refuge System; 

22 and 

23 (C) those benefits extend to all wildlife, not just 

24 ducks; 


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1 (3) since inception, the Federal duck stamp 

2 program— 

3 (A) has generated more than 

4 $750,000,000; 

5 (B) has preserved more than 5,000,000 

6 acres of wetland and wildlife habitat; and 

7 (C) is considered among the most success8 ful conservation programs ever initiated; 

9 (4)(A) since 1934, when duck stamps cost $1, 

10 the price has been increased 7 times to the price in 

11 effect on the date of enactment of this Act of $15, 

12 which took effect in 1991; and 

13 (B) the price of the duck stamp has not in14 creased since 1991, the longest single period without 

15 an increase in program history; and 

16 (5) with the price unchanged during the 20- 

17 year period ending on the date of enactment of this 

18 Act, duck stamps have lost 40 percent of the value 

19 of the duck stamps based on the consumer price 

20 index, while the United States Fish and Wildlife 

21 Service reports the price of land in targeted wetland 

22 areas has tripled from an average of $306 to $1,091 

23 per acre. 


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1 SEC. 222. COST OF STAMPS. 

2 Section 2 of the Migratory Bird Hunting and Con3 servation Stamp Act (16 U.S.C. 718b) is amended by 

4 striking subsection (b) and inserting the following: 

5 ‘‘(b) COST OF STAMPS.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For the 3-calendar-year pe7 riod beginning with calendar year 2013, and for 

8 each 3-calendar-year period thereafter, the Sec9 retary, in consultation with the Migratory Bird Con10 servation Commission, shall establish the amount to 

11 be collected under paragraph (2) for each stamp sold 

12 under this section. 

13 ‘‘(2) COLLECTION OF AMOUNTS.—The United 

14 States Postal Service, the Department of the Inte15 rior, or any other agent approved by the Department 

16 of the Interior shall collect the amount established 

17 under paragraph (1) for each stamp sold under this 

18 section for a hunting year if the Secretary deter19 mines, at any time before February 1 of the cal20 endar year during which the hunting year begins, 

21 that all amounts described in paragraph (3) have 

22 been obligated for expenditure. 

23 ‘‘(3) AMOUNTS.—The amounts described in this 

24 paragraph are amounts in the Migratory Bird Con25 servation Fund that are available for obligation and 

26 attributable to— 


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1 ‘‘(A) amounts appropriated pursuant to 

2 this Act for the fiscal year ending in the imme3 diately preceding calendar year; and 

4 ‘‘(B) the sale of stamps under this section 

5 during that fiscal year.’’. 

6 SEC. 223. WAIVERS. 

7 Section 1(a) of the Migratory Bird Hunting and Con8 servation Stamp Act (16 U.S.C. 718a(a)) is amended— 

9 (1) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘and sub10 section (d)’’ after ‘‘paragraph (2)’’; and 

11 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(d) WAIVERS.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consulta14 tion with the Migratory Bird Conservation Commis15 sion, may waive requirements under this section for 

16 such individuals as the Secretary, in consultation 

17 with the Migratory Bird Conservation Commission, 

18 determines to be appropriate. 

19 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—In making the determina20 tion described in paragraph (1), the Secretary shall 

21 grant only those waivers the Secretary determines 

22 will have a minimal adverse effect on funds to be de23 posited in the Migratory Bird Conservation Fund es24 tablished under section 4(a)(3).’’. 


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1 SEC. 224. PERMANENT ELECTRONIC DUCK STAMPS. 

2 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

3 (1) ACTUAL STAMP.—The term ‘‘actual stamp’’ 

4 means a Federal migratory-bird hunting and con5 servation stamp required under the Act of March 

6 16, 1934 (16 U.S.C. 718a et seq.) (popularly known 

7 as the ‘‘Duck Stamp Act’’), that is printed on paper 

8 and sold through the means established by the au9 thority of the Secretary immediately before the date 

10 of enactment of this Act. 

11 (2) AUTOMATED LICENSING SYSTEM.— 

12 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘automated 

13 licensing system’’ means an electronic, comput14 erized licensing system used by a State fish and 

15 wildlife agency to issue hunting, fishing, and 

16 other associated licenses and products. 

17 (B) INCLUSION.—The term ‘‘automated li18 censing system’’ includes a point-of-sale, Inter19 net, telephonic system, or other electronic appli20 cations used for a purpose described in sub21 paragraph (A). 

22 (3) ELECTRONIC STAMP.—The term ‘‘electronic 

23 stamp’’ means an electronic version of an actual 

24 stamp that— 

25 (A) is a unique identifier for the individual 

26 to whom it is issued; 


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1 (B) can be printed on paper or produced 

2 through an electronic application with the same 

3 indicators as the State endorsement provides; 

4 (C) is issued through a State automated li5 censing system that is authorized, under State 

6 law and by the Secretary under this section, to 

7 issue electronic stamps; 

8 (D) is compatible with the hunting licens9 ing system of the State that issues the elec10 tronic stamp; and 

11 (E) is described in the State application 

12 approved by the Secretary under subsection (c). 

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

14 the Secretary of the Interior. 

15 (b) AUTHORITY TO ISSUE ELECTRONIC DUCK

16 STAMPS.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may author18 ize any State to issue electronic stamps in accord19 ance with this section. 

20 (2) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary shall im21 plement this subsection in consultation with State 

22 management agencies. 

23 (c) STATE APPLICATION.— 

24 (1) APPROVAL OF APPLICATION REQUIRED.— 

25 The Secretary may not authorize a State to issue 


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1 electronic stamps under this section unless the Sec2 retary has received and approved an application sub3 mitted by the State in accordance with this sub4 section. 

5 (2) NUMBER OF NEW STATES.—The Secretary 

6 may determine the number of new States per year 

7 to participate in the electronic stamp program. 

8 (3) CONTENTS OF APPLICATION.—The Sec9 retary may not approve a State application unless 

10 the application contains— 

11 (A) a description of the format of the elec12 tronic stamp that the State will issue under this 

13 section, including identifying features of the li14 censee that will be specified on the stamp; 

15 (B) a description of any fee the State will 

16 charge for issuance of an electronic stamp; 

17 (C) a description of the process the State 

18 will use to account for and transfer to the Sec19 retary the amounts collected by the State that 

20 are required to be transferred to the Secretary 

21 under the program; 

22 (D) the manner by which the State will 

23 transmit electronic stamp customer data to the 

24 Secretary; 


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1 (E) the manner by which actual stamps 

2 will be delivered; 

3 (F) the policies and procedures under 

4 which the State will issue duplicate electronic 

5 stamps; and 

6 (G) such other policies, procedures, and in7 formation as may be reasonably required by the 

8 Secretary. 

9 (d) PUBLICATION OF DEADLINES, ELIGIBILITY RE10 QUIREMENTS, AND SELECTION CRITERIA.—Not later than 

11 30 days before the date on which the Secretary begins ac12 cepting applications under this section, the Secretary shall 

13 publish— 

14 (1) deadlines for submission of applications; 

15 (2) eligibility requirements for submitting appli16 cations; and 

17 (3) criteria for approving applications. 

18 (e) STATE OBLIGATIONS AND AUTHORITIES.— 

19 (1) DELIVERY OF ACTUAL STAMP.—The Sec20 retary shall require that each individual to whom a 

21 State sells an electronic stamp under this section 

22 shall receive an actual stamp— 

23 (A) by not later than the date on which 

24 the electronic stamp expires under subsection 

25 (f)(3); and 


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1 (B) in a manner agreed on by the State 

2 and Secretary. 

3 (2) COLLECTION AND TRANSFER OF ELEC4 TRONIC STAMP REVENUE AND CUSTOMER INFORMA5 TION.— 

6 (A) REQUIREMENT TO TRANSMIT.—The 

7 Secretary shall require each State authorized to 

8 issue electronic stamps to collect and submit to 

9 the Secretary in accordance with this sub10 section— 

11 (i) the first name, last name, and 

12 complete mailing address of each individual 

13 that purchases an electronic stamp from 

14 the State; 

15 (ii) the face value amount of each 

16 electronic stamp sold by the State; and 

17 (iii) the amount of the Federal por18 tion of any fee required by the agreement 

19 for each stamp sold. 

20 (B) TIME OF TRANSMITTAL.—The Sec21 retary shall require the submission under sub22 paragraph (A) to be made with respect to sales 

23 of electronic stamps by a State according to the 

24 written agreement between the Secretary and 

25 the State agency. 


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1 (C) ADDITIONAL FEES NOT AFFECTED.— 

2 This subsection shall not apply to the State 

3 portion of any fee collected by a State under 

4 paragraph (3). 

5 (3) ELECTRONIC STAMP ISSUANCE FEE.—A 

6 State authorized to issue electronic stamps may 

7 charge a reasonable fee to cover costs incurred by 

8 the State and the Department of the Interior in 

9 issuing electronic stamps under this section, includ10 ing costs of delivery of actual stamps. 

11 (4) DUPLICATE ELECTRONIC STAMPS.—A State 

12 authorized to issue electronic stamps may issue a 

13 duplicate electronic stamp to replace an electronic 

14 stamp issued by the State that is lost or damaged. 

15 (5) LIMITATION ON AUTHORITY TO REQUIRE

16 PURCHASE OF STATE LICENSE.—A State may not 

17 require that an individual purchase a State hunting 

18 license as a condition of issuing an electronic stamp 

19 under this section. 

20 (f) ELECTRONIC STAMP REQUIREMENTS; RECOGNI21 TION OF ELECTRONIC STAMP.— 

22 (1) STAMP REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretary 

23 shall require an electronic stamp issued by a State 

24 under this section— 


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1 (A) to have the same format as any other 

2 license, validation, or privilege the State issues 

3 under the automated licensing system of the 

4 State; and 

5 (B) to specify identifying features of the li6 censee that are adequate to enable Federal, 

7 State, and other law enforcement officers to 

8 identify the holder. 

9 (2) RECOGNITION OF ELECTRONIC STAMP.— 

10 Any electronic stamp issued by a State under this 

11 section shall, during the effective period of the elec12 tronic stamp— 

13 (A) bestow on the licensee the same privi14 leges as are bestowed by an actual stamp; 

15 (B) be recognized nationally as a valid 

16 Federal migratory bird hunting and conserva17 tion stamp; and 

18 (C) authorize the licensee to hunt migra19 tory waterfowl in any other State, in accordance 

20 with the laws of the other State governing that 

21 hunting. 

22 (3) DURATION.—An electronic stamp issued by 

23 a State shall be valid for a period agreed to by the 

24 State and the Secretary, which shall not exceed 45 

25 days. 


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1 (g) TERMINATION OF STATE PARTICIPATION.—The 

2 authority of a State to issue electronic stamps under this 

3 section may be terminated— 

4 (1) by the Secretary, if the Secretary— 

5 (A) finds that the State has violated any of 

6 the terms of the application of the State ap7 proved by the Secretary under subsection (c); 

8 and 

9 (B) provides to the State written notice of 

10 the termination by not later than the date that 

11 is 30 days before the date of termination; or 

12 (2) by the State, by providing written notice to 

13 the Secretary by not later than the date that is 30 

14 days before the termination date. 

15 Subtitle C—Joint Ventures to Pro16 tect Migratory Bird Populations 

17 SEC. 231. PURPOSES. 

18 The purpose of this subtitle is to authorize the Sec19 retary of the Interior, acting through the Director, to 

20 carry out a partnership program called the ‘‘Joint Ven21 tures Program’’, in coordination with other Federal agen22 cies with management authority over fish and wildlife re23 sources and the States, to develop, implement, and sup24 port innovative, voluntary, cooperative, and effective con25 servation strategies and conservation actions— 


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1 (1) to promote, primarily, sustainable popu2 lations of migratory birds, and, secondarily, the fish 

3 and wildlife species associated with their habitats; 

4 (2) to encourage stakeholder and government 

5 partnerships consistent with the goals of protecting, 

6 improving, and restoring habitat; 

7 (3) to establish, implement, and improve 

8 science-based migratory bird conservation plans and 

9 promote and facilitate broader landscape-level con10 servation of fish and wildlife habitat; and 

11 (4) to support the goals and objectives of the 

12 North American Waterfowl Management Plan and 

13 other relevant national and regional, multipartner 

14 conservation initiatives, treaties, conventions, agree15 ments, or strategies entered into by the United 

16 States, and implemented by the Secretary, that pro17 mote the conservation of migratory birds and the 

18 habitats of migratory birds. 

19 SEC. 232. DEFINITIONS. 

20 In this subtitle: 

21 (1) CONSERVATION ACTION.—The term ‘‘con22 servation action’’ means activities that— 

23 (A) support the protection, restoration, 

24 adaptive management, conservation, or en25 hancement of migratory bird populations, their 


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1 terrestrial, wetland, marine, or other habitats, 

2 and other wildlife species supported by those 

3 habitats, including— 

4 (i) biological and geospatial planning; 

5 (ii) landscape and conservation de6 sign; 

7 (iii) habitat protection, enhancement, 

8 and restoration; 

9 (iv) monitoring and tracking; 

10 (v) applied research; and 

11 (vi) public outreach and education; 

12 and 

13 (B) incorporate adaptive management and 

14 science-based monitoring, where applicable, to 

15 improve outcomes and ensure efficient and ef16 fective use of Federal funds. 

17 (2) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 

18 the Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife 

19 Service. 

20 (3) IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.—The term ‘‘Im21 plementation Plan’’ means an Implementation Plan 

22 approved by the Director under section 232. 

23 (4) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ 

24 has the meaning given that term in section 4 of the 


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1 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 

2 Act (25 U.S.C. 450b). 

3 (5) JOINT VENTURE.—The term ‘‘Joint Ven4 ture’’ means a self-directed, voluntary partnership, 

5 established and conducted for the purposes described 

6 in section 231 and in accordance with section 233. 

7 (6) MANAGEMENT BOARD.—The term ‘‘Man8 agement Board’’ means a Joint Venture Manage9 ment Board established in accordance with section 

10 233. 

11 (7) MIGRATORY BIRDS.—The term ‘‘migratory 

12 birds’’ means those species included in the list of mi13 gratory birds that appears in section 10.13 of title 

14 50, Code of Federal Regulations, under the author15 ity of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. 

16 (8) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘Program’’ means 

17 the Joint Ventures Program conducted in accord18 ance with this subtitle. 

19 (9) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

20 the Secretary of the Interior. 

21 (10) SERVICE.—The term ‘‘Service’’ means the 

22 United States Fish and Wildlife Service. 

23 (11) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means— 

24 (A) any State of the United States, the 

25 District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of 


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1 Puerto Rico, Guam, the Virgin Islands, Amer2 ican Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the 

3 Northern Mariana Islands; and 

4 (B) one or more agencies of a State gov5 ernment responsible under State law for man6 aging fish or wildlife resources. 

7 SEC. 233. JOINT VENTURES PROGRAM. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting through the 

9 Director, shall carry out a Joint Ventures Program that— 

10 (1) provides financial and technical assistance 

11 to support regional migratory bird conservation part12 nerships; 

13 (2) develops and implements plans to protect 

14 and enhance migratory bird populations throughout 

15 their range, that are focused on regional landscapes 

16 and habitats that support those populations; and 

17 (3) complements and supports activities by the 

18 Secretary and the Director to fulfill obligations 

19 under— 

20 (A) the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (16 

21 U.S.C. 701 et seq.); 

22 (B) the Migratory Bird Conservation Act 

23 (16 U.S.C. 715 et seq.); 

24 (C) the Neotropical Migratory Bird Con25 servation Act (16 U.S.C. 6101 et seq.); 


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1 (D) the North American Wetlands Con2 servation Act (16 U.S.C. 4401 et seq.); 

3 (E) the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act 

4 of 1980 (16 U.S.C. 2901 et seq.); and 

5 (F) the Partners for Fish and Wildlife Act 

6 (16 U.S.C. 3771 et seq.). 

7 (b) COORDINATION WITH STATES.—In the adminis8 tration of the program authorized under this section, the 

9 Director shall coordinate and cooperate with the States 

10 to fulfill the purposes of this subtitle. 

11 SEC. 234. ADMINISTRATION. 

12 (a) PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENTS.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Director may enter into 

14 an agreement with eligible partners to achieve the 

15 purposes described in section 231. 

16 (2) ELIGIBLE PARTNERS.—The eligible part17 ners referred to in paragraph (1) are the following: 

18 (A) Federal and State agencies and Indian 

19 tribes. 

20 (B) Affected regional and local govern21 ments, private landowners, land managers, and 

22 other private stakeholders. 

23 (C) Nongovernmental organizations with 

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1 life conservation or natural resource and land2 scape management generally. 

3 (D) Other relevant stakeholders, as deter4 mined by the Director. 

5 (b) MANAGEMENT BOARD.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—A partnership agreement for 

7 a Joint Venture under this section shall establish a 

8 Management Board in accordance with this sub9 section. 

10 (2) MEMBERSHIP.—The Management Board 

11 shall include a diversity of members representing 

12 stakeholder interests from the appropriate geo13 graphic region, including, as appropriate, representa14 tives from the Service and other Federal agencies 

15 that have management authority over fish and wild16 life resources on public lands or in the marine envi17 ronment, or that implement programs that affect 

18 migratory bird habitats, and representatives from 

19 the States, Indian tribes, and other relevant stake20 holders, and may include— 

21 (A) regional governments and Indian 

22 tribes; 

23 (B) academia or the scientific community; 

24 (C) nongovernmental landowners or land 

25 managers; 


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1 (D) nonprofit conservation or other rel2 evant organizations with expertise in migratory 

3 bird conservation, or in fish and wildlife con4 servation generally; and 

5 (E) private organizations with a dedicated 

6 interest in conserving migratory birds and their 

7 habitats. 

8 (3) FUNCTIONS AND RESPONSIBILITIES.—Sub9 ject to applicable Federal and State law, the Man10 agement Board shall— 

11 (A) appoint a coordinator for the Joint 

12 Venture in consultation with the Director; 

13 (B) identify other full- or part-time admin14 istrative and technical non-Federal employees 

15 necessary to perform the functions of the Joint 

16 Venture and meet objectives specified in the 

17 Implementation Plan; and 

18 (C) establish committees or other organiza19 tional entities necessary to implement the Im20 plementation Plan in accordance with sub21 section (c). 

22 (4) USE OF SERVICE AND FEDERAL AGENCY

23 EMPLOYEES.—Subject to the availability of appro24 priations and upon the request from a Management 

25 Board, and after consultation with and approval of 


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1 the Director, the head of any Federal agency may 

2 detail to the Management Board, on a reimbursable 

3 or nonreimbursable basis, any agency personnel to 

4 assist the Joint Venture in performing its functions 

5 under this subtitle. 

6 (c) IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each Joint Venture Man8 agement Board shall develop and maintain an Imple9 mentation Plan that shall contain, at a minimum, 

10 the following elements: 

11 (A) A strategic framework for migratory 

12 bird conservation. 

13 (B) Provisions for effective communication 

14 among member participants within the Joint 

15 Venture. 

16 (C) A long-term strategy to conduct public 

17 outreach and education regarding the purposes 

18 and activities of the Joint Venture and activi19 ties to regularly communicate to the general 

20 public information generated by the Joint Ven21 ture. 

22 (D) Coordination with laws and conserva23 tion plans that are relevant to migratory birds, 

24 and other relevant regional, national, or inter25 national initiatives identified by the Director to 


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1 conserve migratory birds, their habitats, eco2 logical functions, and associated populations of 

3 fish and wildlife. 

4 (E) An organizational plan that— 

5 (i) identifies the representative mem6 bership of the Management Board and in7 cludes procedures for updating the mem8 bership of the Management Board as ap9 propriate; 

10 (ii) describes the organizational struc11 ture of the Joint Venture, including pro12 posed committees and subcommittees, and 

13 procedures for revising and updating the 

14 structure, as necessary; and 

15 (iii) provides a strategy to increase 

16 stakeholder participation or membership in 

17 the Joint Venture. 

18 (F) Procedures to coordinate the develop19 ment, implementation, oversight, monitoring, 

20 tracking, and reporting of conservation actions 

21 approved by the Management Board and an 

22 evaluation process to determine overall effec23 tiveness of activities undertaken by the Joint 

24 Venture. 


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1 (2) REVIEW.—A Joint Venture Implementation 

2 Plan shall be submitted to the Director for approval. 

3 (3) APPROVAL.—The Director shall approve an 

4 Implementation Plan submitted by the Management 

5 Board for a Joint Venture if the Director finds 

6 that— 

7 (A) implementation of the plan would pro8 mote the purposes of this subtitle described in 

9 section 231; 

10 (B) the members of the Joint Venture 

11 have demonstrated the capacity to implement 

12 conservation actions identified in the Implemen13 tation Plan; and 

14 (C) the plan includes coordination with 

15 other relevant and active conservation plans or 

16 programs within the geographic scope of the 

17 Joint Venture. 

18 SEC. 235. GRANTS AND OTHER ASSISTANCE. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection 

20 (b), and subject to the availability of appropriations, the 

21 Director may award financial assistance to implement a 

22 Joint Venture through— 

23 (1) support of the activities of the Management 

24 Board of the Joint Venture and to pay for necessary 


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1 administrative costs and services, personnel, and 

2 meetings, travel, and other business activities; and 

3 (2) support for specific conservation actions and 

4 other activities necessary to carry out the Implemen5 tation Plan. 

6 (b) LIMITATION.—A Joint Venture is not eligible for 

7 assistance or support authorized in this section unless the 

8 Joint Venture is operating under an Implementation Plan 

9 approved by the Director under section 234. 

10 (c) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary, 

11 through the Director, may provide technical and adminis12 trative assistance for implementation of Joint Ventures 

13 and the expenditure of financial assistance under this sub14 section. 

15 (d) ACCEPTANCE AND USE OF DONATIONS.—The 

16 Secretary, through the Director, may accept and use dona17 tions of funds, gifts, and in-kind contributions to provide 

18 assistance under this section. 

19 SEC. 236. REPORTING. 

20 (a) ANNUAL REPORTS BY MANAGEMENT BOARDS.— 

21 The Secretary, acting through the Director, shall— 

22 (1) require each Management Board to submit 

23 annual reports for all approved Joint Ventures of 

24 the Management Board; and 


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1 (2) establish guidance for Joint Venture annual 

2 reports, including contents and any necessary proc3 esses or procedures. 

4 (b) JOINT VENTURE PROGRAM 5-YEAR REVIEWS.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting 

6 through the Director, shall at 5 years after the date 

7 of enactment of this Act and at 5-year intervals 

8 thereafter, complete an objective and comprehensive 

9 review and evaluation of the Program. 

10 (2) REVIEW CONTENTS.—Each review under 

11 this subsection shall include— 

12 (A) an evaluation of the effectiveness of 

13 the Program in meeting the purpose of this 

14 subtitle specified in section 231; 

15 (B) an evaluation of all approved Imple16 mentation Plans, especially the effectiveness of 

17 existing conservation strategies, priorities, and 

18 methods to meet the objectives of such plans 

19 and fulfill the purpose of this subtitle; and 

20 (C) recommendations to revise the Pro21 gram or to amend or otherwise revise Imple22 mentation Plans to ensure that activities under23 taken pursuant to this subtitle address the ef24 fects of climate change on migratory bird popuVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:20 Sep 11, 2012 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00080 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3525.PCS S3525

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1 lations and their habitats, and fish and wildlife 

2 habitats, in general. 

3 (3) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary, acting 

4 through the Director, in the implementation of this 

5 subsection— 

6 (A) shall consult with other appropriate 

7 Federal agencies with responsibility for the con8 servation or management of fish and wildlife 

9 habitat and appropriate State agencies; and 

10 (B) may consult with appropriate, Indian 

11 tribes, Flyway Councils, or regional conserva12 tion organizations, public and private land13 owners, members of academia and the scientific 

14 community, and other nonprofit conservation or 

15 private stakeholders. 

16 (4) PUBLIC COMMENT.—The Secretary, 

17 through the Director, shall provide for adequate op18 portunities for general public review and comment of 

19 the Program as part of the 5-year evaluations con20 ducted pursuant to this subsection. 

21 SEC. 237. RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER AUTHORITIES. 

22 (a) AUTHORITIES, ETC. OF SECRETARY.—Nothing in 

23 this subtitle affects authorities, responsibilities, obliga24 tions, or powers of the Secretary under any other Act. 


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1 (b) STATE AUTHORITY.—Nothing in this subtitle 

2 preempts any provision or enforcement of a State statute 

3 or regulation relating to the management of fish and wild4 life resources within such State. 

5 SEC. 238. FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT. 

6 The Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) 

7 shall not apply to any boards, committees, or other groups 

8 established under this subtitle. 

9 Subtitle D—Reauthorizations 

10 SEC. 241. NORTH AMERICAN WETLANDS CONSERVATION 

11 ACT. 

12 Section 7(c)(5) of the North American Wetlands Con13 servation Act (16 U.S.C. 4406(c)(5)) is amended by strik14 ing ‘‘2012’’ and inserting ‘‘2017’’. 

15 SEC. 242. PARTNERS FOR FISH AND WILDLIFE ACT. 

16 Section 5 of the Partners for Fish and Wildlife Act 

17 (16 U.S.C. 3774) is amended by striking ‘‘2011’’ and in18 serting ‘‘2017’’. 

19 SEC. 243. NATIONAL FISH AND WILDLIFE FOUNDATION RE20 AUTHORIZATION. 

21 (a) BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE FOUNDATION.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 3 of the National 

23 Fish and Wildlife Foundation Establishment Act (16 

24 U.S.C. 3702) is amended— 

25 (A) in subsection (b)— 


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1 (i) by striking paragraph (2) and in2 serting the following: 

3 ‘‘(2) IN GENERAL.—After consulting with the 

4 Secretary of Commerce and considering the rec5 ommendations submitted by the Board, the Sec6 retary of the Interior shall appoint 28 Directors 

7 who, to the maximum extent practicable, shall— 

8 ‘‘(A) be knowledgeable and experienced in 

9 matters relating to conservation of fish, wildlife, 

10 or other natural resources; and 

11 ‘‘(B) represent a balance of expertise in 

12 ocean, coastal, freshwater, and terrestrial re13 source conservation.’’; and 

14 (ii) by striking paragraph (3) and in15 serting the following: 

16 ‘‘(3) TERMS.—Each Director (other than a Di17 rector described in paragraph (1)) shall be appointed 

18 for a term of 6 years.’’; and 

19 (B) in subsection (g)(2)— 

20 (i) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

21 ‘‘(A) Officers and employees may not be 

22 appointed until the Foundation has suffi23 cient funds to pay them for their service. 

24 Officers’’ and inserting the following: 

25 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Officers’’; and 


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1 (ii) by striking subparagraph (B) and 

2 inserting the following: 

3 ‘‘(B) EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR.—The Foun4 dation shall have an Executive Director who 

5 shall be— 

6 ‘‘(i) appointed by, and serve at the di7 rection of, the Board as the chief executive 

8 officer of the Foundation; and 

9 ‘‘(ii) knowledgeable and experienced in 

10 matters relating to fish and wildlife con11 servation.’’. 

12 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

13 4(a)(1)(B) of the North American Wetlands Con14 servation Act (16 U.S.C. 4403(a)(1)(B)) is amended 

15 by striking ‘‘Secretary of the Board’’ and inserting 

16 ‘‘Executive Director of the Board’’. 

17 (b) RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS OF THE FOUNDA18 TION.—Section 4 of the National Fish and Wildlife Foun19 dation Establishment Act (16 U.S.C. 3703) is amended— 

20 (1) in subsection (c)— 

21 (A) by striking ‘‘(c) POWERS.—To carry 

22 out its purposes under’’ and inserting the fol23 lowing: 

24 ‘‘(c) POWERS.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To carry out the purposes 

2 described in’’; 

3 (B) by redesignating paragraphs (1) 

4 through (11) as subparagraphs (A) through 

5 (K), respectively, and indenting appropriately; 

6 (C) in subparagraph (D) (as redesignated 

7 by subparagraph (B)), by striking ‘‘that are in8 sured by an agency or instrumentality of the 

9 United States’’ and inserting ‘‘at 1 or more fi10 nancial institutions that are members of the 

11 Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or the 

12 Securities Investment Protection Corporation’’; 

13 (D) in subparagraph (E) (as redesignated 

14 by subparagraph (B)), by striking ‘‘paragraph 

15 (3) or (4)’’ and inserting ‘‘subparagraph (C) or 

16 (D)’’; 

17 (E) in subparagraph (J) (as redesignated 

18 by subparagraph (B)), by striking ‘‘; and’’ and 

19 inserting a semicolon; 

20 (F) by striking subparagraph (K) (as re21 designated by subparagraph (B)) and inserting 

22 the following: 

23 ‘‘(K) to receive and administer restitution 

24 and community service payments, amounts for 

25 mitigation of impacts to natural resources, and 


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1 other amounts arising from legal, regulatory, or 

2 administrative proceedings, subject to the con3 dition that the amounts are received or admin4 istered for purposes that further the conserva5 tion and management of fish, wildlife, plants, 

6 and other natural resources; and 

7 ‘‘(L) to do any and all acts necessary and 

8 proper to carry out the purposes of the Founda9 tion.’’; and 

10 (G) by striking the undesignated matter at 

11 the end and inserting the following: 

12 ‘‘(2) TREATMENT OF REAL PROPERTY.— 

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this 

14 Act, an interest in real property shall be treated 

15 as including easements or other rights for pres16 ervation, conservation, protection, or enhance17 ment by and for the public of natural, scenic, 

18 historic, scientific, educational, inspirational, or 

19 recreational resources. 

20 ‘‘(B) ENCUMBERED REAL PROPERTY.—A 

21 gift, devise, or bequest may be accepted by the 

22 Foundation even though the gift, devise, or be23 quest is encumbered, restricted, or subject to 

24 beneficial interests of private persons if any 


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1 current or future interest in the gift, devise, or 

2 bequest is for the benefit of the Foundation. 

3 ‘‘(3) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—The acceptance and 

4 administration of amounts by the Foundation under 

5 paragraph (1)(K) does not alter, supersede, or limit 

6 any regulatory or statutory requirement associated 

7 with those amounts.’’; 

8 (2) by striking subsections (f) and (g); and 

9 (3) by redesignating subsections (h) and (i) as 

10 subsections (f) and (g), respectively. 

11 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 

12 10 of the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Estab13 lishment Act (16 U.S.C. 3709) is amended— 

14 (1) in subsection (a), by striking paragraph (1) 

15 and inserting the following: 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be 

17 appropriated to carry out this Act for each of fiscal 

18 years 2012 through 2017— 

19 ‘‘(A) $20,000,000 to the Secretary of the 

20 Interior; 

21 ‘‘(B) $5,000,000 to the Secretary of Agri22 culture; and 

23 ‘‘(C) $5,000,000 to the Secretary of Com24 merce.’’; 

25 (2) in subsection (b)— 


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1 (A) by striking paragraph (1) and insert2 ing the following: 

3 ‘‘(1) AMOUNTS FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES.— 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In addition to the 

5 amounts authorized to be appropriated under 

6 subsection (a), Federal departments, agencies, 

7 or instrumentalities may provide funds to the 

8 Foundation, subject to the condition that the 

9 amounts are used for purposes that further the 

10 conservation and management of fish, wildlife, 

11 plants, and other natural resources in accord12 ance with this Act. 

13 ‘‘(B) ADVANCES.—Federal departments, 

14 agencies, or instrumentalities may advance 

15 amounts described in subparagraph (A) to the 

16 Foundation in a lump sum without regard to 

17 when the expenses for which the amounts are 

18 used are incurred. 

19 ‘‘(C) MANAGEMENT FEES.—The Founda20 tion may assess and collect fees for the manage21 ment of amounts received under this para22 graph.’’; 

23 (B) in paragraph (2)— 

24 (i) in the paragraph heading, by strik25 ing ‘‘FUNDS’’ and inserting ‘‘AMOUNTS’’; 


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1 (ii) by striking ‘‘shall be used’’ and in2 serting ‘‘may be used’’; and 

3 (iii) by striking ‘‘and State and local 

4 government agencies’’ and inserting ‘‘, 

5 State and local government agencies, and 

6 other entities’’; and 

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

8 ‘‘(3) ADMINISTRATION OF AMOUNTS.— 

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In entering into con10 tracts, agreements, or other partnerships pursu11 ant to this Act, a Federal department, agency, 

12 or instrumentality shall have discretion to waive 

13 any competitive process of that department, 

14 agency, or instrumentality for entering into 

15 contracts, agreements, or partnerships with the 

16 Foundation if the purpose of the waiver is— 

17 ‘‘(i) to address an environmental 

18 emergency resulting from a natural or 

19 other disaster; or 

20 ‘‘(ii) as determined by the head of the 

21 applicable Federal department, agency, or 

22 instrumentality, to reduce administrative 

23 expenses and expedite the conservation and 

24 management of fish, wildlife, plants, and 

25 other natural resources. 


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1 ‘‘(B) REPORTS.—The Foundation shall in2 clude in the annual report submitted under sec3 tion 7(b) a description of any use of the author4 ity under subparagraph (A) by a Federal de5 partment, agency, or instrumentality in that fis6 cal year.’’; and 

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

8 ‘‘(d) USE OF GIFTS, DEVISES, OR BEQUESTS OF

9 MONEY OR OTHER PROPERTY.—Any gifts, devises, or be10 quests of amounts or other property, or any other amounts 

11 or other property, transferred to, deposited with, or other12 wise in the possession of the Foundation pursuant to this 

13 Act, may be made available by the Foundation to Federal 

14 departments, agencies, or instrumentalities and may be 

15 accepted and expended (or the disposition of the amounts 

16 or property directed), without further appropriation, by 

17 those Federal departments, agencies, or instrumentalities, 

18 subject to the condition that the amounts or property be 

19 used for purposes that further the conservation and man20 agement of fish, wildlife, plants, and other natural re21 sources.’’. 

22 (d) LIMITATION ON AUTHORITY.—Section 11 of the 

23 National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Establishment Act 

24 (16 U.S.C. 3710) is amended by inserting ‘‘exclusive’’ be25 fore ‘‘authority’’. 


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1 SEC. 244. MULTINATIONAL SPECIES CONSERVATION FUNDS 

2 SEMIPOSTAL STAMP. 

3 Section 2(c) of the Multinational Species Conserva4 tion Funds Semipostal Stamp Act of 2010 (Public Law 

5 111–241; 39 U.S.C. 416 note) is amended— 

6 (1) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘2 years’’ and 

7 inserting ‘‘6 years’’; and 

8 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(5) STAMP DEPICTIONS.—Members of the 

10 public shall be offered a choice of 5 stamps under 

11 this Act, depicting an African elephant or an Asian 

12 elephant, a rhinoceros, a tiger, a marine turtle, and 

13 a great ape, respectively.’’. 

14 SEC. 245. MULTINATIONAL SPECIES CONSERVATION FUNDS 

15 REAUTHORIZATIONS. 

16 (a) AFRICAN ELEPHANTS.—Section 2306(a) of the 

17 African Elephant Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 4245(a)) 

18 is amended by striking ‘‘2007 through 2012’’ and insert19 ing ‘‘2012 through 2017’’. 

20 (b) ASIAN ELEPHANTS.—Section 8(a) of the Asian 

21 Elephant Conservation Act of 1997 (16 U.S.C. 4266(a)) 

22 is amended by striking ‘‘2007 through 2012’’ and insert23 ing ‘‘2012 through 2017’’. 

24 (c) RHINOCEROS AND TIGERS.—Section 10(a) of the 

25 Rhinoceros and Tiger Conservation Act of 1994 (16 


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1 U.S.C. 5306(a)) is amended by striking ‘‘2007 through 

2 2012’’ and inserting ‘‘2012 through 2017’’. 

3 (d) GREAT APES.—Section 6 of the Great Ape Con4 servation Act of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 6305) is amended by 

5 striking ‘‘2006 through 2010’’ and inserting ‘‘2012 

6 through 2017’’. 

7 (e) MARINE TURTLES.—Section 7 of the Marine Tur8 tle Conservation Act of 2004 (16 U.S.C. 6606) is amended 

9 by striking ‘‘2005 through 2009’’ and inserting ‘‘2012 

10 through 2017’’. 

11 SEC. 246. NEOTROPICAL MIGRATORY BIRD CONSERVATION 

12 ACT. 

13 Section 10 of the Neotropical Migratory Bird Con14 servation Act (16 U.S.C. 6109) is amended to read as fol15 lows: 

16 ‘‘SEC. 10. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

17 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be appro18 priated to carry out this Act $6,500,000 for each of fiscal 

19 years 2012 through 2017. 

20 ‘‘(b) USE OF FUNDS.—Of the amounts made avail21 able under subsection (a) for each fiscal year, not less than 

22 75 percent shall be expended for projects carried out at 

23 a location outside of the United States.’’. 


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1 SEC. 247. FEDERAL LAND TRANSACTION FACILITATION 

2 ACT. 

3 The Federal Land Transaction Facilitation Act is 

4 amended— 

5 (1) in section 203(2) (43 U.S.C. 2302(2)), by 

6 striking ‘‘on the date of enactment of this Act was’’ 

7 and inserting ‘‘is’’; 

8 (2) in section 205 (43 U.S.C. 2304)— 

9 (A) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘this 

10 Act’’ and inserting ‘‘the Sportsmen’s Act of 

11 2012’’; and 

12 (B) in subsection (d), by striking ‘‘11’’ and 

13 inserting ‘‘22’’; 

14 (3) in section 206 (43 U.S.C. 2305), by striking 

15 subsection (f); and 

16 (4) in section 207(b) (43 U.S.C. 2306(b))— 

17 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

18 (i) by striking ‘‘96–568’’ and insert19 ing ‘‘96–586’’; and 

20 (ii) by striking ‘‘; or’’ and inserting a 

21 semicolon; 

22 (B) in paragraph (2)— 

23 (i) by inserting ‘‘Public Law 105– 

24 263;’’ before ‘‘112 Stat.’’; and 

25 (ii) by striking the period at the end 

26 and inserting a semicolon; and 


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

2 ‘‘(3) the White Pine County Conservation, 

3 Recreation, and Development Act of 2006 (Public 

4 Law 109–432; 120 Stat. 3028); 

5 ‘‘(4) the Lincoln County Conservation, Recre6 ation, and Development Act of 2004 (Public Law 

7 108–424; 118 Stat. 2403); 

8 ‘‘(5) subtitle F of title I of the Omnibus Public 

9 Land Management Act of 2009 (16 U.S.C. 1132 

10 note; Public Law 111–11); 

11 ‘‘(6) subtitle O of title I of the Omnibus Public 

12 Land Management Act of 2009 (16 U.S.C. 460www 

13 note, 1132 note; Public Law 111–11); 

14 ‘‘(7) section 2601 of the Omnibus Public Land 

15 Management Act of 2009 (Public Law 111–11; 123 

16 Stat. 1108); or 

17 ‘‘(8) section 2606 of the Omnibus Public Land 

18 Management Act of 2009 (Public Law 111–11; 123 

19 Stat. 1121).’’. 

20 SEC. 248. NUTRIA ERADICATION AND CONTROL. 

21 (a) FINDINGS; PURPOSE.—Section 2 of the Nutria 

22 Eradication and Control Act of 2003 (Public Law 108– 

23 16; 117 Stat. 621) is amended— 

24 (1) in subsection (a)— 


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1 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘and in 

2 Louisiana’’ and inserting ‘‘, the State of Lou3 isiana, and other coastal States’’; 

4 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘in 

5 Maryland and Louisiana on Federal, State, and 

6 private land’’ and inserting ‘‘on Federal, State, 

7 and private land in the States of Maryland and 

8 Louisiana and in other coastal States’’; and 

9 (C) by striking paragraphs (3) and (4) and 

10 inserting the following: 

11 ‘‘(3) This Act authorizes the Maryland Nutria 

12 Project, which has successfully eradicated nutria 

13 from more than 130,000 acres of Chesapeake Bay 

14 wetlands in the State of Maryland and facilitated 

15 the creation of voluntary, public-private partnerships 

16 and more than 406 cooperative landowner agree17 ments. 

18 ‘‘(4) This Act and the Coastal Wetlands Plan19 ning, Protection, and Restoration Act (16 U.S.C. 

20 3951 et seq.) authorize the Coastwide Nutria Con21 trol Program, which has reduced nutria-impacted 

22 wetland acres in the State of Louisiana from 80,000 

23 acres to 23,141 acres. 

24 ‘‘(5) The proven techniques developed under 

25 this Act that are eradicating nutria in the State of 


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1 Maryland and reducing the acres of nutria-impacted 

2 wetlands in the State of Louisiana should be applied 

3 to nutria eradication or control programs in other 

4 nutria-infested coastal States’’; and 

5 (2) by striking subsection (b) and inserting the 

6 following: 

7 ‘‘(b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to au8 thorize the Secretary of the Interior to provide financial 

9 assistance to the States of Delaware, Louisiana, Mary10 land, North Carolina, Oregon, Virginia, and Washington 

11 to carry out activities— 

12 ‘‘(1) to eradicate or control nutria; and 

13 ‘‘(2) to restore nutria damaged wetlands.’’. 

14 (b) DEFINITIONS.—The Nutria Eradication and Con15 trol Act of 2003 (Public Law 108–16; 117 Stat. 621) is 

16 amended— 

17 (1) by redesignating sections 3 and 4 as sec18 tions 4 and 5, respectively; and 

19 (2) by inserting after section 2 the following: 

20 ‘‘SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

21 ‘‘In this Act: 

22 ‘‘(1) COASTAL STATE.—The term ‘coastal 

23 State’ means each of the States of Delaware, Or24 egon, North Carolina, Virginia, and Washington. 


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1 ‘‘(2) PROGRAM.—The term ‘program’ means 

2 the nutria eradication program established by sec3 tion 4(a). 

4 ‘‘(3) PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP.—The 

5 term ‘public-private partnership’ means a voluntary, 

6 cooperative project undertaken by governmental en7 tities or public officials and affected communities, 

8 local citizens, nongovernmental organizations, or 

9 other entities or persons in the private sector. 

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

11 the Secretary of the Interior.’’. 

12 (c) NUTRIA ERADICATION PROGRAM.—Section 4 of 

13 the Nutria Eradication and Control Act of 2003 (Public 

14 Law 108–16; 117 Stat. 621) (as redesignated by sub15 section (b)) is amended— 

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

17 following: 

18 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may, subject to 

19 the availability of appropriations, provide financial assist20 ance to the States of Maryland and Louisiana and the 

21 coastal States to implement measures— 

22 ‘‘(1) to eradicate or control nutria; and 

23 ‘‘(2) to restore wetlands damaged by nutria.’’; 

24 (2) in subsection (b)— 


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1 (A) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘the 

2 State of’’ before ‘‘Maryland’’; 

3 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘other 

4 States’’ and inserting ‘‘the coastal States’’; and 

5 (C) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘marsh6 land’’ and inserting ‘‘wetlands’’; 

7 (3) in subsection (c)— 

8 (A) by striking ‘‘(c) ACTIVITIES’’ and in9 serting ‘‘(c) ACTIVITIES IN THE STATE OF

10 MARYLAND’’; and 

11 (B) by inserting ‘‘, and updated in March 

12 2009’’ before the period at the end; 

13 (4) in subsection (e), by striking ‘‘financial as14 sistance provided by the Secretary under this sec15 tion’’ and inserting ‘‘the amounts made available 

16 under subsection (f) to carry out the program’’; and 

17 (5) by striking subsection (f) and inserting the 

18 following: 

19 ‘‘(f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Subject 

20 to subsection (e), there is authorized to be appropriated 

21 to the Secretary to carry out the program $6,000,000 for 

22 each of fiscal years 2012 through 2016, of which— 

23 ‘‘(1) $2,000,000 shall be used to provide finan24 cial assistance to the State of Maryland; 


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99 

•S 3525 PCS

1 ‘‘(2) $2,000,000 shall be used to provide finan2 cial assistance to the State of Louisiana; and 

3 ‘‘(3) $2,000,000 shall be used to provide finan4 cial assistance, on a competitive basis, to other 

5 coastal States.’’. 

6 (d) REPORT.—Section 5 of the Nutria Eradication 

7 and Control Act of 2003 (Public Law 108–16; 117 Stat. 

8 621) (as redesignated by subsection (b)) is amended— 

9 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘2002 docu10 ment entitled ‘Eradication Strategies for Nutria in 

11 the Chesapeake and Delaware Bay Watersheds’; 

12 and’’ and inserting ‘‘March 2009 update of the doc13 ument entitled ‘Eradication Strategies for Nutria in 

14 the Chesapeake and Delaware Bay Watersheds’ and 

15 originally dated March 2002;’’; 

16 (2) in paragraph (2)— 

17 (A) by striking ‘‘develop’’ and inserting 

18 ‘‘continue’’; and 

19 (B) by striking the period at the end and 

20 inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

21 (3) by adding after paragraph (2) the following: 

22 ‘‘(3) develop, in cooperation with the State of 

23 Delaware Department of Natural Resources and En24 vironmental Control, the State of Virginia Depart25 ment of Game and Inland Fisheries, the State of OrVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:20 Sep 11, 2012 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00099 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3525.PCS S3525

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1 egon Department of Fish and Wildlife, the State of 

2 North Carolina Department of Environment and 

3 Natural Resources, and the State of Washington De4 partment of Fish and Wildlife, long-term nutria con5 trol or eradication programs, as appropriate, with 

6 the objective of— 

7 ‘‘(A) significantly reducing and restoring 

8 the damage nutria cause to coastal wetlands in 

9 the coastal States; and 

10 ‘‘(B) promoting voluntary, public-private 

11 partnerships to eradicate or control nutria and 

12 restoring nutria-damaged wetlands in the coast13 al States.’’. 


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Calendar No. 504 

112TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3525 

A BILL 

To protect and enhance opportunities for recother purposes. reational hunting, fishing, and shooting, and for 

SEPTEMBER 11, 2012 

Read the second time and placed on the calendar 


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