I

105TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 1970

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

OCTOBER 9, 1998

Referred to the Committee on Resources

AN ACT

To require the Secretary of the Interior to establish a program to provide assistance in the conservation of

neotropical migratory birds.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Neotropical Migratory

5 Bird Conservation Act’’.
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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

2 Congress finds that—

3 (1) of the nearly 800 bird species known to

4 occur in the United States, approximately 500 mi5 grate among countries, and the large majority of

6 those species, the neotropical migrants, winter in

7 Latin America and the Caribbean;

8 (2) neotropical migratory bird species provide

9 invaluable environmental, economic, recreational,

10 and aesthetic benefits to the United States, as well

11 as to the Western Hemisphere;

12 (3)(A) many neotropical migratory bird popu13 lations, once considered common, are in decline, and

14 some have declined to the point that their long-term

15 survival in the wild is in jeopardy; and

16 (B) the primary reason for the decline in the

17 populations of those species is habitat loss and deg18 radation (including pollution and contamination)

19 across the species’ range; and

20 (4)(A) because neotropical migratory birds

21 range across numerous international borders each

22 year, their conservation requires the commitment

23 and effort of all countries along their migration

24 routes; and

25 (B) although numerous initiatives exist to con26 serve migratory birds and their habitat, those initia-
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1 tives can be significantly strengthened and enhanced

2 by increased coordination.

3 SEC. 3. PURPOSES.

4 The purposes of this Act are—

5 (1) to perpetuate healthy populations of

6 neotropical migratory birds;

7 (2) to assist in the conservation of neotropical

8 migratory birds by supporting conservation initia9 tives in the United States, Latin America, and the

10 Caribbean; and

11 (3) to provide financial resources and to foster

12 international cooperation for those initiatives.

13 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

14 In this Act:

15 (1) ACCOUNT.—The term ‘‘Account’’ means the

16 Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Account

17 established by section 9(a).

18 (2) CONSERVATION.—The term ‘‘conservation’’

19 means the use of methods and procedures necessary

20 to bring a species of neotropical migratory bird to

21 the point at which there are sufficient populations in

22 the wild to ensure the long-term viability of the spe23 cies, including—

24 (A) protection and management of

25 neotropical migratory bird populations;
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1 (B) maintenance, management, protection,

2 and restoration of neotropical migratory bird

3 habitat;

4 (C) research and monitoring;

5 (D) law enforcement; and

6 (E) community outreach and education.

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

8 the Secretary of the Interior.

9 SEC. 5. FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.

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

11 program to provide financial assistance for projects to pro12 mote the conservation of neotropical migratory birds.

13 (b) PROJECT APPLICANTS.—A project proposal may

14 be submitted by—

15 (1) an individual, corporation, partnership,

16 trust, association, or other private entity;

17 (2) an officer, employee, agent, department, or

18 instrumentality of the Federal Government, of any

19 State, municipality, or political subdivision of a

20 State, or of any foreign government;

21 (3) a State, municipality, or political subdivi22 sion of a State;

23 (4) any other entity subject to the jurisdiction

24 of the United States or of any foreign country; and
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1 (5) an international organization (as defined in

2 section 1 of the International Organizations Immu3 nities Act (22 U.S.C. 288)).

4 (c) PROJECT PROPOSALS.—To be considered for fi5 nancial assistance for a project under this Act, an appli6 cant shall submit a project proposal that—

7 (1) includes—

8 (A) the name of the individual responsible

9 for the project;

10 (B) a succinct statement of the purposes of

11 the project;

12 (C) a description of the qualifications of

13 individuals conducting the project; and

14 (D) an estimate of the funds and time nec15 essary to complete the project, including

16 sources and amounts of matching funds;

17 (2) demonstrates that the project will enhance

18 the conservation of neotropical migratory bird spe19 cies in Latin America, the Caribbean, or the United

20 States;

21 (3) includes mechanisms to ensure adequate

22 local public participation in project development and

23 implementation;

24 (4) contains assurances that the project will be

25 implemented in consultation with relevant wildlife
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1 management authorities and other appropriate gov2 ernment officials with jurisdiction over the resources

3 addressed by the project;

4 (5) demonstrates sensitivity to local historic and

5 cultural resources and complies with applicable laws;

6 (6) describes how the project will promote sus7 tainable, effective, long-term programs to conserve

8 neotropical migratory birds; and

9 (7) provides any other information that the Sec10 retary considers to be necessary for evaluating the

11 proposal.

12 (d) PROJECT REPORTING.—Each recipient of assist13 ance for a project under this Act shall submit to the Sec14 retary such periodic reports as the Secretary considers to

15 be necessary. Each report shall include all information re16 quired by the Secretary for evaluating the progress and

17 outcome of the project.

18 (e) COST SHARING.—

19 (1) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share of

20 the cost of each project shall be not greater than 33

21 percent.

22 (2) NON-FEDERAL SHARE.—

23 (A) SOURCE.—The non-Federal share re24 quired to be paid for a project shall not be de25 rived from any Federal grant program.
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1 (B) FORM OF PAYMENT.—

2 (i) PROJECTS IN THE UNITED

3 STATES.—The non-Federal share required

4 to be paid for a project carried out in the

5 United States shall be paid in cash.

6 (ii) PROJECTS IN FOREIGN COUN7 TRIES.—The non-Federal share required to

8 be paid for a project carried out in a for9 eign country may be paid in cash or in

10 kind.

11 SEC. 6. DUTIES OF THE SECRETARY.

12 In carrying out this Act, the Secretary shall—

13 (1) develop guidelines for the solicitation of pro14 posals for projects eligible for financial assistance

15 under section 5;

16 (2) encourage submission of proposals for

17 projects eligible for financial assistance under sec18 tion 5, particularly proposals from relevant wildlife

19 management authorities;

20 (3) select proposals for financial assistance that

21 satisfy the requirements of section 5, giving pref22 erence to proposals that address conservation needs

23 not adequately addressed by existing efforts and that

24 are supported by relevant wildlife management au25 thorities; and
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1 (4) generally implement this Act in accordance

2 with its purposes.

3 SEC. 7. COOPERATION.

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out this Act, the Sec5 retary shall—

6 (1) support and coordinate existing efforts to

7 conserve neotropical migratory bird species,

8 through—

9 (A) facilitating meetings among persons in10 volved in such efforts;

11 (B) promoting the exchange of information

12 among such persons;

13 (C) developing and entering into agree14 ments with other Federal agencies, foreign,

15 State, and local governmental agencies, and

16 nongovernmental organizations; and

17 (D) conducting such other activities as the

18 Secretary considers to be appropriate; and

19 (2) coordinate activities and projects under this

20 Act with existing efforts in order to enhance con21 servation of neotropical migratory bird species.

22 (b) ADVISORY GROUP.—

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

24 this Act, the Secretary may convene an advisory

25 group consisting of individuals representing public
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1 and private organizations actively involved in the

2 conservation of neotropical migratory birds.

3 (2) PUBLIC PARTICIPATION.—

4 (A) MEETINGS.—The advisory group

5 shall—

6 (i) ensure that each meeting of the

7 advisory group is open to the public; and

8 (ii) provide, at each meeting, an op9 portunity for interested persons to present

10 oral or written statements concerning

11 items on the agenda.

12 (B) NOTICE.—The Secretary shall provide

13 to the public timely notice of each meeting of

14 the advisory group.

15 (C) MINUTES.—Minutes of each meeting

16 of the advisory group shall be kept by the Sec17 retary and shall be made available to the public.

18 (3) EXEMPTION FROM FEDERAL ADVISORY

19 COMMITTEE ACT.—The Federal Advisory Committee

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

21 group.

22 SEC. 8. REPORT TO CONGRESS.

23 Not later than October 1, 2002, the Secretary shall

24 submit to Congress a report on the results and effective25 ness of the program carried out under this Act, including
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1 recommendations concerning how the Act might be im2 proved and whether the program should be continued.

3 SEC. 9. NEOTROPICAL MIGRATORY BIRD CONSERVATION

4 ACCOUNT.

5 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the

6 Multinational Species Conservation Fund of the Treasury

7 a separate account to be known as the ‘‘Neotropical Mi8 gratory Bird Conservation Account’’, which shall consist

9 of amounts deposited into the Account by the Secretary

10 of the Treasury under subsection (b).

11 (b) DEPOSITS INTO THE ACCOUNT.—The Secretary

12 of the Treasury shall deposit into the Account—

13 (1) all amounts received by the Secretary in the

14 form of donations under subsection (d); and

15 (2) other amounts appropriated to the Account.

16 (c) USE.—

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

18 the Secretary may use amounts in the Account,

19 without further Act of appropriation, to carry out

20 this Act.

21 (2) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Of amounts

22 in the Account available for each fiscal year, the

23 Secretary may expend not more than 6 percent to

24 pay the administrative expenses necessary to carry

25 out this Act.
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1 (d) ACCEPTANCE AND USE OF DONATIONS.—The

2 Secretary may accept and use donations to carry out this

3 Act. Amounts received by the Secretary in the form of do4 nations shall be transferred to the Secretary of the Treas5 ury for deposit into the Account.

6 SEC. 10. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

7 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Account

8 to carry out this Act $8,000,000 for each of fiscal years

9 1999 through 2002, to remain available until expended,

10 of which not less than 50 percent of the amounts made

11 available for each fiscal year shall be expended for projects

12 carried out outside the United States.

Passed the Senate October 8 (legislative day, October 2), 1998.

Attest: GARY SISCO,

Secretary.