II

105TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2172

To authorize the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to establish a whale

conservation fund, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

JUNE 16, 1998

Mr. GREGG (for himself and Mr. STEVENS) introduced the following bill;

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce,

Science, and Transportation

A BILL

To authorize the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation

to establish a whale conservation fund, and for other

purposes.

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Whale Con5 servation Fund Act of 1998’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 Congress finds that—

8 (1) the populations of whales that occur in wa9 ters of the United States are resources of substan-
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1 tial ecological, scientific, socioeconomic, and esthetic

2 value;

3 (2) whale populations—

4 (A) form a significant component of ma5 rine ecosystems;

6 (B) are the subject of intense research;

7 (C) provide for a multimillion dollar whale

8 watching tourist industry that provides the pub9 lic an opportunity to enjoy and learn about

10 great whales and the ecosystems of which the

11 whales are a part; and

12 (D) are of importance to Native Americans

13 for cultural and subsistence purposes;

14 (3) whale populations are in various stages of

15 recovery, and some whale populations, such as the

16 northern right whale (Eubaleana glacialis) remain

17 perilously close to extinction;

18 (4) the interactions that occur between ship

19 traffic, commercial fishing, whale watching vessels,

20 and other recreational vessels and whale populations

21 may affect whale populations adversely;

22 (5) the exploration and development of oil, gas,

23 and hard mineral resources, marine debris, chemical

24 pollutants, noise, and other anthropogenic sources of
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1 change in the habitat of whales may affect whale

2 populations adversely;

3 (6) the conservation of whale populations is

4 subject to difficult challenges related to—

5 (A) the migration of whale populations

6 across international boundaries;

7 (B) the size of individual whales, as that

8 size precludes certain conservation research pro9 cedures that may be used for other animal spe10 cies, such as captive research and breeding;

11 (C) the low reproductive rates of whales

12 that require long-term conservation programs to

13 ensure recovery of whale populations; and

14 (D) the occurrence of whale populations in

15 offshore waters where undertaking research,

16 monitoring, and conservation measures is dif17 ficult and costly;

18 (7)(A) the Secretary of Commerce, through the

19 Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmos20 pheric Administration, has research and regulatory

21 responsibility for the conservation of whales under

22 the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 (16

23 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.); and

24 (B) the heads of other Federal agencies and the

25 Marine Mammal Commission established under sec-
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1 tion 201 of the Marine Mammal Protection Act of

2 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1401) have related research and

3 management activities under the Marine Mammal

4 Protection Act of 1972 or the Endangered Species

5 Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.);

6 (8) the funding available for the activities de7 scribed in paragraph (8) is insufficient to support all

8 necessary whale conservation and recovery activities;

9 and

10 (9) there is a need to facilitate the use of funds

11 from non-Federal sources to carry out the conserva12 tion of whales.

13 SEC. 3. NATIONAL WHALE CONSERVATION FUND.

14 Section 4 of the National Fish and Wildlife Establish15 ment Act (16 U.S.C. 3703) is amended by adding at the

16 end the following:

17 ‘‘(f)(1) In carrying out the purposes under section

18 2(b), the Foundation may establish a national whale con19 servation endowment fund, to be used by the Foundation

20 to support research, management activities, or educational

21 programs that contribute to the protection, conservation,

22 or recovery of whale populations in waters of the United

23 States.

24 ‘‘(2)(A) In a manner consistent with subsection

25 (c)(1), the Foundation may—
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1 ‘‘(i) accept, receive, solicit, hold, administer,

2 and use any gift, devise, or bequest made to the

3 Foundation for the express purpose of supporting

4 whale conservation; and

5 ‘‘(ii) deposit in the endowment fund under

6 paragraph (1) any funds made available to the

7 Foundation under this subparagraph, including any

8 income or interest earned from a gift, devise, or be9 quest received by the Foundation under this sub10 paragraph.

11 ‘‘(B) To raise funds to be deposited in the endowment

12 fund under paragraph (1), the Foundation may enter into

13 appropriate arrangements to provide for the design, copy14 right, production, marketing, or licensing, of logos, seals,

15 decals, stamps, or any other item that the Foundation de16 termines to be appropriate.

17 ‘‘(C)(i) The Secretary of Commerce may transfer to

18 the Foundation for deposit in the endowment fund under

19 paragraph (1)—

20 ‘‘(I) any amount (or portion thereof) received

21 by the Secretary under section 105(a)(1) of the Ma22 rine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C.

23 1375(a)(1)) as a civil penalty assessed by the Sec24 retary under that section; or
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1 ‘‘(II) any amount (or portion thereof) received

2 by the Secretary as a settlement or award for dam3 ages in a civil action or other legal proceeding relat4 ing to damage of natural resources.

5 ‘‘(ii) The Directors of the Board shall ensure that any

6 amounts transferred to the Foundation under clause (i)

7 for the endowment fund under paragraph (1) are depos8 ited in that fund in accordance with this subparagraph.

9 ‘‘(3) It is the intent of Congress that in making ex10 penditures from the endowment fund under paragraph (1)

11 to carry out activities specified in that paragraph, the

12 Foundation should give priority to funding projects that

13 address the conservation of populations of whales that the

14 Foundation determines—

15 ‘‘(A) are the most endangered (including the

16 northern right whale (Eubaleana glacialis)); or

17 ‘‘(B) most warrant, and are most likely to bene18 fit from, research managment, or educational activi19 ties that may be funded with amounts made avail20 able from the fund.

21 ‘‘(g) In carrying out any action on the part of the

22 Foundation under subsection (f), the Directors of the

23 Board shall consult with the Administrator of the National
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1 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Marine

2 Mammal Commission.’’.

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