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Union Calendar No. 246 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 1308 

[Report No. 113–330] 

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

on endangered Columbia River salmon and other nonlisted species, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 21, 2013 

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington (for himself, Mr. WALDEN, Mr. SCHRADER, Mr. 

SIMPSON, and Ms. HERRERA BEUTLER) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 

JANUARY 23 (legislative day, JANUARY 21), 2014 

Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union 

and ordered to be printed 

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A BILL 

To amend the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 to 

reduce predation on endangered Columbia River salmon 

and other nonlisted species, and for other purposes. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Endangered Salmon 

5 and Fisheries Predation Prevention Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) There are 13 groups of salmon and 

9 steelhead that are listed as threatened species or en10 dangered species under the Endangered Species Act 

11 of 1973 that migrate through the lower Columbia 

12 River. 

13 (2) The people of the Northwest United States 

14 are united in their desire to restore healthy salmon 

15 and steelhead runs, as they are integral to the re16 gion’s culture and economy. 

17 (3) The Columbia River treaty tribes retain im18 portant rights with respect to salmon and steelhead. 

19 (4) Federal, State, and tribal governments have 

20 spent billions of dollars to assist the recovery of Co21 lumbia River salmon and steelhead populations. 

22 (5) One of the factors impacting salmonid pop23 ulations is increased predation by marine mammals, 

24 including California sea lions. 

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1 (6) The population of California sea lions has 

2 increased 6-fold over the last 3 decades, and is cur3 rently greater than 250,000 animals. 

4 (7) In recent years, more than 1,000 California 

5 sea lions have been foraging in the lower 145 miles 

6 of the Columbia River up to Bonneville Dam during 

7 the peak spring salmonid run before returning to the 

8 California coast to mate. 

9 (8) The percentage of the spring salmonid run 

10 that has been eaten or killed by California sea lions 

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

12 (9) In recent years, California sea lions have 

13 with greater frequency congregated near Bonneville 

14 Dam and have entered the fish ladders. 

15 (10) These California sea lions have not been 

16 responsive to extensive hazing methods employed 

17 near Bonneville Dam to discourage this behavior. 

18 (11) The process established under the 1994 

19 amendment to the Marine Mammal Protection Act 

20 of 1972 to address aggressive sea lion behavior is 

21 protracted and will not work in a timely enough 

22 manner to protect threatened and endangered 

23 salmonids in the near term. 

24 (12) In the interest of protecting Columbia 

25 River threatened and endangered salmonids, a temmstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 porary expedited procedure is urgently needed to 

2 allow removal of the minimum number of California 

3 sea lions as is necessary to protect the passage of 

4 threatened and endangered salmonids in the Colum5 bia River and its tributaries. 

6 (13) On December 21, 2010, the independent 

7 Pinniped-Fishery Interaction Task Force rec8 ommended lethally removing more of the California 

9 sea lions in 2011. 

10 (14) On August 18, 2011, the States of Wash11 ington, Oregon, and Idaho applied to the National 

12 Marine Fisheries Service, under section 

13 120(b)(1)(A) of the Marine Mammal Protection Act 

14 of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1389(b)(1)(A)), for the lethal re15 moval of sea lions that the States determined are 

16 having a ‘‘significant negative impact’’ on the recov17 ery of Columbia River and Snake River salmon and 

18 steelhead. 

19 (15) On September 12, 2011, the National Ma20 rine Fisheries Service announced it was accepting 

21 the States’ application for lethal removal of sea lions 

22 and that it would reconvene the Pinniped-Fishery 

23 Interaction Task Force to consider the States’ appli24 cation. This Act will ensure the necessary authority 

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1 for permits under the Marine Mammal Protection 

2 Act of 1972 to be issued in a timely fashion. 

3 (16) During a June 14, 2011, hearing, the 

4 Committee on Natural Resources of the House of 

5 Representatives received testimony from State and 

6 tribal witnesses expressing concern that significant 

7 pinniped predation of important Northwest fish re8 sources other than salmonids is severely impacting 

9 fish stocks determined by both Federal and State 

10 fishery management agencies to be at low levels of 

11 abundance, and that this cannot be addressed by 

12 section 120 of the Marine Mammal Protection Act 

13 of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1389), which as in effect before 

14 the enactment of this Act restricted control of preda15 tory pinnipeds’ impact only with respect to endan16 gered salmonids. 

17 SEC. 3. TAKING OF SEA LIONS ON THE COLUMBIA RIVER 

18 AND ITS TRIBUTARIES TO PROTECT ENDAN19 GERED AND THREATENED SPECIES OF SALM20 ON AND OTHER NONLISTED FISH SPECIES. 

21 Section 120 of the Marine Mammal Protection Act 

22 of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1389) is amended by striking sub23 section (f) and inserting the following: 

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1 ‘‘(f) TEMPORARY MARINE MAMMAL REMOVAL AU2 THORITY ON THE WATERS OF THE COLUMBIA RIVER OR

3 ITS TRIBUTARIES.— 

4 ‘‘(1) REMOVAL AUTHORITY.—Notwithstanding 

5 any other provision of this Act, the Secretary may 

6 issue a permit to an eligible entity authorizing the 

7 intentional lethal taking on the waters of the Colum8 bia River and its tributaries of sea lions that are 

9 part of a healthy population that is not listed as an 

10 endangered species or threatened species under the 

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

12 seq.), to protect endangered and threatened species 

13 of salmon and other nonlisted fish species. 

14 ‘‘(2) PERMIT PROCESS.— 

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

16 apply to the Secretary for a permit under this 

17 subsection. 

18 ‘‘(B) DEADLINE FOR CONSIDERATION OF

19 APPLICATION.—The Secretary shall approve or 

20 deny an application for a permit under this sub21 section by not later than 30 days after receiving 

22 the application. 

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

24 under this subsection shall be effective for no 

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

2 but may be renewed by the Secretary. 

3 ‘‘(3) LIMITATIONS.— 

4 ‘‘(A) LIMITATION ON PERMIT AUTHOR5 ITY.—Subject to subparagraph (B), a permit 

6 issued under this subsection shall not authorize 

7 the lethal taking of more than 10 sea lions dur8 ing the duration of the permit. 

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

10 The cumulative number of sea lions authorized 

11 to be taken each year under all permits in ef12 fect under this subsection shall not exceed one 

13 percent of the annual potential biological re14 moval level. 

15 ‘‘(4) DELEGATION OF PERMIT AUTHORITY.— 

16 Any eligible entity may delegate to any other eligible 

17 entity the authority to administer its permit author18 ity under this subsection. 

19 ‘‘(5) NEPA.—Section 102(2)(C) of the Na20 tional Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 

21 4332(2)(C)) shall not apply with respect to this sub22 section and the issuance of any permit under this 

23 subsection during the 5-year period beginning on the 

24 date of the enactment of this subsection. 

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1 ‘‘(6) SUSPENSION OF PERMITTING AUTHOR2 ITY.— 

3 ‘‘If, 5 years after enactment, the Sec4 retary, after consulting with State and tribal 

5 fishery managers, determines that lethal re6 moval authority is no longer necessary to pro7 tect salmonid and other fish species from sea 

8 lion predation, may suspend the issuance of 

9 permits under this subsection. 

10 ‘‘(7) ELIGIBLE ENTITY DEFINED.—In this sub11 section, the term ‘eligible entity’ means each of the 

12 State of Washington, the State of Oregon, the State 

13 of Idaho, the Nez Perce Tribe, the Confederated 

14 Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, the Con15 federated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation 

16 of Oregon, the Confederated Tribes and Bands of 

17 the Yakama Nation, and the Columbia River Inter18 Tribal Fish Commission’’. 

19 SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

20 It is the sense of the Congress that— 

21 (1) preventing predation by sea lions, recovery 

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

24 priority; 

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1 (2) permit holders exercising lethal removal au2 thority pursuant to the amendment made by this 

3 Act should be trained in wildlife management; and 

4 (3) the Federal Government should continue to 

5 fund lethal and nonlethal removal measures for pre6 venting such predation. 

7 SEC. 5. TREATY RIGHTS OF FEDERALLY RECOGNIZED IN8 DIAN TRIBES. 

9 Nothing in this Act or the amendment made by this 

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

11 other right of any federally recognized Indian tribe. 

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Union Calendar No. 246 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 1308 

[Report No. 113–330] 

A BILL 

To amend the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 

for other purposes. bia River salmon and other nonlisted species, and 1972 to reduce predation on endangered ColumJANUARY 23 (legislative day, JANUARY 21), 2014 

Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 

State of the Union and ordered to be printed 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS