II 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3366 

To protect, conserve, and restore native fish, wildlife, and their natural 

habitats at national wildlife refuges through cooperative, incentive-based 

grants to control, mitigate, and eradicate harmful nonnative plant species, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 30, 2008 

Mr. NELSON of Florida (for himself, Ms. STABENOW, Ms. COLLINS, Mr. 

CARDIN, and Mr. MARTINEZ) introduced the following bill; which was 

read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public 

Works 

A BILL 

To protect, conserve, and restore native fish, wildlife, and 

their natural habitats at national wildlife refuges through 

cooperative, incentive-based grants to control, mitigate, 

and eradicate harmful nonnative plant species, 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 ‘‘Refuge Ecology Pro5 tection, Assistance, and Immediate Response Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 

2 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) The National Wildlife Refuge System is the 

4 premier land conservation system in the world. 

5 (2) Harmful nonnative species are the leading 

6 cause of habitat destruction in national wildlife ref7 uges. 

8 (3) More than 675 known harmful nonnative 

9 species are found in the National Wildlife Refuge 

10 System. 

11 (4) Nearly 8,000,000 acres of the National 

12 Wildlife Refuge System contain harmful nonnative 

13 species. 

14 (5) The cost of early identification and removal 

15 of harmful nonnative species is dramatically lower 

16 than removing an established invasive population. 

17 (6) The cost of the backlog of harmful non18 native species control projects that need to be car19 ried out in the National Wildlife Refuge System is 

20 over $361,000,000, and the failure to carry out such 

21 projects threatens the ability of the System to fulfill 

22 its basic mission. 

23 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to encour24 age partnerships among the United States Fish and Wild25 life Service, other Federal agencies, States, Indian tribes, 

26 and other interests for the following objectives: 


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1 (1) To protect, enhance, restore, and manage a 

2 diversity of habitats for native fish and wildlife re3 sources within the National Wildlife Refuge System 

4 through monitoring and management of harmful 

5 nonnative species, including control of harmful non6 native plant species. 

7 (2) To promote the development of voluntary 

8 State assessments to establish priorities for control9 ling harmful nonnative plant and animal species that 

10 threaten or negatively impact refuge resources. 

11 (3) To promote greater cooperation among Fed12 eral, State, and local land and water managers, and 

13 owners of private land, water rights, or other inter14 ests, to implement ecologically based strategies to 

15 eradicate, mitigate, and control harmful nonnative 

16 plant species that threaten or negatively impact ref17 uge resources through a voluntary and incentive18 based financial assistance grant program. 

19 (4) To establish an immediate response capa20 bility to combat incipient harmful nonnative plant 

21 species invasions. 

22 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

23 For the purposes of this Act: 

24 (1) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES.—The term 

25 ‘‘appropriate Committees’’ means the Committee on 


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1 Natural Resources of the House of Representatives 

2 and the Committee on Environment and Public 

3 Works of the Senate. 

4 (2) CONTROL.—The term ‘‘control’’ means, as 

5 appropriate, eradicating, suppressing, reducing, or 

6 managing harmful nonnative species from areas 

7 where they are present; taking steps to detect early 

8 infestations on at-risk native habitats; and restoring 

9 native species and habitats to reduce the effects of 

10 harmful nonnative species. 

11 (3) ENVIRONMENTAL SOUNDNESS.—The term 

12 ‘‘environmental soundness’’ means the extent of in13 clusion of methods, efforts, actions, or programs to 

14 prevent or control infestations of harmful nonnative 

15 species, that— 

16 (A) minimize adverse impacts to the struc17 ture and function of an ecosystem and adverse 

18 effects on nontarget species and ecosystems; 

19 and 

20 (B) emphasize integrated management 

21 techniques. 

22 (4) HARMFUL NONNATIVE SPECIES.—The term 

23 ‘‘harmful nonnative species’’ means, with respect to 

24 a particular ecosystem in a particular region, any 

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1 ological material capable of propagating that species, 

2 that is not native to that ecosystem and has a de3 monstrable or potentially demonstrable negative en4 vironmental or economic impact in that region. 

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

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

7 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 

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

9 (6) NATIONAL MANAGEMENT PLAN.—The term 

10 ‘‘National Management Plan’’ means the manage11 ment plan referred to in section 5 of Executive 

12 Order No. 13112 of February 3, 1999, and entitled 

13 ‘‘Meeting the Invasive Species Challenge’’. 

14 (7) REFUGE RESOURCES.—The term ‘‘refuge 

15 resources’’ means all land and water, including the 

16 fish and wildlife species and the ecosystems and 

17 habitats therein, that are owned, leased, managed 

18 through easement or cooperative agreement, or oth19 erwise managed by the by the Federal Government 

20 through the United States Fish and Wildlife Service 

21 and located within the National Wildlife Refuge Sys22 tem administered under the National Wildlife Ref23 uge Administration Act of 1966 (16 U.S.C. 668dd 

24 et seq.), including any waterfowl production area. 


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1 (8) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

2 the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Di3 rector of the United States Fish and Wildlife Serv4 ice. 

5 (9) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of 

6 the several States of the United States, the District 

7 of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the 

8 Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Com9 monwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, any 

10 other territory or possession of the United States, 

11 and any Indian tribe. 

12 SEC. 4. REFUGE ECOLOGY PROTECTION, ASSISTANCE, AND 

13 IMMEDIATE RESPONSE (REPAIR) GRANT PRO14 GRAM. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may provide— 

16 (1) a grant to any eligible applicant to carry 

17 out a qualified plant control project in accordance 

18 with this section; and 

19 (2) a grant to any State to carry out an assess20 ment project consistent with relevant State plans 

21 that have been developed in whole or in part for the 

22 conservation of native fish, wildlife, and their habi23 tats, and in accordance with this section, to— 


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1 (A) identify harmful nonnative plant and 

2 animal species that occur in the State that 

3 threaten or negatively impact refuge resources; 

4 (B) assess the needs to restore, manage, or 

5 enhance native fish and wildlife and their nat6 ural habitats and processes in the State to com7 pliment activities to control, mitigate, or eradi8 cate harmful nonnative plant and animal spe9 cies negatively impacting refuge resources; 

10 (C) identify priorities for actions to ad11 dress such needs; 

12 (D) identify mechanisms to increase capac13 ity building in a State or across State lines to 

14 conserve and protect native fish and wildlife 

15 and their habitats and to detect and control 

16 harmful nonnative plant and animal species 

17 that might threaten or negatively impact refuge 

18 resources within the State; and 

19 (E) incorporate, where applicable and to 

20 the extent consistent with this Act, the guide21 lines of the National Management Plan. 

22 The grant program under this section shall be known as 

23 the ‘‘Refuge Ecology Protection, Assistance, and Imme24 diate Response Grant Program’’ or the ‘‘REPAIR Pro25 gram’’. 


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1 (b) FUNCTIONS OF THE SECRETARY.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall— 

3 (A) publish guidelines for and solicit appli4 cations for grants under this section not later 

5 than 6 months after the date of enactment of 

6 this Act; and 

7 (B) receive, review, evaluate, and approve 

8 applications for grants under this section. 

9 (2) DELEGATION OF AUTHORITY.—The Sec10 retary may delegate to another Federal instrumen11 tality the authority of the Secretary under this sec12 tion, other than the authority to approve applica13 tions for grants and make grants. 

14 (c) ELIGIBLE APPLICANT.—To be an eligible appli15 cant for purposes of subsection (a)(1), an applicant 

16 shall— 

17 (1) be a State, local government, interstate or 

18 regional agency, university, conservation organiza19 tion, or private person; 

20 (2) have adequate personnel, funding, and au21 thority to carry out and monitor or maintain a con22 trol project; and 

23 (3) have entered into an agreement with the 

24 Secretary or a designee of the Secretary, for a na25 tional wildlife refuge or refuge complex. 


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1 (d) QUALIFIED CONTROL PROJECT.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—To be a qualified control 

3 project under this section, a project shall— 

4 (A) control harmful nonnative plant spe5 cies on the lands or waters on which it is con6 ducted; 

7 (B) include a plan for monitoring the 

8 project area and maintaining effective control of 

9 harmful nonnative plant species after the com10 pletion of the project, that is consistent with 

11 standards for monitoring developed under sub12 section (i); 

13 (C) be conducted in partnership with a na14 tional wildlife refuge or refuge complex; 

15 (D) be conducted on land or water, other 

16 than national wildlife refuge land or water, 

17 that, for purposes of carrying out the project, 

18 are under the control of the eligible applicant 

19 applying for the grant under this section, on 

20 land or water on which the eligible applicant 

21 has permission to conduct the project, or on ad22 jacent national wildlife refuge land or water ad23 ministered by the United States Fish and Wild24 life Service referred to in subparagraph (C); 

25 and 


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1 (E) encourage public notice and outreach 

2 on control project activities in the affected com3 munity. 

4 (2) OTHER FACTORS FOR SELECTION OF

5 PROJECTS.—In ranking qualified control projects, 

6 the Director may consider the following: 

7 (A) The extent to which a project would 

8 address the operational and maintenance back9 log attributed to harmful nonnative plant spe10 cies on refuge resources. 

11 (B) Whether a project will encourage in12 creased coordination and cooperation among 

13 one or more Federal agencies and State or local 

14 government agencies or nongovernmental or 

15 other private entities to control harmful non16 native plant species threatening or negatively 

17 impacting refuge resources. 

18 (C) Whether a project fosters public-pri19 vate partnerships and uses Federal resources to 

20 encourage increased private sector involvement, 

21 including consideration of the amount of private 

22 funds or in-kind contributions to control harm23 ful nonnative species or national wildlife refuge 

24 lands or non-Federal lands in proximity to ref25 uge resources. 


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1 (D) The extent to which a project would 

2 aid the conservation of species that are listed 

3 under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 

4 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). 

5 (E) The extent to which a project would 

6 aid the conservation of— 

7 (i) species listed by the United States 

8 Fish and Wildlife Service as birds of man9 agement concern; and 

10 (ii) species identified by the Director 

11 of the United States Fish and Wildlife 

12 Service as imperiled or at-risk species. 

13 (F) The extent to which a project would 

14 aid the conservation of species identified as a 

15 ‘‘Species of Greatest Conservation Need’’ in a 

16 comprehensive wildlife conservation plan devel17 oped under the State wildlife grants program. 

18 (G) The extent to which a project would 

19 contribute to the restoration and protection of 

20 terrestrial, freshwater aquatic, estuarine, coast21 al, and marine ecosystems, such as the Ever22 glades, the Great Lakes, and the Mississippi 

23 River, that are determined to be priorities by 

24 the Director of the United States Fish and 

25 Wildlife Service. 


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1 (H) Whether a project includes pilot test2 ing or a demonstration of an innovative tech3 nology having the potential for improved cost4 effectiveness and reduced environmental risks 

5 when controlling harmful nonnative plant spe6 cies. 

7 (I) The extent to which a project mini8 mizes adverse impacts of control methods on 

9 ecosystems affected by the project. 

10 (J) Whether a project includes a com11 prehensive plan to prevent reintroduction of 

12 harmful nonnative plant species controlled by 

13 the project. 

14 (e) DISTRIBUTION OF CONTROL GRANT AWARDS.— 

15 In making grants for control projects under this section 

16 the Secretary shall, to the greatest extent practicable, en17 sure— 

18 (1) a balance of smaller and larger projects 

19 conducted with grants under this section; and 

20 (2) an equitable geographic distribution of 

21 projects carried out with grants under this section, 

22 among all regions and States within which such 

23 projects are proposed to be conducted. 

24 (f) GRANT DURATION.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each grant under this sec2 tion shall be to provide funding for the Federal 

3 share of the cost of a project carried out with the 

4 grant for up to 2 fiscal years. 

5 (2) RENEWAL.— 

6 (A) IN GENERAL.—If the Secretary, after 

7 reviewing the reports under subsection (g) re8 garding a control project, finds that the project 

9 is making satisfactory progress, the Secretary 

10 may renew a grant under this section for the 

11 project for an additional 3 fiscal years. 

12 (B) MONITORING AND MAINTENANCE

13 PLAN.—The Secretary may renew a grant 

14 under this section to implement the monitoring 

15 and maintenance plan required for a control 

16 project under subsection (d)(1)(B) for up to 5 

17 fiscal years after the project is otherwise com18 pleted. 

19 (g) REPORTING BY GRANTEE.— 

20 (1) CONTROL PROJECTS; ASSESSMENT

21 PROJECTS.— 

22 (A) CONTROL PROJECTS.—A grantee car23 rying out a control project with a grant under 

24 this section shall report to the Secretary every 


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1 24 months or at the expiration of the grant, 

2 whichever is of shorter duration. 

3 (B) ASSESSMENT PROJECTS.—A State car4 rying out an assessment project with a grant 

5 under this section shall submit the assessment 

6 pursuant to subsection (a)(2) to the Secretary 

7 no later than 24 months after the date on 

8 which the grant is awarded. 

9 (2) REPORT CONTENTS.—Each report under 

10 this subsection shall include the following informa11 tion with respect to each project covered by the re12 port: 

13 (A) In the case of a control project— 

14 (i) the information described in sub15 paragraphs (B), (D), and (F) of subsection 

16 (j)(2); 

17 (ii) specific information on the meth18 ods and techniques used to control harmful 

19 nonnative plant species in the project area; 

20 and 

21 (iii) specific information on the meth22 ods and techniques used to restore native 

23 fish, wildlife, or their habitats in the 

24 project area. 


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1 (B) A detailed report of the funding for 

2 the grant and the expenditures made. 

3 (3) INTERIM UPDATE.—Each grantee under 

4 paragraph (1)(A) shall also submit annually to the 

5 Secretary a brief synopsis and chronological list of 

6 projects showing progress as a percentage of comple7 tion and use of awarded funds. 

8 (h) COST SHARING FOR PROJECTS.— 

9 (1) FEDERAL SHARE.—Except as provided in 

10 paragraphs (2) and (3), the Federal share of the 

11 cost of a project carried out with a grant under this 

12 section shall not exceed 75 percent of such cost. 

13 (2) INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY COSTS.—The 

14 Federal share of the incremental additional cost of 

15 including in a control project any pilot testing or a 

16 demonstration of an innovative technology described 

17 in subsection (d)(2)(H) shall be 85 percent. 

18 (3) PROJECTS ON REFUGE LANDS OR WA19 TERS.—The Federal share of the cost of the portion 

20 of a control project funded with a grant under this 

21 section that is carried out on national wildlife refuge 

22 lands or waters, including the cost of acquisition by 

23 the Federal Government of lands or waters for use 

24 for such a project, shall be 100 percent. 


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1 (4) APPLICATION OF IN-KIND CONTRIBU2 TIONS.—The Secretary may apply to the non-Fed3 eral share of costs of a control project carried out 

4 with a grant under this section the fair market value 

5 of services or any other form of in-kind contribution 

6 to the project made by non-Federal interests that 

7 the Secretary determines to be an appropriate con8 tribution equivalent to the monetary amount re9 quired for the non-Federal share of the activity. 

10 (5) DERIVATION OF NON-FEDERAL SHARE.— 

11 The non-Federal share of the cost of a control 

12 project carried out with a grant under this section 

13 may not be derived from a Federal grant program 

14 or other Federal funds. 

15 (i) MONITORING AND MAINTENANCE OF CONTROL

16 GRANT PROJECTS.— 

17 (1) REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretary shall de18 velop requirements for the monitoring and mainte19 nance of a control project to ensure that the require20 ments under subparagraphs (A) and (B) of sub21 section (d)(1) are achieved. 

22 (2) DATABASE OF GRANT PROJECT INFORMA23 TION.—The Secretary shall develop and maintain an 

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1 section, including information on project techniques, 

2 project completion, monitoring data, and other rel3 evant information. 

4 (3) USE OF EXISTING PROGRAMS.—The Sec5 retary shall use existing programs within the De6 partment of the Interior to create and maintain the 

7 database required under this subsection. 

8 (4) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The Secretary 

9 shall make the information collected and maintained 

10 under this subsection available to the public. 

11 (j) REPORTING BY THE SECRETARY.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall, by not 

13 later than 3 years after the date of the enactment 

14 of this Act and biennially thereafter in the report 

15 under section 8, report to the appropriate Commit16 tees on the implementation of this section. 

17 (2) REPORT CONTENTS.—A report under para18 graph (1) shall include an assessment of— 

19 (A) trends in the population size and dis20 tribution of harmful nonnative plant species in 

21 the project area for each control project carried 

22 out with a grant under this section, and in the 

23 adjacent areas as defined by the Secretary; 

24 (B) data on the number of acres of refuge 

25 resources and native fish and wildlife habitat 


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1 restored, protected, or enhanced under this sec2 tion, including descriptions of, and partners in3 volved with, control projects selected, in 

4 progress, and completed under this section; 

5 (C) trends in the population size and dis6 tribution in the project areas of native species 

7 targeted for restoration, and in areas in prox8 imity to refuge resources as defined by the Sec9 retary; 

10 (D) an estimate of the long-term success of 

11 varying conservation techniques used in car12 rying out control projects with grants under 

13 this section; 

14 (E) an assessment of the status of control 

15 projects carried out with grants under this sec16 tion, including an accounting of expenditures by 

17 the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, 

18 State, regional, and local government agencies, 

19 and other entities to carry out such projects; 

20 (F) a review of the environmental sound21 ness of the control projects carried out with 

22 grants under this section; 

23 (G) a review of efforts made to maintain 

24 an appropriate database of grants under this 

25 section; and 


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1 (H) a review of the geographical distribu2 tion of Federal money, matching funds, and in3 kind contributions for control projects carried 

4 out with grants under this section. 

5 (k) COOPERATION OF NON-FEDERAL INTERESTS.— 

6 The Secretary may not make a grant under this section 

7 for a control project on national wildlife refuge lands or 

8 lands in proximity to refuge resources before a non-Fed9 eral interest has entered into a written agreement with 

10 a national wildlife refuge or refuge complex under which 

11 the non-Federal interest agrees to— 

12 (1) monitor and maintain the control project in 

13 accordance with the plan required under subsection 

14 (d)(1)(B); and 

15 (2) provide any other items of cooperation the 

16 Secretary considers necessary to carry out the 

17 project. 

18 SEC. 5. CREATION OF AN IMMEDIATE RESPONSE CAPA19 BILITY TO HARMFUL NONNATIVE SPECIES. 

20 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary may provide fi21 nancial assistance for a period of not more than 3 fiscal 

22 years to enable an immediate response to outbreaks of 

23 harmful nonnative plant species that threaten or may neg24 atively impact refuge resources that are at a stage at 

25 which rapid eradication or control is possible, and ensure 


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1 eradication or immediate control of the harmful nonnative 

2 plant species. 

3 (b) REQUIREMENTS FOR ASSISTANCE.—The Sec4 retary, after consulting with the Governor of the State, 

5 shall provide assistance under this section to local and 

6 State agencies, universities, or nongovernmental entities 

7 for the eradication of an immediate harmful nonnative 

8 plant species threat only if— 

9 (1) there is a demonstrated need for the assist10 ance; 

11 (2) the harmful nonnative plant species is con12 sidered to be an immediate threat to refuge re13 sources, as determined by the Secretary; and 

14 (3) the proposed response to such threat— 

15 (A) is technically feasible; and 

16 (B) minimizes adverse impacts to the 

17 structure and function of national wildlife ref18 uge ecosystems and adverse effects on nontar19 get species. 

20 (c) AMOUNT OF FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.—The Sec21 retary shall determine the amount of financial assistance 

22 to be provided under this section with respect to an out23 break of a harmful nonnative species, subject to the avail24 ability of appropriations. 


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1 (d) COST SHARE.—The Federal share of the cost of 

2 any activity carried out with assistance under this section 

3 may be up to 100 percent. 

4 (e) MONITORING AND REPORTING.—The Secretary 

5 shall require that persons receiving assistance under this 

6 section monitor and report on activities carried out with 

7 assistance under this section in accordance with the re8 quirements that apply with respect to control projects car9 ried out with assistance under section 4. 

10 SEC. 6. COOPERATIVE VOLUNTEER HARMFUL NONNATIVE 

11 SPECIES MONITORING AND CONTROL PRO12 GRAM. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Consistent with the National 

14 Wildlife Refuge System Volunteer and Community Part15 nership Enhancement Act of 1998 (Public Law 105–242), 

16 the Secretary shall establish a cooperative volunteer moni17 toring and control program to administer and coordinate 

18 projects implemented by partner organizations concerned 

19 with national wildlife refuges to address harmful non20 native species that threaten national wildlife refuges or ad21 jacent lands. 

22 (b) ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES.—Each project adminis23 tered and coordinated under this section shall include 1 

24 of the following activities: 

25 (1) Habitat surveys. 


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1 (2) Detection and identification of new intro2 ductions or infestations of harmful nonnative plant 

3 and animal species. 

4 (3) Harmful nonnative plant species control 

5 projects. 

6 (4) Public education and outreach to increase 

7 awareness concerning harmful nonnative species and 

8 their threat to the refuge system. 

9 SEC. 7. RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER AUTHORITIES. 

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

11 this Act affects authorities, responsibilities, obligations, or 

12 powers of the Secretary under any other statute. 

13 (b) STATE AUTHORITY.—Nothing in this Act pre14 empts any provision or enforcement of State statute or 

15 regulation relating to the management of fish and wildlife 

16 resources within such State. 

17 SEC. 8. BIENNIAL REPORT. 

18 Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment 

19 of this Act and biennially thereafter, the Secretary shall 

20 prepare and submit to Congress and the National Invasive 

21 Species Council— 

22 (1) a comprehensive report summarizing all 

23 grant activities relating to invasive species initiated 

24 under this Act including— 

25 (A) State assessment projects; 


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1 (B) qualified control projects; 

2 (C) immediate response activities; and 

3 (D) projects identified in the Refuge Oper4 ations Needs database or the Service Asset and 

5 Maintenance Management System database of 

6 the United States Fish and Wildlife Service; 

7 (2) a list of grant priorities, ranked in high, 

8 medium, and low categories, for future grant activi9 ties in the areas of— 

10 (A) early detection and rapid response; 

11 (B) control, management, and restoration; 

12 (C) research and monitoring; 

13 (D) information management; and 

14 (E) public outreach and partnership ef15 forts; and 

16 (3) information required to be included under 

17 section 4(k). 

18 SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appro20 priated to carry out this Act such sums as may be nec21 essary. 

22 (b) ALLOWANCE FOR IMMEDIATE RESPONSE.—Of 

23 the amounts appropriated to carry out this Act no more 

24 than 25 percent shall be available in any fiscal year for 

25 financial assistance under section 5. 


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1 (c) CONTINUING AVAILABILITY.—Amounts appro2 priated under this Act may remain available until ex3 pended. 

4 (d) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Of amounts avail5 able each fiscal year to carry out this Act, the Secretary 

6 may expend not more than 3 percent or up to $100,000, 

7 whichever is greater, to pay the administrative expenses 

8 necessary to carry out this Act. 

Æ 


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