II 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3608 

To establish a Salmon Stronghold Partnership program to protect wild Pacific 

salmon and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 26 (legislative day, SEPTEMBER 17), 2008 

Ms. CANTWELL (for herself, Ms. MURKOWSKI, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. WYDEN, 

Mrs. BOXER, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mr. SMITH, and Mr. STEVENS) introduced 

the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee 

on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To establish a Salmon Stronghold Partnership program to 

protect wild Pacific salmon 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 ‘‘Pacific Salmon Stronghold Conservation Act of 2008’’. 

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

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Findings; purposes. 

Sec. 3. Definitions. 

Sec. 4. Establishment of Salmon Stronghold Partnership Board. 

Sec. 5. Information and assessment. 


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Sec. 6. Salmon stronghold watershed grants and technical assistance program. 

Sec. 7. Conservation of salmon strongholds on Federal land. 

Sec. 8. Conditions relating to salmon stronghold conservation projects. 

Sec. 9. Allocation of amounts. 

Sec. 10. Accountability and reporting. 

Sec. 11. Regulations. 

Sec. 12. Limitations. 

Sec. 13. Private property protection. 

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSES. 

2 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 

3 (1) salmon are a central part of the culture, 

4 economy, and environment of Western North Amer5 ica; 

6 (2) economic activities relating to salmon gen7 erate billions of dollars of economic activity and pro8 vide thousands of jobs; 

9 (3) during the anticipated rapid environmental 

10 change during the several decade period beginning 

11 on the date of enactment of this Act, maintaining 

12 key ecosystem processes and functions, population 

13 abundance, and genetic integrity are vital to ensur14 ing the health of salmon populations; 

15 (4) salmon strongholds provide critical produc16 tion zones for commercial and recreational fisheries; 

17 (5) taking into consideration the frequency of 

18 fisheries collapses during the period immediately 

19 preceding the date of enactment of this Act, con20 serving core centers of abundance, productivity, and 


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1 diversity is vital to sustain salmon populations and 

2 fisheries into the future; 

3 (6) measures being undertaken as of the date 

4 of enactment of this Act to recover threatened or en5 dangered salmon stocks are vital, but must be com6 plemented by identifying and sustaining core centers 

7 of abundance, productivity, and diversity in the 

8 healthiest remaining salmon ecosystems throughout 

9 the salmon range; and 

10 (7) greater coordination between public and pri11 vate actors can assist salmon strongholds by mar12 shaling and focusing resources on high priority pro13 tection and restoration actions. 

14 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are— 

15 (1) to expand Federal support for the protec16 tion and restoration of the healthiest remaining 

17 salmon strongholds in North America to sustain core 

18 centers of salmon abundance, productivity, and di19 versity in order to prevent decline of salmon popu20 lations— 

21 (A) in the States of Washington, Idaho, 

22 Oregon, and California, by focusing resources 

23 on cooperative, incentive-based efforts to pro24 tect the roughly 20 percent of salmon habitat 


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that supports approximately 2 1 ⁄3 of salmon abun2 dance; and 

3 (B) in the State of Alaska, a regional 

stronghold that produces over 1 4 ⁄3 of all Pacific 

5 salmon, by increasing resources available to 

6 public and private organizations working coop7 eratively to protect regional core centers of 

8 salmon abundance and diversity; 

9 (2) to obtain long-term funding for implementa10 tion of salmon stronghold strategies, including the 

11 bundling and delivery of incentive-based conservation 

12 measures; 

13 (3) to promote economic co-benefits associated 

14 with healthy and restored salmon stronghold habitat, 

15 including flood protection, recreation, water quantity 

16 and quality, climate benefits, and other ecosystem 

17 services; and 

18 (4) to accelerate as applicable the implementa19 tion of recovery plans for salmon populations listed 

20 as threatened or endangered under the Endangered 

21 Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) within 

22 salmon strongholds. 

23 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

24 In this Act: 


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1 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis2 trator’’ means the Assistant Administrator for the 

3 National Marine Fisheries Service of the National 

4 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

5 (2) BOARD.—The term ‘‘Board’’ means the 

6 Salmon Stronghold Partnership Board established 

7 under section 4(a). 

8 (3) CHARTER.—The term ‘‘Charter’’ means the 

9 charter developed under section 4(g). 

10 (4) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 

11 the Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife 

12 Service. 

13 (5) ECOSYSTEM SERVICES.—The term ‘‘eco14 system services’’ means an ecological benefit gen15 erated from a healthy, functioning ecosystem, includ16 ing clean water, pollutant filtration, regulation of 

17 river flow, prevention of soil erosion, regulation of 

18 climate, and fish production. 

19 (6) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘program’’ means 

20 the salmon stronghold watershed grants and tech21 nical assistance program established under section 

22 6(a). 

23 (7) SALMON.—The term ‘‘salmon’’ means any 

24 of the wild anadromous Oncorhynchus species in the 

25 Western United States, including— 


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1 (A) chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta); 

2 (B) pink salmon (Oncorhynchus 

3 gorbuscha); 

4 (C) sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka); 

5 (D) chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus 

6 tshawytscha); 

7 (E) coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch); 

8 and 

9 (F) steelhead trout (Oncorhynchus 

10 mykiss). 

11 (8) SALMON STRONGHOLD.—The term ‘‘salmon 

12 stronghold’’ means all or part of a watershed that 

13 meets biological criteria for abundance, productivity, 

14 diversity (life history and run timing), habitat qual15 ity, or other biological attributes important to sus16 taining viable populations of salmon throughout the 

17 salmon range. 

18 (9) SALMON STRONGHOLD PARTNERSHIP.—The 

19 term ‘‘Salmon Stronghold Partnership’’ means a co20 operative, incentive-based, public-private partnership 

21 between Federal, State, tribal, private, and non-gov22 ernmental organizations working across political 

23 boundaries, government jurisdictions, and land own24 erships to identify and protect salmon strongholds. 


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1 (10) SECRETARY.—Except as otherwise pro2 vided, the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary of 

3 Commerce. 

4 SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF SALMON STRONGHOLD PART5 NERSHIP BOARD. 

6 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a Board 

7 to be known as the ‘‘Salmon Stronghold Partnership 

8 Board’’. 

9 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—The members of the Board shall 

10 include members from Federal, State, tribal, and non-gov11 ernmental organizations, and other entities with signifi12 cant resources regionally dedicated to protection of wild 

13 salmon ecosystems, including— 

14 (1) one representative from each of— 

15 (A) the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

16 Administration; 

17 (B) the United States Fish and Wildlife 

18 Service; 

19 (C) the Forest Service; 

20 (D) the Environmental Protection Agency; 

21 (E) the Bonneville Power Administration; 

22 (F) the Bureau of Land Management; and 

23 (G) the Northwest Power and Conservation 

24 Council; 


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1 (2) State representatives from the Governor’s 

2 Office or the appropriate natural resource agencies, 

3 as determined by the Board, from each of the States 

4 of— 

5 (A) Oregon; 

6 (B) Washington; 

7 (C) California; 

8 (D) Idaho; and 

9 (E) Alaska; 

10 (3) three representatives from West Coast In11 dian tribes; 

12 (4) one representative from each of 3 non-gov13 ernmental organizations selected by the Board; and 

14 (5) any other members that the Board deter15 mines are appropriate. 

16 (c) BOARD CONSULTATION.—The Board may seek 

17 expertise from fisheries experts from appropriate agencies 

18 or universities. 

19 (d) MEETINGS.— 

20 (1) FREQUENCY.—Not less frequently than 3 

21 times each year, the Board shall hold Salmon 

22 Stronghold Partnership meetings to provide opportu23 nities for input from a broader set of stakeholders. 

24 (2) NOTICE.—Prior to each Salmon Stronghold 

25 Partnership meeting, the Board shall give timely noVerDate Aug 31 2005 07:14 Oct 02, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3608.IS S3608

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1 tice of the meeting to the public and to the govern2 ment of each county in which a salmon stronghold 

3 is identified by the Board. 

4 (e) CHAIRPERSON.—The Board shall nominate and 

5 select a Chairperson from among the members of the 

6 Board. 

7 (f) COMMITTEES.—The Board may establish stand8 ing or ad hoc committees, including a science advisory 

9 committee. 

10 (g) CHARTER.—The Board shall develop a written 

11 Charter that— 

12 (1) provides for the members of the Board de13 scribed in subsection (b); 

14 (2) may be signed by a broad range of partners, 

15 to reflect a shared understanding of the purposes, 

16 intent, and governance framework of the Salmon 

17 Stronghold Partnership; and 

18 (3) shall include— 

19 (A) a description of the process for identi20 fying salmon strongholds; and 

21 (B) the process for reviewing and selecting 

22 watershed grants under section 6, including— 

23 (i) the number of years for which 

24 grants can be issued; 

25 (ii) the process for renewing grants; 


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1 (iii) a description of grant eligibility; 

2 (iv) reporting requirements for se3 lected projects; and 

4 (v) criteria for evaluation of the suc5 cess of a project. 

6 (h) FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT.—The 

7 Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not 

8 apply to the Board. 

9 SEC. 5. INFORMATION AND ASSESSMENT. 

10 The Administrator shall carry out specific informa11 tion and assessment functions associated with the network 

12 of salmon strongholds, in coordination with other regional 

13 salmon efforts, including— 

14 (1) triennial assessment of status and trends in 

15 network sites; 

16 (2) geographic information system and mapping 

17 support to facilitate conservation planning; 

18 (3) development and application of models and 

19 other tools to identify highest value conservation ac20 tions within salmon strongholds; and 

21 (4) measurement of the effectiveness of the 

22 Salmon Stronghold Partnership activities. 


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1 SEC. 6. SALMON STRONGHOLD WATERSHED GRANTS AND 

2 TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, in consulta4 tion with the Director, shall establish a salmon stronghold 

5 watershed grants and technical assistance program, as de6 scribed in this section. 

7 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the program shall be 

8 to support salmon stronghold protection and restoration 

9 activities, including— 

10 (1) to fund the administration of the Salmon 

11 Stronghold Partnership in carrying out the Charter; 

12 (2) to encourage cooperation among the entities 

13 represented on the Board, local authorities, and pri14 vate entities to establish a network of salmon strong15 holds, and assist locally in specific actions that sup16 port the Salmon Stronghold Partnership; 

17 (3) to work with entities represented on the 

18 Board— 

19 (A) to develop strategies focusing on the 

20 highest value salmon conservation actions in 

21 salmon strongholds; and 

22 (B) in addition to protection actions, in23 cluding voluntary acquisitions and easements, 

24 to provide financial assistance to the Salmon 

25 Stronghold Partnership to develop innovative fi26 nancial mechanisms to increase local economic 


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1 opportunities and resources for actions or prac2 tices that provide long-term or permanent pro3 tection and maintain key ecosystem services in 

4 salmon strongholds, including— 

5 (i) approaches to explore a payment 

6 for ecosystem services model that values 

7 and compensates individuals or groups for 

8 actions taken, or not taken, and that pre9 serves, increases, or maintains key eco10 system services; and 

11 (ii) carrying out several demonstration 

12 projects designed for specific salmon 

13 strongholds; 

14 (4) to maintain a forum to share best practices 

15 and approaches, employ consistent and comparable 

16 metrics, and monitor, evaluate, and report regional 

17 status and trends of salmon ecosystems in coordina18 tion with related regional and State efforts; 

19 (5) to carry out activities and existing conserva20 tion programs in, and across, salmon strongholds on 

21 a regional scale to achieve the goals of the Salmon 

22 Stronghold Partnership; 

23 (6) to develop and make information available 

24 to the public pertaining to the Salmon Stronghold 

25 Partnership; and 


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1 (7) to conduct education outreach to the public 

2 to encourage increased stewardship of salmon 

3 strongholds. 

4 (c) SELECTION.— 

5 (1) ADMINISTRATION AND SELECTION.—The 

6 Administrator, in consultation with the Board, shall 

7 establish a process to select grant applicants and ad8 minister the grants made under this section. 

9 (2) CRITERIA FOR APPROVAL.—Subject to sub10 section (d), a project may be approved to receive a 

11 grant under this section if— 

12 (A) the project contributes to the protec13 tion and restoration of salmon; 

14 (B) the project meets criteria regarding ge15 ographic and programmatic parameters for 

16 strategic investments in Salmon Strongholds, as 

17 identified and periodically revised by the Board 

18 preceding each grant review process; and 

19 (C) the project— 

20 (i)(I) addresses a key factor limiting 

21 or threatening to limit abundance, produc22 tivity, diversity, habitat quality, or other 

23 biological attributes important to sus24 taining viable wild salmon populations 

25 within a Salmon Stronghold; or 


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1 (II) a programmatic action that sup2 ports the Salmon Stronghold Partnership; 

3 (ii) addresses major limiting factors to 

4 healthy ecosystem processes or sustainable 

5 fisheries management; and 

6 (iii) has the potential for major con7 servation benefits and potentially export8 able results. 

9 (d) ACQUISITION OF REAL PROPERTY INTERESTS.— 

10 No project that will result in the acquisition by the Sec11 retary or the Secretary of the Interior of any land or inter12 est in land, in whole or in part, may receive funds under 

13 this Act unless the project is consistent with the purposes 

14 of this Act. 

15 (e) PROJECT REPORTING.—Each grantee under this 

16 section shall provide periodic reports to the Administrator 

17 that include such information as the Administrator may 

18 require to evaluate the progress and success of the project. 

19 (f) STAFF.—Subject to the availability of appropria20 tions, the Administrator may hire such additional full-time 

21 employees as are necessary to carry out this Act. 

22 (g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

23 (1) GRANTS.—There is authorized to be appro24 priated to the Administrator, to be distributed by 

25 the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation as a fisVerDate Aug 31 2005 07:14 Oct 02, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3608.IS S3608

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1 cal agent, to provide grants under this section 

2 $15,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2009 through 

3 2013, to remain available until expended. 

4 (2) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—For each of fis5 cal years 2009 through 2013, there is authorized to 

6 be appropriated to the Administrator an additional 

7 $300,000 to carry out this section and section 5, to 

8 remain available until expended. 

9 SEC. 7. CONSERVATION OF SALMON STRONGHOLDS ON 

10 FEDERAL LAND. 

11 The head of each Federal agency responsible for ac12 quiring, managing, or disposing of Federal land in salmon 

13 strongholds shall, to the extent consistent with the mission 

14 of the agency and existing statutory authorities, cooperate 

15 with the Administrator and the Director to— 

16 (1) conserve salmon strongholds; and 

17 (2) effectively coordinate and streamline deliv18 ery of overlapping incentive-based programs affect19 ing salmon strongholds within the land of each agen20 cy. 

21 SEC. 8. CONDITIONS RELATING TO SALMON STRONGHOLD 

22 CONSERVATION PROJECTS. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—No land or interest in land, ac24 quired in whole or in part by 1 or both of the Secretaries 

25 with Federal funds made available under this Act to carry 


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1 out salmon stronghold conservation projects may be con2 veyed to a State, other public agency, or other entity un3 less— 

4 (1) the Secretaries determine that the State, 

5 agency, or other entity is committed to undertake 

6 the management of the property being transferred in 

7 accordance with this Act; and 

8 (2) the deed or other instrument of transfer 

9 contains provisions for the reversion of the title to 

10 the property to the United States if the State, agen11 cy, or other entity fails to manage the property in 

12 accordance with this Act. 

13 (b) REQUIREMENT.—Any real property interest con14 veyed under this section shall be subject to such terms 

15 and conditions as will ensure, to the maximum extent 

16 practicable, that the interest will be administered for the 

17 long-term conservation and management of the applicable 

18 aquatic ecosystem and the fish and wildlife dependent on 

19 that ecosystem. 

20 SEC. 9. ALLOCATION OF AMOUNTS. 

21 (a) FEDERAL SHARE.— 

22 (1) NON-FEDERAL LAND.—For any fiscal year, 

23 the Federal share of carrying out a salmon strong24 hold conservation project that receives funds under 


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1 section 6 on non-Federal land shall not exceed 50 

2 percent of the costs of the project. 

3 (2) FEDERAL LAND.—For any fiscal year, the 

4 Federal share of carrying out a salmon stronghold 

5 conservation project that receives funds under sec6 tion 6 on Federal land, including the acquisition of 

7 inholdings, may be up to 100 percent of the costs of 

8 the project. 

9 (b) NON-FEDERAL SHARE.— 

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

11 the non-Federal share of the cost of a project that 

12 receives funds under section 6 may not be derived 

13 from Federal grant programs, but may include in14 kind contributions and cash. 

15 (2) BONNEVILLE POWER ADMINISTRATION.— 

16 Any amounts provided by the Bonneville Power Ad17 ministration directly or through a grant to another 

18 entity shall be credited toward the non-Federal share 

19 of the cost of the project. 

20 (c) PROVISION OF FUNDING.—In carrying out this 

21 Act, the Secretary may— 

22 (1) consistent with a recommendation of the 

23 Board and notwithstanding sections 6304 and 6305 

24 of title 31, United States Code, and the Federal Fi25 nancial Assistance Management Improvement Act of 


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1 1999 (31 U.S.C. 6101 note; Public Law 106–107), 

2 enter into cooperative agreements, contracts, and 

3 grants; 

4 (2) notwithstanding any other provision of law, 

5 apply for, accept, and use grants from any person to 

6 carry out the purposes of this Act; and 

7 (3) make funds available to any Federal agency 

8 to be used by the agency to award financial assist9 ance for any salmon stronghold protection, restora10 tion, and enhancement project that the Secretary de11 termines to be consistent with this Act. 

12 (d) DONATIONS.— 

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

14 (A) enter into an agreement with any orga15 nization described in section 501(c)(3) of the 

16 Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to authorize the 

17 organization to carry out activities under this 

18 Act; and 

19 (B) accept donations of funds or services 

20 for use in carrying out this Act. 

21 (2) PROPERTY.—The Secretary of the Interior 

22 may accept donations of property for use in carrying 

23 out this Act. 

24 (3) USE OF DONATIONS.—Donations accepted 

25 under this section— 


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1 (A) shall be considered to be gifts or be2 quests to, or for the use of, the United States; 

3 and 

4 (B) may be used directly by the Secretary 

5 (or, in the case of donated property under para6 graph (2), the Secretary of the Interior) or pro7 vided to other Federal agencies through inter8 agency agreements. 

9 (e) INTERAGENCY FINANCING.—The Secretary may 

10 participate in interagency financing, including receiving 

11 appropriated funds from other agencies to carry out this 

12 Act. 

13 SEC. 10. ACCOUNTABILITY AND REPORTING. 

14 Not less frequently than once every 3 years, the Ad15 ministrator and the Director shall jointly submit to Con16 gress a report describing the activities carried out under 

17 this Act, including any legislative recommendations relat18 ing to the Salmon Stronghold Partnership. 

19 SEC. 11. REGULATIONS. 

20 The Secretary may promulgate regulations to carry 

21 out this Act. 

22 SEC. 12. LIMITATIONS. 

23 Nothing in this Act may be construed— 

24 (1) to create a reserved water right, express or 

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1 fect any water right in existence on the date of en2 actment of this Act; 

3 (2) to affect any Federal or State law in exist4 ence on the date of enactment of this Act regarding 

5 water quality or water quantity; 

6 (3) to affect the authority, jurisdiction, or re7 sponsibility of any agency or department of the 

8 United States or of a State to manage, control, or 

9 regulate fish and resident wildlife under a Federal or 

10 State law (including regulations); 

11 (4) to authorize the Secretary or the Secretary 

12 of Interior to control or regulate hunting or fishing 

13 under State law; 

14 (5) to abrogate, abridge, affect, modify, super15 sede, or otherwise alter any right of a federally rec16 ognized Indian tribe under any law (including regu17 lations); or 

18 (6) to diminish or affect the ability of the Sec19 retary or the Secretary of Interior to join the adju20 dication of rights to the use of water pursuant to 

21 subsections (a), (b), or (c) of section 208 of the De22 partment of Justice Appropriation Act, 1953 (43 

23 U.S.C. 666). 


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1 SEC. 13. PRIVATE PROPERTY PROTECTION. 

2 No Federal funds made available to carry out this 

3 Act may be used to acquire any real property or any inter4 est in any real property without the written consent of 

5 the 1 or more owners of the property or interest in prop6 erty. 

Æ 


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