II 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2080 

To conserve fish and aquatic communities in the United States through 

partnerships that foster fish habitat conservation, improve the quality 

of life for the people of the United States, enhance fish and wildlifedependent recreation, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 5, 2014 

Mr. CARDIN (for himself and Mr. CRAPO) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public 

Works 

A BILL 

To conserve fish and aquatic communities in the United 

States through partnerships that foster fish habitat conservation, improve the quality of life for the people of 

the United States, enhance fish and wildlife-dependent 

recreation, 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 ‘‘National Fish Habitat Conservation Act’’. 

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

7 this Act is as follows: 


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Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Findings; purpose. 

Sec. 3. Definitions. 

Sec. 4. National Fish Habitat Board. 

Sec. 5. Fish habitat partnerships. 

Sec. 6. Fish habitat conservation projects. 

Sec. 7. National Fish Habitat Conservation Partnership Program. 

Sec. 8. Technical and scientific assistance. 

Sec. 9. Conservation of fish habitat on Federal land. 

Sec. 10. Coordination with States and Indian tribes. 

Sec. 11. Accountability and reporting. 

Sec. 12. Effect of Act. 

Sec. 13. Nonapplicability of Federal Advisory Committee Act. 

Sec. 14. Funding. 

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSE. 

2 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 

3 (1) healthy populations of fish depend on the 

4 conservation, protection, restoration, and enhance5 ment of fish habitats in the United States; 

6 (2) fish habitats (including wetlands, streams, 

7 rivers, lakes, estuaries, and coastal and marine habi8 tats) perform numerous valuable environmental 

9 functions that sustain environmental, social, and cul10 tural values, including recycling nutrients, purifying 

11 water, attenuating floods, augmenting and maintain12 ing stream flows, recharging ground water, acting as 

13 primary producers in the food chain, and providing 

14 essential and significant habitat for plants, fish, 

15 wildlife, and other dependent species; 

16 (3) the extensive and diverse fish habitat re17 sources of the United States are of enormous signifi18 cance to the economy of the United States, pro19 viding— 


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1 (A) recreation for 60,000,000 anglers; 

2 (B) more than 828,000 jobs and approxi3 mately $115,000,000,000 in economic impact 

4 each year relating to recreational fishing; and 

5 (C) approximately 575,000 jobs and an ad6 ditional $36,000,000,000 in economic impact 

7 each year relating to commercial fishing; 

8 (4) at least 40 percent of all threatened species 

9 and endangered species in the United States are di10 rectly dependent on fish habitats; 

11 (5) certain fish species are considered to be eco12 logical indicators of fish habitat quality, such that 

13 the presence of those species reflects high-quality 

14 habitat for fish species; 

15 (6) loss and degradation of fish habitat, ripar16 ian habitat, water quality, and water volume caused 

17 by activities such as alteration of watercourses, 

18 stream blockages, water withdrawals and diversions, 

19 erosion, pollution, sedimentation, and destruction or 

20 modification of wetlands have— 

21 (A) caused significant declines in fish pop22 ulations throughout the United States, espe23 cially declines in native fish populations; and 

24 (B) resulted in economic losses to the 

25 United States; 


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1 (7)(A) providing for the conservation and sus2 tainability of fish populations has not been fully re3 alized, despite federally funded fish and wildlife res4 toration programs and other activities intended to 

5 conserve fish habitat; and 

6 (B) conservation and sustainability may be sig7 nificantly advanced through a renewed commitment 

8 and sustained, cooperative efforts that are com9 plementary to existing fish and wildlife restoration 

10 programs and clean water programs; 

11 (8) the National Fish Habitat Action Plan pro12 vides a framework for maintaining and restoring fish 

13 habitats to perpetuate populations of fish species; 

14 (9) the United States can achieve significant 

15 progress toward providing fish habitats for the con16 servation and restoration of fish species through a 

17 voluntary, nonregulatory incentive program that is 

18 based on technical and financial assistance provided 

19 by the Federal Government; 

20 (10) the creation of partnerships between local 

21 citizens, Indian tribes, Alaska Native organizations, 

22 corporations, nongovernmental organizations, and 

23 Federal, State, and tribal agencies is critical to the 

24 success of activities to restore fish habitats; 


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1 (11) the Federal Government has numerous 

2 land and water management agencies that are crit3 ical to the implementation of the National Fish 

4 Habitat Action Plan, including— 

5 (A) the United States Fish and Wildlife 

6 Service; 

7 (B) the Bureau of Land Management; 

8 (C) the National Park Service; 

9 (D) the Bureau of Reclamation; 

10 (E) the Bureau of Indian Affairs; 

11 (F) the National Marine Fisheries Service; 

12 (G) the Forest Service; 

13 (H) the Natural Resources Conservation 

14 Service; and 

15 (I) the Environmental Protection Agency; 

16 (12) the United States Fish and Wildlife Serv17 ice, the Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Manage18 ment, and the National Marine Fisheries Service 

19 each play a vital role in— 

20 (A) the protection, restoration, and en21 hancement of the fish communities and fish 

22 habitats in the United States; and 

23 (B) the development, operation, and long24 term success of fish habitat partnerships and 

25 project implementation; 


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1 (13) the United States Geological Survey, the 

2 United States Fish and Wildlife Service, and the 

3 National Marine Fisheries Service each play a vital 

4 role in scientific evaluation, data collection, and 

5 mapping for fishery resources in the United States; 

6 (14) the State and Territorial fish and wildlife 

7 agencies play a vital role in— 

8 (A) the protection, restoration, and en9 hancement of the fish communities and fish 

10 habitats in their respective States and terri11 tories; and 

12 (B) the development, operation, and long13 term success of fish habitat partnerships and 

14 project implementation; and 

15 (15) many of the programs for conservation on 

16 private farmland, ranchland, and forestland that are 

17 carried out by the Secretary of Agriculture, includ18 ing the Natural Resources Conservation Service and 

19 the State and Private Forestry programs of the For20 est Service, are able to significantly contribute to the 

21 implementation of the National Fish Habitat Action 

22 Plan through the engagement of private landowners. 

23 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to encour24 age partnerships among public agencies and other interVerDate Mar 15 2010 22:37 Mar 06, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2080.IS S2080

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1 ested parties consistent with the mission and goals of the 

2 National Fish Habitat Action Plan— 

3 (1) to promote intact and healthy fish habitats; 

4 (2) to improve the quality and quantity of fish 

5 habitats and overall health of fish species; 

6 (3) to increase the quality and quantity of fish 

7 habitats that support a broad natural diversity of 

8 fish and other aquatic species; 

9 (4) to improve fish habitats in a manner that 

10 leads to improvement of the annual economic output 

11 from recreational, subsistence, and commercial fish12 ing; 

13 (5) to enhance fish and wildlife-dependent 

14 recreation; 

15 (6) to coordinate and facilitate activities carried 

16 out by Federal departments and agencies under the 

17 leadership of— 

18 (A) the Director of the United States Fish 

19 and Wildlife Service; 

20 (B) the Assistant Administrator for Fish21 eries of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

22 Administration; and 

23 (C) the Director of the United States Geo24 logical Survey; and 


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1 (7) to achieve other purposes in accordance 

2 with the mission and goals of the National Fish 

3 Habitat Action Plan. 

4 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

5 In this Act: 

6 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT7 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com8 mittees’’ means— 

9 (A) the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

10 and Transportation and the Committee on En11 vironment and Public Works of the Senate; and 

12 (B) the Committee on Natural Resources 

13 of the House of Representatives. 

14 (2) ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR.—The term 

15 ‘‘Assistant Administrator’’ means the Assistant Ad16 ministrator for Fisheries of the National Oceanic 

17 and Atmospheric Administration. 

18 (3) BOARD.—The term ‘‘Board’’ means the Na19 tional Fish Habitat Board established by section 

20 4(a)(1). 

21 (4) CONSERVATION; CONSERVE; MANAGE; MAN22 AGEMENT.—The terms ‘‘conservation’’, ‘‘conserve’’, 

23 ‘‘manage’’, and ‘‘management’’ mean to maintain, 

24 sustain, and, where practicable, restore and enhance, 

25 using methods and procedures associated with modVerDate Mar 15 2010 22:37 Mar 06, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2080.IS S2080

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1 ern scientific resource programs (including protec2 tion, research, census, law enforcement, habitat 

3 management, propagation, live trapping and trans4 plantation, and the regulated harvesting of fish)— 

5 (A) a healthy population of fish; 

6 (B) a habitat required to sustain fish and 

7 fish populations; or 

8 (C) a habitat required to sustain fish pro9 ductivity. 

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

11 the Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife 

12 Service. 

13 (6) FISH.— 

14 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘fish’’ means 

15 any freshwater, diadromous, estuarine, or ma16 rine finfish or shellfish. 

17 (B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘fish’’ in18 cludes the egg, spawn, spat, larval, and other 

19 juvenile stages of an organism described in sub20 paragraph (A). 

21 (7) FISH AND WILDLIFE-DEPENDENT RECRE22 ATION.—The term ‘‘fish and wildlife-dependent 

23 recreation’’ means a use involving hunting, fishing, 

24 wildlife observation and photography, or conserva25 tion education and interpretation. 


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1 (8) FISH HABITAT.— 

2 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘fish habi3 tat’’ means an area on which fish depend to 

4 carry out the life processes of the fish, includ5 ing an area used by the fish for spawning, incu6 bation, nursery, rearing, growth to maturity, 

7 food supply, or migration. 

8 (B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘fish habitat’’ 

9 may include— 

10 (i) an area immediately adjacent to an 

11 aquatic environment, if the immediately 

12 adjacent area— 

13 (I) contributes to the quality and 

14 quantity of water sources; or 

15 (II) provides public access for the 

16 use of fishery resources; and 

17 (ii) an area inhabited by saltwater 

18 and brackish fish, including an offshore ar19 tificial marine reef in the Gulf of Mexico. 

20 (9) FISH HABITAT CONSERVATION PROJECT.— 

21 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘fish habitat 

22 conservation project’’ means a project that— 

23 (i) is submitted to the Board by a 

24 Partnership and approved by the Secretary 

25 under section 6; and 


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1 (ii) provides for the conservation or 

2 management of a fish habitat. 

3 (B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘fish habitat 

4 conservation project’’ includes— 

5 (i) the provision of technical assist6 ance to a State, Indian tribe, or local com7 munity by the National Fish Habitat Con8 servation Partnership Program or any 

9 other agency to facilitate the development 

10 of strategies and priorities for the con11 servation of fish habitats; or 

12 (ii) the voluntary obtaining of a real 

13 property interest in land or water, by a 

14 State, local government, or other non-Fed15 eral entity, including water rights, in ac16 cordance with terms and conditions that 

17 ensure that the real property will be ad18 ministered for the long-term conservation 

19 of— 

20 (I) the land or water; and 

21 (II) the fish dependent on the 

22 land or water. 

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

24 has the meaning given the term in section 4 of the 


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1 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 

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

3 (11) NATIONAL FISH HABITAT ACTION PLAN.— 

4 The term ‘‘National Fish Habitat Action Plan’’ 

5 means the National Fish Habitat Action Plan dated 

6 April 24, 2006, and any subsequent revisions or 

7 amendments to that plan. 

8 (12) PARTNERSHIP.—The term ‘‘Partnership’’ 

9 means an entity designated by the Board as a Fish 

10 Habitat Conservation Partnership pursuant to sec11 tion 5(a). 

12 (13) REAL PROPERTY INTEREST.—The term 

13 ‘‘real property interest’’ means an ownership interest 

14 in— 

15 (A) land; 

16 (B) water (including water rights); or 

17 (C) a building or object that is perma18 nently affixed to land. 

19 (14) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 

20 means the Secretary of the Interior. 

21 (15) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means— 

22 (A) each of the several States; 

23 (B) the District of Columbia; 

24 (C) the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; 

25 (D) Guam; 


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1 (E) the Virgin Islands; and 

2 (F) any other territory or possession of the 

3 United States. 

4 (16) STATE AGENCY.—The term ‘‘State agen5 cy’’ means— 

6 (A) the fish and wildlife agency of a State; 

7 (B) any department or division of a de8 partment or agency of a State that manages in 

9 the public trust the inland or marine fishery re10 sources or sustains the habitat for those fishery 

11 resources of the State pursuant to State law or 

12 the constitution of the State; or 

13 (C) the fish and wildlife agency of the 

14 Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Vir15 gin Islands, or any other territory or possession 

16 of the United States. 

17 SEC. 4. NATIONAL FISH HABITAT BOARD. 

18 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

19 (1) FISH HABITAT BOARD.—There is estab20 lished a board, to be known as the ‘‘National Fish 

21 Habitat Board’’, whose duties are— 

22 (A) to promote, oversee, and coordinate the 

23 implementation of this Act and the National 

24 Fish Habitat Action Plan; 


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1 (B) to establish national goals and prior2 ities for fish habitat conservation; 

3 (C) to approve Partnerships; and 

4 (D) to review and make recommendations 

5 regarding fish habitat conservation projects. 

6 (2) MEMBERSHIP.—The Board shall be com7 posed of 28 members, of whom— 

8 (A) 1 shall be the Director; 

9 (B) 1 shall be the Assistant Administrator; 

10 (C) 1 shall be the Chief of the Natural Re11 sources Conservation Service; 

12 (D) 1 shall be the Chief of the Forest 

13 Service; 

14 (E) 1 shall be the Assistant Administrator 

15 for Water of the Environmental Protection 

16 Agency; 

17 (F) 1 shall be the President of the Associa18 tion of Fish and Wildlife Agencies; 

19 (G) 1 shall be the Secretary of the Board 

20 of Directors of the National Fish and Wildlife 

21 Foundation appointed pursuant to section 

22 3(g)(2)(B) of the National Fish and Wildlife 

23 Foundation Establishment Act (16 U.S.C. 

24 3702(g)(2)(B)); 


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1 (H) 4 shall be representatives of State 

2 agencies, 1 of whom shall be nominated by a re3 gional association of fish and wildlife agencies 

4 from each of the Northeast, Southeast, Mid5 west, and Western regions of the United States; 

6 (I) 1 shall be a representative of the Com7 monwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Virgin 

8 Islands, or any other territory or possession of 

9 the United States; 

10 (J) 1 shall be a representative of the 

11 American Fisheries Society; 

12 (K) 2 shall be representatives of Indian 

13 tribes, of whom— 

14 (i) 1 shall represent Indian tribes 

15 from the State of Alaska; and 

16 (ii) 1 shall represent Indian tribes 

17 from the other States; 

18 (L) 1 shall be a representative of the Re19 gional Fishery Management Councils estab20 lished under section 302 of the Magnuson-Ste21 vens Fishery Conservation and Management 

22 Act (16 U.S.C. 1852); 

23 (M) 1 shall be a representative of the Ma24 rine Fisheries Commissions, which is composed 

25 of— 


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1 (i) the Atlantic States Marine Fish2 eries Commission; 

3 (ii) the Gulf States Marine Fisheries 

4 Commission; and 

5 (iii) the Pacific States Marine Fish6 eries Commission; 

7 (N) 1 shall be a representative of the 

8 Sportfishing and Boating Partnership Council; 

9 and 

10 (O) 10 shall be representatives selected 

11 from each of the following groups: 

12 (i) The recreational sportfishing in13 dustry. 

14 (ii) The commercial fishing industry. 

15 (iii) Marine recreational anglers. 

16 (iv) Freshwater recreational anglers. 

17 (v) Terrestrial resource conservation 

18 organizations. 

19 (vi) Aquatic resource conservation or20 ganizations. 

21 (vii) The livestock and poultry produc22 tion industry. 

23 (viii) The land development industry. 

24 (ix) The row crop industry. 


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1 (x) Natural resource commodity inter2 ests, such as petroleum or mineral extrac3 tion. 

4 (3) COMPENSATION.—A member of the Board 

5 shall serve without compensation. 

6 (4) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—A member of the 

7 Board may be allowed travel expenses, including per 

8 diem in lieu of subsistence, at rates authorized for 

9 an employee of an agency under subchapter I of 

10 chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code, while 

11 away from the home or regular place of business of 

12 the member in the performance of the duties of the 

13 Board. 

14 (b) APPOINTMENT AND TERMS.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise pro16 vided in this subsection, a member of the Board de17 scribed in any of subparagraphs (H) through (O) of 

18 subsection (a)(2) shall serve for a term of 3 years. 

19 (2) INITIAL BOARD MEMBERSHIP.— 

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 

21 days after the date of enactment of this Act, 

22 the representatives of the board established by 

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1 scribed in subparagraphs (H), (I), (J), (L), 

2 (M), (N), and (O) of subsection (a)(2). 

3 (B) TRIBAL REPRESENTATIVES.—Not 

4 later than 180 days after the enactment of this 

5 Act, the Secretary shall provide to the board es6 tablished by the National Fish Habitat Action 

7 Plan a recommendation of not less than 4 tribal 

8 representatives, from which that board shall ap9 point 2 representatives pursuant to subpara10 graph (K) of subsection (a)(2). 

11 (3) TRANSITIONAL TERMS.—Of the members 

12 described in subsection (a)(2)(O) initially appointed 

13 to the Board— 

14 (A) 4 shall be appointed for a term of 1 

15 year; 

16 (B) 4 shall be appointed for a term of 2 

17 years; and 

18 (C) 3 shall be appointed for a term of 3 

19 years. 

20 (4) VACANCIES.— 

21 (A) IN GENERAL.—A vacancy of a member 

22 of the Board described in subparagraphs (H), 

23 (I), (J), (L), (M), (N), and (O) of subsection 

24 (a)(2) shall be filled by an appointment made 

25 by the remaining members of the Board. 


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1 (B) TRIBAL REPRESENTATIVES.—Fol2 lowing a vacancy of a member of the Board de3 scribed in subparagraph (K) of subsection 

4 (a)(2), the Secretary shall recommend to the 

5 Board a list of not less than 4 tribal represent6 atives, from which the remaining members of 

7 the Board shall appoint a representative to fill 

8 the vacancy. 

9 (5) CONTINUATION OF SERVICE.—An individual 

10 whose term of service as a member of the Board ex11 pires may continue to serve on the Board until a 

12 successor is appointed. 

13 (6) REMOVAL.—If a member of the Board de14 scribed in any of subparagraphs (H) through (O) of 

15 subsection (a)(2) misses 3 consecutive regularly 

16 scheduled Board meetings, the members of the 

17 Board may— 

18 (A) vote to remove that member; and 

19 (B) appoint another individual in accord20 ance with paragraph (4). 

21 (c) CHAIRPERSON.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Board shall elect a 

23 member of the Board to serve as Chairperson of the 

24 Board. 


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1 (2) TERM.—The Chairperson of the Board shall 

2 serve for a term of 3 years. 

3 (d) MEETINGS.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Board shall meet— 

5 (A) at the call of the Chairperson; but 

6 (B) not less frequently than twice each cal7 endar year. 

8 (2) PUBLIC ACCESS.—All meetings of the 

9 Board shall be open to the public. 

10 (e) PROCEDURES.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Board shall establish 

12 procedures to carry out the business of the Board, 

13 including— 

14 (A) a requirement that a quorum of the 

15 members of the Board be present to transact 

16 business; 

17 (B) a requirement that no recommenda18 tions may be adopted by the Board, except by 

the vote of 2 19 ⁄3 of all members; 

20 (C) procedures for establishing national 

21 goals and priorities for fish habitat conservation 

22 for the purposes of this Act; 

23 (D) procedures for designating Partner24 ships under section 5; and 


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1 (E) procedures for reviewing, evaluating, 

2 and making recommendations regarding fish 

3 habitat conservation projects. 

4 (2) QUORUM.—A majority of the members of 

5 the Board shall constitute a quorum. 

6 SEC. 5. FISH HABITAT PARTNERSHIPS. 

7 (a) AUTHORITY TO APPROVE.—The Board may ap8 prove and designate Fish Habitat Partnerships in accord9 ance with this section. 

10 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of a Partnership shall 

11 be— 

12 (1) to coordinate the implementation of the Na13 tional Fish Habitat Action Plan at a regional level; 

14 (2) to identify strategic priorities for fish habi15 tat conservation; 

16 (3) to recommend to the Board fish habitat 

17 conservation projects that address a strategic pri18 ority of the Board; and 

19 (4) to develop and carry out fish habitat con20 servation projects. 

21 (c) APPLICATIONS.—An entity seeking to be des22 ignated as a Partnership shall submit to the Board an 

23 application at such time, in such manner, and containing 

24 such information as the Board may reasonably require. 


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1 (d) APPROVAL.—The Board may approve an applica2 tion for a Partnership submitted under subsection (c) if 

3 the Board determines that the applicant— 

4 (1) identifies representatives to provide support 

5 and technical assistance to the Partnership from a 

6 diverse group of public and private partners, which 

7 may include Federal, State, or local governments, 

8 nonprofit entities, Indian tribes, and private individ9 uals, that are focused on conservation of fish habi10 tats to achieve results across jurisdictional bound11 aries on public and private land; 

12 (2) is organized to promote the health of impor13 tant fish habitats and distinct geographical areas, 

14 important fish species, or system types, including 

15 reservoirs, natural lakes, coastal and marine envi16 ronments, and estuaries; 

17 (3) identifies strategic fish and fish habitat pri18 orities for the Partnership area in the form of geo19 graphical focus areas or key stressors or impair20 ments to facilitate strategic planning and decision21 making; 

22 (4) is able to address issues and priorities on a 

23 nationally significant scale; 

24 (5) includes a governance structure that— 

25 (A) reflects the range of all partners; and 


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1 (B) promotes joint strategic planning and 

2 decisionmaking by the applicant; 

3 (6) demonstrates completion of, or significant 

4 progress toward the development of, a strategic plan 

5 to address the decline in fish populations, rather 

6 than simply treating symptoms in accordance with 

7 the National Fish Habitat Action Plan; and 

8 (7) promotes collaboration in developing a stra9 tegic vision and implementation program that is sci10 entifically sound and achievable. 

11 SEC. 6. FISH HABITAT CONSERVATION PROJECTS. 

12 (a) SUBMISSION TO BOARD.—Not later than March 

13 31 of each calendar year, each Partnership shall submit 

14 to the Board a list of fish habitat conservation projects 

15 recommended by the Partnership for annual funding 

16 under this Act. 

17 (b) RECOMMENDATIONS BY BOARD.—Not later than 

18 July 1 of each calendar year, the Board shall submit to 

19 the Secretary a description, including estimated costs, of 

20 each fish habitat conservation project that the Board rec21 ommends that the Secretary approve and fund under this 

22 Act, in order of priority, for the following fiscal year. 

23 (c) CONSIDERATIONS.—The Board shall select each 

24 fish habitat conservation project to be recommended to the 

25 Secretary under subsection (b)— 


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1 (1) based on a recommendation of the Partner2 ship that is, or will be, participating actively in car3 rying out the fish habitat conservation project; and 

4 (2) after taking into consideration— 

5 (A) the extent to which the fish habitat 

6 conservation project fulfills a purpose of this 

7 Act or a goal of the National Fish Habitat Ac8 tion Plan; 

9 (B) the extent to which the fish habitat 

10 conservation project addresses the national pri11 orities established by the Board; 

12 (C) the availability of sufficient non-Fed13 eral funds to match Federal contributions for 

14 the fish habitat conservation project, as re15 quired by subsection (e); 

16 (D) the extent to which the fish habitat 

17 conservation project— 

18 (i) increases recreational fishing op19 portunities for the public; 

20 (ii) will be carried out through a coop21 erative agreement among Federal, State, 

22 and local governments, Indian tribes, and 

23 private entities; 


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1 (iii) increases public access to land or 

2 water for fish and wildlife-dependent rec3 reational opportunities; 

4 (iv) advances the conservation of fish 

5 and wildlife species that have been identi6 fied by the States as species in greatest 

7 need of conservation; 

8 (v) where appropriate, advances the 

9 conservation of fish and fish habitats 

10 under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Con11 servation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 

12 1801 et seq.), other relevant Federal law, 

13 and State wildlife action plans; and 

14 (vi) promotes strong and healthy fish 

15 habitats such that desired biological com16 munities are able to persist and adapt; and 

17 (E) the substantiality of the character and 

18 design of the fish habitat conservation project. 

19 (d) LIMITATIONS.— 

20 (1) REQUIREMENTS FOR EVALUATION.—No 

21 fish habitat conservation project may be rec22 ommended by the Board under subsection (b) or 

23 provided financial assistance under this Act unless 

24 the fish habitat conservation project includes an 

25 evaluation plan designed— 


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1 (A) to appropriately assess the biological, 

2 ecological, or other results of the habitat protec3 tion, restoration, or enhancement activities car4 ried out using the assistance; 

5 (B) to reflect appropriate changes to the 

6 fish habitat conservation project if the assess7 ment substantiates that the fish habitat con8 servation project objectives are not being met; 

9 (C) to identify improvements to existing 

10 recreational fishing opportunities and the over11 all economic benefits for the local community of 

12 the fish habitat conservation project; and 

13 (D) to require the submission to the Board 

14 of a report describing the findings of the assess15 ment. 

16 (2) ACQUISITION OF REAL PROPERTY INTER17 ESTS.— 

18 (A) ACQUISITION OF REAL PROPERTY IN19 TERESTS.— 

20 (i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to clause 

21 (ii), a State, local government, or other 

22 non-Federal entity shall be eligible to re23 ceive funds under this Act for the acquisi24 tion of real property. 


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1 (ii) RESTRICTION.—No fish habitat 

2 conservation project that will result in the 

3 acquisition by a State, local government, or 

4 other non-Federal entity, in whole or in 

5 part, of any real property interest may be 

6 recommended by the Board under sub7 section (b) or provided financial assistance 

8 under this Act unless the project meets the 

9 requirements of subparagraph (B). 

10 (B) REQUIREMENTS.— 

11 (i) IN GENERAL.—A real property in12 terest may not be acquired pursuant to a 

13 fish habitat conservation project by a 

14 State, local government, or other non-Fed15 eral entity unless— 

16 (I) the Secretary determines that 

17 the State, local government, or other 

18 non-Federal entity is obligated to un19 dertake the management of the real 

20 property being acquired in accordance 

21 with the purposes of this Act; and 

22 (II) the owner of the real prop23 erty authorizes the State, local gov24 ernment, or other non-Federal entity 

25 to acquire the real property. 


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1 (ii) ADDITIONAL CONDITIONS.—Any 

2 real property interest acquired by a State, 

3 local government, or other non-Federal en4 tity pursuant to a fish habitat conservation 

5 project shall be subject to terms and condi6 tions established by the Secretary pro7 viding for the long-term conservation and 

8 management of the fish habitat and the 

9 fish and wildlife dependent on that habitat. 

10 (iii) PUBLIC ACCESS.— 

11 (I) IN GENERAL.—Any acquisi12 tion of fee title to real property by a 

13 State, local government, or non-Fed14 eral entity pursuant to this Act shall, 

15 where applicable and consistent with 

16 State laws and regulations, provide 

17 public access to that real property for 

18 compatible fish and wildlife-dependent 

19 recreation. 

20 (II) PUBLIC ACCESS.—Public ac21 cess to real property described in sub22 clause (I) shall be closed only for pur23 poses of protecting public safety, the 

24 property, or habitat. 

25 (iv) STATE AGENCY APPROVAL.— 


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1 (I) IN GENERAL.—Any real prop2 erty interest acquired by a State, local 

3 government, or other non-Federal en4 tity under this Act shall be approved 

5 by the applicable State agency in the 

6 State in which the fish habitat con7 servation project is carried out. 

8 (II) ADMINISTRATION.—The 

9 Board shall not recommend, and the 

10 Secretary shall not provide any fund11 ing under this Act for, the acquisition 

12 of any real property interest described 

13 in subclause (I) that has not been ap14 proved by the applicable State agency. 

15 (v) VIOLATION.—If the State, local 

16 government, or other non-Federal entity 

17 violates any term or condition established 

18 by the Secretary under clause (ii), the Sec19 retary may require the State, local govern20 ment, or other non-Federal entity to re21 fund all or part of any payments received 

22 under this Act, with interest on the pay23 ments as determined appropriate by the 

24 Secretary. 

25 (e) NON-FEDERAL CONTRIBUTIONS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para2 graph (2), no fish habitat conservation project may 

3 be recommended by the Board under subsection (b) 

4 or provided financial assistance under this Act un5 less at least 50 percent of the cost of the fish habi6 tat conservation project will be funded with non7 Federal funds. 

8 (2) PROJECTS ON FEDERAL LAND OR WATER.— 

9 Notwithstanding paragraph (1), Federal funds may 

10 be used for payment of 100 percent of the costs of 

11 a fish habitat conservation project located on Fed12 eral land or water. 

13 (3) NON-FEDERAL SHARE.—The non-Federal 

14 share of the cost of a fish habitat conservation 

15 project— 

16 (A) may not be derived from a Federal 

17 grant program; but 

18 (B) may include in-kind contributions and 

19 cash. 

20 (4) SPECIAL RULE FOR INDIAN TRIBES.—Not21 withstanding paragraph (1) or any other provision of 

22 law, any funds made available to an Indian tribe 

23 pursuant to this Act may be considered to be non24 Federal funds for the purpose of paragraph (1). 

25 (f) APPROVAL.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

2 after the date of receipt of the recommendations of 

3 the Board for fish habitat conservation projects 

4 under subsection (b), subject to the limitations 

5 under subsection (d), and based, to the maximum 

6 extent practicable, on the criteria described in sub7 section (c)— 

8 (A) the Secretary shall approve, reject, or 

9 reorder the priority of any fish habitat con10 servation project recommended by the Board 

11 that is not within a marine or estuarine habitat; 

12 and 

13 (B) the Secretary and the Secretary of 

14 Commerce shall jointly approve, reject, or reor15 der the priority of any fish habitat conservation 

16 project recommended by the Board that is with17 in a marine or estuarine habitat. 

18 (2) FUNDING.—If a fish habitat conservation 

19 project under paragraph (1) is approved by the Sec20 retary, or the Secretary and the Secretary of Com21 merce jointly, the Secretary, or the Secretary and 

22 the Secretary of Commerce jointly, as applicable, 

23 shall use amounts made available to carry out this 

24 Act to provide funds to carry out the fish habitat 

25 conservation project. 


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1 (3) NOTIFICATION.—If the priority of any fish 

2 habitat conservation project recommended by the 

3 Board under subsection (b) is rejected or reordered 

4 by the Secretary, or the Secretary and the Secretary 

5 of Commerce jointly, the Secretary, or the Secretary 

6 and the Secretary of Commerce jointly, shall, not 

7 later than 180 days after the date of receipt of the 

8 recommendations, provide to the Board, the appro9 priate Partnership, and the appropriate congres10 sional committees a written statement of the Sec11 retary, or the Secretary and the Secretary of Com12 merce jointly, as applicable, detailing the reasons 

13 why the Secretary or the Secretary and the Sec14 retary of Commerce jointly rejected or reordered the 

15 priority of the fish habitat conservation project. 

16 SEC. 7. NATIONAL FISH HABITAT CONSERVATION PART17 NERSHIP PROGRAM. 

18 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 1 year after 

19 the date of enactment of this Act, the Director shall estab20 lish a program, to be known as the ‘‘National Fish Habi21 tat Conservation Partnership Program’’, within the Divi22 sion of Fish and Aquatic Conservation of the United 

23 States Fish and Wildlife Service. 

24 (b) FUNCTIONS.—The National Fish Habitat Con25 servation Partnership Program shall— 


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1 (1) provide funding for the operational needs of 

2 the Partnerships, including funding for activities 

3 such as planning, project development and imple4 mentation, coordination, monitoring, evaluation, 

5 communication, and outreach; 

6 (2) provide funding to support the detail of 

7 State and tribal fish and wildlife staff to the Pro8 gram; 

9 (3) facilitate the cooperative development and 

10 approval of Partnerships; 

11 (4) assist the Secretary and the Board in car12 rying out this Act; 

13 (5) assist the Secretary in carrying out the re14 quirements of sections 8 and 10; 

15 (6) facilitate communication, cohesiveness, and 

16 efficient operations for the benefit of Partnerships 

17 and the Board; 

18 (7) facilitate, with assistance from the Director, 

19 the Assistant Administrator, and the President of 

20 the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, the 

21 consideration of fish habitat conservation projects by 

22 the Board; 

23 (8) provide support to the Director regarding 

24 the development and implementation of the inter25 agency operational plan under subsection (c); 


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1 (9) coordinate technical and scientific reporting 

2 as required by section 11; 

3 (10) facilitate the efficient use of resources and 

4 activities of Federal departments and agencies to 

5 carry out this Act in an efficient manner; and 

6 (11) provide support to the Board for national 

7 communication and outreach efforts that promote 

8 public awareness of fish habitat conservation. 

9 (c) INTERAGENCY OPERATIONAL PLAN.—Not later 

10 than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, and 

11 every 5 years thereafter, the Director, in cooperation with 

12 the Assistant Administrator and the heads of other appro13 priate Federal departments and agencies, shall develop an 

14 interagency operational plan for the National Fish Habi15 tat Conservation Partnership Program that describes— 

16 (1) the functional, operational, technical, sci17 entific, and general staff, administrative, and mate18 rial needs of the Program; and 

19 (2) any interagency agreements between or 

20 among Federal departments and agencies to address 

21 those needs. 

22 (d) STAFF AND SUPPORT.— 

23 (1) DEPARTMENTS OF INTERIOR AND COM24 MERCE.—The Director and the Assistant Adminis25 trator shall each provide appropriate staff to support 


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1 the National Fish Habitat Conservation Partnership 

2 Program, subject to the availability of funds under 

3 section 14. 

4 (2) STATES AND INDIAN TRIBES.—Each State 

5 and Indian tribe is encouraged to provide staff to 

6 support the National Fish Habitat Conservation 

7 Partnership Program. 

8 (3) DETAILEES AND CONTRACTORS.—The Na9 tional Fish Habitat Conservation Partnership Pro10 gram may accept staff or other administrative sup11 port from other entities— 

12 (A) through interagency details; or 

13 (B) as contractors. 

14 (4) QUALIFICATIONS.—The staff of the Na15 tional Fish Habitat Conservation Partnership Pro16 gram shall include members with education and ex17 perience relating to the principles of fish, wildlife, 

18 and habitat conservation. 

19 (e) REPORTS.—Not less frequently than once each 

20 year, the Director shall provide to the Board a report de21 scribing the activities of the National Fish Habitat Con22 servation Partnership Program. 

23 SEC. 8. TECHNICAL AND SCIENTIFIC ASSISTANCE. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Director, the Assistant Ad25 ministrator, and the Director of the United States GeoVerDate Mar 15 2010 22:37 Mar 06, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00035 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2080.IS S2080

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1 logical Survey, in coordination with the Forest Service and 

2 other appropriate Federal departments and agencies, shall 

3 provide scientific and technical assistance to the Partner4 ships, participants in fish habitat conservation projects, 

5 and the Board. 

6 (b) INCLUSIONS.—Scientific and technical assistance 

7 provided pursuant to subsection (a) may include— 

8 (1) providing technical and scientific assistance 

9 to States, Indian tribes, regions, local communities, 

10 and nongovernmental organizations in the develop11 ment and implementation of Partnerships; 

12 (2) providing technical and scientific assistance 

13 to Partnerships for habitat assessment, strategic 

14 planning, and prioritization; 

15 (3) supporting the development and implemen16 tation of fish habitat conservation projects that are 

17 identified as high priorities by Partnerships and the 

18 Board; 

19 (4) supporting and providing recommendations 

20 regarding the development of science-based moni21 toring and assessment approaches for implementa22 tion through Partnerships; 

23 (5) supporting and providing recommendations 

24 for a national fish habitat assessment; 


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1 (6) ensuring the availability of experts to con2 duct scientifically based evaluation and reporting of 

3 the results of fish habitat conservation projects; and 

4 (7) providing resources to secure State agency 

5 scientific and technical assistance to support Part6 nerships, participants in fish habitat conservation 

7 projects, and the Board. 

8 SEC. 9. CONSERVATION OF FISH HABITAT ON FEDERAL 

9 LAND. 

10 To the extent consistent with the mission and author11 ity of the applicable department or agency, the head of 

12 each Federal department and agency may coordinate with 

13 the Assistant Administrator and the Director to promote 

14 healthy fish populations and fish habitats. 

15 SEC. 10. COORDINATION WITH STATES AND INDIAN TRIBES. 

16 The Secretary shall provide a notice to, and cooperate 

17 with, the appropriate State agency or tribal agency, as ap18 plicable, of each State and Indian tribe within the bound19 aries of which an activity is planned to be carried out pur20 suant to this Act, including notification, by not later than 

21 30 days before the date on which the activity is imple22 mented. 

23 SEC. 11. ACCOUNTABILITY AND REPORTING. 

24 (a) REPORTING.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after 

2 the date of enactment of this Act, and every 2 years 

3 thereafter, the Board shall submit to the appropriate 

4 congressional committees a report describing the 

5 progress of— 

6 (A) this Act; and 

7 (B) the National Fish Habitat Action 

8 Plan. 

9 (2) CONTENTS.—Each report submitted under 

10 paragraph (1) shall include— 

11 (A) an estimate of the number of acres, 

12 stream miles, or acre-feet (or other suitable 

13 measure) of fish habitat that was maintained or 

14 improved under the National Fish Habitat Ac15 tion Plan by Federal, State, or local govern16 ments, Indian tribes, or other entities in the 

17 United States during the 2-year period ending 

18 on the date of submission of the report; 

19 (B) a description of the public access to 

20 fish habitats established or improved under the 

21 National Fish Habitat Action Plan during that 

22 2-year period; 

23 (C) a description of the opportunities for 

24 public recreational fishing established under the 


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1 National Fish Habitat Action Plan during that 

2 period; and 

3 (D) an assessment of the status of fish 

4 habitat conservation projects carried out with 

5 funds provided under this Act during that pe6 riod, disaggregated by year, including— 

7 (i) a description of the fish habitat 

8 conservation projects recommended by the 

9 Board under section 6(b); 

10 (ii) a description of each fish habitat 

11 conservation project approved by the Sec12 retary under section 6(f), in order of pri13 ority for funding; 

14 (iii) a justification for— 

15 (I) the approval of each fish 

16 habitat conservation project; and 

17 (II) the order of priority for 

18 funding of each fish habitat conserva19 tion project; 

20 (iv) a justification for any rejection or 

21 reordering of the priority of each fish habi22 tat conservation project recommended by 

23 the Board under section 6(b) that was 

24 based on a factor other than the criteria 

25 described in section 6(c); and 


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1 (v) an accounting of expenditures by 

2 Federal, State, or local governments, In3 dian tribes, or other entities to carry out 

4 fish habitat conservation projects. 

5 (b) STATUS AND TRENDS REPORT.—Not later than 

6 December 31, 2015, and every 5 years thereafter, the 

7 Board shall submit to the appropriate congressional com8 mittees a report describing the status of fish habitats in 

9 the United States. 

10 (c) REVISIONS.—Not later than December 31, 2015, 

11 and every 5 years thereafter, the Board shall revise the 

12 goals and other elements of the National Fish Habitat Ac13 tion Plan, after consideration of each report required by 

14 subsection (b). 

15 SEC. 12. EFFECT OF ACT. 

16 (a) WATER RIGHTS.—Nothing in this Act— 

17 (1) establishes any express or implied reserved 

18 water right in the United States for any purpose; 

19 (2) affects any water right in existence on the 

20 date of enactment of this Act; 

21 (3) preempts or affects any State water law or 

22 interstate compact governing water; or 

23 (4) affects any Federal or State law in exist24 ence on the date of enactment of this Act regarding 

25 water quality or water quantity. 


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1 (b) AUTHORITY TO ACQUIRE WATER RIGHTS OR

2 RIGHTS TO PROPERTY.—In carrying out section 6(d)(2), 

3 only a State, local government, or other non-Federal entity 

4 may acquire, in accordance with applicable State law, 

5 water rights or rights to property pursuant to a fish habi6 tat conservation projected funded under this Act. 

7 (c) STATE AUTHORITY.—Nothing in this Act— 

8 (1) affects the authority, jurisdiction, or respon9 sibility of a State to manage, control, or regulate 

10 fish and wildlife under the laws and regulations of 

11 the State; or 

12 (2) authorizes the Secretary to control or regu13 late within a State the fishing or hunting of fish and 

14 wildlife. 

15 (d) EFFECT ON INDIAN TRIBES.—Nothing in this 

16 Act abrogates, abridges, affects, modifies, supersedes, or 

17 alters any right of an Indian tribe recognized by treaty 

18 or any other means, including— 

19 (1) an agreement between the Indian tribe and 

20 the United States; 

21 (2) Federal law (including regulations); 

22 (3) an Executive order; or 

23 (4) a judicial decree. 

24 (e) ADJUDICATION OF WATER RIGHTS.—Nothing in 

25 this Act diminishes or affects the ability of the Secretary 


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1 to join an adjudication of rights to the use of water pursu2 ant to subsection (a), (b), or (c) of section 208 of the De3 partment of Justice Appropriation Act, 1953 (43 U.S.C. 

4 666). 

5 (f) DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE AUTHORITY.— 

6 Nothing in this Act affects the authority, jurisdiction, or 

7 responsibility of the Department of Commerce to manage, 

8 control, or regulate fish or fish habitats under the Magnu9 son-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act 

10 (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.). 

11 (g) EFFECT ON OTHER AUTHORITIES.— 

12 (1) PRIVATE PROPERTY PROTECTION.—Nothing 

13 in this Act permits the use of funds made available 

14 to carry out this Act to acquire real property or a 

15 real property interest without the written consent of 

16 each owner of the real property or real property in17 terest. 

18 (2) MITIGATION.—Nothing in this Act permits 

19 the use of funds made available to carry out this Act 

20 for fish and wildlife mitigation purposes under— 

21 (A) the Federal Water Pollution Control 

22 Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.); 

23 (B) the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act 

24 (16 U.S.C. 661 et seq.); 


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1 (C) the Water Resources Development Act 

2 of 1986 (Public Law 99–662; 100 Stat. 4082); 

3 or 

4 (D) any other Federal law or court settle5 ment. 

6 (3) CLEAN WATER ACT.—Nothing in this Act 

7 affects or alters any provision of the Federal Water 

8 Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.), in9 cluding any definition in that Act. 

10 SEC. 13. NONAPPLICABILITY OF FEDERAL ADVISORY COM11 MITTEE ACT. 

12 The Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) 

13 shall not apply to— 

14 (1) the Board; or 

15 (2) any Partnership. 

16 SEC. 14. FUNDING. 

17 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

18 (1) FISH HABITAT CONSERVATION PROJECTS.— 

19 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Sec20 retary $7,200,000 for each of fiscal years 2014 

21 through 2018 to provide funds for fish habitat con22 servation projects approved under section 6(f), of 

23 which 5 percent shall be made available for each fis24 cal year for projects carried out by Indian tribes. 


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1 (2) NATIONAL FISH HABITAT CONSERVATION

2 PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM.— 

3 (A) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to 

4 be appropriated to the Secretary for each of fis5 cal years 2014 through 2018 for the National 

6 Fish Habitat Conservation Partnership Pro7 gram, and to carry out section 11, an amount 

8 equal to 5 percent of the amount appropriated 

9 for the applicable fiscal year pursuant to para10 graph (1). 

11 (B) REQUIRED TRANSFERS.—The Sec12 retary shall annually transfer to other Federal 

13 departments and agencies such percentage of 

14 the amounts made available pursuant to sub15 paragraph (A) as is required to support partici16 pation by those departments and agencies in 

17 the National Fish Habitat Conservation Part18 nership Program pursuant to the interagency 

19 operational plan under section 7(c). 

20 (3) TECHNICAL AND SCIENTIFIC ASSISTANCE.— 

21 There are authorized to be appropriated for each of 

22 fiscal years 2014 through 2018 to carry out, and 

23 provide technical and scientific assistance under, sec24 tion 8— 


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1 (A) $500,000 to the Secretary for use by 

2 the United States Fish and Wildlife Service; 

3 (B) $500,000 to the Assistant Adminis4 trator for use by the National Oceanic and At5 mospheric Administration; and 

6 (C) $500,000 to the Secretary for use by 

7 the United States Geological Survey. 

8 (4) PLANNING AND ADMINISTRATIVE EX9 PENSES.—There is authorized to be appropriated to 

10 the Secretary for each of fiscal years 2014 through 

11 2018 for use by the Board, the Director, and the 

12 Assistant Administrator for planning and adminis13 trative expenses an amount equal to 3 percent of the 

14 amount appropriated for the applicable fiscal year 

15 pursuant to paragraph (1). 

16 (b) AGREEMENTS AND GRANTS.—The Secretary 

17 may— 

18 (1) on the recommendation of the Board, and 

19 notwithstanding sections 6304 and 6305 of title 31, 

20 United States Code, and the Federal Financial As21 sistance Management Improvement Act of 1999 (31 

22 U.S.C. 6101 note; Public Law 106–107), enter into 

23 a grant agreement, cooperative agreement, or con24 tract with a Partnership or other entity for a fish 


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1 habitat conservation project or restoration or en2 hancement project; 

3 (2) apply for, accept, and use a grant from any 

4 individual or entity to carry out the purposes of this 

5 Act; and 

6 (3) make funds available to any Federal depart7 ment or agency for use by that department or agen8 cy to provide grants for any fish habitat protection 

9 project, restoration project, or enhancement project 

10 that the Secretary determines to be consistent with 

11 this Act. 

12 (c) 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 that is exempt 

17 from taxation under section 501(a) of that 

18 Code to solicit private donations to carry out 

19 the purposes of this Act; and 

20 (B) accept donations of funds, property, 

21 and services to carry out the purposes of this 

22 Act. 

23 (2) TREATMENT.—A donation accepted under 

24 this section— 


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1 (A) shall be considered to be a gift or be2 quest to, or otherwise for the use of, the United 

3 States; and 

4 (B) may be— 

5 (i) used directly by the Secretary; or 

6 (ii) provided to another Federal de7 partment or agency through an inter8 agency agreement. 

Æ 


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