II 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3605 

To enable the Great Lakes Fishery Commission to investigate the effects 

of migratory birds on sustained productivity of stocks of fish of common 

concern in the Great Lakes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 29, 2006 

Mr. LEVIN (for himself and Ms. STABENOW) introduced the following bill; 

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

Public Works 

A BILL 

To enable the Great Lakes Fishery Commission to investigate the effects of migratory birds on sustained productivity of stocks of fish of common concern in the Great 

Lakes. 

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 ‘‘Great Lakes Migratory 

5 Bird Research and Management Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. AUTHORITY OF GREAT LAKES FISHERY COMMIS2 SION TO INVESTIGATE IMPACTS OF MIGRA3 TORY BIRDS ON SUSTAINED PRODUCTIVITY 

4 OF STOCKS OF FISH OF COMMON CONCERN 

5 IN THE GREAT LAKES. 

6 (a) AUTHORITY UNDER GREAT LAKES FISHERY ACT

7 OF 1956.—The Great Lakes Fishery Act of 1956 (16 

8 U.S.C. 931 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 

9 4 (16 U.S.C. 933) the following: 

10 ‘‘SEC. 5. AUTHORITY OF COMMISSION TO INVESTIGATE MI11 GRATORY BIRDS AND FACILITATE MANAGE12 MENT PROGRAMS. 

13 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Commission may carry out 

14 activities relating to investigation of migratory bird depre15 dation on commercial fisheries and sport fisheries in the 

16 Great Lakes, including— 

17 ‘‘(1) developing a coordinated program of re18 search on the impact of migratory birds on fishery 

19 stocks in the Great Lakes; 

20 ‘‘(2) recommending measures to permit the 

21 maximum sustained productivity of fishery stocks in 

22 the Great Lakes; 

23 ‘‘(3) developing control and management proto24 cols to be applied by— 


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1 ‘‘(A) a cooperating Federal, State, or tribal 

2 agency of the United States with migratory bird 

3 management authority; and 

4 ‘‘(B) a cooperating Federal, Provincial, or 

5 First Nation agency of Canada with migratory 

6 bird management authority; 

7 ‘‘(4) incorporating control and management 

8 protocols into a common memorandum of under9 standing relating to the requirements for— 

10 ‘‘(A) determining the necessity to control a 

11 migratory bird population; 

12 ‘‘(B) documenting the measures taken to 

13 preclude non-target species mortality; 

14 ‘‘(C) assessing control effectiveness; and 

15 ‘‘(D) documenting control results; and 

16 ‘‘(5) ratifying the memorandum of under17 standing (including the issuance of permits under 

18 authority delegated to the Commission under section 

19 3(c) of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (16 U.S.C. 

20 704(c)) by an agency described in paragraph (3). 

21 ‘‘(b) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out the activities 

22 described in subsection (a), the Commission shall consult 

23 with the Department of the Interior. 

24 ‘‘(c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

25 is authorized to be appropriated to the Commission to 


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1 carry out this section $5,500,000 for fiscal year 2007 and 

2 each fiscal year thereafter, of which not less than 

3 $1,000,000 shall be used each fiscal year for migratory 

4 bird management activities to be conducted by an agency 

5 that is a signatory to the memorandum of understanding 

6 described in subsection (a).’’. 

7 (b) AUTHORITY UNDER MIGRATORY BIRD TREATY

8 ACT.—Section 3 of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (16 

9 U.S.C. 704) is amended by adding at the end the fol10 lowing: 

11 ‘‘(c) ISSUANCE OF PERMITS.— 

12 ‘‘(1) DEFINITION OF GREAT LAKES FISHERY

13 COMMISSION.—In this subsection, the term ‘Great 

14 Lakes Fishery Commission’ means the commission 

15 established under article II of the Convention on 

16 Great Lakes Fisheries, signed at Washington Sep17 tember 10, 1954 (6 UST 2836; TIAS 3326), be18 tween the United States and Canada. 

19 ‘‘(2) ISSUANCE.—On the request of the Great 

20 Lakes Fishery Commission, the Secretary shall issue 

21 a permit to— 

22 ‘‘(A) a cooperating Federal, State, or tribal 

23 agency of the United States that is a signatory 

24 to a memorandum of understanding with the 

25 Great Lakes Fishery Commission; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) a cooperating Federal, Provincial, or 

2 First Nation agency of Canada that is a signa3 tory to a memorandum of understanding with 

4 the Great Lakes Fishery Commission. 

5 ‘‘(3) PURPOSE OF PERMITS.—A recipient of a 

6 permit issued under paragraph (2) shall be author7 ized to manage and take migratory birds for the 

8 purpose of controlling migratory bird depredation on 

9 commercial fisheries and sport fisheries in the Great 

10 Lakes.’’. 

Æ 


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