I 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5096

To assist in the conservation of flagship species throughout the world. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 15, 2004

Mr. GILCHREST introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Resources 

A BILL

To assist in the conservation of flagship species throughout 

the world.

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 ‘‘Flagship Species Con5 servation Act of 2004’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) Numerous species of fauna have continued 

9 to decline to the point that the long-term survival of 

10 those species in the wild is in serious jeopardy. 
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1 (2) Many of those species are listed under sec2 tion 4 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 

3 U.S.C. 1533) or in Appendix I or II of the Conven4 tion on International Trade in Endangered Species 

5 of Wild Fauna and Flora. 

6 (3) There are insufficient resources available 

7 for addressing the threats facing those species, 

8 which will require the joint commitment and effort 

9 of countries within the range of those species, the 

10 United States and other countries, and the private 

11 sector. 

12 (4) The grant programs established by the Con13 gress for tigers, rhinoceroses, Asian elephants, Afri14 can elephants, great apes, neotropical migratory 

15 birds, and marine turtles have proven to be ex16 tremely successful, provide Federal funds for con17 servation projects in an efficient and expeditious 

18 manner, and encourage additional support for con19 servation in countries where those species exist in 

20 the wild. 

21 (5) A new grant program modeled on the exist22 ing programs for tigers, rhinoceroses, elephants, 

23 great apes, neotropical migratory birds, and marine 

24 turtles would provide an effective means to assist in 
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1 the conservation of flagship species for which there 

2 are no existing grant programs. 

3 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to conserve 

4 flagship species of fauna throughout the world, and the 

5 ecosystems on which those species depend, by supporting 

6 the conservation programs for those species and the 

7 CITES Secretariat, promoting partnerships between the 

8 public and private sectors, and providing financial re9 sources for those programs and partnerships. 

10 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

11 In this Act: 

12 (1) ACCOUNT.—The term ‘‘Fund’’ means the 

13 Flagship Species Conservation Fund established by 

14 section 5. 

15 (2) CITES.—The term ‘‘CITES’’ means the 

16 Convention on International Trade in Endangered 

17 Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, done at Wash18 ington March 3, 1973 (27 UST 1087; TIAS 8249), 

19 including its appendices and amendments. 

20 (3) CONSERVATION.—The term ‘‘conservation’’ 

21 means the use of methods and procedures necessary 

22 to bring a flagship species to the point at which 

23 there are sufficient populations in the wild to ensure 

24 that the species does not become extinct, including—
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1 (A) protection and management of popu2 lations of a flagship species; 

3 (B) maintenance, management, protection, 

4 and restoration of habitat of a flagship species; 

5 (C) research and monitoring; 

6 (D) law enforcement; and 

7 (E) community outreach and education. 

8 (4) FISH OR WILDLIFE.—The term ‘‘fish or 

9 wildlife’’ means any mammal, fish, bird, or reptile. 

10 (5) FLAGSHIP SPECIES.—The term ‘‘flagship 

11 species’’—

12 (A) subject to subparagraph (B), means a 

13 species of fish or wildlife—

14 (i) that is listed as an endangered 

15 species or threatened species under section 

16 4 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 

17 (16 U.S.C. 1533) or that is listed in Ap18 pendix I or II of CITES; 

19 (ii) whose range is wholly outside of 

20 the United States; and 

21 (iii) that appeals to the public and has 

22 other features that make it suitable for 

23 communicating conservation concerns; and 
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1 (B) does not include African elephants, 

2 Asian elephants, rhinoceros, tigers, great apes, 

3 neotropical migratory birds, and marine turtles. 

4 (6) MULTINATIONAL SPECIES CONSERVATION

5 FUND.—The term ‘‘Multinational Species Conserva6 tion Fund’’ means the fund established under the 

7 heading ‘‘multinational species conservation fund’’ in 

8 title I of the Department of the Interior and Related 

9 Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999 (16 U.S.C. 

10 4246). 

11 (7) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

12 the Secretary of the Interior. 

13 SEC. 4. FLAGSHIP SPECIES CONSERVATION ASSISTANCE. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the availability of 

15 funds, the Secretary shall use amounts in the Fund to pro16 vide financial assistance for projects for the conservation 

17 of that flagship species throughout the world, for which 

18 project proposals are approved by the Secretary in accord19 ance with this section. 

20 (b) PROJECT PROPOSALS.—

21 (1) ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS.—A proposal for a 

22 project for the conservation of a flagship species 

23 may be submitted to the Secretary by—

24 (A) any relevant wildlife management au25 thority of a country that has within its bound-
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1 aries any part of the range of a flagship spe2 cies, if the agency has authority over fish or 

3 wildlife and the activities of the agency directly 

4 or indirectly affect the species; 

5 (B) the CITES Secretariat; or 

6 (C) any person with demonstrated exper7 tise in the conservation of that flagship species. 

8 (2) REQUIRED INFORMATION.—A project pro9 posal shall include—

10 (A) the name of the individual with pri11 mary responsibility for conducting the project; 

12 (B) a succinct statement of—

13 (i) the purposes of the project and the 

14 methodology for implementing the project, 

15 including an assessment of the status of 

16 the flagship species that is the subject of 

17 the project; and 

18 (ii) how the project will benefit that 

19 species and other species that reside within 

20 the same habitat; 

21 (C) a description of the qualifications of 

22 the individuals who will conduct the project; 

23 (D) an estimate of the funds and time re24 quired to complete the project; 
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1 (E) evidence of support for the project by 

2 appropriate governmental entities of countries 

3 in which the project will be conducted, if the 

4 Secretary determines that such support is re5 quired for the success of the project; 

6 (F) information regarding the source and 

7 amount of matching funds available for the 

8 project; and 

9 (G) any other information that the Sec10 retary considers to be necessary for evaluating 

11 the eligibility of the project for funding under 

12 this Act. 

13 (c) PROJECT REVIEW AND APPROVAL.—

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

15 (A) not later than 30 days after receiving 

16 a project proposal, provide a copy of the pro17 posal to other Federal officials, as appropriate; 

18 and 

19 (B) review each project proposal in a time20 ly manner to determine whether the proposal 

21 meets the criteria specified in subsection (d). 

22 (2) CONSULTATION; APPROVAL OR DIS23 APPROVAL.—Not later than 180 days after receiving 

24 a project proposal, and subject to the availability of 
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1 funds, the Secretary, after consulting with other 

2 Federal officials, as appropriate, shall—

3 (A) consult on the proposal with the gov4 ernment of each country in which the project is 

5 to be conducted; 

6 (B) after taking into consideration any 

7 comments resulting from the consultation, ap8 prove or disapprove the project proposal; and 

9 (C) provide written notification of the ap10 proval or disapproval to the person that sub11 mitted the project proposal, other Federal offi12 cials, and each country described in subpara13 graph (A). 

14 (d) CRITERIA FOR APPROVAL.—The Secretary may 

15 approve a project proposal under this section if the project 

16 will help recover and sustain viable populations of flagship 

17 species in the wild by assisting efforts in foreign countries 

18 to implement flagship species conservation programs. 

19 (e) PROJECT SUSTAINABILITY.—To the maximum 

20 extent practicable, in determining whether to approve 

21 project proposals under this section, the Secretary shall 

22 give preference to conservation projects that are designed 

23 to ensure effective, long-term conservation of flagship spe24 cies and their nesting habitats. 
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1 (f) MATCHING FUNDS.—In determining whether to 

2 approve project proposals under this section, the Secretary 

3 shall give preference to projects for which matching funds 

4 are available. 

5 (g) PROJECT REPORTING.—

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each person that receives 

7 assistance under this section for a project shall sub8 mit to the Secretary periodic reports (at such inter9 vals as the Secretary may require) that include all 

10 information that the Secretary, after consultation 

11 with other government officials, determines is nec12 essary to evaluate the progress and success of the 

13 project for the purposes of ensuring positive results, 

14 assessing problems, and fostering improvements. 

15 (2) AVAILABILITY TO THE PUBLIC.—Reports 

16 under paragraph (1), and any other documents re17 lating to projects for which financial assistance is 

18 provided under this Act, shall be made available to 

19 the public. 

20 SEC. 5. FLAGSHIP SPECIES CONSERVATION FUND. 

21 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 

22 Multinational Species Conservation Fund a separate ac23 count to be known as the ‘‘Flagship Species Conservation 

24 Fund’’, consisting of—
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1 (1) amounts transferred to the Secretary of the 

2 Treasury for deposit into the Fund under subsection 

3 (e); 

4 (2) amounts appropriated to the Fund under 

5 section 6; and 

6 (3) any interest earned on investment of 

7 amounts in the Fund under subsection (c). 

8 (b) EXPENDITURES FROM FUND.—

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

10 request by the Secretary, the Secretary of the Treas11 ury shall transfer from the Fund to the Secretary, 

12 without further appropriation, such amounts as the 

13 Secretary determines are necessary to carry out sec14 tion 4. 

15 (2) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Of the 

16 amounts in the account available for each fiscal 

17 year, the Secretary may expend not more than 3 

18 percent, or up to $80,000, whichever is greater, to 

19 pay the administrative expenses necessary to carry 

20 out this Act. 

21 (c) INVESTMENT OF AMOUNTS.—

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Treas23 ury shall invest such portion of the Fund as is not, 

24 in the judgment of the Secretary of the Treasury, 

25 required to meet current withdrawals. Investments 
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1 may be made only in interest-bearing obligations of 

2 the United States. 

3 (2) ACQUISITION OF OBLIGATIONS.—For the 

4 purpose of investments under paragraph (1), obliga5 tions may be acquired—

6 (A) on original issue at the issue price; or 

7 (B) by purchase of outstanding obligations 

8 at the market price. 

9 (3) SALE OF OBLIGATIONS.—Any obligation ac10 quired by the Fund may be sold by the Secretary of 

11 the Treasury at the market price. 

12 (4) CREDITS TO FUND.—The interest on, and 

13 the proceeds from the sale or redemption of, any ob14 ligations held in the Fund shall be credited to and 

15 form a part of the Fund. 

16 (d) TRANSFERS OF AMOUNTS.—

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The amounts required to be 

18 transferred to the Fund under this section shall be 

19 transferred at least monthly from the general fund 

20 of the Treasury to the Fund on the basis of esti21 mates made by the Secretary of the Treasury. 

22 (2) ADJUSTMENTS.—Proper adjustment shall 

23 be made in amounts subsequently transferred to the 

24 extent prior estimates were in excess of or less than 

25 the amounts required to be transferred. 
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1 (e) ACCEPTANCE AND USE OF DONATIONS.—The 

2 Secretary may accept and use donations to provide assist3 ance under section 4. Amounts received by the Secretary 

4 in the form of donations shall be transferred to the Sec5 retary of the Treasury for deposit in the Fund. 

6 SEC. 6. ADVISORY GROUP. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—To assist in carrying out this Act, 

8 the Secretary may convene an advisory group consisting 

9 of individuals representing public and private organiza10 tions actively involved in the conservation of flagship spe11 cies. 

12 (b) PUBLIC PARTICIPATION.—

13 (1) MEETINGS.—The Advisory Group shall—

14 (A) ensure that each meeting of the advi15 sory group is open to the public; and 

16 (B) provide, at each meeting, an oppor17 tunity for interested persons to present oral or 

18 written statements concerning items on the 

19 agenda. 

20 (2) NOTICE.—The Secretary shall provide to 

21 the public timely notice of each meeting of the advi22 sory group. 

23 (3) MINUTES.—Minutes of each meeting of the 

24 advisory group shall be kept by the Secretary and 

25 shall be made available to the public. 
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1 (c) EXEMPTION FROM FEDERAL ADVISORY COM2 MITTEE ACT.—The Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 

3 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to the advisory group. 

4 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

5 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Fund 

6 $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2005 through 2007. 

7 SEC. 8. REPORT TO CONGRESS. 

8 Not later than October 1, 2005, the Secretary shall 

9 submit to the Congress a report on the results and effec10 tiveness of the program carried out under this Act, includ11 ing— 

12 (1) recommendations concerning how this Act 

13 might be improved, including guidelines for deter14 mining species that are flagship species; and 

15 (2) recommendations concerning whether the 

16 Fund should be continued in the future. 

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