IB 
Union Calendar No. 651 
114TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 564 
[Report No. 114–830] 
To amend the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 to reduce predation 
on endangered Columbia River salmon and other nonlisted species, and 
for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 27, 2015 
Ms. HERRERA BEUTLER (for herself and Mr. SCHRADER) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 
NOVEMBER 17, 2016 
Additional sponsors: Mr. NEWHOUSE, Mrs. MCMORRIS RODGERS, and Mr. 
SIMPSON 
NOVEMBER 17, 2016 
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 
House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on January 27, 2015] 
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A BILL 
To amend the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 to 
reduce predation on endangered Columbia River salmon 
and other nonlisted species, and for other purposes. 
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Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Endangered Salmon and 
Fisheries Predation Prevention Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The Congress finds the following: 
(1) There are 13 groups of salmon and steelhead 
that are listed as threatened species or endangered 
species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 
that migrate through the lower Columbia River. 
(2) The people of the Northwest United States 
are united in their desire to restore healthy salmon 
and steelhead runs, as they are integral to the region’s 
culture and economy. 
(3) The Columbia River treaty tribes retain im-
portant rights with respect to salmon and steelhead. 
(4) Federal, State, and tribal governments have 
spent billions of dollars to assist the recovery of Co-
lumbia River salmon and steelhead populations. 
(5) One of the factors impacting salmonid popu-
lations is increased predation by marine mammals, 
including California sea lions. 
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(6) The population of California sea lions has 
increased 6-fold over the last 3 decades, and is cur-
rently greater than 250,000 animals. 
(7) In recent years, more than 1,000 California 
sea lions have been foraging in the lower 145 miles 
of the Columbia River up to Bonneville Dam during 
the peak spring salmonid run before returning to the 
California coast to mate. 
(8) The percentage of the spring salmonid run 
that has been eaten or killed by California sea lions 
at Bonneville Dam has increased 7-fold since 2002. 
(9) In recent years, California sea lions have 
with greater frequency congregated near Bonneville 
Dam and have entered the fish ladders. 
(10) These California sea lions have not been re-
sponsive to extensive hazing methods employed near 
Bonneville Dam to discourage this behavior. 
(11) The process established under the 1994 
amendment to the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 
1972 to address aggressive sea lion behavior is pro-
tracted and will not work in a timely enough manner 
to protect threatened and endangered salmonids in the 
near term. 
(12) In the interest of protecting Columbia River 
threatened and endangered salmonids, a temporary 
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expedited procedure is urgently needed to allow re-
moval of the minimum number of California sea lions 
as is necessary to protect the passage of threatened 
and endangered salmonids in the Columbia River and 
its tributaries. 
(13) On December 21, 2010, the independent 
Pinniped-Fishery 
Interaction 
Task 
Force 
rec-
ommended lethally removing more of the California 
sea lions in 2011. 
(14) On August 18, 2011, the States of Wash-
ington, Oregon, and Idaho applied to the National 
Marine Fisheries Service, under section 120(b)(1)(A) 
of the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 (16 
U.S.C. 1389(b)(1)(A)), for the lethal removal of sea 
lions that the States determined are having a ‘‘sig-
nificant negative impact’’ on the recovery of Colum-
bia River and Snake River salmon and steelhead. 
(15) On September 12, 2011, the National Ma-
rine Fisheries Service announced it was accepting the 
States’ application for lethal removal of sea lions and 
that it would reconvene the Pinniped-Fishery Inter-
action Task Force to consider the States’ application. 
This Act will ensure the necessary authority for per-
mits under the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 
1972 to be issued in a timely fashion. 
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(16) During a June 14, 2011, hearing, the Com-
mittee on Natural Resources of the House of Rep-
resentatives received testimony from State and tribal 
witnesses expressing concern that significant pinniped 
predation of important Northwest fish resources other 
than salmonids is severely impacting fish stocks deter-
mined by both Federal and State fishery management 
agencies to be at low levels of abundance, and that 
this cannot be addressed by section 120 of the Marine 
Mammal Protection Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1389), 
which as in effect before the enactment of this Act re-
stricted control of predatory pinnipeds’ impact only 
with respect to endangered salmonids. 
SEC. 3. TAKING OF SEA LIONS ON THE COLUMBIA RIVER 
AND ITS TRIBUTARIES TO PROTECT ENDAN-
GERED AND THREATENED SPECIES OF SALM-
ON AND OTHER NONLISTED FISH SPECIES. 
Section 120 of the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 
1972 (16 U.S.C. 1389) is amended by striking subsection 
(f) and inserting the following: 
‘‘(f) TEMPORARY MARINE MAMMAL REMOVAL AU-
THORITY ON THE WATERS OF THE COLUMBIA RIVER OR 
ITS TRIBUTARIES.— 
‘‘(1) REMOVAL
AUTHORITY.—Notwithstanding 
any other provision of this Act, the Secretary may 
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issue a permit to an eligible entity authorizing the 
intentional lethal taking on the waters of the Colum-
bia River and its tributaries of sea lions that are part 
of a population that is not categorized as depleted 
under this Act or listed as an endangered species or 
threatened species under the Endangered Species Act 
of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), to protect endan-
gered and threatened species of salmon and other non-
listed fish species. 
‘‘(2) PERMIT PROCESS.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity may 
apply to the Secretary for a permit under this 
subsection. 
‘‘(B) DEADLINE
FOR
CONSIDERATION
OF 
APPLICATION.—The Secretary shall approve or 
deny an application for a permit under this sub-
section by not later than 30 days after receiving 
the application. 
‘‘(C) DURATION
OF
PERMIT.—A permit 
under this subsection shall be effective for no 
more than one year after the date it is issued, 
but may be renewed by the Secretary. 
‘‘(3) LIMITATIONS.— 
‘‘(A) LIMITATION ON PERMIT AUTHORITY.— 
Subject to subparagraph (B), a permit issued 
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under this subsection shall not authorize the le-
thal taking of more than 10 sea lions during the 
duration of the permit. 
‘‘(B) LIMITATION
ON
ANNUAL
TAKINGS.— 
The cumulative number of sea lions authorized to 
be taken each year under all permits in effect 
under this section shall not exceed one percent of 
the annual potential biological removal level. 
‘‘(4) DELEGATION OF PERMIT AUTHORITY.—Any 
eligible entity may delegate to any other eligible enti-
ty the authority to administer its permit authority 
under this subsection. 
‘‘(5) NEPA.—Section 102(2)(C) of the National 
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 
4332(2)(C)) shall not apply with respect to this sub-
section and the issuance of any permit under this 
subsection during the 5-year period beginning on the 
date of the enactment of this subsection. 
‘‘(6) SUSPENSION OF PERMITTING AUTHORITY.— 
If, 5 years after enactment, the Secretary, after con-
sulting with State and tribal fishery managers, deter-
mines that lethal removal authority is no longer nec-
essary to protect salmonid and other fish species from 
sea lion predation, may suspend the issuance of per-
mits under this subsection. 
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‘‘(7) ELIGIBLE ENTITY DEFINED.—In this sub-
section, the term ‘eligible entity’ means each of the 
State of Washington, the State of Oregon, the State 
of Idaho, the Nez Perce Tribe, the Confederated Tribes 
of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, the Confederated 
Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon, 
the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama 
Nation, and the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish 
Commission. 
‘‘(8) TRAINING
IN
WILDLIFE
MANAGEMENT.— 
Permit holders exercising lethal removal authority 
pursuant to this Act shall be trained in wildlife man-
agement.’’. 
SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 
It is the sense of the Congress that— 
(1) preventing predation by sea lions, recovery of 
listed salmonid stocks, and preventing future listings 
of fish stocks in the Columbia River is a vital pri-
ority; and 
(2) the Federal Government should continue to 
fund lethal and nonlethal removal measures for pre-
venting such predation. 
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SEC. 5. TREATY RIGHTS OF FEDERALLY RECOGNIZED IN-
DIAN TRIBES. 
Nothing in this Act or the amendment made by this 
Act shall be construed to affect or modify any treaty or 
other right of any federally recognized Indian tribe. 
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Union Calendar No. 651 
114TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 564 
[Report No. 114–830] 
A BILL 
To amend the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 
1972 to reduce predation on endangered Colum-
bia River salmon and other nonlisted species, and 
for other purposes. 
NOVEMBER 17, 2016 
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Com-
mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, 
and ordered to be printed 
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