IB 
Union Calendar No. 108 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2188 
[Report No. 111–201] 
To authorize the Secretary of the Interior, through the United States Fish 
and Wildlife Service, to conduct a Joint Venture Program to protect, 
restore, enhance, and manage migratory bird populations, their habitats, 
and the ecosystems they rely on, through voluntary actions on public 
and private lands, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 30, 2009 
Mr. KRATOVIL (for himself, Mr. KIND, Mr. BROWN of South Carolina, and 
Mr. WITTMAN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Natural Resources 
JULY 10, 2009 
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 April 30, 2009] 
A BILL 
To authorize the Secretary of the Interior, through the 
United States Fish and Wildlife Service, to conduct a 
Joint Venture Program to protect, restore, enhance, and 
manage migratory bird populations, their habitats, and 
the ecosystems they rely on, through voluntary actions 
on public and private lands, 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 TITLES. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Joint Ventures for Bird 
Habitat Conservation Act of 2009’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 
(1) migratory birds are of great ecological and 
economic value to the Nation, contributing to biologi-
cal diversity, advancing the well-being of human com-
munities through pollination, seed dispersal, and 
other ecosystem services, and bringing tremendous en-
joyment to the tens of millions of Americans who 
study, watch, feed, or hunt these birds; 
(2) sustainable populations of migratory birds 
depend on the conservation, protection, restoration, 
and enhancement of terrestrial, wetland, marine, and 
other aquatic habitats throughout their ranges in the 
United States, as well as the rest of North America, 
the Caribbean, and Central and South America; 
(3) birds are good indicators of environmental 
health and provide early warning of the impacts of 
environmental change, helping to yield the most out 
of every dollar invested in conservation; 
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(4) human and environmental stressors are caus-
ing the decline of populations of many migratory bird 
species, many of them once common, and climate 
change will exacerbate the impacts of these stressors 
on migratory bird populations; 
(5) the coordination of Federal, State, tribal, 
and local government natural resource conservation 
efforts and the formation of partnerships that include 
a diversity of nongovernmental conservation organi-
zations, private landowners, and other relevant stake-
holders is necessary to accomplish the conservation of 
migratory bird populations, their habitats, and the 
ecosystem functions they rely on; 
(6) hunters, through their purchase of Federal 
migratory bird hunting stamps and State hunting li-
censes, have long supported the conservation of migra-
tory birds and their habitats in the United States 
through the various State and Federal programs that 
are supported by the fees charged for such purchases; 
(7) the Department of the Interior, through the 
United States Fish and Wildlife Service, is authorized 
under a number of broad statutes to undertake many 
activities with partners to conserve natural resources, 
including migratory birds and their habitat; 
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(8) through these authorities, the Service has cre-
ated and supported a number of joint ventures with 
diverse partners to help protect, manage, enhance, 
and restore migratory bird habitat throughout much 
of the United States and to conserve migratory bird 
species; 
(9) the North American Waterfowl Management 
Plan, adopted by the United States and Canada in 
1986, with Mexico joining as a signatory in 1994, 
was the first truly landscape-level approach to con-
serving migratory game birds and the wetland habi-
tats on which they depend, and became the foundation 
for the voluntary formation of Joint Ventures; 
(10) since the adoption of the North American 
Waterfowl Management Plan, joint ventures have ex-
panded their application to all native birds and other 
wildlife species that depend on wetlands and associ-
ated upland habitats, resulting in significant con-
servation benefits over the last twenty years; 
(11) States possess broad trustee and manage-
ment authority over fish and wildlife resources within 
their borders, and have utilized their authorities to 
undertake conservation programs to conserve resident 
and migratory birds and their habitats; 
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(12) consistent with applicable Federal and 
State laws, the Federal Government and the States 
each have management responsibilities affecting fish 
and wildlife resources, and should work cooperatively 
in fulfilling these responsibilities; 
(13) other domestic and international conserva-
tion projects authorized under the Neotropical Migra-
tory Bird Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 6101 et seq.) 
and the North American Wetlands Conservation Act 
(16 U.S.C. 4401 et seq.), and additional bird con-
servation projects authorized under other Federal au-
thorities, can expand and increase the effectiveness of 
the joint ventures in protecting and enhancing migra-
tory bird habitats throughout the different ranges of 
species native to the United States; and 
(14) the voluntary partnerships fostered by these 
joint ventures have served as innovative models for co-
operative and effective landscape conservation, with 
far-reaching benefits to other fish and wildlife popu-
lations, and similar joint ventures should be author-
ized specifically to reinforce the importance and mul-
tiple benefits of these models to encourage adaptive re-
source management and the implementation of flexi-
ble conservation strategies in the 21st century. 
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(b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to establish 
a program administered by the Director, in coordination 
with other Federal agencies with management authority 
over fish and wildlife resources and the States, to develop, 
implement, and support innovative, voluntary, cooperative, 
and effective conservation strategies and conservation ac-
tions to— 
(1) promote, primarily, sustainable populations 
of migratory birds, and, secondarily, the fish and 
wildlife species associated with their habitats; 
(2) encourage stakeholder and government part-
nerships consistent with the goals of protecting, im-
proving, and restoring habitat; 
(3) establish, implement, and improve science- 
based migratory bird conservation plans and promote 
and facilitate broader landscape-level conservation of 
fish and wildlife habitat; and 
(4) coordinate related conservation activities of 
the Service and other Federal agencies to maximize 
the efficient and effective use of funds appropriated or 
otherwise made available to support projects and ac-
tivities to enhance bird populations and other popu-
lations of fish and wildlife and their habitats. 
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
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(1) CONSERVATION
ACTION.—The term ‘‘con-
servation action’’ means activities that— 
(A) support the protection, restoration, 
adaptive management, conservation, or enhance-
ment of migratory bird populations, their terres-
trial, wetland, marine, or other habitats, and 
other wildlife species supported by those habitats, 
including— 
(i) biological and geospatial planning; 
(ii) landscape and conservation design; 
(iii) habitat protection, enhancement, 
and restoration; 
(iv) monitoring and tracking; 
(v) applied research; and 
(vi) public outreach and education; 
(B) are conducted on lands or waters that— 
(i) are administered for the long-term 
conservation of such lands or waters and 
the migratory birds thereon, including the 
marine environment; or 
(ii) are not primarily held or managed 
for conservation but provide habitat value 
for migratory birds; and 
(C) incorporate adaptive management and 
science-based monitoring, where applicable, to 
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improve outcomes and ensure efficient and effec-
tive use of Federal funds. 
(2) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means the 
Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife Serv-
ice. 
(3) IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.—The term ‘‘Imple-
mentation Plan’’ means an Implementation Plan ap-
proved by the Director under section 5. 
(4) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ has 
the meaning given that term in section 4 of the In-
dian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 
Act (25 U.S.C. 450b). 
(5) JOINT VENTURE.—The term ‘‘Joint Venture’’ 
means a self-directed, voluntary partnership, estab-
lished and conducted in accordance with section 5. 
(6) MANAGEMENT BOARD.—The term ‘‘Manage-
ment Board’’ means a Joint Venture Management 
Board established in accordance with section 5. 
(7) MIGRATORY
BIRDS.—The term ‘‘migratory 
birds’’ means those species included in the list of mi-
gratory birds that appears in section 10.13 of title 50, 
Code of Federal Regulations, under the authority of 
the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. 
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(8) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘Program’’ means the 
Joint Ventures Program conducted in accordance 
with this Act. 
(9) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of the Interior. 
(10) SERVICE.—The term ‘‘Service’’ means the 
United States Fish and Wildlife Service. 
(11) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means— 
(A) any State of the United States, the Dis-
trict of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto 
Rico, Guam, the Virgin Islands, American 
Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern 
Mariana Islands; and 
(B) one or more agencies of a State govern-
ment responsible under State law for managing 
fish or wildlife resources. 
SEC. 4. JOINT VENTURES PROGRAM. 
(a) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary shall conduct, 
through the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, a 
Joint Ventures Program administered by the Director. The 
Director, through the Program, shall develop an adminis-
trative framework for the approval and establishment and 
implementation of Joint Ventures, that— 
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(1) provides financial and technical assistance to 
support regional migratory bird conservation part-
nerships; 
(2) develops and implements plans to protect 
and enhance migratory bird populations throughout 
their range, that are focused on regional landscapes 
and habitats that support those populations; 
(3) complements and supports activities by the 
Secretary and the Director to fulfill obligations 
under— 
(A) the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (16 
U.S.C. 701 et seq.); 
(B) the Migratory Bird Conservation Act 
(16 U.S.C. 715 et seq.); 
(C) the Neotropical Migratory Bird Con-
servation Act (16 U.S.C. 6101 et seq.); 
(D) the North American Wetlands Con-
servation Act (16 U.S.C. 4401 et seq.); 
(E) the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act 
of 1980 (16 U.S.C. 2901 et seq.); and 
(F) the Partners for Fish and Wildlife Act 
(16 U.S.C. 3771 et seq.); and 
(4) support the goals and objectives of— 
(A) the North American Waterfowl Manage-
ment Plan; 
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(B) the United States Shorebird Conserva-
tion Plan; 
(C) the North American Waterbird Con-
servation Plan; 
(D) the Partners in Flight North American 
Landbird Conservation Plan; and 
(E) other treaties, conventions, agreements, 
or strategies entered into by the United States 
and implemented by the Secretary that promote 
the conservation of migratory bird populations 
and their habitats. 
(b) GUIDELINES.—Within 180 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act the Secretary, through the Director, 
shall publish in the Federal Register guidelines for the im-
plementation of this Act, including regarding requirements 
for approval of proposed Joint Ventures and administra-
tion, oversight, coordination among, and evaluation of ap-
proved Joint Ventures. 
(c) COORDINATION WITH STATES.—In the adminis-
tration of the program authorized under this section, the 
Director shall coordinate and cooperate with the States to 
fulfill the purposes of this Act. 
SEC. 5. JOINT VENTURE ESTABLISHMENT AND ADMINIS-
TRATION. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 
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(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Director, through the 
Program, may enter into an agreement with eligible 
partners described in paragraph (2) to establish a 
Joint Venture to fulfill one or more of the purposes 
set forth in paragraphs (1) through (3) of section 
2(b). 
(2) ELIGIBLE PARTNERS.—The eligible partners 
referred to in paragraph (1) are the following: 
(A) Federal and State agencies with juris-
diction over migratory bird resources, their habi-
tats, or that implement program activities that 
affect migratory bird habitats or the ecosystems 
they rely on. 
(B) Affected regional, local, and tribal gov-
ernments, private landowners, land managers, 
and other private stakeholders. 
(C) Nongovernmental organizations with ex-
pertise in bird conservation or fish and wildlife 
conservation or natural resource and landscape 
management generally. 
(D) Other relevant stakeholders. 
(b) MANAGEMENT BOARD.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—An agreement under this sec-
tion for a Joint Venture shall establish a Management 
Board in accordance with this subsection. 
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(2) MEMBERSHIP.—The Management Board 
shall include a diversity of members representing 
stakeholder interests from the appropriate geographic 
region, including, as appropriate, representatives 
from the Service and other Federal agencies that have 
management authority over fish and wildlife re-
sources on public lands or in the marine environ-
ment, or that implement programs that affect migra-
tory bird habitats, and representatives from the 
States, and may include— 
(A) regional governments and Indian tribes; 
(B) academia or the scientific community; 
(C) nongovernmental landowners or land 
managers; 
(D) nonprofit conservation or other relevant 
organizations with expertise in migratory bird 
conservation, or in fish and wildlife conservation 
generally; and 
(E) private organizations with a dedicated 
interest in conserving migratory birds and their 
habitats. 
(3) FUNCTIONS AND RESPONSIBILITIES.— 
(A) 
ORGANIZATION
AND
OPERATIONS 
PLAN.—A Management Board, in accordance 
with the guidelines published by the Director 
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under section 4 and in coordination with the Di-
rector, shall develop, publish, and comply with a 
plan that specifies the organizational structure of 
the Joint Venture and prescribes its operational 
practices and procedures. 
(B) ADMINISTRATION.—Subject to applica-
ble Federal and State law, the Management 
Board shall manage the personnel and oper-
ations of the Joint Venture, including— 
(i) by appointing a coordinator for the 
Joint Venture in consultation with the Di-
rector, to manage the daily and long-term 
operations of the Joint Venture; 
(ii) approval of other full- or part-time 
administrative and technical non-Federal 
employees as the Management Board deter-
mines necessary to perform the functions of 
the Joint Venture, meet objectives specified 
in the Implementation Plan, and fulfill the 
purpose of this Act; and 
(iii) establishment of committees, steer-
ing groups, focus groups, geographic or tax-
onomic groups, or other organizational enti-
ties to assist in implementing the relevant 
Implementation Plan. 
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(4) USE OF SERVICE AND FEDERAL AGENCY EM-
PLOYEES.—Subject to the availability of appropria-
tions and upon the request from a Management 
Board, and after consultation with and approval of 
the Director, the head of any Federal agency may de-
tail to the Management Board, on a reimbursable or 
nonreimbursable basis, any agency personnel to assist 
the Joint Venture in performing its functions under 
this Act. 
(c) IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.— 
(1) SUBMISSION OF PLAN TO DIRECTOR.—Before 
the Director enters into an agreement to establish a 
Joint Venture under subsection (a), the Management 
Board for the Joint Venture shall submit to the Direc-
tor a proposed Implementation Plan that shall con-
tain, at a minimum, the following elements: 
(A) A strategic framework for migratory 
bird conservation that includes biological plan-
ning; conservation design; habitat restoration, 
protection, and enhancement; applied research; 
and monitoring and evaluation activities. 
(B) Provisions for effective communication 
among member participants within the Joint 
Venture. 
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(C) A long-term strategy to conduct public 
outreach and education regarding the purposes 
and activities of the Joint Venture and activities 
to regularly communicate to the general public 
information generated by the Joint Venture. 
(D) Coordination with laws and conserva-
tion plans referred to in section 4(a)(3) and (4) 
that are relevant to migratory birds, and other 
relevant regional, national, or international ini-
tiatives identified by the Director to conserve mi-
gratory birds, their habitats, ecological functions, 
and associated populations of fish and wildlife. 
(E) An organizational plan that— 
(i) identifies the initial membership of 
the Management Board and establishes pro-
cedures for updating the membership of the 
Management Board as appropriate; 
(ii) describes the organizational struc-
ture of the Joint Venture, including pro-
posed committees and subcommittees, and 
procedures for revising and updating the 
structure, as necessary; and 
(iii) provides a strategy to increase 
stakeholder participation or membership in 
the Joint Venture. 
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(F) Procedures to coordinate the develop-
ment, implementation, oversight, monitoring, 
tracking, and reporting of conservation actions 
approved by the Management Board and an 
evaluation process to determine overall effective-
ness of activities undertaken by the Joint Ven-
ture. 
(G) A strategy to encourage the contribution 
of non-Federal financial resources, donations, 
gifts and in-kind contributions to support the ob-
jectives of the Joint Venture and fulfillment of 
the Implementation Plan. 
(2) REVIEW.—The Director shall— 
(A) coordinate the review of a proposed Im-
plementation Plan submitted under this section; 
and 
(B) ensure that such plan is circulated for 
review for a period not to exceed 90 days, to— 
(i) bureaus within the Service and 
other appropriate bureaus or agencies with-
in the Department of the Interior; 
(ii) appropriate regional migratory 
bird Flyway Councils; 
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(iii) national and international boards 
that oversee bird conservation initiatives 
under the plans specified in section 4(a)(4); 
(iv) relevant State agencies, regional 
governmental entities, and Indian tribes; 
(v) nongovernmental conservation or-
ganizations, academic institutions, or other 
stakeholders engaged in existing Joint Ven-
tures that have knowledge or expertise of the 
geographic or ecological scope of the Joint 
Venture; and 
(vi) other relevant stakeholders consid-
ered necessary by the Director to ensure a 
comprehensive review of the proposed Imple-
mentation Plan. 
(3) APPROVAL.—The Director shall approve an 
Implementation Plan submitted by the Management 
Board for a Joint Venture if the Director finds that— 
(A) the plan provides for implementation of 
conservation actions to conserve waterfowl and 
other native migratory birds and their habitats 
and ecosystems either— 
(i) in a specific geographic area of the 
United States; or 
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(ii) across the range of a specific spe-
cies or similar group of like species; 
(B) the members of the Joint Venture— 
(i) accept the responsibility for imple-
mentation of national or international bird 
conservation plans in the region of the 
United States to which the plan applies; 
and 
(ii) have demonstrated to the satisfac-
tion of the Director the capacity to imple-
ment conservation actions identified in the 
plan, including (I) the design, funding, 
monitoring, and tracking of conservation 
projects that advance the objectives of the 
Joint Venture; and (II) reporting and con-
duct of public outreach regarding such 
projects; and 
(C) the plan maximizes, to the extent prac-
ticable, coordination with other relevant and ac-
tive conservation plans or programs within the 
geographic scope of the Joint Venture to conserve, 
protect, recover, or restore migratory bird habi-
tats and other fish and wildlife habitat within 
the operating region of the Joint Venture. 
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SEC. 6. GRANTS AND OTHER ASSISTANCE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection 
(b), and subject to the availability of appropriations, the 
Director may award grants of financial assistance to imple-
ment a Joint Venture through— 
(1) support of the activities of the Management 
Board of the Joint Venture and to pay for necessary 
administrative costs and services, personnel, and 
meetings, travel, and other business activities; and 
(2) support for specific conservation actions and 
other activities necessary to carry out the Implemen-
tation Plan. 
(b) LIMITATION.—A Joint Venture is not eligible for 
assistance or support authorized in this section unless the 
Joint Venture is operating under an Implementation Plan 
approved by the Director under section 5. 
(c) CONSERVATION ACTION GRANT CRITERIA.—The 
Secretary, through the Director, within 180 days after date 
of enactment of this Act and after consultation with rep-
resentatives from Management Boards and equivalent enti-
ties of joint ventures referred to in section 8, shall publish 
guidelines for determining funding allocations among joint 
ventures and priorities for funding among conservation ac-
tion proposals to meet the purpose of this Act and respective 
Implementation Plans. 
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(d) MATCHING REQUIREMENTS.—If a Management 
Board determines that two or more proposed conservation 
actions are of equal value toward fulfillment of the relevant 
Implementation Plan, priority shall be given to the action 
or actions for which there exist non-Federal matching con-
tributions that are equal to or exceed the amount of Federal 
funds available for such action or actions. 
(e) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary, through 
the Director, may provide technical and administrative as-
sistance for implementation of Joint Ventures and the ex-
penditure of financial assistance under this subsection. 
(f) ACCEPTANCE AND USE OF DONATIONS.—The Sec-
retary, through the Director, may accept and use donations 
of funds, gifts, and in-kind contributions to provide assist-
ance under this section. 
SEC. 7. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. 
(a) ANNUAL REPORTS BY MANAGEMENT BOARDS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting through 
the Director, shall— 
(A) require each Management Board to sub-
mit annual reports for all approved Joint Ven-
tures of the Management Board; and 
(B) publish within 180 days after the date 
of enactment of this Act guidelines to implement 
this subsection. 
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(2) CONTENTS.—Each annual report shall in-
clude— 
(A) a description and justification of all 
conservation actions approved and implemented 
by the Management Board during the period cov-
ered by the report; 
(B) when appropriate based upon the goals 
and objectives of an Implementation Plan, an es-
timate of the total number of acres of migratory 
bird habitat either restored, protected, or en-
hanced as a result of such conservation actions; 
(C) the amounts and sources of Federal and 
non-Federal funding for such conservation ac-
tions; 
(D) the amounts and sources of funds ex-
pended for administrative and other expenses of 
the Joint Venture of the Management Board, in-
cluding all donations, gifts, and in-kind con-
tributions provided for the Joint Venture; 
(E) the status of progress made in achieving 
the strategic framework of the Implementation 
Plan of such Joint Venture and fulfillment of the 
purpose of this Act; and 
(F) other elements considered necessary by 
the Director to insure transparency and account-
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