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 bio-
logical diversity, advancing the well-being of human 
communities through pollination, seed dispersal, and 
other ecosystem services, and bringing tremendous 
enjoyment 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;
(4) human and environmental stressors are 
causing the decline of populations of many migra-
tory 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 in-
clude a diversity of nongovernmental conservation 
organizations, private landowners, and other relevant 
stakeholders is necessary to accomplish the conserva-
tion 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 mi-
gratory birds and their habitats in the United States 
through the various State and Federal programs 
that are supported by the fees charged for such pur-
chases; 
(7) the Department of the Interior, through the 
United States Fish and Wildlife Service, is author-
ized under a number of broad statutes to undertake 
many activities with partners to conserve natural re-
sources, including migratory birds and their habitat;
(8) through these authorities, the Service has 
created and supported a number of joint ventures 
with diverse partners to help protect, manage, en-
hance, and restore migratory bird habitat through-
out much of the United States and to conserve mi-
gratory bird species; 
(9) the North American Waterfowl Manage-
ment Plan, adopted by the United States and Can-
ada in 1986, with Mexico joining as a signatory in 
1994, was the first truly landscape-level approach to 
conserving migratory game birds and the wetland 
habitats on which they depend, and became the 
foundation for the voluntary formation of Joint Ven-
tures; 
(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 20 years; 
(11) States possess broad trustee and manage-
ment authority over fish and wildlife resources with-
in their borders, and have utilized their authorities 
to undertake conservation programs to conserve resi-
dent and migratory birds and their habitats;
(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 Mi-
gratory Bird Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 6101 et 
seq.) and the North American Wetlands Conserva-
tion Act (16 U.S.C. 4401 et seq.), and additional 
bird conservation projects authorized under other 
Federal authorities, can expand and increase the ef-
fectiveness of the joint ventures in protecting and 
enhancing migratory 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 cooperative and effective landscape conservation, 
with far-reaching benefits to other fish and wildlife 
populations, and similar joint ventures should be au-
thorized specifically to reinforce the importance and 
multiple benefits of these models to encourage 
adaptive resource management and the implementa-
tion of flexible conservation strategies in the 21st 
century. 
(b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to estab-
lish a program administered by the Director, in coordina-
tion with other Federal agencies with management author-
ity over fish and wildlife resources and the States, to de-
velop, implement, and support innovative, voluntary, coop-
erative, and effective conservation strategies and conserva-
tion actions 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 
partnerships consistent with the goals of protecting, 
improving, and restoring habitat; 
(3) establish, implement, and improve science- 
based migratory bird conservation plans and pro-
mote and facilitate broader landscape-level conserva-
tion 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 
activities to enhance bird populations and other pop-
ulations of fish and wildlife and their habitats.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) CONSERVATION ACTION.—The term ‘‘con-
servation action’’ means activities that— 
(A) support the protection, restoration, 
adaptive management, conservation, or en-
hancement of migratory bird populations, their 
terrestrial, wetland, marine, or other habitats, 
and other wildlife species supported by those 
habitats, including— 
(i) biological and geospatial planning; 
(ii) landscape and conservation de-
sign; 
(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 
improve outcomes and ensure efficient and ef-
fective use of Federal funds. 
(2) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 
the Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife 
Service. 
(3) IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.—The term ‘‘Im-
plementation Plan’’ means an Implementation Plan 
approved by the Director under section 5. 
(4) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ 
has the meaning given that term in section 4 of the 
Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 
Act (25 U.S.C. 450b). 
(5) JOINT VENTURE.—The term ‘‘Joint Ven-
ture’’ means a self-directed, voluntary partnership, 
established and conducted in accordance with section 
5. 
(6) MANAGEMENT
BOARD.—The term ‘‘Man-
agement Board’’ means a Joint Venture Manage-
ment 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 author-
ity of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. 
(8) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘Program’’ means 
the Joint Ventures Program conducted in accord-
ance 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 
District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of 
Puerto Rico, Guam, the Virgin Islands, Amer-
ican Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the 
Northern Mariana Islands; and 
(B) one or more agencies of a State gov-
ernment responsible under State law for man-
aging 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 ad-
ministrative framework for the approval and establish-
ment and implementation of Joint Ventures, that— 
(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 Man-
agement Plan; 
(B) the United States Shorebird Conserva-
tion Plan; 
(C) the North American Waterbird Con-
servation Plan; 
(D) the Partners in Flight North Amer-
ican Landbird Conservation Plan; and 
(E) other treaties, conventions, agree-
ments, or strategies entered into by the United 
States and implemented by the Secretary that 
promote the conservation of migratory bird pop-
ulations 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.— 
(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 part-
ners referred to in paragraph (1) are the following: 
(A) Federal and State agencies with juris-
diction over migratory bird resources, their 
habitats, or that implement program activities 
that affect migratory bird habitats or the eco-
systems they rely on. 
(B) Affected regional, local, and tribal gov-
ernments, private landowners, land managers, 
and other private stakeholders. 
(C) Nongovernmental organizations with 
expertise in bird conservation or fish and wild-
life conservation or natural resource and land-
scape management generally. 
(D) Other relevant stakeholders. 
(b) MANAGEMENT BOARD.—
(1) IN
GENERAL.—An agreement under this 
section for a Joint Venture shall establish a Manage-
ment Board in accordance with this subsection. 
(2) MEMBERSHIP.—The Management Board 
shall include a diversity of members representing 
stakeholder interests from the appropriate geo-
graphic region, including, as appropriate, representa-
tives from the Service and other Federal agencies 
that have management authority over fish and wild-
life resources on public lands or in the marine envi-
ronment, or that implement programs that affect 
migratory 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 rel-
evant organizations with expertise in migratory 
bird conservation, or in fish and wildlife con-
servation 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 
under section 4 and in coordination with the 
Director, 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 de-
termines necessary to perform the func-
tions of the Joint Venture, meet objectives 
specified in the Implementation Plan, and 
fulfill the purpose of this Act; and
(iii) 
establishment 
of 
committees, 
steering groups, focus groups, geographic 
or taxonomic groups, or other organiza-
tional entities to assist in implementing the 
relevant Implementation Plan. 
(4) USE OF SERVICE AND FEDERAL AGENCY 
EMPLOYEES.—Subject to the availability of appro-
priations and upon the request from a Management 
Board, and after consultation with and approval of 
the Director, the head of any Federal agency may 
detail 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.—Be-
fore the Director enters into an agreement to estab-
lish a Joint Venture under subsection (a), the Man-
agement Board for the Joint Venture shall submit 
to the Director a proposed Implementation Plan that 
shall contain, 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. 
(C) A long-term strategy to conduct public 
outreach and education regarding the purposes 
and activities of the Joint Venture and activi-
ties to regularly communicate to the general 
public information generated by the Joint Ven-
ture. 
(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 
migratory birds, their habitats, ecological func-
tions, and associated populations of fish and 
wildlife. 
(E) An organizational plan that— 
(i) identifies the initial membership of 
the Management Board and establishes 
procedures 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. 
(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 effec-
tiveness of activities undertaken by the Joint 
Venture. 
(G) A strategy to encourage the contribu-
tion of non-Federal financial resources, dona-
tions, gifts and in-kind contributions to support 
the objectives of the Joint Venture and fulfill-
ment of the Implementation Plan. 
(2) REVIEW.—The Director shall— 
(A) coordinate the review of a proposed 
Implementation Plan submitted under this sec-
tion; 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 
within the Department of the Interior; 
(ii) appropriate regional migratory 
bird Flyway Councils; 
(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 
Ventures that have knowledge or expertise 
of the geographic or ecological scope of the 
Joint Venture; and 
(vi) other relevant stakeholders con-
sidered necessary by the Director to ensure 
a comprehensive review of the proposed 
Implementation 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 
(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 con-
serve, protect, recover, or restore migratory bird 
habitats and other fish and wildlife habitat 
within the operating region of the Joint Ven-
ture. 
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 im-
plement 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 
representatives from Management Boards and equivalent 
entities of joint ventures referred to in section 8, shall 
publish guidelines for determining funding allocations 
among joint ventures and priorities for funding among 
conservation action proposals to meet the purpose of this 
Act and respective Implementation Plans. 
(d) MATCHING REQUIREMENTS.—If a Management 
Board determines that two or more proposed conservation 
actions are of equal value toward fulfillment of the rel-
evant Implementation Plan, priority shall be given to the 
action or actions for which there exist non-Federal match-
ing contributions 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 adminis-
trative assistance for implementation of Joint Ventures 
and the expenditure of financial assistance under this sub-
section. 
(f) ACCEPTANCE
AND USE
OF DONATIONS.—The 
Secretary, through the Director, may accept and use dona-
tions of funds, gifts, and in-kind contributions to provide 
assistance under this section.