I 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 564 
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 
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. 
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 en-
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(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 
responsive 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 
protracted 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 tem-
porary expedited procedure is urgently needed to 
allow removal of the minimum number of California 
sea lions as is necessary to protect the passage of 
threatened and endangered salmonids in the Colum-
bia River and its tributaries. 
(13) On December 21, 2010, the independent 
Pinniped-Fishery 
Interaction 
Task 
Force 
rec-
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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 re-
moval of sea lions that the States determined are 
having a ‘‘significant negative impact’’ on the recov-
ery of Columbia 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 
Interaction Task Force to consider the States’ appli-
cation. This Act will ensure the necessary authority 
for permits under the Marine Mammal Protection 
Act of 1972 to be issued in a timely fashion. 
(16) During a June 14, 2011, hearing, the 
Committee on Natural Resources of the House of 
Representatives received testimony from State and 
tribal witnesses expressing concern that significant 
pinniped predation of important Northwest fish re-
sources other than salmonids is severely impacting 
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fish stocks determined 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 restricted control of preda-
tory pinnipeds’ impact only with respect to endan-
gered 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 sub-
section (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 
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 healthy population that is not listed as an 
endangered species or threatened species under the 
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Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et 
seq.), to protect endangered and threatened species 
of salmon and other nonlisted 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
AUTHOR-
ITY.—Subject to subparagraph (B), a permit 
issued under this subsection shall not authorize 
the lethal taking of more than 10 sea lions dur-
ing 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 ef-
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fect under this subsection shall not exceed one 
percent of the annual potential biological re-
moval level. 
‘‘(4) DELEGATION
OF
PERMIT
AUTHORITY.— 
Any eligible entity may delegate to any other eligible 
entity the authority to administer its permit author-
ity under this subsection. 
‘‘(5) NEPA.—Section 102(2)(C) of the Na-
tional 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
AUTHOR-
ITY.—If, 5 years after enactment, the Secretary, 
after consulting with State and tribal fishery man-
agers, determines that lethal removal authority is no 
longer necessary to protect salmonid and other fish 
species from sea lion predation, may suspend the 
issuance of permits under this subsection. 
‘‘(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 Con-
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federated 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’’. 
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 list-
ings of fish stocks in the Columbia River is a vital 
priority; 
(2) permit holders exercising lethal removal au-
thority pursuant to the amendment made by this 
Act should be trained in wildlife management; and 
(3) the Federal Government should continue to 
fund lethal and nonlethal removal measures for pre-
venting such predation. 
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. 
Æ 
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