IB 
Union Calendar No. 290
108TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 3378
[Report No. 108–507] 
To assist in the conservation of marine turtles and the nesting habitats 
of marine turtles in foreign countries. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
OCTOBER 28, 2003
Mr. GILCHREST introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Resources 
MAY 20, 2004
Additional sponsors: Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA, Mr. PALLONE, Mr. ABERCROMBIE, 
Mr. CASE, Mr. GREENWOOD, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Mr. SHAW, Mr. 
HASTINGS of Florida, Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts, Mr. OLVER, Ms. 
BORDALLO, Mr. SAXTON, Mr. MARKEY, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mr. DEUTSCH, 
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN, Mrs. CAPPS, Mr. FILNER, Mr. GEORGE MILLER of 
California, Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida, Mr. KILDEE, Mr. 
MORAN of Virginia, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Mrs. DAVIS of California, Mr. 
ALLEN, Mr. DEFAZIO, Mr. INSLEE, Mr. WELDON of Florida, Mr. SAND-
ERS, Mr. GOSS, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. OWENS, Mr. WEXLER, Mr. WEINER, 
Mr. UDALL of New Mexico, Mr. SERRANO, Mr. GALLEGLY, Mr. HONDA, 
Ms. NORTON, Mr. RANGEL, Mr. ENGEL, Mr. CRENSHAW, and Mr. 
BLUMENAUER 
MAY 20, 2004
Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union 
and ordered to be printed
A BILL 
To assist in the conservation of marine turtles and the 
nesting habitats of marine turtles in foreign countries.
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 ‘‘Marine Turtle Con-
servation Act of 2003’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 
(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that—
(1) marine turtle populations have declined to 
the point that the long-term survival of the logger-
head, green, hawksbill, Kemp’s ridley, olive ridley, 
and leatherback turtle in the wild is in serious jeop-
ardy; 
(2) 6 of the 7 recognized species of marine tur-
tles are listed as threatened or endangered species 
under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 
U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), and all 7 species have been in-
cluded in appendix I of CITES; 
(3) because marine turtles are long-lived, late-
maturing, and highly migratory, marine turtles are 
particularly vulnerable to the impacts of human ex-
ploitation and habitat loss;
(4) illegal international trade seriously threat-
ens wild populations of some marine turtle species, 
particularly the hawksbill turtle; 
(5) the challenges facing marine turtles are im-
mense, and the resources available have not been 
sufficient to cope with the continued loss of nesting 
habitats caused by human activities and the con-
sequent diminution of marine turtle populations; 
(6) because marine turtles are flagship species 
for the ecosystems in which marine turtles are 
found, sustaining healthy populations of marine tur-
tles provides benefits to many other species of wild-
life, including many other threatened or endangered 
species; 
(7) marine turtles are important components of 
the ecosystems that they inhabit, and studies of wild 
populations of marine turtles have provided impor-
tant biological insights; 
(8) changes in marine turtle populations are 
most reliably indicated by changes in the numbers of 
nests and nesting females; and 
(9) the reduction, removal, or other effective 
addressing of the threats to the long-term viability 
of populations of marine turtles will require the joint 
commitment and effort of—
(A) countries that have within their bound-
aries marine turtle nesting habitats; and 
(B) persons with expertise in the conserva-
tion of marine turtles. 
(b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to assist 
in the conservation of marine turtles and the nesting habi-
tats of marine turtles in foreign countries by supporting 
and providing financial resources for projects to conserve 
the nesting habitats, conserve marine turtles in those habi-
tats, and address other threats to the survival of marine 
turtles. 
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) CITES.—The term ‘‘CITES’’ means the 
Convention on International Trade in Endangered 
Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (27 UST 1087; 
TIAS 8249). 
(2) CONSERVATION.—The term ‘‘conservation’’ 
means the use of all methods and procedures nec-
essary to protect nesting habitats of marine turtles 
in foreign countries and of marine turtles in those 
habitats, including—
(A) protection, restoration, and manage-
ment of nesting habitats;