I 
119TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1124 
To require the Secretary of Commerce to establish and carry out a grant 
program to conserve, restore, and manage kelp forest ecosystems, and 
for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 7, 2025 
Mr. HUFFMAN introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Natural Resources 
A BILL 
To require the Secretary of Commerce to establish and carry 
out a grant program to conserve, restore, and manage 
kelp forest ecosystems, 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 ‘‘Help Our Kelp Act 
of 2025’’. 
SEC. 2. GRANTS TO CONSERVE, RESTORE, AND MANAGE 
KELP FOREST ECOSYSTEMS. 
(a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con-
gress that the purposes of this section and the grants au-
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thorized by this section are to support native wild kelp 
forest ecosystems and restore native wild kelp to enable 
long term recovery of naturally functioning kelp forest eco-
systems that do not involve commercial or mechanized 
harvesting. 
(b) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 180 days after 
the date of the enactment of this section, the Adminis-
trator shall establish and carry out a grant program under 
which the Administrator shall award grants to eligible en-
tities described in subsection (c) to carry out projects de-
scribed in subsection (d) relating to the conservation, res-
toration, or management of kelp forest ecosystems. 
(c) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—To be eligible for a grant 
under this section, an eligible entity shall— 
(1) be— 
(A) a member of the fishing industry; 
(B) an institution of higher education; 
(C) a nonprofit organization; 
(D) an Indian Tribe; 
(E) a State agency; or 
(F) a local government; 
(2) consult or collaborate with any of the other 
entities described in paragraph (1) throughout the 
development or implementation of a project relating 
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to the conservation, restoration, or management of 
kelp forest ecosystems; and 
(3) submit to the Administrator an application 
describing such project at such time, in such man-
ner, and containing such information as the Admin-
istrator may require, including information regard-
ing what criteria will be used to monitor and evalu-
ate the effectiveness of the project and the qualifica-
tions of the applicant to conduct, monitor, and 
evaluate the project. 
(d) ELIGIBLE PROJECTS.—The Administrator shall 
award grants to eligible entities for projects that— 
(1) address greatest relative regional declines in 
kelp forest ecosystems; 
(2) focus on elements such as— 
(A) long term ecosystem resilience of kelp 
forest ecosystems; 
(B) long term socioeconomic resilience re-
lated to kelp forest ecosystems; 
(C) kelp forest seeding and connectivity; 
(D) re-establishing or recovering natural 
trophic relationships and structure to support 
resilience of kelp forest ecosystems through ac-
tions such as predator control through targeted 
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urchin removal and recovery of sunflower sea 
stars; 
(E) monitoring and assessment of kelp for-
est ecosystems; 
(F) integration of Indigenous knowledge 
and cultural practices into restoration and mon-
itoring of kelp forest ecosystems through con-
sultation with Indian Tribes or promotion of 
Federal or State co-management with Indian 
Tribes; or 
(G) other efforts to restore kelp forest eco-
systems and prevent large scale losses of kelp 
forests; or 
(3) are identified by Indian Tribes or Federal 
or State restoration or management plans as focal 
areas for recovery of kelp forests and associated spe-
cies. 
(e) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para-
graph (2), the amount of Federal funding received 
as a grant under this section by an eligible entity 
may not exceed 85 percent of the total cost of the 
project for which a grant is awarded. For the pur-
poses of this paragraph, the non-Federal share of 
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project costs may be provided by in-kind contribu-
tions and other noncash support. 
(2) WAIVER.—The Administrator may waive all 
or part of the requirement in paragraph (1) if the 
Administrator determines that— 
(A) no reasonable means are available 
through which an eligible entity applying for a 
grant under this section can meet such require-
ment; 
(B) the probable benefit of such project 
outweighs the public interest in such require-
ment; and 
(C) the project undertaken is established 
on lands owned by or held in trust for an In-
dian Tribe. 
(f) GUIDELINES AND CRITERIA.—The Administrator 
shall— 
(1) issue guidelines regarding the implementa-
tion of the grant program established under sub-
section (b); and 
(2) establish criteria based on best practices, 
the best available science, and community engage-
ment to rank eligible projects under subsection (d). 
(g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 
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(1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be 
appropriated to the Administrator to carry out this 
section $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2026 
through 2030. 
(2) AVAILABILITY TO INDIAN TRIBES.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—Of the amount author-
ized to be appropriated by paragraph (1) for a 
fiscal year, subject to appropriations, not less 
than $750,000 shall be made available to award 
grants under this section to eligible entities that 
are Indian Tribes. 
(B) CONTINGENCY; OUTREACH.—If no In-
dian Tribe is awarded a grant under this sec-
tion in a fiscal year— 
(i) for that fiscal year, the amount de-
scribed in subparagraph (A) shall be made 
available to award grants under this sec-
tion to other eligible entities; and 
(ii) the Administrator shall conduct 
outreach to inform Indian Tribes and orga-
nizations that work with Indian Tribes of 
the grant program established under sub-
section (b). 
(h) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
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(1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis-
trator’’ means the Secretary of Commerce, acting 
through the Administrator of the National Oceanic 
and Atmospheric Administration. 
(2) FISHING INDUSTRY.—The term ‘‘fishing in-
dustry’’ means— 
(A) processors; 
(B) commercial fishermen; and 
(C) recreational fishermen. 
(3) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian Tribe’’ 
has the meaning given such term in section 4 of the 
Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 
Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). 
(4) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 
term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 
meaning given such term in section 101(a) of the 
Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)). 
(5) KELP
FOREST
ECOSYSTEM.—The term 
‘‘kelp forest ecosystem’’ means a naturally occur-
ring, biotic system dominated by canopy-forming, 
stipitate, or prostrate benthic macroalgae and associ-
ated taxa. 
(6) NONPROFIT
ORGANIZATION.—The term 
‘‘nonprofit organization’’ means an organization— 
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