I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4487 
To assist in the conservation of the North Atlantic right whale by supporting 
and providing financial resources for North Atlantic right whale conserva-
tion programs and projects of persons with expertise required for the 
conservation of North Atlantic right whales, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 16, 2021 
Mr. RUTHERFORD (for himself and Mrs. MURPHY of Florida) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, 
and in addition to the Committee on the Budget, for a period to be subse-
quently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 
provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To assist in the conservation of the North Atlantic right 
whale by supporting and providing financial resources 
for North Atlantic right whale conservation programs 
and projects of persons with expertise required for the 
conservation of North Atlantic right whales, 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 ‘‘Scientific Assistance 
for Very Endangered North Atlantic Right Whales Act of 
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2021’’ or the ‘‘SAVE North Atlantic Right Whales Act 
of 2021’’. 
TITLE I—NORTH ATLANTIC 
RIGHT WHALE CONSERVATION 
SEC. 101. NORTH ATLANTIC RIGHT WHALE CONSERVATION 
ASSISTANCE. 
(a) ASSISTANCE.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the availability of 
funds and in consultation with other Federal offi-
cials, the Secretary of Commerce (in this title re-
ferred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall provide competi-
tive financial assistance, including multiyear grants, 
for projects for the conservation of North Atlantic 
right whales for which project proposals are ap-
proved by the Secretary in accordance with this sec-
tion. 
(2) USE OF EXISTING AUTHORITIES.—Assist-
ance provided under this section shall be carried out 
in a manner consistent with authorities available to 
the Secretary under the Endangered Species Act of 
1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and the Marine 
Mammal Protection Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1361 et 
seq.). 
(b) PROJECT PROPOSALS.— 
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(1) ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS.—A project proposal 
may be submitted to the Secretary under this section 
by— 
(A) relevant State and tribal agencies, re-
search institutions, and nonprofit organizations 
with expertise required for the conservation of 
North Atlantic right whales; and 
(B) any other individual or entity, as de-
termined appropriate by the Secretary, with the 
expertise required for the conservation of North 
Atlantic right whales, including large whale 
disentanglement teams approved by the Na-
tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 
and members in good standing of the National 
Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Re-
sponse Program, sectors of the shipping and 
fishing industries, fishing gear manufacturers, 
and rope manufacturers. 
(2) FEDERAL PARTNERSHIP OPPORTUNITIES.— 
A Federal agency may not be a lead entity or receive 
funding for a project under this section, but may be 
included as a partner or collaborator on a project 
that receives such funding. 
(3) REQUIRED ELEMENTS.—A project proposal 
shall include— 
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(A) a statement of the purposes of the 
project; 
(B) the name of the entity or individual 
with overall responsibility for the project; 
(C) a description of the qualifications of 
the entity or individuals that will conduct the 
project; 
(D) a description of— 
(i) methods for project implementa-
tion and outcome assessment; 
(ii) staffing and stakeholder engage-
ment for the project; 
(iii) the logistics of the project; 
(iv) an estimated timeline for the 
project; and 
(v) 
anticipated 
outcomes 
of 
the 
project; 
(E) a proposed budget for the funds and 
time required to complete the project; 
(F) information regarding the source and 
amount of matching funding available for the 
project; 
(G) information that demonstrates the 
clear potential of the project to contribute to 
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the conservation of North Atlantic right whales; 
and 
(H) any other information that the Sec-
retary considers to be necessary for evaluating 
the eligibility of the project for funding under 
this Act. 
(c) ANNUAL GRANT PROJECT PROPOSAL SOLICITA-
TION, REVIEW, AND APPROVAL.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall annu-
ally— 
(A) solicit project proposals for grants 
under this section; 
(B) provide to other Federal officials, as 
appropriate, copies of each proposal submitted 
in response to the solicitation; and 
(C) review each such proposal on a time-
line that recognizes the urgency of the declining 
North Atlantic right whale population to deter-
mine whether the proposal meets the criteria 
specified in subsection (d). 
(2) 
CONSULTATION; 
APPROVAL
OR
DIS-
APPROVAL.—Subject to the availability of funds, the 
Secretary shall, with respect to each project proposal 
submitted under this section, and after consulting 
with other Federal officials, as appropriate— 
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(A) consult with respect to the proposal 
with the government of each State and foreign 
country in which the project is to be conducted; 
(B) after taking into consideration any 
comments resulting from the consultation and 
any potential losses that could be incurred to 
the fishing industry as a result of the proposal, 
approve or disapprove the proposal; and 
(C) provide written notification of the ap-
proval or disapproval to the individual or entity 
that submitted the proposal, other Federal offi-
cials, and each State and foreign country de-
scribed in subparagraph (A). 
(d) CRITERIA FOR APPROVAL.—The Secretary may 
approve a project proposal under this section if the project 
shows promise for contributing to recovering and sus-
taining a viable population of North Atlantic right whales 
in the wild by assisting efforts to— 
(1) implement conservation programs; 
(2) address the unintentional conflicts between 
humans and North Atlantic right whales through de-
velopment, testing, and use of innovative technology 
or other methods to reduce the lethal and sub-lethal 
effects on North Atlantic right whales from vessel 
collisions and fishing gear entanglements; 
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(3) promote cooperative projects on such topics 
with foreign governments; or 
(4) promote cooperative projects on such topics 
with affected local communities, small businesses 
such as fishermen, others in the private sector, or 
nongovernmental organizations. 
(e) PRIORITY.—To the extent practicable, in deter-
mining whether to approve project proposals under this 
section, the Secretary shall prioritize projects that are de-
signed to reduce the lethal and sub-lethal effects of human 
activities on North Atlantic right whales. In prioritizing 
such projects, the Secretary shall prioritize, among such 
projects, projects that are cooperative in nature and in-
clude fishing or shipping sector participants. 
(f) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para-
graph (3), the non-Federal share of the costs of an 
activity conducted with financial assistance under 
this section shall be 25 percent of such costs. 
(2) IN-KIND
CONTRIBUTIONS.—The Secretary 
may apply to the non-Federal share of an activity 
conducted with financial assistance under this sec-
tion the amount of funds, and the fair market value 
of property and services, provided by non-Federal 
sources and used for the activity. 
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