Title: Florida Manatee Research and Recovery Act
Policy area: Animals

Summary:
Florida Manatee Research and Recovery Act
This bill requires the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to begin to carry out research and recovery activities specific to Florida manatee populations, the subspecies Trichechus manatus latirostris, in the United States.
The Marine Mammal Commission must recommend to the USFWS steps for the protection, conservation, and recovery of the populations.
In addition, the USFWS must establish a peer-reviewed, merit-based process to award competitive grants for: (1) research regarding Florida manatees; and (2) recovery activities that assist in or promote their protection, conservation, and recovery.
Within two years, the USFWS must report on: (1) the status of Florida manatee populations, (2) research and recovery activities, (3) the manatee grant review and award process, and (4) relevant consultations conducted under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA) with respect to the Florida manatee.
Within three years, and every five years thereafter, the USFWS must report on (1) the status of the Florida manatees' health, mortality, and habitat; (2) actions taken to improve their health, reduce their mortality, and improve and protect their habitat; (3) recommendations for actions that may be taken under current law for improving their health, reducing their mortality due to humans, and improving and protecting their habitat; (4) recommendations for funding to carry out this bill; and (5) relevant consultations conducted under the ESA.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1747 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1747

   To authorize research and recovery activities to provide for the 
protection, conservation, and recovery of the Florida manatee, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             August 3, 2017

  Mr. Nelson introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
   referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To authorize research and recovery activities to provide for the 
protection, conservation, and recovery of the Florida manatee, and for 
                            other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Florida Manatee Research and 
Recovery Act''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Florida manatee.--The term ``Florida manatee'' means 
        the subspecies Trichechus manatus latirostris.
            (2) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of the Interior, acting through the Director of the United 
        States Fish and Wildlife Service.

SEC. 3. MANATEE RESEARCH AND RECOVERY.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Secretary shall begin to carry out research and 
recovery activities specific to Florida manatee populations in the 
United States.
    (b) Requirements.--The research and recovery activities under 
subsection (a) shall--
            (1) be informed by--
                    (A) the prioritized research and recovery 
                recommendations of--
                            (i) the Florida Manatee Recovery Plan 
                        (Trichechus manatus latirostris) Third 
                        Revision, published by the United States Fish 
                        and Wildlife Service and dated October 30, 
                        2001, or any subsequent revision published 
                        after the date of enactment of this Act; and
                            (ii) any other recovery, research, or 
                        conservation plan that supersedes or 
                        supplements the plan referred to in clause (i), 
                        adopted by the United States Fish and Wildlife 
                        Service after the date of enactment of this Act 
                        in accordance with applicable law;
                    (B) the research and recovery recommendations of 
                the State of Florida and other States, the waters of 
                which serve as Florida manatee habitat; and
                    (C) the research and recovery recommendations of 
                the Marine Mammal Commission under section 4;
            (2) include--
                    (A) monitoring, analyzing, and assessing Florida 
                manatee population demographics, health, causes of 
                mortality, and life history parameters, including 
                range-wide population surveys; and
                    (B) developing and implementing measures to 
                mitigate or eliminate factors that limit Florida 
                manatee recovery, including factors relating to marine 
                ecosystem health and to human activity; and
            (3) comply with the prohibitions and permitting 
        requirements of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 
        1531 et seq.), the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 (16 
        U.S.C. 1361 et seq.), and any other applicable law.

SEC. 4. MARINE MAMMAL COMMISSION RECOMMENDATIONS.

    Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, 
the Marine Mammal Commission shall recommend to the Secretary such 
steps as the Commission considers necessary or desirable for the 
protection, conservation, and recovery of Florida manatee populations 
in the United States.

SEC. 5. FLORIDA MANATEE RESEARCH AND RECOVERY GRANTS.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary shall establish a peer-reviewed, 
merit-based process to award competitive grants for--
            (1) research regarding Florida manatees; and
            (2) recovery activities that assist in or promote the 
        protection, conservation, and recovery of Florida manatees.
    (b) Peer Review Panel.--The Secretary shall establish as necessary 
a peer review panel to provide scientific advice and guidance in 
prioritizing proposals for grants under this section.
    (c) Research Grant Subjects.--Research funded by grants awarded 
under this section--
            (1) shall be in accordance with the research 
        recommendations under section 3; and
            (2) may include research on topics such as--
                    (A) causes of Florida manatee mortality;
                    (B) Florida manatee demographics and natural 
                history;
                    (C) sources and effects of poor water quality on 
                Florida manatees, including pollutants, nutrients, and 
                toxicants;
                    (D) methods and mechanisms to address the sources 
                and effects described in subparagraph (C);
                    (E) sources and effects of diseases and parasites 
                affecting Florida manatees;
                    (F) limitations on the availability of food 
                resources for Florida manatees and the impacts of food 
                limitation on Florida manatee carrying capacity;
                    (G) interactions between Florida manatees and human 
                activities in the marine environment;
                    (H) assessment of the ecological role of Florida 
                manatees in coastal marine ecosystems, including as it 
                may pertain to human welfare, resource use, and 
                ecosystem services;
                    (I) assessment of the adequacy of response and 
                contingency plans for emergencies involving Florida 
                manatees; and
                    (J) assessment of the impacts of climate change on 
                Florida manatees.
    (d) Recovery Grant Subjects.--Recovery activities funded with 
grants under this section--
            (1) shall be conducted in accordance with--
                    (A) the recovery recommendations under section 3; 
                and
                    (B) the findings of the research conducted under 
                this section; and
            (2) may include activities--
                    (A) to protect, conserve, and recover Florida 
                manatees;
                    (B) to reduce, mitigate, or eliminate potential 
                factors limiting Florida manatee populations that are 
                related to human activities, including--
                            (i) factors contributing to mortality, 
                        adversely affecting health, or restricting 
                        distribution and abundance; and
                            (ii) factors that harm or reduce the 
                        quality of Florida manatee habitat or the 
                        health of coastal marine ecosystems; and
                    (C) to implement emergency response and contingency 
                plans.

SEC. 6. REPORT TO CONGRESS.

    The Secretary shall--
            (1) not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of 
        this Act, submit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
        Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Natural 
        Resources of the House of Representatives a report on--
                    (A) the status of Florida manatee populations;
                    (B) the research and recovery activities under this 
                Act;
                    (C) the grant review and award process authorized 
                by this Act; and
                    (D) any relevant formal consultations conducted 
                during the 2 years preceding the date of enactment of 
                this Act, and any other consultations the Secretary 
                determines to be relevant, under section 7 of the 
                Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1536) with 
                respect to the Florida manatee; and
            (2) not later than 3 years after the date of enactment of 
        this Act, and every 5 years thereafter, submit to the Committee 
        on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the 
        Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives 
        and make available to the public a report that includes--
                    (A) an evaluation of--
                            (i) Florida manatee health;
                            (ii) causes of Florida manatee mortality; 
                        and
                            (iii) the interactions of Florida manatees 
                        with coastal and inland aquatic ecosystems;
                    (B) an evaluation of actions taken--
                            (i) to improve Florida manatee health;
                            (ii) to reduce Florida manatee mortality; 
                        and
                            (iii) to improve and protect Florida 
                        manatee habitat;
                    (C) recommendations for actions that may be taken 
                under current law--
                            (i) to improve Florida manatee health;
                            (ii) to reduce the occurrence of human-
                        related Florida manatee mortality; and
                            (iii) to improve the health of the coastal 
                        marine ecosystems that serve as Florida manatee 
                        habitat;
                    (D) recommendations for funding to carry out this 
                Act; and
                    (E) a description of any formal consultations that 
                the Secretary determines to be relevant to the research 
                and recovery activities authorized by this Act 
                conducted in accordance with section 7 of the 
                Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1536) after 
                the date of enactment of this Act.

SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    (a) In General.--There is authorized to be appropriated to the 
Secretary to carry out the provisions of this Act $5,000,000 for each 
of fiscal years 2018 through 2022.
    (b) Administrative Expenses.--Of the amounts made available each 
fiscal year under subsection (a), the Secretary may expend not more 
than the greater of 7 percent of the amounts or $150,000 to pay the 
administrative expenses incurred carrying out this Act.
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