[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3605 Introduced in Senate (IS)]








109th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3605

To enable the Great Lakes Fishery Commission to investigate the effects 
   of migratory birds on sustained productivity of stocks of fish of 
                   common concern in the Great Lakes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 29, 2006

Mr. Levin (for himself and Ms. Stabenow) introduced the following bill; 
 which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and 
                              Public Works

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To enable the Great Lakes Fishery Commission to investigate the effects 
   of migratory birds on sustained productivity of stocks of fish of 
                   common concern in the Great Lakes.

    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 ``Great Lakes Migratory Bird Research 
and Management Act''.

SEC. 2. AUTHORITY OF GREAT LAKES FISHERY COMMISSION TO INVESTIGATE 
              IMPACTS OF MIGRATORY BIRDS ON SUSTAINED PRODUCTIVITY OF 
              STOCKS OF FISH OF COMMON CONCERN IN THE GREAT LAKES.

    (a) Authority Under Great Lakes Fishery Act of 1956.--The Great 
Lakes Fishery Act of 1956 (16 U.S.C. 931 et seq.) is amended by 
inserting after section 4 (16 U.S.C. 933) the following:

``SEC. 5. AUTHORITY OF COMMISSION TO INVESTIGATE MIGRATORY BIRDS AND 
              FACILITATE MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS.

    ``(a) In General.--The Commission may carry out activities relating 
to investigation of migratory bird depredation on commercial fisheries 
and sport fisheries in the Great Lakes, including--
            ``(1) developing a coordinated program of research on the 
        impact of migratory birds on fishery stocks in the Great Lakes;
            ``(2) recommending measures to permit the maximum sustained 
        productivity of fishery stocks in the Great Lakes;
            ``(3) developing control and management protocols to be 
        applied by--
                    ``(A) a cooperating Federal, State, or tribal 
                agency of the United States with migratory bird 
                management authority; and
                    ``(B) a cooperating Federal, Provincial, or First 
                Nation agency of Canada with migratory bird management 
                authority;
            ``(4) incorporating control and management protocols into a 
        common memorandum of understanding relating to the requirements 
        for--
                    ``(A) determining the necessity to control a 
                migratory bird population;
                    ``(B) documenting the measures taken to preclude 
                non-target species mortality;
                    ``(C) assessing control effectiveness; and
                    ``(D) documenting control results; and
            ``(5) ratifying the memorandum of understanding (including 
        the issuance of permits under authority delegated to the 
        Commission under section 3(c) of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act 
        (16 U.S.C. 704(c)) by an agency described in paragraph (3).
    ``(b) Consultation.--In carrying out the activities described in 
subsection (a), the Commission shall consult with the Department of the 
Interior.
    ``(c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to the Commission to carry out this section $5,500,000 for 
fiscal year 2007 and each fiscal year thereafter, of which not less 
than $1,000,000 shall be used each fiscal year for migratory bird 
management activities to be conducted by an agency that is a signatory 
to the memorandum of understanding described in subsection (a).''.
    (b) Authority Under Migratory Bird Treaty Act.--Section 3 of the 
Migratory Bird Treaty Act (16 U.S.C. 704) is amended by adding at the 
end the following:
    ``(c) Issuance of Permits.--
            ``(1) Definition of great lakes fishery commission.--In 
        this subsection, the term `Great Lakes Fishery Commission' 
        means the commission established under article II of the 
        Convention on Great Lakes Fisheries, signed at Washington 
        September 10, 1954 (6 UST 2836; TIAS 3326), between the United 
        States and Canada.
            ``(2) Issuance.--On the request of the Great Lakes Fishery 
        Commission, the Secretary shall issue a permit to--
                    ``(A) a cooperating Federal, State, or tribal 
                agency of the United States that is a signatory to a 
                memorandum of understanding with the Great Lakes 
                Fishery Commission; and
                    ``(B) a cooperating Federal, Provincial, or First 
                Nation agency of Canada that is a signatory to a 
                memorandum of understanding with the Great Lakes 
                Fishery Commission.
            ``(3) Purpose of permits.--A recipient of a permit issued 
        under paragraph (2) shall be authorized to manage and take 
        migratory birds for the purpose of controlling migratory bird 
        depredation on commercial fisheries and sport fisheries in the 
        Great Lakes.''.
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