1.This Act may be cited as the
Great Cats and Rare Canids Act of
2007
.
2.Congress finds the following:
(1)Many wild populations of felids and canids,
once considered common, are in decline, and many have declined to the point
that their long-term survival in the wild is in serious jeopardy.
(2)Of the 37 wild felid species worldwide, all
are currently recognized as species in need of protection under the IUCN Red
List, the lists of species in CITES appendices I, II, and III, or the
Endangered Species Act of 1973. Of the 35 wild canid species worldwide, nearly
50 percent are recognized as in need of such protection.
(3)In addition to their intrinsic value,
felids and canids are important aesthetic, economic, and ecological global
resources that need to be conserved.
(4)Large felids and canids are considered both
umbrella and indicator species. Healthy populations of these species act as an
important indicator of the integrity of entire ecosystems and, because they
require large wild spaces to persist, benefit entire ecosystems and a large
number of other species. Measures taken to benefit these keystone species will
ultimately benefit a great number of other species.
(5)Rare felids and rare canids face an array
of threats, including loss of habitat and natural prey, intentional and
unintentional takings by humans, disease transmission, and a vast number of
other threats. These threats need to be addressed in a coordinated
fashion.
(6)Conservation of rare felid and rare canid
populations requires global commitment. Adequate funding for conservation is
sorely lacking, and many range countries for those species do not have adequate
infrastructure to protect species of concern. Those countries that do provide
assistance to threatened populations need further assistance in implementing
effective conservation strategies.
(7)In particular, in developing nations with
limited resources, poverty, population growth, and habitat loss all present
significant challenges to conservation of rare felids and rare canids.
(8)Although some protections and initiatives
exist to conserve rare felid and rare canid populations and their habitat,
those efforts can be significantly strengthened and enhanced by increased
coordination and the infusion of targeted funding to benefit species of
concern.
3.The purposes of this Act are to provide
financial resources and to foster international cooperation—
(1)to restore and perpetuate healthy
populations of rare felids and rare canids in the wild; and
(2)to assist in the conservation of rare felid
and rare canid populations worldwide.
4.In this Act:
(1)The term CITES
means the
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and
Flora, done at Washington March 3, 1973 (27 UST 1087; TIAS 8249), including its
appendices.
(2)The term
conservation
—
(A)means the methods and procedures necessary
to bring a species of rare felid or rare canid to the point at which there are
sufficient populations in the wild to ensure the long-term viability of the
species;
(B)includes all activities associated with
protection and management of a rare felid or rare canid population,
including—
(i)maintenance, management, protection, and
restoration of rare felid or rare canid habitat;
(ii)research and monitoring;
(iii)law enforcement;
(iv)community outreach and education;
(v)conflict resolution initiatives; and
(vi)strengthening the capacity of local
communities, governmental agencies, nongovernmental organizations and other
institutions to implement conservation programs.
(3)The term Fund
means the
Great Cats and Rare Canids Conservation Fund established by section 6.
(4)The term IUCN Red List
means
the Red List of Threatened Species Maintained by the World Conservation
Union.
(5)The term rare canid
—
(A)means any canid species, subspecies, or
population that—
(i)is not native to the area comprised of the
United States and Canada; and
(ii)is included in the IUCN Red List, Appendix
I, II, or III of CITES, or any list published under section 4(c) of the
Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1532(c)); and
(B)includes such a subspecies or population of
dhole (Cuon alpinus), gray wolf (Canis lupus), Ethiopian wolf (Canis simensis),
bush dog (Speothos venaticus), African wild dog (Lycaon pictus), or maned wolf
(Chrysocyon brachyurus).
(6)The term rare felid
—
(A)subject to subparagraph (C), means any
felid species, subspecies, or population that—
(i)is not native to the area comprised of the
United States and Canada; and
(ii)is included in the IUCN Red List, Appendix
I, II, or III of CITES, or any list published under section 4(c) of the
Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1532(c));
(B)includes such a subspecies or population of
lion (Panthera leo), leopard (Panthera pardus), jaguar (Panthera onca), snow
leopard (Uncia uncia), clouded leopard (Neofelis nebulosa), cheetah (Acinonyx
jubatus), or Iberian lynx (Lynx pardina); and
(C)does not include any tiger (Panthera
tigris).
(7)The term Secretary
refers to
the Secretary of the Interior.
5.
(a)Subject to the availability of funds and in
consultation with other appropriate Federal officials, the Secretary shall use
amounts in the Fund to provide financial assistance for projects for the
conservation of rare felid and rare canids for which project proposals are
approved by the Secretary in accordance with this section.
(b)
(1)A proposal for a project for the
conservation of rare felid and canids may be submitted to the Secretary
by—
(A)any wildlife management authority of a
country that has within its boundaries any part of the range of a rare felid or
rare canid species, respectively; and
(B)any person or group with the demonstrated
expertise required for the conservation in the wild of rare felids or rare
canids, respectively.
(2)To be considered for financial assistance
for a project under this Act, an applicant shall submit a project proposal that
includes—
(A)a concise statement of the purposes of the
project;
(B)the name of the individual responsible for
conducting the project;
(C)a description of the qualifications of the
individuals who will conduct the project;
(D)a concise description of—
(i)methods for project implementation and
outcome assessment;
(ii)staffing for the project;
(iii)the logistics of the project; and
(iv)community involvement in the
project;
(E)an estimate of funds and time required to
complete the project;
(F)evidence of support for the project by
appropriate governmental entities of the countries in which the project will be
conducted, if the Secretary determines that such support is required for the
success of the project;
(G)information regarding the source and amount
of matching funding available for the project; and
(H)any other information that the Secretary
considers to be necessary for evaluating the eligibility of the project for
funding under this Act.
(c)Project Review and Approval
(1)The Secretary shall—
(A)not later than 30 days after receiving a
project proposal, provide a copy of the proposal to the appropriate Federal
officials; and
(B)review each project proposal in a timely
manner to determine if the proposal meets the criteria specified in subsection
(d).
(2)Consultation; approval or
disapprovalNot later than
180 days after receiving a project proposal, and subject to the availability of
funds, the Secretary, after consulting with other appropriate Federal
officials, shall—
(A)ensure the proposal contains assurances
that the project will be implemented in consultation with relevant wildlife
management authorities and other appropriate government officials with
jurisdiction over the resources addressed by the project;
(B)approve or disapprove the proposal;
and
(C)provide written notification of the
approval or disapproval to the person who submitted the proposal, other
appropriate Federal officials, and each country within whose borders the
project will take place.
(d)The Secretary may approve a project
proposal under this section if the project will contribute to conservation of
rare felids or rare canids in the wild by assisting efforts to—
(1)implement conservation programs;
(2)address the conflicts between humans and
rare felids or rare canids, respectively, that arise from competition for the
same habitat or resources;
(3)enhance compliance with CITES, the
Endangered Species Act of 1973, and other applicable laws that prohibit or
regulate the taking or trade of rare felids and rare canids or regulate the use
and management of rare felid and rare canid habitat;
(4)develop sound scientific information on, or
methods for monitoring—
(A)the condition and health of rare felid or
rare canid habitat;
(B)rare felid or rare canid population numbers
and trends; and
(C)the ecological characteristics and
requirements of populations of rare felids or rare canids for which there are
little or no data;
(5)promote cooperative projects among
government entities, affected local communities, nongovernmental organizations,
and other persons in the private sector; or
(6)funds will not be appropriated for the
purchase or lease of lands to be used as suitable habitat for felids or
canids.
(e)In approving project proposals under this
section, the Secretary shall give preference to conservation projects that are
designed to ensure effective, long-term conservation of rare felids and rare
canids and their habitats.
(f)In determining whether
to approve project proposals under this section, the Secretary shall give
preference to projects for which there exists some measure of matching
funds.
(g)
(1)Each person that receives assistance under
this section for a project shall submit to the Secretary periodic reports (at
such intervals as the Secretary considers necessary) that include all
information that the Secretary, after consultation with other appropriate
government officials, determines is necessary to evaluate the progress and
success of the project for the purposes of ensuring positive results, assessing
problems, and fostering improvements.
(2)Availability to the publicReports under paragraph (1), and any other
documents relating to projects for which financial assistance is provided under
this Act, shall be made available to the public.
(h)Limitations on Use for Captive Breeding or
DisplayAmounts provided as a
grant under this Act—
(1)may not be used for captive breeding or
display of rare felids and rare canids other than captive breeding for release
into the wild; and
(2)may be used for captive breeding of a
species for release into the wild only if no other conservation method for the
species is biologically feasible.
(i)Limitation on Assistance for Certain
SpeciesOf amounts available
for a fiscal year for providing financial assistance under this section, the
Secretary may not use more than 25 percent to provide assistance for projects
that target rare canid and rare felid species that are not listed in paragraph
(5)(B) or (6)(B), respectively, of section 4.
(j)
(1)To assist in carrying out this Act, the
Secretary may convene an advisory group consisting of individuals representing
public and private organizations actively involved in the conservation of
felids and canids.
(2)
(A)The advisory group shall—
(i)ensure that each meeting of the advisory
group is open to the public; and
(ii)provide, at each meeting, an opportunity
for interested persons to present oral or written statements concerning items
on the agenda.
(B)The Secretary shall provide to the public
timely notice of each meeting of the advisory group, including the meeting
agenda.
(C)Minutes of each meeting of the advisory
group shall be kept by the Secretary and shall be made available to the
public.
(3)Exemption from Federal Advisory Committee
ActThe Federal Advisory
Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to the advisory group.
6.Great Cats and Rare Canids Conservation
Fund
(a)There is established, in the Multinational
Species Conservation Fund established in title I of the Department of the
Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999 under the heading
MULTINATIONAL SPECIES CONSERVATION FUND
, a separate account to
be known as the Great Cats and Rare Canids Conservation Fund
,
consisting of—
(1)amounts transferred to the Secretary of the
Treasury for deposit into such account under subsection (e);
(2)amounts appropriated to such account under
section 7; and
(3)any interest earned on investment of
amounts in the account under subsection (c).
(b)
(1)Subject to paragraph (2), upon request by
the Secretary, the Secretary of the Treasury shall transfer from the Fund to
the Secretary, without further appropriation, such amounts as the Secretary
determines are necessary to provide assistance under section 4.
(2)Of the amounts in the Fund available for
each fiscal year, the Secretary may expend not more than three percent, or up
to $100,000, whichever is greater, to pay the administrative expenses necessary
to carry out this Act.
(c)
(1)The Secretary of the Treasury shall invest
such portion of the Fund as is not, in the judgment of the Secretary of the
Treasury, required to meet current withdrawals. Investments may be made only in
interest-bearing obligations of the United States.
(2)Acquisition of obligationsFor the purpose of investments under
paragraph (1), obligations may be acquired—
(A)on original issue at the issue price;
or
(B)by purchase of outstanding obligations at
the market price.
(3)Any obligation acquired by the Fund may be
sold by the Secretary of the Treasury at the market price.
(4)The interest on, and the proceeds from the
sale or redemption of any obligations held in the Fund shall be credited to and
form a part of the Fund.
(d)
(1)The amounts required to be transferred to
the Fund under this section shall be transferred at least monthly from the
general fund of the Treasury to the Fund on the basis of estimates made by the
Secretary of the Treasury.
(2)Proper adjustment shall be made in amounts
subsequently transferred to the extent prior estimates were in excess of or
less than the amounts required to be transferred.
(e)Acceptance and Use of
DonationsThe Secretary may
accept and use donations to provide assistance under section 4, and may make
public on the Internet website and in publications of the Department of the
Interior that the Secretary is authorized to accept and use such donations.
Amounts received by the Secretary in the form of such donations shall be
transferred to the Secretary of the Treasury for deposit into the Fund.
7.Authorization of
appropriationsThere are
authorized to be appropriated to the Fund $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years
2008 through 2012 to carry out this Act.