[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1748 Reported in Senate (RS)]

                                                       Calendar No. 686
111th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 1748

                          [Report No. 111-362]

 To establish a program of research, recovery, and other activities to 
          provide for the recovery of the southern sea otter.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            October 1, 2009

 Mrs. Boxer (for herself and Mrs. Feinstein) introduced the following 
 bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, 
                      Science, and Transportation

                           December 10, 2010

             Reported by Mr. Rockefeller, with an amendment
 [Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in 
                                italic]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To establish a program of research, recovery, and other activities to 
          provide for the recovery of the southern sea otter.

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

<DELETED>SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    This Act may be cited as the ``Southern Sea Otter Recovery 
and Research Act''.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 2. SOUTHERN SEA OTTER RECOVERY AND RESEARCH 
              PROGRAM.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    (a) In General.--The Secretary of the Interior, acting 
through the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and the United 
States Geological Survey, shall carry out a recovery and research 
program for southern sea otter populations along the coast of 
California, informed by the prioritized research recommendations of the 
Final Revised Recovery Plan for the southern sea otter (Enhydra lutris 
nereis) published by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and 
dated February 24, 2003, the Research Plan for California Sea Otter 
Recovery issued by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service Southern 
Sea Otter Recovery Implementation Team and dated March 2, 2007, and any 
other recovery, research, or conservation plan adopted by the United 
States Fish and Wildlife Service after the date of enactment of this 
Act in accordance with otherwise applicable law. The Recovery and 
Research Program shall include the following:</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) Monitoring, analysis, and assessment of 
        southern sea otter population demographics, health, causes of 
        mortality, and life history parameters, including range-wide 
        population surveys.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) Development and implementation of measures to 
        reduce or eliminate potential factors limiting southern sea 
        otter populations that are related to marine ecosystem health 
        or human activities.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (b) Reappointment of Recovery Implementation Team.--Not 
later than one year after the date of enactment of this Act, the 
Secretary shall appoint persons to a southern sea otter recovery 
implementation team as authorized under section 4(f)(2) of the 
Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1533(f)(2)).</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (c) Southern Sea Otter Research and Recovery Grants.--
</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) Grant authority.--The Secretary shall 
        establish a peer-reviewed, merit-based process to award 
        competitive grants for research regarding southern sea otters 
        and for projects assisting the recovery of southern sea otter 
        populations.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) Peer review panel.--The Secretary shall 
        establish as necessary a peer review panel to provide 
        scientific advice and guidance to prioritize proposals for 
        grants under this subsection.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) Research grant subjects.--Research funded with 
        grants under this subsection shall be in accordance with the 
        research recommendations of any plan referred to in subsection 
        (a), and may include the following topics:</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) Causes of sea otter 
                mortality.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) Southern sea otter demographics and 
                natural history.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (C) Effects and sources of pollutants, 
                nutrients, and toxicants on southern sea otters and 
                sequestration of contaminants.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (D) Effects and sources of infectious 
                diseases and parasites affecting southern sea 
                otters.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (E) Limitations on the availability of 
                food resources for southern sea otters and the impacts 
                of food limitation on southern sea otter carrying 
                capacity.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (F) Interactions between southern sea 
                otters and coastal fisheries and other human activities 
                in the marine environment.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (G) Assessment of the keystone ecological 
                role of sea otters in southern and central California's 
                coastal marine ecosystems, including both the direct 
                and indirect effects of sea otter predation, especially 
                as these effects influence human welfare, resource 
                utilization, and ecosystem services.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (H) Assessment of the adequacy of 
                emergency response and contingency plans.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (4) Recovery project subjects.--Recovery projects 
        funded with grants under this subsection shall be conducted in 
        accordance with recovery recommendations of any plan referred 
        to in subsection (a), and may include projects to--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) protect and recover southern sea 
                otters;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) reduce, mitigate, or eliminate 
                potential factors limiting southern sea otter 
                populations that are related to human activities, 
                including projects to--</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (i) reduce, mitigate, or eliminate 
                        factors contributing to mortality, adversely 
                        affecting health, or restricting distribution 
                        and abundance; and</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (ii) reduce, mitigate, or 
                        eliminate factors that harm or reduce the 
                        quality of southern sea otter habitat or the 
                        health of coastal marine ecosystems; 
                        and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (C) implement emergency response and 
                contingency plans.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (d) Report.--The Secretary shall--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) within 12 months after the date of enactment 
        of this Act, report to Congress on--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) the status of southern sea otter 
                populations;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) implementation of the Recovery and 
                Research Program and the grant program; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (C) any relevant formal consultations 
                conducted under section 7 of the Endangered Species Act 
                of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1536) with respect to the southern 
                sea otter; and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) within 24 months after the date of enactment 
        of this Act and every 5 years thereafter, and in consultation 
        with a southern sea otter recovery implementation team (if any) 
        that is otherwise being utilized by the Secretary under section 
        4(f) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1533(f)), 
        report to Congress and the public on--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) an evaluation of southern sea otter 
                health, causes of southern sea otter mortality, and the 
                interactions of southern sea otters with California's 
                coastal marine ecosystems;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) an evaluation of actions taken to 
                improve southern sea otter health, reduce southern sea 
                otter mortality, and improve southern sea otter 
                habitat;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (C) recommendation for actions, pursuant 
                to current law, to improve southern sea otter health, 
                reduce the occurrence of human-related mortality, and 
                improve the health of such coastal marine ecosystems; 
                and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (D) recommendations for funding to carry 
                out this Act.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    In this Act:</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) Recovery and research program.--The term 
        ``Recovery and Research Program'' means the recovery and 
        research program under section 2(a).</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the 
        Secretary of the Interior, acting through the United States 
        Fish and Wildlife Service and the United States Geological 
        Survey.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    (a) In General.--There is authorized to be appropriated to 
the Secretary to carry out this Act $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 
2010 through 2015 of which--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) no less than 30 percent shall be for research 
        grants under section 2(c)(3); and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) no less than 30 percent shall be for recovery 
        projects under section 2(c)(4).</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (b) Administrative Expenses.--Of amounts available each 
fiscal year to carry out this Act, the Secretary may expend not more 
than 7 percent to pay the administrative expenses necessary to carry 
out this Act.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 5. TERMINATION.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    This Act shall have no force or effect on and after the 
date the Secretary (as that term is used in section 4(c)(2) of the 
Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1533(c)(2)) publishes a 
determination that the southern sea otter should be removed from the 
lists published under section 4(c) of the Endangered Species Act of 
1973 (16 U.S.C. 1533(c)).</DELETED>

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Southern Sea Otter Recovery and 
Research Act''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Recovery and research program.--The term ``recovery and 
        research program'' means the southern sea otter recovery and 
        research program carried out under section 3(a).
            (2) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of the Interior, acting through the Director of the United 
        States Fish and Wildlife Service and the Director of the United 
        States Geological Survey.

SEC. 3. SOUTHERN SEA OTTER RECOVERY AND RESEARCH PROGRAM.

    (a) Program.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior, acting 
        through the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and the 
        United States Geological Survey, shall carry out a recovery and 
        research program for southern sea otter populations along the 
        coast of California, informed by--
                    (A) the prioritized research recommendations of the 
                Final Revised Recovery Plan for the southern sea otter 
                (Enhydra lutris nereis) published by the United States 
                Fish and Wildlife Service and dated February 24, 2003;
                    (B) the Research Plan for California Sea Otter 
                Recovery issued by the United States Fish and Wildlife 
                Service Southern Sea Otter Recovery Implementation Team 
                and dated March 2, 2007; and
                    (C) any other recovery, research, or conservation 
                plan adopted by the United States Fish and Wildlife 
                Service after the date of enactment of this Act in 
                accordance with otherwise applicable law.
            (2) Requirements.--The recovery and research program shall 
        include--
                    (A) monitoring, analysis, and assessment of 
                southern sea otter population demographics, health, 
                causes of mortality, and life history parameters, 
                including range-wide population surveys; and
                    (B) development and implementation of measures to 
                reduce or eliminate potential factors limiting southern 
                sea otter populations that relate to marine ecosystem 
                health or human activities.
    (b) Appointment of Recovery Implementation Team.--Not later than 1 
year after the commencement of the recovery and research program under 
subsection (a), the Secretary shall appoint persons to a southern sea 
otter recovery implementation team as authorized in accordance with 
section 4(f)(2) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 
1533(f)(2)).
    (c) Southern Sea Otter Research and Recovery Grants.--
            (1) Grant authority.--The Secretary shall establish a peer-
        reviewed, merit-based process to award competitive grants for 
        research regarding southern sea otters and for projects 
        assisting the recovery of southern sea otter populations.
            (2) Peer review panel.--The Secretary shall establish as 
        necessary a peer review panel to provide scientific advice and 
        guidance to prioritize proposals for grants under this 
        subsection.
            (3) Research grant subjects.--Research funded with grants 
        under this subsection--
                    (A) shall be in accordance with the research 
                recommendations of any plan referred to in subsection 
                (a); and
                    (B) may include research on topics such as--
                            (i) causes of sea otter mortality;
                            (ii) southern sea otter demographics and 
                        natural history;
                            (iii) effects and sources of poor water 
                        quality on southern sea otters (including 
                        pollutants, nutrients, and toxicants) and 
                        mechanisms for addressing those effects and 
                        sources;
                            (iv) effects and sources of infectious 
                        diseases and parasites affecting southern sea 
                        otters;
                            (v) limitations on the availability of food 
                        resources for southern sea otters and the 
                        impacts of food limitation on southern sea 
                        otter carrying capacity;
                            (vi) interactions between southern sea 
                        otters and coastal fisheries and other human 
                        activities in the marine environment;
                            (vii) assessment of the keystone ecological 
                        role of sea otters in coastal marine ecosystems 
                        of southern and central California, including 
                        the direct and indirect effects of sea otter 
                        predation, especially as those effects 
                        influence human welfare, resource use, and 
                        ecosystem services; and
                            (viii) assessment of the adequacy of 
                        emergency response and contingency plans.
            (4) Recovery project subjects.--Recovery projects funded 
        with grants under this subsection--
                    (A) shall be conducted in accordance with recovery 
                recommendations of any plan referred to in subsection 
                (a) and the findings of the research conducted under 
                this section; and
                    (B) may include projects--
                            (i) to protect and recover southern sea 
                        otters;
                            (ii) to reduce, mitigate, or eliminate 
                        potential factors limiting southern sea otter 
                        populations that are related to human 
                        activities, including projects--
                                    (I) to reduce, mitigate, or 
                                eliminate factors contributing to 
                                mortality, adversely affecting health, 
                                or restricting distribution and 
                                abundance; and
                                    (II) to reduce, mitigate, or 
                                eliminate factors that harm or reduce 
                                the quality of southern sea otter 
                                habitat or the health of coastal marine 
                                ecosystems; and
                            (iii) to implement emergency response and 
                        contingency plans.
    (d) Report.--The Secretary shall--
            (1) not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of 
        this Act, submit to Congress a report on--
                    (A) the status of southern sea otter populations;
                    (B) implementation of the recovery and research 
                program and the grant program under this Act; and
                    (C) 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 southern sea otter; and
            (2) not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of 
        this Act and every 5 years thereafter, and in consultation with 
        a southern sea otter recovery implementation team that is 
        otherwise being used by the Secretary under section 4(f) of the 
        Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1533(f)), submit to 
        Congress and make available to the public a report that 
        includes--
                    (A) an evaluation of--
                            (i) southern sea otter health;
                            (ii) causes of southern sea otter 
                        mortality; and
                            (iii) the interactions of southern sea 
                        otters with the coastal marine ecosystems of 
                        California;
                    (B) an evaluation of actions taken--
                            (i) to improve southern sea otter health;
                            (ii) to reduce southern sea otter 
                        mortality; and
                            (iii) to improve southern sea otter 
                        habitat;
                    (C) recommendations for actions that may be taken 
                pursuant to all applicable law--
                            (i) to improve southern sea otter health;
                            (ii) to reduce the occurrence of human-
                        related mortality; and
                            (iii) to improve the health of the coastal 
                        marine ecosystems of California;
                    (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 program established under this Act that 
                are 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. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    (a) In General.--There is authorized to be appropriated to the 
Secretary to carry out this Act $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 
2011 through 2016.
    (b) Minimum Percentages for Grants and Projects.--During the period 
of fiscal years 2011 through 2016 for which funds are authorized to be 
appropriated under subsection (a)--
            (1) not less than 30 percent of the total amounts 
        appropriated for that period shall be for research grants under 
        section 3(c)(3); and
            (2) not less than 30 percent of the total amounts 
        appropriated for that period shall be for recovery projects 
        under section 3(c)(4).
    (c) Administrative Expenses.--Of the amounts made available for 
each fiscal year to carry out this Act, the Secretary may expend not 
more than the greater of 7 percent of the amounts, or $150,000, to pay 
the administrative expenses necessary to carry out this Act.

SEC. 5. TERMINATION.

    This Act shall have no force or effect on and after the date on 
which the Secretary (as that term is used in section 4(c)(2) of the 
Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1533(c)(2)) publishes a 
determination that the southern sea otter should be removed from the 
lists published under section 4(c) of the Endangered Species Act of 
1973 (16 U.S.C. 1533(c)).
                                                       Calendar No. 686

111th CONGRESS

  2d Session

                                S. 1748

                          [Report No. 111-362]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 To establish a program of research, recovery, and other activities to 
          provide for the recovery of the southern sea otter.

_______________________________________________________________________

                           December 10, 2010

                       Reported with an amendment