[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1917 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1917

 To authorize the Secretary of the Interior, through the United States 
   Fish and Wildlife Service, to conduct a Joint Venture Program to 
protect, restore, enhance, and manage migratory bird populations, their 
habitats, and the ecosystems they rely on, through voluntary actions on 
           public and private lands, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 13, 2011

 Mr. Kind (for himself and Mr. Wittman) introduced the following bill; 
        which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To authorize the Secretary of the Interior, through the United States 
   Fish and Wildlife Service, to conduct a Joint Venture Program to 
protect, restore, enhance, and manage migratory bird populations, their 
habitats, and the ecosystems they rely on, through voluntary actions on 
           public and private lands, 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 TITLES.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Joint Ventures for Bird Habitat 
Conservation Act of 2011''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
            (1) migratory birds are of great ecological and economic 
        value to the Nation, contributing to biological diversity, 
        advancing the well-being of human communities through 
        pollination, seed dispersal, and other ecosystem services, and 
        bringing tremendous enjoyment to the tens of millions of 
        Americans who study, watch, feed, or hunt these birds;
            (2) sustainable populations of migratory birds depend on 
        the conservation, protection, restoration, and enhancement of 
        terrestrial, wetland, marine, and other aquatic habitats 
        throughout their ranges in the United States, as well as the 
        rest of North America, the Caribbean, and Central and South 
        America;
            (3) birds are good indicators of environmental health and 
        provide early warning of the impacts of environmental change, 
        helping to yield the most out of every dollar invested in 
        conservation;
            (4) human and environmental stressors are causing the 
        decline of populations of many migratory bird species, many of 
        them once common, and climate change will exacerbate the 
        impacts of these stressors on migratory bird populations;
            (5) the coordination of Federal, State, tribal, and local 
        government natural resource conservation efforts and the 
        formation of partnerships that include a diversity of 
        nongovernmental conservation organizations, private landowners, 
        and other relevant stakeholders is necessary to accomplish the 
        conservation of migratory bird populations, their habitats, and 
        the ecosystem functions they rely on;
            (6) hunters, through their purchase of Federal migratory 
        bird hunting stamps and State hunting licenses, have long 
        supported the conservation of migratory birds and their 
        habitats in the United States through the various State and 
        Federal programs that are supported by the fees charged for 
        such purchases;
            (7) the Department of the Interior, through the United 
        States Fish and Wildlife Service, is authorized under a number 
        of broad statutes to undertake many activities with partners to 
        conserve natural resources, including migratory birds and their 
        habitat;
            (8) through these authorities, the Service has created and 
        supported a number of joint ventures with diverse partners to 
        help protect, manage, enhance, and restore migratory bird 
        habitat throughout much of the United States and to conserve 
        migratory bird species;
            (9) the North American Waterfowl Management Plan, adopted 
        by the United States and Canada in 1986, with Mexico joining as 
        a signatory in 1994, was the first truly landscape-level 
        approach to conserving migratory game birds and the wetland 
        habitats on which they depend, and became the foundation for 
        the voluntary formation of Joint Ventures;
            (10) since the adoption of the North American Waterfowl 
        Management Plan, joint ventures have expanded their application 
        to all native birds and other wildlife species that depend on 
        wetlands and associated upland habitats, resulting in 
        significant conservation benefits over the last 20 years;
            (11) States possess broad trustee and management authority 
        over fish and wildlife resources within their borders, and have 
        utilized their authorities to undertake conservation programs 
        to conserve resident and migratory birds and their habitats;
            (12) consistent with applicable Federal and State laws, the 
        Federal Government and the States each have management 
        responsibilities affecting fish and wildlife resources, and 
        should work cooperatively in fulfilling these responsibilities;
            (13) other domestic and international conservation projects 
        authorized under the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation 
        Act (16 U.S.C. 6101 et seq.) and the North American Wetlands 
        Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 4401 et seq.), and additional bird 
        conservation projects authorized under other Federal 
        authorities, can expand and increase the effectiveness of the 
        joint ventures in protecting and enhancing migratory bird 
        habitats throughout the different ranges of species native to 
        the United States; and
            (14) the voluntary partnerships fostered by these joint 
        ventures have served as innovative models for cooperative and 
        effective landscape conservation, with far-reaching benefits to 
        other fish and wildlife populations, and similar joint ventures 
        should be authorized specifically to reinforce the importance 
        and multiple benefits of these models to encourage adaptive 
        resource management and the implementation of flexible 
        conservation strategies in the 21st century.
    (b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to establish a program 
administered by the Director, in coordination with other Federal 
agencies with management authority over fish and wildlife resources and 
the States, to develop, implement, and support innovative, voluntary, 
cooperative, and effective conservation strategies and conservation 
actions to--
            (1) promote, primarily, sustainable populations of 
        migratory birds, and, secondarily, the fish and wildlife 
        species associated with their habitats;
            (2) encourage stakeholder and government partnerships 
        consistent with the goals of protecting, improving, and 
        restoring habitat;
            (3) establish, implement, and improve science-based 
        migratory bird conservation plans and promote and facilitate 
        broader landscape-level conservation of fish and wildlife 
        habitat; and
            (4) coordinate related conservation activities of the 
        Service and other Federal agencies to maximize the efficient 
        and effective use of funds appropriated or otherwise made 
        available to support projects and activities to enhance bird 
        populations and other populations of fish and wildlife and 
        their habitats.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Conservation action.--The term ``conservation action'' 
        means activities that--
                    (A) support the protection, restoration, adaptive 
                management, conservation, or enhancement of migratory 
                bird populations, their terrestrial, wetland, marine, 
                or other habitats, and other wildlife species supported 
                by those habitats, including--
                            (i) biological and geospatial planning;
                            (ii) landscape and conservation design;
                            (iii) habitat protection, enhancement, and 
                        restoration;
                            (iv) monitoring and tracking;
                            (v) applied research; and
                            (vi) public outreach and education;
                    (B) are conducted on lands or waters that--
                            (i) are administered for the long-term 
                        conservation of such lands or waters and the 
                        migratory birds thereon, including the marine 
                        environment; or
                            (ii) are not primarily held or managed for 
                        conservation but provide habitat value for 
                        migratory birds; and
                    (C) incorporate adaptive management and science-
                based monitoring, where applicable, to improve outcomes 
                and ensure efficient and effective use of Federal 
                funds.
            (2) Director.--The term ``Director'' means the Director of 
        the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.
            (3) Implementation plan.--The term ``Implementation Plan'' 
        means an Implementation Plan approved by the Director under 
        section 5.
            (4) Indian tribe.--The term ``Indian tribe'' has the 
        meaning given that term in section 4 of the Indian Self-
        Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b).
            (5) Joint venture.--The term ``Joint Venture'' means a 
        self-directed, voluntary partnership, established and conducted 
        in accordance with section 5.
            (6) Management board.--The term ``Management Board'' means 
        a Joint Venture Management Board established in accordance with 
        section 5.
            (7) Migratory birds.--The term ``migratory birds'' means 
        those species included in the list of migratory birds that 
        appears in section 10.13 of title 50, Code of Federal 
        Regulations, under the authority of the Migratory Bird Treaty 
        Act.
            (8) Program.--The term ``Program'' means the Joint Ventures 
        Program conducted in accordance with this Act.
            (9) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of the Interior.
            (10) Service.--The term ``Service'' means the United States 
        Fish and Wildlife Service.
            (11) State.--The term ``State'' means--
                    (A) any State of the United States, the District of 
                Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the 
                Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of 
                the Northern Mariana Islands; and
                    (B) one or more agencies of a State government 
                responsible under State law for managing fish or 
                wildlife resources.

SEC. 4. JOINT VENTURES PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary shall conduct, through the United 
States Fish and Wildlife Service, a Joint Ventures Program administered 
by the Director. The Director, through the Program, shall develop an 
administrative framework for the approval and establishment and 
implementation of Joint Ventures, that--
            (1) provides financial and technical assistance to support 
        regional migratory bird conservation partnerships;
            (2) develops and implements plans to protect and enhance 
        migratory bird populations throughout their range, that are 
        focused on regional landscapes and habitats that support those 
        populations;
            (3) complements and supports activities by the Secretary 
        and the Director to fulfill obligations under--
                    (A) the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (16 U.S.C. 701 et 
                seq.);
                    (B) the Migratory Bird Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 
                715 et seq.);
                    (C) the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act 
                (16 U.S.C. 6101 et seq.);
                    (D) the North American Wetlands Conservation Act 
                (16 U.S.C. 4401 et seq.);
                    (E) the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act of 1980 
                (16 U.S.C. 2901 et seq.); and
                    (F) the Partners for Fish and Wildlife Act (16 
                U.S.C. 3771 et seq.); and
            (4) support the goals and objectives of--
                    (A) the North American Waterfowl Management Plan;
                    (B) the United States Shorebird Conservation Plan;
                    (C) the North American Waterbird Conservation Plan;
                    (D) the Partners in Flight North American Landbird 
                Conservation Plan; and
                    (E) other treaties, conventions, agreements, or 
                strategies entered into by the United States and 
                implemented by the Secretary that promote the 
                conservation of migratory bird populations and their 
                habitats.
    (b) Guidelines.--Within 180 days after the date of enactment of 
this Act the Secretary, through the Director, shall publish in the 
Federal Register guidelines for the implementation of this Act, 
including regarding requirements for approval of proposed Joint 
Ventures and administration, oversight, coordination among, and 
evaluation of approved Joint Ventures.
    (c) Coordination With States.--In the administration of the program 
authorized under this section, the Director shall coordinate and 
cooperate with the States to fulfill the purposes of this Act.

SEC. 5. JOINT VENTURE ESTABLISHMENT AND ADMINISTRATION.

    (a) Establishment.--
            (1) In general.--The Director, through the Program, may 
        enter into an agreement with eligible partners described in 
        paragraph (2) to establish a Joint Venture to fulfill one or 
        more of the purposes set forth in paragraphs (1) through (3) of 
        section 2(b).
            (2) Eligible partners.--The eligible partners referred to 
        in paragraph (1) are the following:
                    (A) Federal and State agencies with jurisdiction 
                over migratory bird resources, their habitats, or that 
                implement program activities that affect migratory bird 
                habitats or the ecosystems they rely on.
                    (B) Affected regional, local, and tribal 
                governments, private landowners, land managers, and 
                other private stakeholders.
                    (C) Nongovernmental organizations with expertise in 
                bird conservation or fish and wildlife conservation or 
                natural resource and landscape management generally.
                    (D) Other relevant stakeholders.
    (b) Management Board.--
            (1) In general.--An agreement under this section for a 
        Joint Venture shall establish a Management Board in accordance 
        with this subsection.
            (2) Membership.--The Management Board shall include a 
        diversity of members representing stakeholder interests from 
        the appropriate geographic region, including, as appropriate, 
        representatives from the Service and other Federal agencies 
        that have management authority over fish and wildlife resources 
        on public lands or in the marine environment, or that implement 
        programs that affect migratory bird habitats, and 
        representatives from the States, and may include--
                    (A) regional governments and Indian tribes;
                    (B) academia or the scientific community;
                    (C) nongovernmental landowners or land managers;
                    (D) nonprofit conservation or other relevant 
                organizations with expertise in migratory bird 
                conservation, or in fish and wildlife conservation 
                generally; and
                    (E) private organizations with a dedicated interest 
                in conserving migratory birds and their habitats.
            (3) Functions and responsibilities.--
                    (A) Organization and operations plan.--A Management 
                Board, in accordance with the guidelines published by 
                the Director under section 4 and in coordination with 
                the Director, shall develop, publish, and comply with a 
                plan that specifies the organizational structure of the 
                Joint Venture and prescribes its operational practices 
                and procedures.
                    (B) Administration.--Subject to applicable Federal 
                and State law, the Management Board shall manage the 
                personnel and operations of the Joint Venture, 
                including--
                            (i) by appointing a coordinator for the 
                        Joint Venture in consultation with the 
                        Director, to manage the daily and long-term 
                        operations of the Joint Venture;
                            (ii) approval of other full- or part-time 
                        administrative and technical non-Federal 
                        employees as the Management Board determines 
                        necessary to perform the functions of the Joint 
                        Venture, meet objectives specified in the 
                        Implementation Plan, and fulfill the purpose of 
                        this Act; and
                            (iii) establishment of committees, steering 
                        groups, focus groups, geographic or taxonomic 
                        groups, or other organizational entities to 
                        assist in implementing the relevant 
                        Implementation Plan.
            (4) Use of service and federal agency employees.--Subject 
        to the availability of appropriations and upon the request from 
        a Management Board, and after consultation with and approval of 
        the Director, the head of any Federal agency may detail to the 
        Management Board, on a reimbursable or nonreimbursable basis, 
        any agency personnel to assist the Joint Venture in performing 
        its functions under this Act.
    (c) Implementation Plan.--
            (1) Submission of plan to director.--Before the Director 
        enters into an agreement to establish a Joint Venture under 
        subsection (a), the Management Board for the Joint Venture 
        shall submit to the Director a proposed Implementation Plan 
        that shall contain, at a minimum, the following elements:
                    (A) A strategic framework for migratory bird 
                conservation that includes biological planning; 
                conservation design; habitat restoration, protection, 
                and enhancement; applied research; and monitoring and 
                evaluation activities.
                    (B) Provisions for effective communication among 
                member participants within the Joint Venture.
                    (C) A long-term strategy to conduct public outreach 
                and education regarding the purposes and activities of 
                the Joint Venture and activities to regularly 
                communicate to the general public information generated 
                by the Joint Venture.
                    (D) Coordination with laws and conservation plans 
                referred to in section 4(a)(3) and (4) that are 
                relevant to migratory birds, and other relevant 
                regional, national, or international initiatives 
                identified by the Director to conserve migratory birds, 
                their habitats, ecological functions, and associated 
                populations of fish and wildlife.
                    (E) An organizational plan that--
                            (i) identifies the initial membership of 
                        the Management Board and establishes procedures 
                        for updating the membership of the Management 
                        Board as appropriate;
                            (ii) describes the organizational structure 
                        of the Joint Venture, including proposed 
                        committees and subcommittees, and procedures 
                        for revising and updating the structure, as 
                        necessary; and
                            (iii) provides a strategy to increase 
                        stakeholder participation or membership in the 
                        Joint Venture.
                    (F) Procedures to coordinate the development, 
                implementation, oversight, monitoring, tracking, and 
                reporting of conservation actions approved by the 
                Management Board and an evaluation process to determine 
                overall effectiveness of activities undertaken by the 
                Joint Venture.
                    (G) A strategy to encourage the contribution of 
                non-Federal financial resources, donations, gifts and 
                in-kind contributions to support the objectives of the 
                Joint Venture and fulfillment of the Implementation 
                Plan.
            (2) Review.--The Director shall--
                    (A) coordinate the review of a proposed 
                Implementation Plan submitted under this section; and
                    (B) ensure that such plan is circulated for review 
                for a period not to exceed 90 days, to--
                            (i) bureaus within the Service and other 
                        appropriate bureaus or agencies within the 
                        Department of the Interior;
                            (ii) appropriate regional migratory bird 
                        Flyway Councils;
                            (iii) national and international boards 
                        that oversee bird conservation initiatives 
                        under the plans specified in section 4(a)(4);
                            (iv) relevant State agencies, regional 
                        governmental entities, and Indian tribes;
                            (v) nongovernmental conservation 
                        organizations, academic institutions, or other 
                        stakeholders engaged in existing Joint Ventures 
                        that have knowledge or expertise of the 
                        geographic or ecological scope of the Joint 
                        Venture; and
                            (vi) other relevant stakeholders considered 
                        necessary by the Director to ensure a 
                        comprehensive review of the proposed 
                        Implementation Plan.
            (3) Approval.--The Director shall approve an Implementation 
        Plan submitted by the Management Board for a Joint Venture if 
        the Director finds that--
                    (A) the plan provides for implementation of 
                conservation actions to conserve waterfowl and other 
                native migratory birds and their habitats and 
                ecosystems either--
                            (i) in a specific geographic area of the 
                        United States; or
                            (ii) across the range of a specific species 
                        or similar group of like species;
                    (B) the members of the Joint Venture--
                            (i) accept the responsibility for 
                        implementation of national or international 
                        bird conservation plans in the region of the 
                        United States to which the plan applies; and
                            (ii) have demonstrated to the satisfaction 
                        of the Director the capacity to implement 
                        conservation actions identified in the plan, 
                        including (I) the design, funding, monitoring, 
                        and tracking of conservation projects that 
                        advance the objectives of the Joint Venture; 
                        and (II) reporting and conduct of public 
                        outreach regarding such projects; and
                    (C) the plan maximizes, to the extent practicable, 
                coordination with other relevant and active 
                conservation plans or programs within the geographic 
                scope of the Joint Venture to conserve, protect, 
                recover, or restore migratory bird habitats and other 
                fish and wildlife habitat within the operating region 
                of the Joint Venture.

SEC. 6. GRANTS AND OTHER ASSISTANCE.

    (a) In General.--Except as provided in subsection (b), and subject 
to the availability of appropriations, the Director may award grants of 
financial assistance to implement a Joint Venture through--
            (1) support of the activities of the Management Board of 
        the Joint Venture and to pay for necessary administrative costs 
        and services, personnel, and meetings, travel, and other 
        business activities; and
            (2) support for specific conservation actions and other 
        activities necessary to carry out the Implementation Plan.
    (b) Limitation.--A Joint Venture is not eligible for assistance or 
support authorized in this section unless the Joint Venture is 
operating under an Implementation Plan approved by the Director under 
section 5.
    (c) Conservation Action Grant Criteria.--The Secretary, through the 
Director, within 180 days after date of enactment of this Act and after 
consultation with representatives from Management Boards and equivalent 
entities of joint ventures referred to in section 8, shall publish 
guidelines for determining funding allocations among joint ventures and 
priorities for funding among conservation action proposals to meet the 
purpose of this Act and respective Implementation Plans.
    (d) Matching Requirements.--If a Management Board determines that 
two or more proposed conservation actions are of equal value toward 
fulfillment of the relevant Implementation Plan, priority shall be 
given to the action or actions for which there exist non-Federal 
matching contributions that are equal to or exceed the amount of 
Federal funds available for such action or actions.
    (e) Technical Assistance.--The Secretary, through the Director, may 
provide technical and administrative assistance for implementation of 
Joint Ventures and the expenditure of financial assistance under this 
subsection.
    (f) Acceptance and Use of Donations.--The Secretary, through the 
Director, may accept and use donations of funds, gifts, and in-kind 
contributions to provide assistance under this section.

SEC. 7. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.

    (a) Annual Reports by Management Boards.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary, acting through the 
        Director, shall--
                    (A) require each Management Board to submit annual 
                reports for all approved Joint Ventures of the 
                Management Board; and
                    (B) publish within 180 days after the date of 
                enactment of this Act guidelines to implement this 
                subsection.
            (2) Contents.--Each annual report shall include--
                    (A) a description and justification of all 
                conservation actions approved and implemented by the 
                Management Board during the period covered by the 
                report;
                    (B) when appropriate based upon the goals and 
                objectives of an Implementation Plan, an estimate of 
                the total number of acres of migratory bird habitat 
                either restored, protected, or enhanced as a result of 
                such conservation actions;
                    (C) the amounts and sources of Federal and non-
                Federal funding for such conservation actions;
                    (D) the amounts and sources of funds expended for 
                administrative and other expenses of the Joint Venture 
                of the Management Board, including all donations, 
                gifts, and in-kind contributions provided for the Joint 
                Venture;
                    (E) the status of progress made in achieving the 
                strategic framework of the Implementation Plan of such 
                Joint Venture and fulfillment of the purpose of this 
                Act; and
                    (F) other elements considered necessary by the 
                Director to insure transparency and accountability by 
                Management Boards in the implementation of its 
                responsibilities under this Act.
    (b) Joint Venture Program 5-Year Reviews.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary, acting through the 
        Director, shall at 5 years after the date of enactment of this 
        Act and at 5-year intervals thereafter, complete an objective 
        and comprehensive review and evaluation of the Program.
            (2) Review contents.--Each review under this subsection 
        shall include--
                    (A) an evaluation of the effectiveness of the 
                Program in meeting the purpose of this Act specified in 
                section 2(b);
                    (B) an evaluation of all approved Implementation 
                Plans, especially the effectiveness of existing 
                conservation strategies, priorities, and methods to 
                meet the objectives of such plans and fulfill the 
                purpose of this Act; and
                    (C) recommendations to revise the Program or to 
                amend or otherwise revise Implementation Plans to 
                ensure that activities undertaken pursuant to this Act 
                address the effects of climate change on migratory bird 
                populations and their habitats, and fish and wildlife 
                habitats, in general.
            (3) Consultation.--The Secretary, acting through the 
        Director, in the implementation of this subsection--
                    (A) shall consult with other appropriate Federal 
                agencies with responsibility for the conservation or 
                management of fish and wildlife habitat and appropriate 
                State agencies; and
                    (B) may consult with appropriate, Indian tribes, 
                Flyway Councils, or regional conservation 
                organizations, public and private landowners, members 
                of academia and the scientific community, and other 
                nonprofit conservation or private stakeholders.
            (4) Public comment.--The Secretary, through the Director, 
        shall provide for adequate opportunities for general public 
        review and comment of the Program as part of the 5-year 
        evaluations conducted pursuant to this subsection.

SEC. 8. TREATMENT OF EXISTING JOINT VENTURES.

    For purposes of this Act, the Director--
            (1) shall treat as a Joint Venture any joint venture 
        recognized by the Director before the date of the enactment of 
        this Act in accordance with the United States Fish and Wildlife 
        Services manual (721FW6); and
            (2) shall treat as an Implementation Plan an implementation 
        plan adopted by the management board for such joint venture.

SEC. 9. RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER AUTHORITIES.

    (a) Authorities, etc. of Secretary.--Nothing in this Act affects 
authorities, responsibilities, obligations, or powers of the Secretary 
under any other Act.
    (b) State Authority.--Nothing in this Act preempts any provision or 
enforcement of a State statute or regulation relating to the management 
of fish and wildlife resources within such State.

SEC. 10. FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT.

    The Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply 
to any boards, committees, or other groups established under this Act.
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