[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4716 Introduced in House (IH)]

113th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4716

     To require the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of 
    Agriculture to provide certain Western States assistance in the 
  development of statewide conservation and management plans for the 
protection and recovery of sage grouse species, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 22, 2014

Mr. Gardner (for himself, Mr. Bishop of Utah, Mrs. Lummis, Mr. Stewart, 
 Mr. Chaffetz, Mr. Tipton, Mr. Amodei, and Mr. Daines) introduced the 
    following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural 
                               Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
     To require the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of 
    Agriculture to provide certain Western States assistance in the 
  development of statewide conservation and management plans for the 
protection and recovery of sage grouse species, 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 ``Sage Grouse Protection and 
Conservation Act''.

SEC. 2. GREATER SAGE-GROUSE PROTECTION AND CONSERVATION MEASURES.

    (a) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Covered western state.--The term ``covered western 
        State'' means each of the States of California, Colorado, 
        Idaho, Montana, Nevada, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, 
        Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.
            (2) National forest system lands.--The term ``National 
        Forest System lands'' means the Federal lands within the 
        National Forest System, as described in section 11(a) of the 
        Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 
        (16 U.S.C. 1609(a)).
            (3) Public lands.--The term ``public lands'' has the 
        meaning given that term in section 103(e) of the Federal Land 
        Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1702(e)).
            (4) Sage grouse species.--The term ``sage grouse species'' 
        means the greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) and 
        the Gunnison sage-grouse (Centrocercus minimus).
            (5) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means--
                    (A) the Secretary of Agriculture, with respect to 
                National Forest System lands; and
                    (B) the Secretary of the Interior, with respect to 
                public lands.
            (6) Statewide plan.--The term ``statewide plan'' means a 
        statewide conservation and management plan for the protection 
        and recovery of sage grouse species within a covered western 
        State.
    (b) Secretarial Participation in State Planning Process.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 30 days after receipt of 
        notice from a covered western State that the State is 
        initiating or has initiated development of a statewide 
        conservation and management plan for the protection and 
        recovery of the sage grouse species within the State, the 
        Secretary shall provide to the Governor of that covered western 
        State--
                    (A) a commitment of the Secretary's willingness to 
                participate in such development;
                    (B) a list of designees from the Department of the 
                Interior or Department of Agriculture, as applicable, 
                who shall represent the Secretary as a participant in 
                such development; and
                    (C) a list of other Federal departments that could 
                be invited by the covered western State to participate.
            (2) Access to information.--Not later than 60 days after 
        receipt of such notice from the covered western State, the 
        Secretary shall provide to the State all relevant scientific 
        data, research, or information regarding sage grouse species 
        and habitat within the State for use by appropriate State 
        personnel to assist the State in such development.
            (3) Availability of department personnel.--The Secretary 
        shall make personnel from Department of the Interior agencies 
        or Department of Agriculture agencies, respectively, available, 
        on at least a monthly basis, to meet with officials of the 
        State to develop or implement such a plan.
    (c) Contents of Notice.--A notice under subsection (b) shall--
            (1) be submitted by a Governor of any covered western 
        State; and
            (2) include--
                    (A) an invitation for the Secretary to participate 
                in development of the statewide plan; and
                    (B) a commitment that, not later than 2 years after 
                the submission of a notice under this section, the 
                State shall present to the Secretary for review a 10-
                year (or longer) sage grouse species conservation and 
                management plan for the entire State.
    (d) Review of State Plan.--If the Secretary receives such a 
statewide plan from a covered western State not later than 2 years 
after receiving such notice from the State, the Secretary shall--
            (1) review the statewide plan using the best available 
        science and data to determine if the statewide plan is likely 
        to--
                    (A) conserve the sage grouse species to the point 
                at which the measures provided pursuant to the 
                Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) 
                are no longer necessary in the State; and
                    (B) conserve the habitat essential to conserve the 
                sage grouse species within the State; and
            (2) approve or endorse, or make comments on, the statewide 
        plan not later than 120 days after it is submitted.
    (e) Actions After Statewide Plan Is Submitted.--
            (1) Hold on certain actions.--Not later than 30 days after 
        receipt of such a statewide conservation and management plan 
        from a covered western State, the Secretary shall--
                    (A) take necessary steps to place on hold--
                            (i) all actions with respect to listing any 
                        sage grouse species in that State under the 
                        Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 
                        et seq.), for a period of not less than 10 
                        years;
                            (ii) enforcement of any current listing of 
                        sage grouse species within that State under 
                        such Act; and
                            (iii) designation of any critical habitat 
                        for any sage grouse species within that State 
                        under such Act; and
                    (B) withdraw any land use planning activities 
                related to Federal management of sage grouse on Federal 
                lands within that State and take immediate steps to 
                amend all Federal land use plans to comply with such 
                plan with respect to that State, if--
                            (i) the State presents to the Secretary its 
                        conservation and management plan not later than 
                        2 years after the State submits notice to the 
                        Secretary under subsection (b); and
                            (ii) the State is implementing the plan.
            (2) Actions pursuant to nepa.--Any proposed action pursuant 
        to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 
        4321 et seq.) that occurs within a covered western State may 
        not be denied or restricted solely on the basis of sage-grouse 
        if such action is consistent with a statewide plan that has 
        been submitted by the State to the Secretary.
    (f) Existing State Plans.--The Secretary shall--
            (1) except as provided in paragraph (2), give effect to a 
        statewide conservation and management plan for the protection 
        and recovery of sage grouse species within a covered western 
        State that is submitted by such State and approved or endorsed 
        by the United States Fish and Wildlife Services before the date 
        of the enactment of this Act, in accordance with the terms of 
        approval or endorsement of the plan by the United States Fish 
        and Wildlife Services; and
            (2) for purposes of subsections (b)(3) and (e), treat such 
        a plan as a plan referred to in each such subsection.
                                 <all>