[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2083 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2083

 To amend the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 to reduce predation 
 on endangered Columbia River salmon and other nonlisted species, and 
                          for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 8, 2017

   Ms. Herrera Beutler (for herself and Mr. Schrader) introduced the 
    following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural 
                               Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 to reduce predation 
 on endangered Columbia River salmon and other nonlisted 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 ``Endangered Salmon and Fisheries 
Predation Prevention Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) There are 13 groups of salmon and steelhead that are 
        listed as threatened species or endangered species under the 
        Endangered Species Act of 1973 that migrate through the lower 
        Columbia River. All lower Columbia River tributaries contain 
        listed species including Chinook, Chum and Coho salmon as well 
        as winter-run steelhead.
            (2) The people of the Northwest United States are united in 
        their desire to restore healthy salmon and steelhead runs 
        because they are integral to the region's culture and economy.
            (3) The Columbia River treaty Tribes retain important 
        rights with respect to salmon and steelhead.
            (4) Federal, State, and Tribal governments have spent 
        billions of dollars to assist the recovery of Columbia River 
        basin salmon and steelhead populations.
            (5) One of the factors negatively impacting salmonid 
        populations is increased predation by marine mammals, including 
        California sea lions.
            (6) The population of California sea lions has increased 
        10-fold over the last 3 decades, and is currently approximately 
        300,000 animals.
            (7) Biologists estimate that in recent years as many as 
        3,000 California sea lions have been foraging from the lower 
        145 miles of the Columbia River up to Bonneville Dam during the 
        peak spring salmonid run.
            (8) Historically, California sea lions, whose habitat is 
        fundamentally salt water, did not venture very far up into the 
        Columbia River.
            (9) The percentage of the spring salmonid run that has been 
        eaten or killed by California sea lions at Bonneville Dam has 
        increased 7-fold since 2002.
            (10) Federal, State and Tribal estimates indicate that sea 
        lions are consuming at least 20 percent of the Columbia River 
        spring chinook run and 15 percent of Willamette River steelhead 
        run, two salmonid species listed under the Endangered Species 
        Act of 1973.
            (11) In recent years, California sea lions have congregated 
        with greater frequency near Willamette Falls and Bonneville Dam 
        and have entered the fish ladders that salmon must use to 
        return to their historic and biological spawning grounds.
            (12) These California sea lions have not been responsive to 
        extensive hazing methods employed to discourage this behavior.
            (13) The process established under the 1994 amendment to 
        the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 to address predatory 
        sea lion behavior negatively impacting threatened or endangered 
        salmon runs is protracted and has not worked.
            (14) The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 
        has observed that--
                    (A) management efforts to reduce pinniped predation 
                of endangered and threatened salmon and steelhead in 
                the area around Bonneville Dam has been insufficient to 
                reduce the severity of the threat; and
                    (B) efforts need to focus more on the lower river 
                and at Willamette Falls.
            (15) In the interest of protecting Columbia River 
        threatened and endangered salmonids, a temporary expedited 
        procedure is urgently needed to allow removal of the minimum 
        number of California sea lions as is necessary to protect the 
        passage of threatened and endangered salmonids in the Columbia 
        River and its tributaries.

SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of the Congress that--
            (1) preventing predation by sea lions, recovery of listed 
        salmonid stocks, and preventing future listings of fish stocks 
        in the Columbia River under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 
        (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) is a vital priority; and
            (2) the Federal Government should continue to fund lethal 
        and nonlethal removal measures for preventing such predation.

SEC. 4. TAKING OF SEA LIONS ON THE COLUMBIA RIVER AND ITS TRIBUTARIES 
              TO PROTECT ENDANGERED AND THREATENED SPECIES OF SALMON 
              AND OTHER NONLISTED FISH SPECIES.

    Section 120(f) of the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 (16 
U.S.C. 1389(f)) is amended to read as follows:
    ``(f) Temporary Marine Mammal Removal Authority on the Waters of 
the Columbia River or Its Tributaries.--
            ``(1) Removal authority.--Notwithstanding any other 
        provision of this Act, the Secretary may issue a permit to an 
        eligible entity to authorize the intentional lethal taking on 
        the waters of the Columbia River and its tributaries of 
        individually identifiable sea lions that are part of a 
        population that is not categorized under this Act as depleted 
        for the purpose of protecting species of salmon that are listed 
        as endangered species or threatened species under the 
        Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and 
        other nonlisted fish species.
            ``(2) Permit process.--
                    ``(A) In general.--An eligible entity may apply to 
                the Secretary for a permit under this subsection.
                    ``(B) Deadline for consideration of application.--
                The Secretary shall approve or deny an application for 
                a permit under this subsection by not later than 30 
                days after receiving the application.
                    ``(C) Duration of permit.--A permit under this 
                subsection shall be effective for no more than one year 
                after the date it is issued, but may be renewed by the 
                Secretary.
            ``(3) Limitations.--
                    ``(A) Limitation on permit authority.--Subject to 
                subparagraph (B), a permit issued under this subsection 
                shall not authorize the lethal taking of more than 100 
                sea lions during the duration of the permit.
                    ``(B) Limitation on annual takings.--The cumulative 
                number of sea lions authorized to be taken each year 
                under all permits in effect under this subsection shall 
                not exceed 10 percent of the annual potential 
                biological removal level.
            ``(4) Training in natural resources management.--Permit 
        holders exercising lethal removal authority pursuant to this 
        Act shall be trained in natural resource management.
            ``(5) Delegation of permit authority.--Any eligible entity 
        may delegate to any other eligible entity the authority to 
        administer its permit authority under this subsection.
            ``(6) NEPA.--Section 102(2)(C) of the National 
        Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C)) shall 
        not apply with respect to this subsection and the issuance of 
        any permit under this subsection during the 5-year period 
        beginning on the date of the enactment of this subsection.
            ``(7) Suspension of permitting authority.--If, 5 years 
        after the date of the enactment of this subsection, the 
        Secretary, after consulting with State and tribal fishery 
        managers, determines that lethal removal authority is no longer 
        necessary to protect salmonid and other fish species from sea 
        lion predation, the Secretary may suspend the issuance of 
        permits under this subsection.
            ``(8) Eligible entity defined.--In this subsection, the 
        term `eligible entity' means each of the State of Washington, 
        the State of Oregon, the State of Idaho, the Nez Perce Tribe, 
        the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, the 
        Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon, 
        the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation, the 
        Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission, and the Cowlitz 
        Indian Tribe.
            ``(9) Individual pinniped exception.--For purposes of this 
        section, any pinniped located upstream of river mile 112 of the 
        Columbia River and all tributaries that include spawning 
        habitat of threatened or endangered salmon or steelhead is 
        deemed to be individually identifiable.''.

SEC. 5. TREATY RIGHTS OF FEDERALLY RECOGNIZED INDIAN TRIBES.

    Nothing in this Act or the amendment made by this Act shall be 
construed to affect or modify any treaty or other right of any 
federally recognized Indian Tribe.
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