Sec. 7. Grant program
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/bill/116/hr/4723/ih/section-7A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation shall carry out a grant program, to be known as the Salmon Conservation Area Grant Program , to make grants to carry out the purposes described in subsection (b). A grant under this section shall have a duration of not more than 5 years. In making grants under this section, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation shall give priority to an eligible entity that demonstrates that the eligible entity— will carry out a project under this section on a salmon stronghold; has considered the durability of the project and how the project contributes to the long-term conservation of salmon; has coordinated with other stakeholders to carry out the project; and has considered how the project will work with other salmon restoration projects.
Except in the case of an eligible entity that is an Indian Tribe, each eligible entity that receives a grant under this section shall provide, in cash or through in-kind contributions from non-Federal sources, matching funds to carry out the activities funded by the grant in an amount equal to not less than 25 percent of the cost of the activities. The purposes of the grants under this section are— to protect or maintain salmon conservation area features and projects that are focused on conservation and restoration within conservation areas; and to carry out at least one of the following:
To address factors threatening to limit abundance, productivity, diversity, habitat quality, or other biological attributes important to sustaining viable salmon populations. To restore or maintain ecological functions and processes related to salmon productivity and diversity at watershed or subwatershed scales. To improve the resilience of salmon populations in response to acute events such as fires, landslides, and earthquakes. To improve the resilience of salmon populations to climate change and prepare populations for other future changes.
To provide co-benefits to fish and wildlife, in particular where salmon can be used as indicator species for habitat quality. To implement focused, prioritized protection and restoration in watersheds. To improve conservation area resilience both downstream and upstream. To be eligible to receive a grant under this section, an eligible entity shall submit an application to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Foundation may require.
In this section, the term eligible entity means an Indian Tribe, nongovernmental organization, State or local agency, or institution of higher education (as defined in section 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 ( 20 U.S.C. 1001 )) that has approval to carry out a project with respect to a salmon conservation area under this section from the relevant Federal agency that has jurisdiction over such salmon conservation area. An eligible entity that receives a grant under this section shall use the grant funds to carry out activities consistent with the purposes described in subsection (b), which include— subject to subsection (f), land acquisition, conservation easements, and land exchanges; purchasing mining rights; the improvement of fish passages and removal of fish passage barriers and dams; habitat restoration and rehabilitation; outreach and local engagement; purchasing water rights related to leasing, consumption, and use; groundwater recharge projects (including ponds and forbearance); water efficiency projects; regional planning or development of a focused, prioritized protection and restoration action plan for the watershed; or monitoring and research, including monitoring the status of salmon populations in watersheds within conservation areas before and after the removal of a dam.
None of the funds made available under this section may be used to carry out litigation. No project that will result in the acquisition by a relevant Federal agency or eligible entity of interest in land, in whole or in part, may receive funds under this section unless the project is consistent with the purposes of this section. No Federal funds made available to carry out this section may be used to acquire any real property or any interest in any real property without the written consent of each owner of the property or interest in property.
No land or interest in land, acquired in whole or in part by a relevant Federal agency or eligible entity with funds made available under this section to carry out a salmon conservation area conservation project may be transferred to a State, other public agency, or other entity unless— the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, and the relevant Federal agency with jurisdiction over such land determines that the State, agency, or entity is committed to manage, in accordance with this section and the purposes of this section, the property being transferred; and the deed or other instrument of transfer contains provisions for the reversion of the title to the property to the United States if the State, agency, or entity fails to manage the property as a salmon conservation area in accordance with this section and the purposes of this section.
Any real property interest conveyed under paragraph
(3)shall be subject to such terms and conditions as will ensure, to the maximum extent practicable, that the interest will be administered in accordance with this section and the purposes of this section. Not later than 5 years after the date on which the first grant is made under this section, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation shall submit a report to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives that includes— an evaluation of the results of each projects with recommendation on strategies and approaches focusing on salmon conservation actions projected to have the greatest positive impacts on abundance, productivity, or diversity in salmon conservation areas; conclusions and recommendations on appropriate metrics to measure and evaluate the efficacy of salmon conservation efforts, including key indicators for habitat and aquatic health and recommendations on quantifying such benefits; status and trends for wild salmon abundance, diversity, and productivity in each salmon conservation area; and social and economic effects resulting from salmon conservation area conservation; assessment of threats imposed by changing ocean conditions on marine survival. There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section $30,000,000 for fiscal year 2020 and each of the 4 fiscal years thereafter.
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