Sec. 7. Grant program
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The Director of the Fish and Wildlife Service shall, in collaboration with the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 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 administrator of the grant program 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 as provided in subparagraph (B), 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. Subparagraph
(A)shall not apply to an eligible entity that is an Indian Tribe. The administrator of the grant program under this section may reduce or waive the matching requirement under subparagraph
(A)if— an eligible entity submits a written request to the administrator for a waiver with a justification as to why the eligible entity cannot meet the matching requirement; and the administrator determines such justification is sufficient to waive such requirement. The Director of the Fish and Wildlife Service may enter into an agreement to administer the grant program with the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation or a similar organization that offers grant administration services. If the Director of the Fish and Wildlife Service enters into an agreement under subparagraph (A), the organization selected shall— for each fiscal year, receive amounts made available to carry out this section in an advance payment of the entire amounts on October 1 of that fiscal year, or as soon as practicable thereafter; invest and reinvest those amounts for the benefit of the grant program; and otherwise administer the grant program to support partnerships between the public and private sectors in accordance with this Act. If the Secretary enters into an agreement with the Foundation under subparagraph (A), any amounts received by the Foundation under this section shall be subject to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Establishment Act ( 16 U.S.C. 3701 et seq. ), excluding section 10(a) of that Act ( 16 U.S.C. 3709(a) ). The purposes of the grants under this section are— to protect or maintain salmon conservation area or salmon stronghold features and projects that are focused on conservation and restoration within salmon conservation areas or salmon stronghold; 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 or salmon stronghold resilience both downstream and upstream. To be eligible to receive a grant under this section, an eligible entity shall submit an application to the administrator of the grant program at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as such administrator may require. 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 (e), 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; or carry out lethal intentional takings. No project that will result in the acquisition by the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Director of the Fish and Wildlife Service, 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 the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Director of the Fish and Wildlife Service, a relevant Federal agency, or eligible entity with funds made available under this section 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, the relevant Federal agency, or eligible entity with jurisdiction over such land determines that the State, agency, or other 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 or salmon stronghold 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 administrator of the grant program 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 project with recommendations 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 and salmon strongholds; 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; an analysis of the status and trends for wild salmon abundance, diversity and productivity in each salmon conservation area and salmon stronghold; an analysis of the social and economic effects resulting from salmon conservation area and salmon stronghold conservation; and an assessment of threats imposed by changing ocean conditions on marine survival. 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 or salmon stronghold under this section from each entity that has jurisdiction over such salmon conservation area or salmon stronghold. There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2023 and each of the 4 fiscal years thereafter.
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