MONARCH Act of 2021

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 809 To encourage and facilitate efforts by States and other stakeholders to con- serve and sustain the western population of monarch butterflies, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MARCH 17 (legislative day, MARCH 16), 2021 Mr. MERKLEY (for himself, Mr. WYDEN, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, Mr. BOOKER, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, and Mr. PADILLA) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works A BILL To encourage and facilitate efforts by States and other stake- holders to conserve and sustain the western population of monarch butterflies, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Monarch Action, Re- 4 covery, and Conservation of Habitat Act of 2021’’ or the 5 ‘‘MONARCH Act of 2021’’. 6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 7 Congress finds that— 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:08 Apr 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S809.IS S809 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 809 IS (1) the population of western monarch butter- 1 flies is at imminent risk of extinction; 2 (2) over the past 3 decades, the population of 3 western monarch butterflies has declined by more 4 than 99 percent due to prolonged drought, loss of 5 milkweed and native pollinator habitat, loss of breed- 6 ing and overwintering habitat, and climate change; 7 (3) in 2020, the population of western monarch 8 butterflies reached a new historic low of 1,914 but- 9 terflies, falling below the predicted extinction thresh- 10 old for the third year in a row; 11 (4) the extinction of the population of migra- 12 tory western monarch butterflies is now likely to 13 occur within the next 2 decades if urgent action is 14 not taken; 15 (5) actively restoring native milkweed and nec- 16 tar plants, monarch overwintering habitat, and other 17 pollinator habitat, and ensuring that key habitats 18 are protected from destruction, are critical to ensur- 19 ing the survival of western monarch butterflies and 20 can also help facilitate conservation of other essen- 21 tial pollinators; and 22 (6) enhancing pollinator populations can result 23 in improved pollination services for neighboring land, 24 including agriculture and wildlife ecosystems. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:08 Apr 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S809.IS S809 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 809 IS SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 1 In this Act: 2 (1) CONSERVATION.—The term ‘‘conservation’’ 3 means the use of each method or procedure nec- 4 essary to protect habitats of western monarch but- 5 terflies, including— 6 (A) the protection, restoration, and man- 7 agement of overwintering, breeding, and migra- 8 tory habitats; 9 (B) assistance in the development and im- 10 plementation of national, regional, State, and 11 local conservation and management plans; and 12 (C) community outreach and education. 13 (2) FUND.—The term ‘‘Fund’’ means the West- 14 ern Monarch Butterfly Rescue Fund established by 15 section 5(a). 16 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 17 the Secretary of the Interior. 18 (4) WESTERN MONARCH BUTTERFLY.—The 19 term ‘‘western monarch butterfly’’ means the mon- 20 arch butterfly population that overwinters along the 21 coast of the State of California and breeds across 22 the States of California, Arizona, Nevada, Wash- 23 ington, Oregon, Idaho, and Utah. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:08 Apr 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S809.IS S809 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 809 IS SEC. 4. WESTERN MONARCH BUTTERFLY CONSERVATION 1 GRANT PROGRAM. 2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the availability of 3 funds and in consultation with other relevant Federal 4 agencies, the Secretary shall use amounts in the Fund to 5 provide grants for projects for the conservation of western 6 monarch butterflies for which project proposals are ap- 7 proved by the Secretary in accordance with this section. 8 (b) PROJECT PROPOSALS.— 9 (1) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—An entity that is eli- 10 gible to receive a grant for a project under this sec- 11 tion is— 12 (A) a relevant local or Tribal government 13 agency, research institution, or nonprofit orga- 14 nization with expertise required for the con- 15 servation of western monarch butterflies; and 16 (B) any other entity, as determined appro- 17 priate by the Secretary, with the expertise re- 18 quired for the conservation of western monarch 19 butterflies. 20 (2) FEDERAL PARTNERSHIP OPPORTUNITIES.— 21 A State or Federal agency— 22 (A) may not be a lead entity or receive a 23 grant for a project under this section; but 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:08 Apr 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S809.IS S809 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 809 IS (B) may be included as a partner or col- 1 laborator on a project that receives a grant 2 under this section. 3 (3) REQUIRED ELEMENTS.—A proposal for a 4 project under this section shall include— 5 (A) a statement of the purposes of the 6 project; 7 (B) the name of the entity with overall re- 8 sponsibility for the project; 9 (C) a description of— 10 (i) the qualifications of the entity that 11 will conduct the project; 12 (ii) methods for project implementa- 13 tion and outcome assessment; and 14 (iii) anticipated outcomes; 15 (D) assurances that the project will be im- 16 plemented in consultation with relevant wildlife 17 management authorities, Indian Tribes, and 18 other appropriate local government, State gov- 19 ernment, and Federal Government agencies; 20 (E) assurances that the conservation ef- 21 forts outlined in the proposal do not conflict 22 with food safety measures or practices; 23 (F) information that demonstrates the 24 clear potential of the project to contribute to 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:08 Apr 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S809.IS S809 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 809 IS the conservation and recovery of western mon- 1 arch butterflies; and 2 (G) such other information as the Sec- 3 retary may require. 4 (c) PROJECT REVIEW AND APPROVAL.—The Sec- 5 retary shall annually— 6 (1) solicit project proposals for funding under 7 this section; and 8 (2) review each proposal described in paragraph 9 (1) on a timeline that recognizes the urgency of the 10 declining number of western monarch butterflies to 11 determine whether the proposal meets the criteria 12 specified in subsection (d). 13 (d) CRITERIA FOR APPROVAL.—The Secretary may 14 approve a project proposal under this section if the pro- 15 posal demonstrates a likelihood that the project will con- 16 tribute to the conservation of western monarch butterfly 17 populations in the wild. 18 (e) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary shall 19 provide technical assistance for a project that receives a 20 grant under this section. 21 (f) PROJECT REPORTING.— 22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each entity that receives a 23 grant for a project under this section shall submit 24 to the Secretary, at such intervals as the Secretary 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:08 Apr 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S809.IS S809 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 809 IS may require, reports that include any information 1 that the Secretary determines is necessary to evalu- 2 ate the progress and success of the project for the 3 purposes of ensuring positive results, assessing prob- 4 lems, and fostering improvements. 5 (2) AVAILABILITY TO STATE LEGISLATURES.— 6 Each entity that receives a grant for a project under 7 this section shall submit each report under para- 8 graph (1) to the State legislature of the State in 9 which the project is conducted. 10 (3) AVAILABILITY TO THE PUBLIC.—The Sec- 11 retary shall make available to the public, in a timely 12 manner— 13 (A) each report submitted under para- 14 graph (1); and 15 (B) any other documents relating to 16 projects for which a grant is provided under 17 this section. 18 SEC. 5. WESTERN MONARCH BUTTERFLY RESCUE FUND. 19 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 20 Treasury of the United States a fund, to be known as the 21 ‘‘Western Monarch Butterfly Rescue Fund’’. 22 (b) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Of the amounts 23 available in the Fund for each fiscal year, the Secretary 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:08 Apr 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S809.IS S809 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 809 IS may expend not more than 3 percent to pay the adminis- 1 trative expenses necessary to carry out this Act. 2 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 3 authorized to be appropriated to the Fund $12,500,000 4 for each of fiscal years 2022 through 2026. 5 SEC. 6. IMPLEMENTATION OF THE WESTERN MONARCH 6 BUTTERFLY CONSERVATION PLAN. 7 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall enter into an 8 agreement with the National Fish and Wildlife Founda- 9 tion pursuant to the National Fish and Wildlife Founda- 10 tion Establishment Act (16 U.S.C. 3701 et seq.) to facili- 11 tate the implementation of the Western Monarch Butterfly 12 Conservation Plan prepared by the Western Association 13 of Fish and Wildlife Agencies and dated January 2019. 14 (b) ADMINISTRATION.—Section 10(a) of the National 15 Fish and Wildlife Foundation Establishment Act (16 16 U.S.C. 3709(a)) shall not apply with respect to— 17 (1) the agreement entered into under subsection 18 (a); or 19 (2) amounts made available to carry out this 20 section. 21 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 22 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary 23 $12,500,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 through 2026 24 to carry out this section. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:08 Apr 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S809.IS S809 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 809 IS SEC. 7. REPORT TO CONGRESS. 1 Not later than January 31 of each year, the Sec- 2 retary shall submit to Congress a report describing the 3 status of western monarch butterflies, including, with re- 4 spect to the year for which the report is submitted— 5 (1) a summary of the projects for which the 6 Secretary has provided funding under section 4 and 7 an evaluation of those projects; and 8 (2) a summary of the projects for which the 9 Secretary has provided funding through the Western 10 Monarch Butterfly Conservation Plan prepared by 11 the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agen- 12 cies and dated January 2019. 13 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:08 Apr 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S809.IS S809 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS