MONARCH Act of 2021

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1983 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 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 17, 2021 Mr. PANETTA (for himself, Mr. CARBAJAL, Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. HASTINGS, Ms. BARRAGA´N, Mr. GRIJALVA, Ms. JACOBS of California, Ms. PINGREE, Mr. KHANNA, Mr. SHERMAN, Mr. SUOZZI, and Mr. THOMPSON of California) introduced the following bill; which was re- ferred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Agriculture, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall with- in the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 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 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:47 May 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1983.IH H1983 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 1983 IH SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 1 Congress finds that— 2 (1) the population of western monarch butter- 3 flies is at imminent risk of extinction; 4 (2) over the past 3 decades, the population of 5 western monarch butterflies has declined by more 6 than 99 percent due to prolonged drought, loss of 7 milkweed and native pollinator habitat, loss of breed- 8 ing and overwintering habitat, and climate change; 9 (3) in 2020, the population of western monarch 10 butterflies reached a new historic low of 1,914 but- 11 terflies, falling below the predicted extinction thresh- 12 old for the third year in a row; 13 (4) the extinction of the population of migra- 14 tory western monarch butterflies is now likely to 15 occur within the next 2 decades if urgent action is 16 not taken; 17 (5) actively restoring native milkweed and nec- 18 tar plants, monarch overwintering habitat, and other 19 pollinator habitat, and ensuring that key habitats 20 are protected from destruction, are critical to ensur- 21 ing the survival of western monarch butterflies and 22 can also help facilitate conservation of other essen- 23 tial pollinators; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:47 May 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1983.IH H1983 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 1983 IH (6) enhancing pollinator populations can result 1 in improved pollination services for neighboring land, 2 including agriculture and wildlife ecosystems. 3 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 4 In this Act: 5 (1) CONSERVATION.—The term ‘‘conservation’’ 6 means the use of each method or procedure nec- 7 essary to protect habitats of western monarch but- 8 terflies, including— 9 (A) the protection, restoration, and man- 10 agement of overwintering, breeding, and migra- 11 tory habitats; 12 (B) assistance in the development and im- 13 plementation of national, regional, State, and 14 local conservation and management plans; and 15 (C) community outreach and education. 16 (2) FUND.—The term ‘‘Fund’’ means the West- 17 ern Monarch Butterfly Rescue Fund established by 18 section 5(a). 19 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 20 the Secretary of the Interior. 21 (4) WESTERN MONARCH BUTTERFLY.—The 22 term ‘‘western monarch butterfly’’ means the mon- 23 arch butterfly population that overwinters along the 24 coast of the State of California and breeds across 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:47 May 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1983.IH H1983 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 1983 IH the States of California, Arizona, Nevada, Wash- 1 ington, Oregon, Idaho, and Utah. 2 SEC. 4. WESTERN MONARCH BUTTERFLY CONSERVATION 3 GRANT PROGRAM. 4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the availability of 5 funds and in consultation with other relevant Federal 6 agencies, the Secretary shall use amounts in the Fund to 7 provide grants for projects for the conservation of western 8 monarch butterflies for which project proposals are ap- 9 proved by the Secretary in accordance with this section. 10 (b) PROJECT PROPOSALS.— 11 (1) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—An entity that is eli- 12 gible to receive a grant for a project under this sec- 13 tion is— 14 (A) a relevant local or Tribal government 15 agency, research institution, or nonprofit orga- 16 nization with expertise required for the con- 17 servation of western monarch butterflies; and 18 (B) any other entity, as determined appro- 19 priate by the Secretary, with the expertise re- 20 quired for the conservation of western monarch 21 butterflies. 22 (2) FEDERAL PARTNERSHIP OPPORTUNITIES.— 23 A State or Federal agency— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:47 May 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1983.IH H1983 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 1983 IH (A) may not be a lead entity or receive a 1 grant for a project under this section; but 2 (B) may be included as a partner or col- 3 laborator on a project that receives a grant 4 under this section. 5 (3) REQUIRED ELEMENTS.—A proposal for a 6 project under this section shall include— 7 (A) a statement of the purposes of the 8 project; 9 (B) the name of the entity with overall re- 10 sponsibility for the project; 11 (C) a description of— 12 (i) the qualifications of the entity that 13 will conduct the project; 14 (ii) methods for project implementa- 15 tion and outcome assessment; and 16 (iii) anticipated outcomes; 17 (D) assurances that the project will be im- 18 plemented in consultation with relevant wildlife 19 management authorities, Indian Tribes, and 20 other appropriate local government, State gov- 21 ernment, and Federal Government agencies; 22 (E) assurances that the conservation ef- 23 forts outlined in the proposal do not conflict 24 with food safety measures or practices; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:47 May 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1983.IH H1983 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 1983 IH (F) information that demonstrates the 1 clear potential of the project to contribute to 2 the conservation and recovery of western mon- 3 arch butterflies; and 4 (G) such other information as the Sec- 5 retary may require. 6 (c) PROJECT REVIEW AND APPROVAL.—The Sec- 7 retary shall annually— 8 (1) solicit project proposals for funding under 9 this section; and 10 (2) review each proposal described in paragraph 11 (1) on a timeline that recognizes the urgency of the 12 declining number of western monarch butterflies to 13 determine whether the proposal meets the criteria 14 specified in subsection (d). 15 (d) CRITERIA FOR APPROVAL.—The Secretary may 16 approve a project proposal under this section if the pro- 17 posal demonstrates a likelihood that the project will con- 18 tribute to the conservation of western monarch butterfly 19 populations in the wild. 20 (e) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary shall 21 provide technical assistance for a project that receives a 22 grant under this section. 23 (f) PROJECT REPORTING.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:47 May 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1983.IH H1983 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 1983 IH (1) IN GENERAL.—Each entity that receives a 1 grant for a project under this section shall submit 2 to the Secretary, at such intervals as the Secretary 3 may require, reports that include any information 4 that the Secretary determines is necessary to evalu- 5 ate the progress and success of the project for the 6 purposes of ensuring positive results, assessing prob- 7 lems, and fostering improvements. 8 (2) AVAILABILITY TO STATE LEGISLATURES.— 9 Each entity that receives a grant for a project under 10 this section shall submit each report under para- 11 graph (1) to the State legislature of the State in 12 which the project is conducted. 13 (3) AVAILABILITY TO THE PUBLIC.—The Sec- 14 retary shall make available to the public, in a timely 15 manner— 16 (A) each report submitted under para- 17 graph (1); and 18 (B) any other documents relating to 19 projects for which a grant is provided under 20 this section. 21 SEC. 5. WESTERN MONARCH BUTTERFLY RESCUE FUND. 22 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 23 Treasury of the United States a fund, to be known as the 24 ‘‘Western Monarch Butterfly Rescue Fund’’. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:47 May 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1983.IH H1983 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 1983 IH (b) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Of the amounts 1 available in the Fund for each fiscal year, the Secretary 2 may expend not more than 3 percent to pay the adminis- 3 trative expenses necessary to carry out this Act. 4 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 5 authorized to be appropriated to the Fund $12,500,000 6 for each of fiscal years 2022 through 2026. 7 SEC. 6. IMPLEMENTATION OF THE WESTERN MONARCH 8 BUTTERFLY CONSERVATION PLAN. 9 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall enter into an 10 agreement with the National Fish and Wildlife Founda- 11 tion pursuant to the National Fish and Wildlife Founda- 12 tion Establishment Act (16 U.S.C. 3701 et seq.) to facili- 13 tate the implementation of the Western Monarch Butterfly 14 Conservation Plan prepared by the Western Association 15 of Fish and Wildlife Agencies and dated January 2019. 16 (b) ADMINISTRATION.—Section 10(a) of the National 17 Fish and Wildlife Foundation Establishment Act (16 18 U.S.C. 3709(a)) shall not apply with respect to— 19 (1) the agreement entered into under subsection 20 (a); or 21 (2) amounts made available to carry out this 22 section. 23 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 24 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:47 May 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1983.IH H1983 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 1983 IH $12,500,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 through 2026 1 to carry out this section. 2 SEC. 7. REPORT TO CONGRESS. 3 Not later than January 31 of each year, the Sec- 4 retary shall submit to Congress a report describing the 5 status of western monarch butterflies, including, with re- 6 spect to the year for which the report is submitted— 7 (1) a summary of the projects for which the 8 Secretary has provided funding under section 4 and 9 an evaluation of those projects; and 10 (2) a summary of the projects for which the 11 Secretary has provided funding through the Western 12 Monarch Butterfly Conservation Plan prepared by 13 the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agen- 14 cies and dated January 2019. 15 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:47 May 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H1983.IH H1983 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS