PREDATORS Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 2194 To amend the John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recre- ation Act to establish the Theodore Roosevelt Genius Prize for reducing human-predator conflict, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JULY 22, 2019 Mr. BARRASSO (for himself, Mr. CARPER, Mr. CRAMER, and Mr. BOOKER) in- troduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Com- mittee on Environment and Public Works A BILL To amend the John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Manage- ment, and Recreation Act to establish the Theodore Roo- sevelt Genius Prize for reducing human-predator conflict, 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 ‘‘Promoting Resourceful 4 and Effective Deterrents Against Threats Or Risks involv- 5 ing Species Act’’ or the ‘‘PREDATORS Act’’. 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:38 Jul 26, 2019 Jkt 034408 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2194.IS S2194 Pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 2194 IS SEC. 2. THEODORE ROOSEVELT GENIUS PRIZE FOR REDUC- 1 ING HUMAN-PREDATOR CONFLICT. 2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 7001(d) of the John D. 3 Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation 4 Act (16 U.S.C. 742b note; Public Law 116–9) is amend- 5 ed— 6 (1) in paragraphs (2)(C)(v), (3)(C)(v), 7 (4)(C)(v), (5)(C)(v), and (6)(C)(v), by striking 8 ‘‘paragraph (7)(A)’’ each place it appears and in- 9 serting ‘‘paragraph (8)(A)’’; 10 (2) in paragraphs (2)(D)(ii), (2)(F)(ii), 11 (3)(D)(ii), (3)(F)(ii), (4)(D)(ii), (4)(F)(ii), 12 (5)(D)(ii), (5)(F)(ii), (6)(D)(ii), and (6)(F)(ii) by 13 striking ‘‘paragraph (7)(B)’’ each place it appears 14 and inserting ‘‘paragraph (8)(B)’’; 15 (3) in paragraph (6)(C)(iv), in the matter pre- 16 ceding clause (i), by striking ‘‘subparagraph (C)’’ 17 and inserting ‘‘clause (iii)’’; 18 (4) by redesignating paragraph (7) as para- 19 graph (8); 20 (5) by inserting after paragraph (6) the fol- 21 lowing: 22 ‘‘(7) THEODORE ROOSEVELT GENIUS PRIZE 23 FOR REDUCING HUMAN-PREDATOR CONFLICT.— 24 ‘‘(A) DEFINITIONS.—In this paragraph: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:38 Jul 26, 2019 Jkt 034408 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2194.IS S2194 Pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 2194 IS ‘‘(i) BOARD.—The term ‘Board’ 1 means the Reducing Human-Predator Con- 2 flict Technology Advisory Board estab- 3 lished by subparagraph (C)(i). 4 ‘‘(ii) PRIZE COMPETITION.—The term 5 ‘prize competition’ means the Theodore 6 Roosevelt Genius Prize for reducing 7 human-predator conflict established under 8 subparagraph (B). 9 ‘‘(B) AUTHORITY.—Not later than 180 10 days after the date of enactment of the PRED- 11 ATORS Act, the Secretary shall establish under 12 section 24 of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology 13 Innovation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3719) a 14 prize competition, to be known as the ‘Theodore 15 Roosevelt Genius Prize for reducing human- 16 predator conflict’— 17 ‘‘(i) to encourage technological innova- 18 tion with the potential to advance the mis- 19 sion of the United States Fish and Wildlife 20 Service with respect to reducing the fre- 21 quency of human-predator conflict using 22 nonlethal means; and 23 ‘‘(ii) to award 1 or more prizes annu- 24 ally for a technological advancement that 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:38 Jul 26, 2019 Jkt 034408 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2194.IS S2194 Pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 2194 IS promotes reducing human-predator conflict 1 using nonlethal means, which may include 2 the application and monitoring of tagging 3 technologies. 4 ‘‘(C) ADVISORY BOARD.— 5 ‘‘(i) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is es- 6 tablished an advisory board, to be known 7 as the ‘Reducing Human-Predator Conflict 8 Technology Advisory Board’. 9 ‘‘(ii) COMPOSITION.—The Board shall 10 be composed of not fewer than 9 members 11 appointed by the Secretary, who shall pro- 12 vide expertise in— 13 ‘‘(I) predator-human interactions; 14 ‘‘(II) the habitats of large preda- 15 tors; 16 ‘‘(III) biology; 17 ‘‘(IV) technology development; 18 ‘‘(V) engineering; 19 ‘‘(VI) economics; 20 ‘‘(VII) business development and 21 management; and 22 ‘‘(VIII) any other discipline, as 23 the Secretary determines to be nec- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:38 Jul 26, 2019 Jkt 034408 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2194.IS S2194 Pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 2194 IS essary to achieve the purposes of this 1 paragraph. 2 ‘‘(iii) DUTIES.—Subject to clause (iv), 3 with respect to the prize competition, the 4 Board shall— 5 ‘‘(I) select a topic; 6 ‘‘(II) issue a problem statement; 7 ‘‘(III) advise the Secretary re- 8 garding any opportunity for techno- 9 logical innovation to reduce human- 10 predator conflict using nonlethal 11 means; and 12 ‘‘(IV) advise winners of the prize 13 competition regarding opportunities to 14 pilot and implement winning tech- 15 nologies in relevant fields, including in 16 partnership with conservation organi- 17 zations, Federal or State agencies, 18 federally recognized Indian Tribes, 19 private entities, and research institu- 20 tions with expertise or interest relat- 21 ing to reducing human-predator con- 22 flict using nonlethal means. 23 ‘‘(iv) CONSULTATION.—In selecting a 24 topic and issuing a problem statement for 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:38 Jul 26, 2019 Jkt 034408 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2194.IS S2194 Pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 6 •S 2194 IS the prize competition under subclauses (I) 1 and (II) of clause (iii), respectively, the 2 Board shall consult widely with Federal 3 and non-Federal stakeholders, including— 4 ‘‘(I) 1 or more Federal agencies 5 with jurisdiction over the management 6 of native wildlife species at risk due to 7 conflict with human activities; 8 ‘‘(II) 1 or more State agencies 9 with jurisdiction over the management 10 of native wildlife species at risk due to 11 conflict with human activities; 12 ‘‘(III) 1 or more State, regional, 13 or local wildlife organizations, the 14 mission of which relates to the man- 15 agement of native wildlife species at 16 risk due to conflict with human activi- 17 ties; and 18 ‘‘(IV) 1 or more wildlife con- 19 servation groups, technology compa- 20 nies, research institutions, institutions 21 of higher education, industry associa- 22 tions, or individual stakeholders with 23 an interest in the management of na- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:38 Jul 26, 2019 Jkt 034408 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2194.IS S2194 Pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 7 •S 2194 IS tive wildlife species at risk due to con- 1 flict with human activities. 2 ‘‘(v) REQUIREMENTS.—The Board 3 shall comply with all requirements under 4 paragraph (8)(A). 5 ‘‘(D) AGREEMENT WITH NATIONAL FISH 6 AND WILDLIFE FOUNDATION.— 7 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary 8 shall offer to enter into an agreement 9 under which the National Fish and Wild- 10 life Foundation shall administer the prize 11 competition. 12 ‘‘(ii) REQUIREMENTS.—An agreement 13 entered into under clause (i) shall comply 14 with all requirements under paragraph 15 (8)(B). 16 ‘‘(E) JUDGES.— 17 ‘‘(i) APPOINTMENT.—The Secretary 18 shall appoint not fewer than 3 judges who 19 shall, except as provided in clause (ii), se- 20 lect the 1 or more annual winners of the 21 prize competition. 22 ‘‘(ii) DETERMINATION BY SEC- 23 RETARY.—The judges appointed under 24 clause (i) shall not select any annual win- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:38 Jul 26, 2019 Jkt 034408 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2194.IS S2194 Pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 8 •S 2194 IS ner of the prize competition if the Sec- 1 retary makes a determination that, in any 2 fiscal year, none of the technological ad- 3 vancements entered into the prize competi- 4 tion merits an award. 5 ‘‘(F) CONSULTATION WITH NOAA.—The 6 Secretary shall consult with the Secretary of 7 Commerce, acting through the Administrator of 8 the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Admin- 9 istration, in the case of a cash prize awarded 10 under the prize competition for a technology 11 that addresses conflict between marine preda- 12 tors under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of 13 Commerce, acting through the Administrator of 14 the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Admin- 15 istration, and humans. 16 ‘‘(G) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later 17 than 60 days after the date on which a cash 18 prize is awarded under this paragraph, the Sec- 19 retary shall submit to the Committee on Envi- 20 ronment and Public Works of the Senate and 21 the Committee on Natural Resources of the 22 House of Representatives a report on the prize 23 competition that includes— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:38 Jul 26, 2019 Jkt 034408 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2194.IS S2194 Pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 9 •S 2194 IS ‘‘(i) a statement by the Board that 1 describes the activities carried out by the 2 Board relating to the duties described in 3 subparagraph (C)(iii); 4 ‘‘(ii) if the Secretary has entered into 5 an agreement under subparagraph (D)(i), 6 a statement by the National Fish and 7 Wildlife Foundation that describes the ac- 8 tivities carried out by the National Fish 9 and Wildlife Foundation relating to the du- 10 ties described in paragraph (8)(B); and 11 ‘‘(iii) a statement by 1 or more of the 12 judges appointed under subparagraph (E) 13 that explains the basis on which the winner 14 of the cash prize was selected. 15 ‘‘(H) TERMINATION OF AUTHORITY.—The 16 Board and all authority provided under this 17 paragraph shall terminate on December 31, 18 2023.’’; and 19 (6) in paragraph (8) (as so redesignated)— 20 (A) in subparagraph (A), in the matter 21 preceding clause (i), by striking ‘‘or (6)(C)(i)’’ 22 and inserting ‘‘(6)(C)(i), or (7)(C)(i)’’; and 23 (B) in subparagraph (B)— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:38 Jul 26, 2019 Jkt 034408 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2194.IS S2194 Pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 10 •S 2194 IS (i) in the matter preceding clause (i), 1 by striking ‘‘or (6)(D)(i)’’ and inserting 2 ‘‘(6)(D)(i), or (7)(D)(i)’’; and 3 (ii) in clause (i)(VII), by striking 4 ‘‘and (6)(E)’’ and inserting ‘‘(6)(E), and 5 (7)(E)’’. 6 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con- 7 gress that data collected from the tagging of predators can 8 inform innovative management of those predators and in- 9 novative education activities to minimize human-predator 10 conflict. 11 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:38 Jul 26, 2019 Jkt 034408 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S2194.IS S2194 Pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS