Extinction Prevention Act of 2023

II 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1708 To create dedicated funds to conserve butterflies in North America, plants in the Pacific Islands, freshwater mussels in the United States, and desert fish in the Southwest United States, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 18, 2023 Mr. BLUMENTHAL (for himself, Ms. HIRONO, and Mr. MERKLEY) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works A BILL To create dedicated funds to conserve butterflies in North America, plants in the Pacific Islands, freshwater mus- sels in the United States, and desert fish in the South- west United States, 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 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘Extinction Prevention Act of 2023’’. 5 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 6 this Act is as follows: 7 Sec. 1. Short title. VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:54 Jun 09, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\S1708.IS S1708 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •S 1708 IS TITLE I—NORTH AMERICA BUTTERFLY CONSERVATION ACT OF 2023 Sec. 101. Short title. Sec. 102. Purposes. Sec. 103. Definitions. Sec. 104. North America butterfly conservation assistance. Sec. 105. North America Butterfly Conservation Fund. Sec. 106. Authorization of appropriations. Sec. 107. Report to Congress. TITLE II—PACIFIC ISLANDS PLANT CONSERVATION FUND ACT OF 2023 Sec. 201. Short title. Sec. 202. Purposes. Sec. 203. Definitions. Sec. 204. Pacific Islands plant conservation assistance. Sec. 205. Pacific Islands Plant Conservation Fund. Sec. 206. Authorization of appropriations. Sec. 207. Report to Congress. TITLE III—FRESHWATER MUSSEL CONSERVATION FUND ACT OF 2023 Sec. 301. Short title. Sec. 302. Purposes. Sec. 303. Definitions. Sec. 304. United States freshwater mussel conservation assistance. Sec. 305. Freshwater Mussel Conservation Fund. Sec. 306. Authorization of appropriations. Sec. 307. Report to Congress. TITLE IV—SOUTHWEST DESERT FISH CONSERVATION FUND ACT OF 2023 Sec. 401. Short title. Sec. 402. Purposes. Sec. 403. Definitions. Sec. 404. Southwest desert fish conservation assistance. Sec. 405. Southwest Desert Fish Conservation Fund. Sec. 406. Authorization of appropriations. Sec. 407. Report to Congress. TITLE I—NORTH AMERICA BUT- 1 TERFLY CONSERVATION ACT 2 OF 2023 3 SEC. 101. SHORT TITLE. 4 This title may be cited as the ‘‘North America But- 5 terfly Conservation Fund Act of 2023’’. 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:54 Jun 09, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1708.IS S1708 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •S 1708 IS SEC. 102. PURPOSES. 1 The purposes of this title are— 2 (1) to perpetuate healthy populations of butter- 3 flies in North America; 4 (2) to assist in the conservation of threatened 5 and endangered butterflies by supporting conserva- 6 tion initiatives in North America; and 7 (3) to provide financial resources and to foster 8 international cooperation for those initiatives. 9 SEC. 103. DEFINITIONS. 10 In this title: 11 (1) NORTH AMERICA BUTTERFLY CONSERVA- 12 TION.—The term ‘‘North America butterfly con- 13 servation’’ means the use of all methods and proce- 14 dures necessary to protect habitats of butterflies in 15 North America and of butterflies in those habitats, 16 including— 17 (A) protection, restoration, and manage- 18 ment of habitats; 19 (B) onsite research and monitoring of pop- 20 ulations, habitats, annual reproduction, and 21 butterfly species population trends; 22 (C) assistance in the development, imple- 23 mentation, and improvement of national and re- 24 gional management plans; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:54 Jun 09, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1708.IS S1708 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •S 1708 IS (D) enforcement and implementation of 1 applicable conservation laws; and 2 (E) community outreach and education. 3 (2) FUND.—The term ‘‘Fund’’ means the 4 North America Butterfly Conservation Fund estab- 5 lished by section 105. 6 (3) BUTTERFLY; BUTTERFLIES.—The terms 7 ‘‘butterfly’’ and ‘‘butterflies’’ mean any member of 8 the order Lepidoptera. 9 (4) NORTH AMERICA.—The term ‘‘North Amer- 10 ica’’ means the United States, Canada, Mexico, An- 11 tigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, 12 Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, 13 El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, 14 Jamaica, Nicaragua, Panama, Saint Kitts and 15 Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grena- 16 dines, and Trinidad and Tobago. 17 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 18 the Secretary of the Interior. 19 SEC. 104. NORTH AMERICA BUTTERFLY CONSERVATION AS- 20 SISTANCE. 21 (a) ASSISTANCE.— 22 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall, in con- 23 sultation with other Federal officials, use amounts in 24 the Fund to provide competitive financial assistance, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:54 Jun 09, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1708.IS S1708 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 •S 1708 IS including multiyear grants, for North America but- 1 terfly conservation projects. 2 (2) USE OF EXISTING AUTHORITIES.—Assist- 3 ance provided under this section shall be carried out 4 in a manner consistent with authorities available to 5 the Secretary under the Endangered Species Act of 6 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). 7 (b) PROJECT PROPOSALS.— 8 (1) ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS.—A proposal for a 9 North America butterfly conservation project may be 10 submitted to the Secretary under this section by— 11 (A) a State or Tribal agency, research in- 12 stitution, nonprofit organization, or wildlife 13 management authority in North America that— 14 (i) exercises control or has jurisdiction 15 over butterfly habitat; and 16 (ii) directly or indirectly affects North 17 America butterfly conservation; or 18 (B) any other individual or entity, as the 19 Secretary determines appropriate, with the 20 demonstrated expertise required to carry out 21 North America butterfly conservation. 22 (2) FEDERAL PARTNERSHIP OPPORTUNITIES.— 23 A Federal agency may not be a lead entity or receive 24 funding for a project under this section, but may be 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:54 Jun 09, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1708.IS S1708 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 6 •S 1708 IS included as a partner or collaborator on a project 1 that receives such funding. 2 (3) REQUIRED ELEMENTS.—A project proposal 3 submitted under this section shall include— 4 (A) a statement of the purposes of the 5 project; 6 (B) the name of the individual or entity 7 with overall responsibility for the project; 8 (C) a description of— 9 (i) the qualifications of the individual 10 or entity that will conduct the project; 11 (ii) methods for project implementa- 12 tion and outcome assessment; 13 (iii) staffing and stakeholder engage- 14 ment for the project, including mechanisms 15 to encourage adequate local public partici- 16 pation in project development and imple- 17 mentation; 18 (iv) the logistics of the project, includ- 19 ing cost estimates and timelines; and 20 (v) anticipated outcomes of the 21 project; 22 (D) evidence of free, informed, and prior 23 consent by indigenous communities in the area 24 in which the project will be conducted, if the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:54 Jun 09, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1708.IS S1708 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 7 •S 1708 IS Secretary determines that such consent is re- 1 quired for the success of the project; 2 (E) assurances that the project will be im- 3 plemented in consultation with relevant wildlife 4 management authorities, Tribes, and other ap- 5 propriate government officials; 6 (F) demonstrated sensitivity to local his- 7 toric and cultural resources and compliance 8 with applicable laws; 9 (G) information that demonstrates the po- 10 tential of the project to contribute to North 11 America butterfly conservation; 12 (H) evidence of support for the project 13 from each appropriate governmental entity of 14 each country, Tribe, and indigenous community 15 in which the project will be conducted, if the 16 Secretary determines that such support is re- 17 quired for the success of the project; 18 (I) information regarding the source and 19 amount of any matching funding available for 20 the project; and 21 (J) such other information as the Sec- 22 retary determines appropriate. 23 (c) PROJECT REVIEW AND APPROVAL.— 24 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:54 Jun 09, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1708.IS S1708 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 8 •S 1708 IS (A) not later than 30 days after receiving 1 a project proposal, provide a copy of the pro- 2 posal to other Federal officials, as appropriate; 3 and 4 (B) review each project proposal to deter- 5 mine whether the proposal meets the criteria 6 specified in subsection (d). 7 (2) CONSULTATION; APPROVAL OR DIS- 8 APPROVAL.—Not later than 180 days after receiving 9 a project proposal, the Secretary shall, after con- 10 sulting with other Federal officials, as appropriate, 11 with respect to each project proposal submitted 12 under this section— 13 (A) consult on the project proposal with 14 the government of each country in which the 15 project is to be conducted; 16 (B) after taking into consideration any 17 comments resulting from such consultation, ap- 18 prove or disapprove the project proposal; and 19 (C) provide written notification of the ap- 20 proval or disapproval to the individual or entity 21 that submitted the project proposal, such other 22 Federal officials, and each country described in 23 subparagraph (A). 24 (d) CRITERIA FOR APPROVAL.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:54 Jun 09, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1708.IS S1708 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 9 •S 1708 IS (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may approve 1 a project proposal under this section if the project 2 will help recover and sustain viable populations of 3 butterflies in the wild by assisting efforts to imple- 4 ment North America butterfly conservation pro- 5 grams. 6 (2) PRIORITY.—In selecting projects for ap- 7 proval, the Secretary shall give priority to projects 8 that conserve species of butterflies that are listed as 9 a threatened or endangered species under the En- 10 dangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et 11 seq.). 12 (3) PROJECT SUSTAINABILITY.—To the max- 13 imum extent practicable, in determining whether to 14 approve a project proposal under this section, the 15 Secretary shall give preference to projects that are 16 designed to ensure effective and long-term North 17 America butterfly conservation. 18 (4) MATCHING FUNDS.—In determining wheth- 19 er to approve a project proposal under this section, 20 the Secretary shall give preference to projects for 21 which matching funds are available. 22 (5) WAIVER.—The Secretary may waive the ap- 23 plication of paragraphs (2), (3), or (4) with respect 24 to a project if the Secretary— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:54 Jun 09, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1708.IS S1708 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 10 •S 1708 IS (A) has identified the project as of high 1 priority; and 2 (B) finds that such waiver is necessary to 3 support the project. 4 (e) PROJECT REPORTING.— 5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each individual or entity 6 that receives assistance under this section for a 7 project shall submit to the Secretary periodic reports 8 (at such intervals as the Secretary determines ap- 9 propriate) that include all information that the Sec- 10 retary, after consultation with other government of- 11 ficials, determines is necessary to evaluate the 12 progress and success of such project for the pur- 13 poses of ensuring positive results, assessing prob- 14 lems, and fostering improvements. 15 (2) AVAILABILITY TO THE PUBLIC.—The Sec- 16 retary shall make available to the public each report 17 submitted under paragraph (1) and any other docu- 18 ment relating to a project for which financial assist- 19 ance is provided under this title. 20 SEC. 105. NORTH AMERICA BUTTERFLY CONSERVATION 21 FUND. 22 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 23 Treasury a separate account, to be known as the ‘‘North 24 America Butterfly Conservation Fund’’, consisting of— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:54 Jun 09, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1708.IS S1708 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 11 •S 1708 IS (1) amounts transferred to the Secretary for 1 deposit into the Fund under subsection (e); 2 (2) amounts appropriated to the Fund under 3 section 106; and 4 (3) any interest earned on investment of 5 amounts in the Fund under subsection (c). 6 (b) EXPENDITURES FROM FUND.— 7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), at 8 the request of the Secretary, the Secretary of the 9 Treasury shall transfer from the Fund to the Sec- 10 retary, without further appropriation, such amounts 11 as the Secretary determines are necessary to carry 12 out section 104. 13 (2) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Of the 14 amounts in the Fund available for each fiscal year, 15 the Secretary may expend the greater of 3 percent 16 of such amounts or $80,000 to pay the administra- 17 tive expenses necessary to carry out this title. 18 (c) INVESTMENT OF AMOUNTS.— 19 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Treas- 20 ury shall invest such portion of the Fund as is not, 21 in the judgment of the Secretary of the Treasury, 22 required to meet current withdrawals. Such invest- 23 ments may be made only in interest-bearing obliga- 24 tions of the United States. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:54 Jun 09, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1708.IS S1708 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 12 •S 1708 IS (2) ACQUISITION OF OBLIGATIONS.—For the 1 purpose of investments under paragraph (1), obliga- 2 tions may be acquired— 3 (A) on original issue at the issue price; or 4 (B) by purchase of outstanding obligations 5 at market price. 6 (3) SALE OF OBLIGATIONS.—Any obligation ac- 7 quired by the Fund may be sold by the Secretary of 8 the Treasury at market price. 9 (4) CREDITS TO FUND.—The interest on, and 10 the proceeds from the sale or redemption of, any ob- 11 ligations held in the Fund shall be credited to and 12 form a part of the Fund. 13 (d) TRANSFERS OF AMOUNTS.— 14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Treas- 15 ury shall transfer at least monthly the amounts re- 16 quired to be transferred to the Fund under this s [Text truncated for display. 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