H.R. 556 (111th): Southern Sea Otter Recovery and Research Act

Introduced:
Jan 15, 2009 (111th Congress, 2009–2010)
Sponsor:
Rep. Sam Farr [D-CA17]
Status:
Died (Passed House)
See Instead:

S. 1748 (same title)
Reported by Committee — Jun 09, 2010

The bill’s title was written by the bill’s sponsor. H.R. stands for House of Representatives bill.

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Status

This bill was introduced in a previous session of Congress and was passed by the House on July 28, 2009 but was never passed by the Senate.

Progress
Introduced Jan 15, 2009
Referred to Committee Jan 15, 2009
Reported by Committee Jun 10, 2009
Passed House Jul 28, 2009
Votes

House Vote on Passage
Jul 28, 2009 5:59 p.m.
Passed 316/107

Cosponsors
31 cosponsors (30D, 1R) (show)
Committees

House Natural Resources

Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation

The committee chair determines whether a bill will move past the committee stage.

Full Title

To establish a program of research, recovery, and other activities to provide for the recovery of the southern sea otter.

Summary

No summaries available.

Text

Read Bill Text »

Last updated Jul 29, 2009.
8 pages

Primary Source

View on THOMAS (The Library of Congress)

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Citation

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GovTrack’s Bill Summary

We don’t have a summary available yet.

Library of Congress Summary

The summary below was written by the Congressional Research Service, which is a nonpartisan division of the Library of Congress.

7/28/2009.
Section 2 -
Requires the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the United States Geological Survey (USGS), to carry out a Recovery and Research Program for southern sea otter populations along the coast of California that includes:
(1) monitoring, analysis, and assessment of population demographics, health, mortality, and life history parameters; and
(2) implementation of measures to reduce or eliminate potential factors limiting populations that are related to marine ecosystem health or human activities.
Requires the Secretary to:
(1) appoint persons to a southern sea otter recovery implementation team as authorized under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 within a year;
(2) establish a peer-reviewed, merit-based process to award competitive grants for research regarding such otters and for projects assisting the recovery of otter populations; and
(3) establish a peer review panel to provide scientific advice and guidance to prioritize proposals for grants.
Authorizes research grant topics to include:
(1) causes of sea otter mortality;
(2) southern sea otter demographics and natural history;
(3) effects and sources of pollutants, nutrients, and toxicants on such otters and sequestration of contaminants;
(4) effects and sources of infectious diseases and parasites affecting such otters;
(5) limitations on the availability of food resources for such otters and the impacts of food limitation on southern sea otter carrying capacity;
(6) interactions between southern sea otters and coastal fisheries and other human activities in the marine environment;
(7) assessment of the keystone ecological role of sea otters in southern and central California's coastal marine ecosystems; and
(8) assessment of the adequacy of emergency response and contingency plans.
Authorizes funded recovery projects to include projects to:
(1) protect and recover southern sea otters;
(2) reduce, mitigate, or eliminate potential factors limiting southern sea otter populations that are related to human activities; and
(3) implement emergency response and contingency plans.
Requires the Secretary, within 12 months, to report to Congress on:
(1) the status of southern sea otter populations;
(2) implementation of the research and grant programs; and
(3) endangered species consultations regarding southern sea otters.
Requires the Secretary, within 24 months and every five years thereafter, to report to Congress and the public on:
(1) an evaluation of southern sea otter health, causes of southern sea otter mortality, and the interactions of southern sea otters with California's coastal marine ecosystems;
(2) an evaluation of actions taken to improve otter health, reduce mortality, and improve southern sea otter habitat;
(3) recommendation for actions to improve otter health, reduce the occurrence of human-related mortality, and improve the health of such coastal marine ecosystems; and
(4) recommendations for funding to implement this Act.
Section 4 -
Authorizes appropriations for each of FY2010-FY2015.
Section 5 -
Terminates this Act on the date the Secretary publishes a determination that the southern sea otter should be removed from the endangered species and threatened species lists.

House Republican Conference Summary

The summary below was written by the House Republican Conference, which is the caucus of Republicans in the House of Representatives.

This summary can be found at http://www.gop.gov/bill/111/1/hr556.

Background

The southern sea otter is classified as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act.  Its habitat used to include a range of the Pacific Ocean coast stretching from Canada to Mexico. They are now mainly found off of the coast of central California within three miles of shore.

Some Members may be concerned that H.R. 556 singles out a single species for recovery funding, while other species are arguably in greater need of assistance. According to Ranking Member Doc Hastings (R-WA), "...this legislation singles out a species that while `threatened' is far more likely to survive in the future then a number of highly endangered species which desperately need recovery funding, which may now be diverted by Congressional fiat to `recover' the merely threatened Southern sea otter."

Summary

H.R. 556 authorizes the appropriation of $5 million per year for Fiscal Years 2010 through 2015, for the Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Geological Survey to carry out a research and recovery program for southern sea otters along the California coast. This program would include competitive grants for research and recovery projects. At least 30 percent of program funds would have to used for research grants and at least 30 percent of funds would have to be used for recovery projects.

The bill permits the termination of the program if the southern sea otter is no longer listed on the federal endangered or threatened species list.

 

Cost

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that implementing H.R. 556 would cost $20 million over five years.

House Democratic Caucus Summary

The House Democratic Caucus does not provide summaries of bills.

So, yes, we display the House Republican Conference’s summaries when available even if we do not have a Democratic summary available. That’s because we feel it is better to give you as much information as possible, even if we cannot provide every viewpoint.

We’ll be looking for a source of summaries from the other side in the meanwhile.

The bill contains the following citations to other parts of U.S. law:

United States Code

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