H.R. 767 would protect, conserve, and restore native fish, wildlife, and their natural habitats at national wildlife refuges through cooperative, incentive-based grants to control, mitigate, and eradicate harmful nonnative species.
Detailed Summary
Refugee Ecology Protection, Assistance, and Immediate Response Act - (Sec. 4) Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to provide under the Refuge Ecology Protection, Assistance, and Immediate Response Grant Program or the REPAIR Program (established by this Act): (1) a grant to any eligible applicant to carry out a qualified control project to control harmful nonnative species; and (2) a grant to any state to carry out an assessment project to identify harmful nonnative species, assess the needs to restore, manage, or enhance native fish, wildlife and habitats, identify priorities, and identify mechanisms to increase capacity building for native fish, wildlife, and habitats.
Requires the Secretary to consult with the Invasive Species Advisory Committee: (1) on the projects proposed for such grants, including the scientific merit, technical merit, feasibility, and priority of proposed projects; and (2) regarding the development of a database concerning control projects carried out with such grants.
Requires the Invasive Species Advisory Committee to: (1) consult with the Secretary on the creation of criteria and guidelines for such grants; (2) consult with the Secretary regarding whether proposed control projects are qualified control projects, as determined under this Act; and (3) carry out functions relating to the monitoring of control projects, as specified.
Specifies that eligible applicants for grants to carry out qualified control projects shall: (1) be a state, local government, interstate or regional agency, university, or private person; (2) have adequate personnel, funding, and authority to carry out and monitor or maintain a control project; and (3) have entered into an agreement with the Secretary or the Secretary's designee for a national wildlife refuge or refuge complex.
Sets forth requirements for determining the selection of qualified control projects, including the ranking of such projects.
Instructs the Secretary, in making grants for such control projects, to ensure: (1) a balance of smaller and larger projects conducted; and (2) an equitable geographic distribution of projects carried out among all regions and states within which such projects are proposed to be conducted.
Sets forth requirements for: (1) the duration and renewal of grants; (2) reporting by grantees carrying out control and assessment projects; and (3) federal and non-federal cost sharing for such projects. Provides that the federal share of the cost of the portion of a control project that is carried out on national wildlife refuge lands or waters shall be 100%, including the cost of acquisition by the federal government of land or waters for use for such a project.
Requires the Secretary, by not later than three years after enactment of this Act, and biennially thereafter as specified, to report to the House Committee on Natural Resources and the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works on the implementation of such Program. Requires that such reports include an assessment of specified, data, trends, and reviews concerning the control projects carried out under this Act.
Bars the Secretary from making a grant for a control project on national wildlife refuge lands or lands in proximity to refuge resources before a non-federal interest has entered into a written agreement with a national wildlife refuge or refuge complex under which the non-federal interest agrees to: (1) monitor and maintain the control project according to the plan required by this Act; and (2) provide any other items of cooperation the Secretary considers necessary to carry out the project.
(Sec. 5) Authorizes the Secretary to provide financial assistance for a fiscal year to enable an immediate response to outbreaks of harmful nonnative species that threaten or may negatively impact refuge resources that are at a stage at which rapid eradication or control is possible, and to ensure eradication or immediate control of such species. Requires the provision of such assistance with the concurrence of the governor of the state, to local and state agencies, universities, or nongovernmental entities for the eradication of an immediate harmful nonnative species threat only under specified conditions, including that the proposed response to such threat minimizes adverse impacts to the structure and function of national wildlife refuge ecosystems and adverse effects on nontarget species. Provides that the federal share of the cost of any activity carried out with such assistance shall be 100%. Requires recipients of such assistance to monitor and report on activities carried out with such assistance in accordance with the requirements applicable respecting control projects carried out with grant assistance under this Act.
(Sec. 6) Directs the Secretary, consistent with the National Wildlife Refuge System Volunteer and Community Partnership Enhancement Act of 1998, to establish a cooperative volunteer harmful nonnative species monitoring and control program to administer and coordinate projects implemented by partner organizations concerned with national wildlife refuges to address such species that threaten national wildlife refuges or adjacent lands.
Requires each project administered and coordinated to include one of the following activities: (1) habitat surveys; (2) detection and identification of new introductions or infestations of harmful nonnative species; (3) harmful nonnative species control projects; or (4) public education and outreach to increase awareness concerning such species and their threat to the refuge system.
(Sec. 7) Specifies this Act's effect with respect to: (1) other authorities, responsibilities, obligations, or powers of the Secretary under any other statute; and (2) preemption of any provision or enforcement of a state's statute or regulation relating to management of fish and wildlife resources.
(Sec. 8) Requires the Secretary to submit biennial reports summarizing all grant activities relating to invasive species initiated under this Act.
(Sec. 9) Authorizes appropriations. Prohibits: (1) of amounts appropriated for carrying out this Act, not more than 25% from being available in any fiscal year for financial assistance under section 5 of this Act; and (2) the expenditure, of amounts available per fiscal year to carry out this Act, of not more than 3% or up to $100,000, whichever is greater, for paying necessary administrative expenses.
Status of the Legislation
Latest Major Action: 11/8/2007: Referred to Senate committee. Status: Referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
Points in Favor
(Log in to edit the wiki and be the first to show why the bill should pass!)
Points Against
(Log in to edit the wiki and be the first to show why the bill should not pass!)
Visitor Comments
Sherry Hallum
This bill is outrageous and horrific. It is almost a carte blanche invitation to hunters of every ilk to create mass slaughter of a chosen species of animals. I am ashamed of you all for trying to pass this bill. Not only a waste of valuable wildlife but a blantant waste of taxpayers money!
Have you people nothing better to do with your time but develope destructive legislation?
Robin Yager
Let's be careful in what we're doing here - according to whose definition of an invasive species? Currently feral and stray cats,the mustangs and wild burros are all listed as invasive species. I think it needs more work and discussion.
Betty Kelly
11-17-2007
I am strongly opposed to H.R. 767l. The deceiving name of Refuge Ecology Protection, Assistance and Immediate Response Act, may allow massive attacks/slaughter upon creatures that would be labeled “harmful non-native species” as determined by prejudicial special corporate interests.
Would this include the popular big horn sheep, a non-native North America species as well as millions unmanaged domestic livestock that roam Western public lands ranges? Yet, include the few remaining America’s wild horses who are scientifically proved to be a RE-introduced North American NATIVE species, but propagandized by western ranchers and politicians as exotic and non-native. Again, this proposal is only one of many special interest legislation by cattlemen’s association and domestic livestock corporations to pilfer America’s public lands as their own private lands and attack anything they perceived as harmful to their operations.
Terry Watt
So this bill must include removals of domestic cattle and sheep who do horrific damage to wild ecosystems? Obviously no one thinks things through in Washington before voting on bills, we already know they don't read more than the brief summaries.
What we need is a bill titled:
The Stupid Bill Protection Act to keep stupid, deceptive, and dangerous bills from being introduced and voted on in the first place.
It's amazing how special interest groups can push through all of the harmful bills, YET year after year they can't manage to vote on the American Horse Slaughter Protection Act that's supported by the American people, a large number of House members and a growing number in the Senate. I guess the American People's Pockets just aren't deep enough to get good bills passed.
Your security code on this page is ridiculous. Who can read text over text in two directions??
Trent Wright
My applause to this bill, finally, some representives stood up to against free roaming and feral cats that upset the balance in nature! Security code is fine, those who can't read, don't understand.
Thanks!
allen jensen
finally congress is addressing (hr767) the damages to our ecology by feral and invasive species- zebra mussels, feral cats,hogs,mustangs and burros,and whatever else there may be- no longer can this country support the destructiveness of these invaders on our sensitive environment. you liberals living sheltered lives confined safely within the confines of concrete jungles have no clue as to what is really going on in the countryside- what you see in the national parks and zoos is not indicative of the realities of the environment.
Kassie
What Congress is creating is a loophole so any species deemed to be "invasive" by federal, state and local government can be (in the their own words) "iradicated". Wait - doesn't that mean that humans should be eradicated?? Cause we are certainly invasive, so much so that we are developing much of the land and wildlife areas that I'm sure some legislaters think they are protecting through their support of this bill. I wonder who is more damaging to the environment - the animals or the people?????? But instead of taking responsibility for our actions that have severely reduced wildlife areas, let's "eradicate" animals. Yes - that's the answer.