S.Amdt. 3515

1. Adds SEC. 2__. SAGE-GROUSE CONSERVATION EFFORTS at the end of title II

   Adds a section

   In S. 2363 · Placed on Calendar Senate

   (d) Limitation on Authority.--Section 11 of the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Establishment Act (16 U.S.C. 3710) is amended by inserting "exclusive" before "authority".

   Inserted: SEC. 2__. SAGE-GROUSE CONSERVATION EFFORTS.

   Inserted: (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--

   Inserted: (1) pursuant to the court-approved work schedule described in the Joint Motion for Approval of Settlement Agreement and Order of Dismissal of Guardians Claims entitled "In Re Endangered Species Act Section 4 Deadline Litigation" (D.D.C. 2011), not later than September 30, 2015, the Secretary is scheduled to issue a decision on whether to proceed with listing the greater sage-grouse as a threatened or endangered species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.);

   Inserted: (2) the Federal Government, through programs of the Department of Interior and the Department of Agriculture, has invested substantial funds on greater and Gunnison sage-grouse conservation efforts to avoid the greater and Gunnison sage-grouse being listed as threatened or endangered species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.);

   Inserted: (3) State wildlife management agencies have prepared, and as of the date of enactment of this Act are in the process of implementing, greater and Gunnison sage-grouse conservation plans to complement the conservation efforts of the Federal Government;

   Inserted: (4) private investment in conservation efforts, independently and in conjunction with Federal cost-share conservation easement programs, has been significant; (5) through a combination of Federal, State, and private efforts, significant conservation progress is being made, and further progress will be made following full implementation of State management plans and new Federal conservation programs; and

   Inserted: (6) farmers, ranchers, developers, and small businesses need certainty, and further clarity on the likelihood of a listing decision will provide that certainty.

   Inserted: (b) Definition of Secretary.--In this section, the term "Secretary" means the Secretary of the Interior.

   Inserted: (c) Greater Sage-grouse Reporting Requirement.--

   Inserted: (1) In general.--Not later than December 15, 2014, the Secretary shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report on the status of greater sage-grouse conservation efforts.

   Inserted: (2) Contents.--In the report required under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall include--

   Inserted: (A) a description of public and private programs and expenditures, including State and Federal Government agencies, relating to greater sage-grouse conservation;

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   Inserted: (B) a description of State management plans, including plans that have been announced but not yet implemented;

   Inserted: (C) a description of Bureau of Land Management plans, or plans by any other land management agencies, relating to greater sage-grouse conservation;

   Inserted: (D) in accordance with paragraph (3), a description of the metrics that, at the discretion of the Secretary, will be used to make a determination of whether the greater sage-grouse should be listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.);

   Inserted: (E) any outcome under the programs, expenditures, or plans referred to in subparagraphs (A) through (C) that can be measured by the metrics described in paragraph (3); and

   Inserted: (F) any recommendations to Congress for legislative actions that could provide certainty to farmers, ranchers, developers, and small businesses and could assist in the conservation of the greater sage-grouse.

   Inserted: (3) Reported metrics.--The metrics described in paragraph (2)(D) may include--

   Inserted: (A) the quantity of acres enrolled in sagebrush and habitat protection in conservation programs established under title XII of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3801 et seq.) or other conservation programs of the Department of Agriculture, including conservation easements, land purchases or swaps, vegetation management or habitat enhancement programs, and fuels management programs;

   Inserted: (B) data on nonfire related habitat restoration efforts, including native, nonnative, and mixed seeding efforts;

   Inserted: (C) data on mine reclamation and subsequent restoration efforts intended to restore greater sage-grouse habitat;

   Inserted: (D) data on conifer removal;

   Inserted: (E) data on presuppression fire efforts, including--

   Inserted: (i) the number of acres associated with fuels management programs; and

   Inserted: (ii) the number of miles associated with fire breaks;

   Inserted: (F) data on habitat restoration, including postfire restoration efforts involving native, nonnative, and mixed seeding;

   Inserted: (G) data on structure removal, power line burial, power line retrofitting or modification, fence modification, fence marking, and fence removal;

   Inserted: (H) for livestock and rangeland management, data on allotment closure and road closure;

   Inserted: (I) for travel management, data on road and trail closure and trail rerouting;

   Inserted: (J) data on greater sage-grouse translocation efforts, including the number of greater sage-grouse translocated, the age of each translocated greater sage-grouse, and the sex of each translocated greater sage-grouse; and

   Inserted: (K) any other data or metric the Secretary may examine in making the decision on whether to list the greater sage-grouse as a threatened or endangered species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.)

   Inserted: (d) Agricultural Land Easements.--

   Inserted: (1) In general.--Section 1265B(b)(2)(C)(i) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3865b(b)(2)(C)(i))) is amended--

   Inserted: (A) by striking "Grasslands" and inserting "In General"; and

   Inserted: (B) by inserting "and land with greater or Gunnison sage-grouse habitat of special environmental significance" after "significance".

   Inserted: (2) Considerations.--Section 1265B(b)(3) (B) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3865b(b)(3)(B)) is amended--

   Inserted: (A) in clause (i), by striking "and" after the semicolon at the end;

   Inserted: (B) in clause (ii), by striking the period at the end and inserting "; and"; and

   Inserted: (C) by adding at the end the following:

   Inserted: "(iii) maximizing the protection of greater or Gunnison sage-grouse habitat.".

   Original wording

   At the end of title II, add the following:

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As printed