S. 2575 — Introduced in Senate

II 113th CONGRESS 2d Session S. 2575 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES July 9, 2014 Mr. Walsh (for himself, Mr. Tester, and Mr. Udall of Colorado) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works A BILL To require the Secretary of the Interior to prepare a report on the status of greater sage-grouse conservation efforts, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Sage-Grouse Accountability and Private Conservation Act of 2014. 2. Findings Congress finds that— (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.); (2) the Federal Government, through programs of the Department of the 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.); (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; (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 (6) farmers, ranchers, developers, and small businesses need certainty, and further clarity on the likelihood of a listing decision will provide that certainty. 3. Definition of Secretary In this Act, the term Secretary means the Secretary of the Interior. 4. Greater Sage-Grouse Reporting Requirement (a) 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. (b) Contents In the report required under subsection (a), the Secretary shall include— (1) a description of public and private programs and expenditures, including State and Federal Government agencies, relating to greater sage-grouse conservation; (2) a description of State management plans, including plans that have been announced but not yet implemented; (3) a description of Bureau of Land Management plans, or plans by any other land management agencies, relating to greater sage-grouse conservation; (4) in accordance with subsection (c), 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.); (5) any outcome under the programs, expenditures, or plans referred to in paragraphs (1) through (3) that can be measured by the metrics described in subsection (c); and (6) 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. (c) Reported Metrics The metrics referred to in subsection (b)(4) may include— (1) 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; (2) data on nonfire related habitat restoration efforts, including native, nonnative, and mixed seeding efforts; (3) data on mine reclamation and subsequent restoration efforts intended to restore greater sage-grouse habitat; (4) data on conifer removal; (5) data on presuppression fire efforts, including— (A) the number of acres associated with fuels management programs; and (B) the number of miles associated with fire breaks; (6) data on habitat restoration, including postfire restoration efforts involving native, nonnative, and mixed seeding; (7) data on structure removal, power line burial, power line retrofitting or modification, fence modification, fence marking, and fence removal; (8) for livestock and rangeland management, data on allotment closure and road closure; (9) for travel management, data on road and trail closure and trail rerouting; (10) 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 (11) 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.). 5. Agricultural Land Easements (a) 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— (1) by striking Grasslands and inserting In general; and (2) by inserting and land with greater or Gunnison sage-grouse habitat of special environmental significance after significance. (b) Considerations Section 1265B(b)(3)(B) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3865b(b)(3)(B)) is amended— (1) in clause (i), by striking and after the semicolon at the end; (2) in clause (ii), by striking the period at the end and inserting ; and; and (3) by adding at the end the following: (iii) maximizing the protection of greater or Gunnison sage-grouse habitat. .