,,ii  #aafth ,,congress  #b;d ,session  
,s4 #daij  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,july #b1      
#bjbj,mr4 ,merkley 7for himself and ,mr4
 ,romney7 introduced the following bill2
 which was read twice and referred to   
the ,committee on ,environment and      
,public ,works  ,a ,,bill  ,to authorize
 the ,director of the ,united ,states   
,geological ,survey to establish a      
regional program to assess1 monitor1 and
 benefit the hydrology of saline lakes  
in the ,great ,basin and the migratory  
birds and other wildlife dependent on   
those habitats1 and for other purposes4 
#a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited
 as the ,saline ,lake ,ecosystems in the
 ,great ,basin ,states ,program ,act of 
#bjbj4  #b4 ,saline ,lake ,ecosystems in
 the ,great ,basin ,states ,assessment  
and ,monitoring ,program  7a7           
,definitions ,in this section3 7#a7     
,program ,the term ,program means the   
,saline ,lake ,ecosystems in the ,great 
,basin ,states ,assessment and          

,monitoring ,program established under  
subsection 7b74  7#b7 ,secretary ,the   
term ,secretary means the ,secretary of 
the ,interior1 acting through the       
,director of the ,united ,states        
,geological ,survey4  7b7 ,establishment
 ,the ,secretary shall establish a      
,saline ,lake ,ecosystems in the ,great 
,basin ,states ,assessment and          
,monitoring ,program to assess and      
monitor the hydrology of saline lake    
ecosystems in the ,great ,basin and the 
migratory birds and other wildlife that 
depend on those ecosystems to inform and
 support coordinated management and     
conservation actions to benefit those   
ecosystems1 migratory birds1 and other  
wildlife4  7c7 ,work and implementation 
plan  7#a7 ,in general ,under the       
,program1 the ,secretary1 in            
coordination with the ,director of the  
,united ,states ,fish and ,wildlife     
,service and the entities described in  
paragraph 7#b71 shall establish a       
multiyear work and implementation plan  

to assess1 monitor1 and conserve saline 
lake ecosystems in the ,great ,basin and
 the migratory birds and other wildlife 
that depend on those ecosystems4  7#b7  
,coordinating entities ,the entities    
referred to in paragraph 7#a7 include-- 
7,a7 ,federal1 ,state1 ,tribal1 and     
local agencies2  7,b7 institutions of   
higher education2  7,c7 nonprofit       
organizations2 and  7,d7 other local    
stakeholders4  7#c7 ,inclusions ,the    
work and implementation plan established
 under paragraph 7#a7 shall include--   
7,a7 a synthesis of available           
information1 literature1 and data1 and  
an assessment of scientific and         
informational needs1 relating to-- 7i7  
water quantity1 water quality1 water    
use1 and water demand2  7ii7 migratory  
bird and other wildlife populations1    
habitats1 and ecology2  7iii7 annual    
lifecycle needs of migratory birds2 and 
7iv7 environmental changes and other    
stressors1 including climatic stressors2
  7,b7 a description of how the plan    

should be implemented to address the    
scientific and informational needs      
described in subparagraph 7,a71         
including proposed activities1 such as  
monitoring1 data infrastructure needs1  
and development of tools necessary to   
implement the ,program2  7,c7           
recommendations and a cost assessment   
for the implementation of the plan2 and 
7,d7 such other matters as the          
,secretary determines to be appropriate4
  7#d7 ,report ,not later than #a year  
after the date of enactment of this     
,act1 the ,secretary shall submit to    
,congress a report describing the work  
and implementation plan established     
under paragraph 7#a74  7d7              
,implementation ,the ,secretary shall   
implement the ,program based on the     
information1 findings1 and              
recommendations contained in the work   
and implementation plan established     
under subsection 7c74  7e7 ,cooperative 
agreements and grants ,using such sums  
as the ,secretary considers to be       

appropriate of amounts made available   
for each fiscal year under subsection   
7f71 the ,secretary may enter into      
cooperative funding agreements with1 or 
provide grants to1 entities described in
 subsection 7c77#b7 for the purposes    
of-- 7#a7 participating in developing1  
or providing information to inform the  
development of1 the work and            
implementation plan under subsection    
7c72  7#b7 carrying out assessments and 
monitoring of water quality1 quantity1  
use1 and demand under the ,program2 and 
7#c7 carrying out ecological1           
biological1 and avian assessments and   
monitoring under the ,program4  7f7     
,authorization of appropriations ,there 
is authorized to be appropriated to     
carry out the ,program #e1jjj1jjj for   
each of fiscal years #bjba through      
#bjbf4