,i  #aagth ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #ddeh  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,july #af1 #bjba,mr4 
,huffman 7for himself1 ,ms4 ,barragn1   
,mr4 ,lieu1 ,ms4 ,lee of ,california1   
,mr4 ,cleaver1 ,mr4 ,panetta1 ,mr4      
,lowenthal1 ,mr4 ,de,fazio1 ,ms4        
,bonamici1 and ,ms4 ,norton7 introduced 
the following bill2 which was referred  
to the ,committee on ,natural ,resources
  ,a ,,bill  ,to establish a grant      
program within the ,national ,oceanic   
and ,atmospheric ,administration to     
award grants to eligible entities for   
the purpose of carrying out projects on 
the conservation1 restoration1 or       
management of kelp forest ecosystems4   
#a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited
 as the ,keeping ,ecostystems ,living   
and ,productive ,act or the ,,kelp ,act4
  #b4 ,grants for conserving1           
recovering1 and maintaining kelp forest 
ecosystems  7a7 ,establishment ,the     
,administrator of the ,national ,oceanic
 and ,atmospheric ,administration shall 

establish a grant program 7in this      
section referred to as the ,program7    
under which the ,administrator shall    
award grants to eligible entities       
described in subsection 7b7 to carry out
 projects relating to the conservation1 
restoration1 or management of kelp      
forest ecosystems4  7b7 ,eligible entity
 ,to be eligible for a grant under this 
section1 an entity shall-- 7#a7 be a    
member of the fishing industry1 an      
academic community1 a relevant nonprofit
 organization1 a federally recognized   
,indian ,tribe1 or a relevant ,state    
agency2  7#b7 propose or be conducting a
 project relating to the conservation1  
restoration1 or management of kelp      
forest ecosystems developed through     
consultation with any of the other      
entities described in paragraph 7#a72   
and  7#c7 submit to the ,administrator  
an application describing such project  
at such time1 in such manner1 and       
containing such information as the      
,administrator may require1 including   

information about what criteria will be 
used to monitor and evaluate the        
effectiveness of the project4  7c7      
,eligible projects ,the ,administrator  
shall award grants to eligible entities 
for projects that-- 7#a7 address        
greatest relative regional declines in  
kelp forest ecosystems2  7#b7 focus on--
 7,a7 long term ecosystem resilience2   
7,b7 long term socioeconomic resilience2
  7,c7 kelp forest seeding and          
connectivity2  7,d7 urchin removal and  
predator control efforts2  7,e7         
monitoring and assessment of kelp forest
 ecosystems2 or  7,f7 other efforts to  
restore kelp forest ecosystems and      
prevent large scale losses of kelp      
forests2 or  7#c7 are identified by     
,federal or ,state restoration and      
management plans as focal areas for     
recovery of kelp forests and associated 
species4  7d7 ,matching requirement     
7#a7 ,in general ,except as provided in 
paragraph 7#b71 the total amount of     
,federal funding received under the     

,program by an eligible entity may not  
exceed #he percent of the total cost of 
the project for which a grant is        
awarded4 ,for the purposes of this      
subparagraph1 the non-,federal share of 
project costs may be provided by in-kind
 contributions and other noncash        
support4  7#b7 ,waiver ,the             
,administrator may waive all or part of 
the requirement in paragraph 7#a7 if the
 ,administrator determines that no      
reasonable means are available through  
which an eligible entity applying for a 
grant under this section can meet such  
requirement and the probable benefit of 
such project outweighs the public       
interest in such requirement4  7e7      
,definitions ,in this section-- 7#a7 the
 term academic community means faculty1 
researchers1 professors1 and            
representatives of ,state-accredited    
colleges and universities2  7#b7 the    
term fishing industry means processors1 
commercial fishermen1 and recreational  
fishermen2  7#c7 the term kelp forest   

ecosystem means a naturally occurring1  
biotic system dominated by canopy       
forming benthic macroalgae and          
associated taxa2 and  7#d7 the term     
nonprofit organization means an         
organization described in section       
#eja7;c77#c7 of the ,internal ,revenue  
,code of #aihf and exempt from tax under
 section #eja7;a7 of such ,code4  7f7   
,authorization of appropriations ,there 
is authorized to be appropriated to the 
,administrator #ej1jjj1jjj for each of  
the fiscal years #bjbb through #bjbf to 
carry out this section4  #c4 ,sense of  
,congress ,it is the sense of ,congress 
that the purposes of this ,act and the  
grants authorized by section #b are to  
support wild kelp forest ecosystems and 
restoration of wild kelp to enable long 
term recovery of naturally functioning  
kelp forest ecosystems that do not      
involve commercial or mechanized        
harvesting4