Why It Matters

The House Committee on Natural Resources will meet September 15 to mark up 17 bills covering wildlife management, endangered species, public lands, tribal issues, water projects and historic preservation. Two measures stand out: legislation to broaden predation management authority for Western Washington tribes and a bill that would change how the Endangered Species Act treats artificially propagated animals.

The Hearing

The committee, chaired by Rep. Bruce Westerman (R-AR), will consider H.R. 181, H.R. 184, H.R. 1555, H.R. 4598, H.R. 5745, H.R. 7254, H.R. 7954, H.R. 8195, H.R. 8483, H.R. 9269, H.R. 9600, H.R. 9621, H.R. 9640, H.R. 9785, H.R. 10136, H.R. 10306 and S. 675. Rep. Jared Huffman (D-CA) serves as ranking member.

H.R. 9621, the Northwest Endangered Salmon Predation Prevention Act, would expand where Washington state and Western Washington tribes with protected fishing rights can manage sea lion and seal populations to protect endangered salmon. The measure follows calls from Washington state lawmakers for Congress to provide states and tribes greater flexibility to use adaptive management tools, including lethal removal, against pinniped predators.

H.R. 181 would amend the Endangered Species Act to require artificially propagated animals to be treated the same as naturally propagated animals in determinations under the law. It would also require the Interior secretary to authorize artificial propagation of animals when used to satisfy mitigation requirements under the Endangered Species Act.

The committee will also consider the Bureau of Land Management Mineral Spacing Act, the Marine Fisheries Habitat Protection Act, legislation directing a feasibility study of the Bay Area Ridge National Scenic Trail, the Responsible Cormorant Management and Control Act, tribal land and buffalo management measures, the Renewing the African American Civil Rights Network Act, the Earth MRI Reauthorization Act, water feasibility legislation and the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Act.

Broader Context

The committee will also consider the Bureau of Land Management Mineral Spacing Act, the Marine Fisheries Habitat Protection Act, legislation directing a feasibility study of the Bay Area Ridge National Scenic Trail, the Responsible Cormorant Management and Control Act, tribal land and buffalo management measures, the Renewing the African American Civil Rights Network Act, the Earth MRI Reauthorization Act, water feasibility legislation and the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Act.

It would also require the Interior secretary to authorize artificial propagation of animals when used to satisfy mitigation requirements under the Endangered Species Act. H.R. 181 would amend the Endangered Species Act to require artificially propagated animals to be treated the same as naturally propagated animals in determinations under the law.

The measure follows calls from Washington state lawmakers for Congress to provide states and tribes greater flexibility to use adaptive management tools, including lethal removal, against pinniped predators. H.R. 9621, the Northwest Endangered Salmon Predation Prevention Act, would expand where Washington state and Western Washington tribes with protected fishing rights can manage sea lion and seal populations to protect endangered salmon.

Cormorant management has drawn international attention. At an EU Agriculture and Fisheries Council meeting on May 26, Czechia called for work to begin on a European management plan for the great cormorant, citing impacts on inland fisheries, aquatic ecosystems and aquaculture. Croatia, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Poland, Romania, Sweden and Slovakia backed the call.

Domestically, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service states that double-crested cormorants can damage aquaculture facilities and private ponds. The Internet Center for Wildlife Damage Management says studies of cormorant predation on fisheries are inconclusive, in part because measuring impacts can be difficult and costly in large open-water systems.

Predation pressures on salmon also extend to marine mammals. Columbia River salmon and steelhead face predation from sea lions, particularly at locations where fish congregate, including dams. H.R. 9621 would expand existing management authority beyond the Columbia River Basin as lawmakers consider whether broader removal authority could aid recovery of threatened and endangered salmon populations.

H.R. 181 raises a separate debate over the role of captive breeding and artificial propagation in species recovery. The legislation would prohibit the Interior secretary from distinguishing between naturally and artificially propagated animals when making determinations under the Endangered Species Act, potentially affecting how agencies evaluate whether species qualify for federal protection or have recovered sufficiently to be removed from the endangered species list.

The Bottom Line

The Sept. 15 markup puts competing approaches to wildlife conservation before the committee, including expanded predator management and greater reliance on artificial propagation. The outcome could advance changes to how federal law balances endangered species recovery with management of predators, fisheries and human activity.

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