Summary#
This bill tells the Secretary of Commerce to identify marine mammal species and population stocks in U.S. waters that climate change is likely to harm. It requires the Secretary, working with the Marine Mammal Commission, to publish a list and to make climate impact management plans for listed species. The bill sets timelines for listing, drafting, public comment, and issuing final plans. It also creates a NOAA monitoring program for climate impacts on marine mammals, requires regulations for how species are listed, and directs agencies to use their authorities to support the plans. The bill includes reporting to Congress and authorizes funding to carry out the work.
What it means for you#
- The Secretary of Commerce must publish a list within 24 months of enactment of marine mammals likely to decline or face reduced recovery because of climate change.
- For species expected to be affected within 20 years, draft plans must be published within 18 months of listing; for some endangered or threatened species with possible impacts within 100 years, draft plans are due within 30 months.
- Draft plans will be open for public comment, then finalized and paired with implementing regulations.
- Plans must describe actions to conserve and recover species, reduce harmful interactions with fisheries and other activities, increase resiliency by reducing other human impacts, and manage prey.
- Federal agencies must consult with the Secretary and try to avoid actions that conflict with the plans; the Secretary can require measures to minimize conflicts.
- NOAA must run a monitoring program to track climate impacts, including the ability to detect a 20% population decline over 20 years and to study changes in distribution, prey, and interactions with human activities.
- If there is not enough funding to prepare a plan for every listed stock, the Secretary will prioritize the most affected stocks; stocks without plans because of funding limits are to be treated as depleted and as strategic stocks under the Act.
Expenses#
- The bill authorizes the following appropriations for fiscal years 2027 through 2031:
- $10,000,000 per year to the Administrator to carry out this section.
- $5,000,000 per year to the Secretary of the Interior to carry out this section.
- $1,000,000 per year to the Marine Mammal Commission to carry out this section.
- No publicly available information on total expected costs beyond these authorizations or on how funds will be allocated in detail.
Proponents' View#
No publicly available information.
Opponents' View#
No publicly available information.