Protecting Columbia River Salmon Act of 2026

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 9637 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 9637

    To amend the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 to authorize
  intentional lethal take by certain Indian Tribes of California sea
  lions and Steller sea lions in a specified portion of the Columbia
                     River, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              July 9, 2026

  Ms. Perez introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
                     Committee on Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

    To amend the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 to authorize
  intentional lethal take by certain Indian Tribes of California sea
  lions and Steller sea lions in a specified portion of the Columbia
                     River, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Protecting Columbia River Salmon Act
of 2026''.

SEC. 2. INTENTIONAL LETHAL TAKE BY CERTAIN INDIAN TRIBES OF CERTAIN
              PINNIPEDS IN COLUMBIA RIVER.

    (a) In General.--Section 120 of the Marine Mammal Protection Act of
1972 (16 U.S.C. 1389) is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(k) Intentional Lethal Take by Certain Indian Tribes of Certain
Pinnipeds in Columbia River.--
            ``(1) In general.--Notwithstanding any other provision of
        law, a covered Indian Tribe may intentionally lethally take
        covered pinnipeds on covered waters.
            ``(2) Requirements.--With respect to the intentional lethal
        take of covered pinnipeds on covered waters, a covered Indian
        Tribe--
                    ``(A) may carry out such take--
                            ``(i) without limitation on--
                                    ``(I) the number of covered
                                pinnipeds the covered Indian Tribe may
                                take; or
                                    ``(II) when the covered Indian
                                Tribe may take covered pinnipeds; and
                            ``(ii) notwithstanding whether the covered
                        pinnipeds are individually identifiable; and
                    ``(B) shall carry out such take--
                            ``(i) in a manner the covered Indian Tribe
                        determines to be humane; and
                            ``(ii) using methods the covered Indian
                        Tribe determines appropriate.
            ``(3) Designees.--A covered Indian Tribe may designate a
        person to intentionally lethally take covered pinnipeds on
        covered waters in accordance with the requirements of paragraph
        (2) on behalf of the covered Indian Tribe.
            ``(4) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this subsection may
        be construed to limit existing Tribal rights or authorities
        under treaties, executive orders, or other provisions of law.
            ``(5) Definitions.--In this subsection:
                    ``(A) Covered indian tribe.--The term `covered
                Indian Tribe' means an Indian Tribe (as such term is
                defined in section 102 of the Federally Recognized
                Indian Tribe List Act of 1994 (25 U.S.C. 5130)) that
                has ancestral ties to any part of covered waters.
                    ``(B) Covered pinniped.--The term `covered
                pinniped' means a--
                            ``(i) California sea lion (Zalphus
                        californianus); and
                            ``(ii) Steller sea lion (Eumetopias
                        jubatus) that is part of the Eastern Distinct
                        Population Segment of Steller sea lions.
                    ``(C) Covered waters.--The term `covered waters'
                means the mainstem and tributaries of the Columbia
                River in the States of Washington and Oregon from River
                Mile 0 to the McNary Dam.''.
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