Bill Text: CT SB00444 | 2014 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: An Act Establishing An "important Bird Areas" Program.

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2014-03-12 - Public Hearing 03/17 [SB00444 Detail]

Download: Connecticut-2014-SB00444-Introduced.html

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General Assembly		Raised Bill No. 444
February Session, 2014		LCO No. 2462
		*02462_______ENV*
Referred to Committee on ENVIRONMENT
Introduced by:
(ENV)

AN ACT ESTABLISHING AN "IMPORTANT BIRD AREAS" PROGRAM.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:

Section 1. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2014) (a) For the purposes of this section:

(1) "Important bird area" means any waters or lands of the state, or portions thereof, that provide habitat to one or more species of breeding or nonbreeding birds and that are bounded by natural or anthropogenic features or boundaries; and

(2) "Qualifying nonprofit organization" means a national nonprofit organization, or a branch of a national nonprofit organization, that conserves and restores natural ecosystems, with a focus on birds and other wildlife and the restoration of habitat for such birds and other wildlife.

(b) There is established an Important Bird Areas Program that may consist of state-owned waters, lands, or portions thereof, that are necessary to safeguard and enhance: (1) Populations of wild birds that are native to the state, and (2) the habitats located within such lands and waters that such wild birds depend upon for breeding, migration, shelter and sustenance. Such program shall be administered by the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection. For the purpose of identifying important bird areas, the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection may use information collected by any qualifying nonprofit organization. Prior to using any such information collected by a qualifying nonprofit organization, the commissioner shall verify that such information was collected by individuals trained in scientific data collection, wildlife biology or ornithology. Any qualifying nonprofit organization that collected information used by the commissioner to identify an important bird area shall be available to work with the commissioner, business, affected property owners and local governments to assist in implementing strategies to maintain or enhance the identified important bird area.

(c) To be eligible for designation as part of the Important Bird Areas Program, such state-owned waters or lands, or portions thereof, shall: (1) Be recognized as an important bird area by a qualifying nonprofit organization, and (2) consist of one or more of the following locations: (A) A waterfowl concentration location that regularly supports not less than two thousand birds, including, but not limited to, loons, grebes, cormorants, geese, ducks, coots, and moorhens, (B) a pelagic seabird location that regularly supports not less than one hundred birds of open water, including, but not limited to, shearwaters, storm-petrels, terns, fulmars, gannets, jaegers, alcids or ten thousand gulls at one time during some part of the year, provided the primary food source for such gulls is not anthropogenic, (C) a shorebird concentration location that supports not less than three hundred birds, including, but not limited to, plovers and sandpipers during some part of the year, (D) a wading bird concentration location that supports not less than one hundred birds, including, but not limited to, bitterns, herons, egrets, ibises during some part of the year, (E) a migratory concentration location that is a flight corridor rest stop-over for either a high number or a large diversity of migratory songbirds during either the spring or fall season, (F) a diverse species location that supports a distinct group of indigenous bird species that is the consequence of local habitats that contain unique vegetation and geological, geographical, topographical, or microclimatological characteristics, (G) an individual species concentration location that supports not less than one bird species during one or more seasons of the year as a regionally unique and dense population for such species of bird, (H) a species-at-risk location that: (i) Supports a significant population of a species that is listed either federally or by the state as endangered, threatened or of special concern, (ii) supports a species of bird that is verified by either the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection or the state ornithologist as being rare or declining in the state, or (iii) is an exceptional, rare or remnant native habitat, vegetative community or landscape segment that supports one or more significant habitat dependent populations of wild bird species, or (I) a bird research location where a wild bird population research or monitoring project of not less than five consecutive years in duration is conducted and contributes to the science of ornithology or bird conservation policy through publicly accessible scholarly or scientific publications.

(d) The Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection or the head of any other state agency that has ownership or custody and control over state-owned waters or lands, or any portion thereof, that meet the eligibility criteria for designation as an important bird area, pursuant to subsection (c) of this section, may designate such state-owned waters or lands, or any portion thereof, as an important bird area provided such designation is consistent with the duties and responsibilities of such state agency. Prior to making any such designation, the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection or other agency head, as applicable, shall publish notice concerning the impending designation of an important bird area in the Environmental Monitor. Such notice shall provide for a thirty-day public comment period commencing on the next business day following the date of publication. Whenever an agency head, other than the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection, intends to make such a designation, a copy of the notice described in this subsection shall be forwarded by such agency head to the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection.

(e) Any state-owned waters or lands, or portion thereof, designated as an important bird area pursuant to this section shall be described and depicted upon a map and a copy of such map and any related documents shall be retained by the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection. The commissioner shall make any such map and related documents available to the general public for research and reference purposes. The commissioner shall retain an inventory of any state-owned waters or lands, or portion thereof, that are designated as an important bird area pursuant to this section.

(f) The Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection or other agency head, as applicable, may seek to remove the designation of all or a portion of such state-owned waters or lands that said commissioner or agency head, as applicable, designated as an important bird area. Prior to any such removal the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection or agency head, as applicable, shall publish a finding that the designated important bird area, or portion thereof, no longer meets the eligibility criteria described in subsection (c) of this section. Such finding shall be published in the Environmental Monitor and shall provide for a thirty-day public comment period commencing on the next business day following the date of publication.

(g) (1) There is established an Important Bird Areas Program Advisory Committee within the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection that shall consist of the following members appointed by the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection: (A) A representative of the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection's wildlife division, (B) a representative of the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection's state parks division, (C) a representative from each of the Department of Energy and Environmental Protections' land protection and planning programs, (D) a representative of a qualifying nonprofit organization, (E) a representative of an academic institution that has expertise in water or land conservation or ornithology, and (F) any additional member, as the commissioner deems appropriate. The State Ornithologist shall be a member of such advisory committee. Each member of the advisory committee who is not otherwise a state employee shall not receive compensation for his or her service on the advisory committee. Each member of the advisory committee shall serve at the pleasure of the commissioner. The advisory committee shall meet not less than twice each calendar year.

(2) The advisory committee described in subdivision (1) of this subsection shall advise the commissioner on the eligibility criteria for important bird areas, as described in subsection (c) of this section, criteria, and the designation, management, educational research and use of such important bird areas. The advisory committee may make recommendations to the commissioner for modification of the eligibility criteria for important bird areas, as described in subsection (c) of this section, and for the use of any such important bird area, provided any such recommended use shall be consistent with the duties and responsibilities of the state agency that designated such important bird area.

(h) The Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection shall adopt regulations, in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54 of the general statutes, to implement the provisions of this section. Such regulations shall include, but not be limited to, procedures for the commissioner to develop and revise a management guidance summary for each designated important bird area. Any such management guidance summary shall outline important resources and opportunities for enhancing bird conservation in such designated areas and any threats to such conservation. In developing any such management guidance summary, the commissioner may use information provided by a qualifying nonprofit organization.

This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1	October 1, 2014	New section

Statement of Purpose:

To establish an Important Bird Areas Program that will help identify such areas in the state and develop guidance for the conservation of such areas.

[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not underlined.]