Today, the House Committee on Natural Resources held a markup on 5 bills including H.R. 564 the “Endangered Salmon and Fisheries Predation Prevention Act” (Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler), which passed committee. H.R. 564 authorizes the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to issue one-year permits to Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and several tribal groups to lethally take non-endangered sea lions in order to protect endangered and threatened species of salmon.

“This bill empowers local communities to take species recovery into their own hands. We need more bills like this that address the unique issues of each region, not the one-size fits all regulations the Obama administration likes to enforce. I applaud Congresswoman Herrera Beutler for her hard work on this legislation and look forward to seeing it move to the floor,” Chairman Bishop (R-UT) said.

“Salmon are central to our way of life in the Pacific Northwest, but right now sea lion predation is posing a serious threat to our salmon populations,” Congresswoman Herrera Beutler (R-WA) said. “Significant resources are invested to ensure their survival, but we’re being poor stewards of these resources if we don’t also manage the threat of an exploding sea lion population. I want to thank the Chairman Bishop of the Natural Resources Committee for their strong support of my ‘Endangered Salmon and Fisheries Predation Prevention Act’ that provides the tools to manage the sea lion threat on the Columbia River system. With this solution, we can better protect the salmon so vital to our recreational, cultural and economic interests.”

“By giving temporary management authority to Pacific Northwest states and tribes to address California sea lion predation of salmon, this legislation balances the needs of wildlife in the Columbia River and its tributaries,” Congressman Dan Newhouse (R-WA) said. “I thank my colleagues, Chairman Bishop and Congresswoman Herrera Beutler, for their work on this important legislation.”

Click here to view letters of support for H.R. 564.