WETLAND TRUST.

SEC. 3203. WETLAND TRUST. (a) Federal Contributions.—Subject to appropriations there-for, the Secretary shall make a Federal contribution to a wetland trust that is— (1) established in accordance with subsection (b); and (2) operated in accordance with subsection (c), in the amount of $3,000,000 in the first year in which a contribution is made and $1,000,000 in each of the following four years. (b) Establishment of Wetland Trust.—A wetland trust is established in accordance with this subsection if— (1) the wetland trust is administered by the Foundation; (2) the Foundation is under the direction of a Board of Directors that has power to manage all affairs of the Foundation, including administration, data collection, and implementation of the purposes of the wetland trust; (3) members of the Board of Directors of the Foundation serve without compensation; (4) the corporate purposes of the Foundation in administering the wetland trust are to preserve, enhance, restore, and manage wetland and associated wildlife habitat in the State of South Dakota; (5) an advisory committee is created to provide the Board of Directors of the Foundation with necessary technical expertise and the benefit of a multiagency perspective; (6) the advisory committee described in paragraph (5) is composed of— (A) 1 member of the staff of the Wildlife Division of the South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks, appointed by the Secretary of that department; (B) 1 member of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, appointed by the Director of Region 6 of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service; (C) 1 representative from the Department of Agriculture, as determined by the Secretary of Agriculture; and (D) 3 residents of the State of South Dakota who are members of wildlife or environmental organizations, 106 STAT. 4704 appointed by the Governor of the State of South Dakota; and (7) the wetland trust is empowered to accept non-Federal donations, gifts, and grants. (c) Operation of Wetland Trust.— The wetland trust shall be considered to be operated in accordance with this subsection if— (1) the wetland trust is operated to preserve, enhance, restore, and manage wetlands and associated wildlife habitat in the State of South Dakota; (2) under the corporate charter of the Foundation, the Board of Directors, acting on behalf of the Foundation, is empowered to— (A) acquire lands and interests in land and power to acquire water rights (but only with the consent of the owner); (B) acquire water rights; and (C) finance wetland preservation, enhancement, and restoration programs; (3) (A) all funds provided to the wetland trust under subsection (a) are to be invested in accordance with subsection (d); (B) no part of the principal amount (including capital gains thereon) of such funds are to be expended for any purpose; (C) the income received from the investment of such funds is to be used only for purposes and operations in accordance with this subsection or, to the extent not required for current operations, reinvested in accordance with subsection (d); (D) income earned by the wetland trust (including income from investments made with funds other than those provided to the wetland trust under subsection (a)) is used to— (i) enter into joint ventures, through the Division of Wildlife of the South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks, with public and private entities or with private landowners to acquire easements or leases or to purchase wetland and adjoining upland; or (ii) pay for operation and maintenance of the wetland component; (E) when it is necessary to acquire land other than wetland and adjoining upland in connection with an acquisition of wet-land and adjoining upland, wetland trust funds (including funds other than those provided to the wetland trust under subsection (a) and income from investments made with such funds) are to be used only for acquisition of the portions of land that contain wetland and adjoining upland that is beneficial to the wetland; (F) all land purchased in fee simple with wetland trust funds shall be dedicated to wetland preservation and use; and (G) (i) proceeds of the sale of land or any part thereof that was purchased with wetland trust funds are to be remitted to the wetland trust; (ii) management, operation, development, and maintenance of lands on which leases or easements are acquired; (iii) payment of annual lease fees, one-time easement costs, and taxes on land areas containing wetlands purchased in fee simple; 106 STAT. 4705 (iv) payment of personnel directly related to the operation of the wetland trust, including administration; and (v) contractual and service costs related to the management of wetland trust funds, including audits. (4) the Board of Directors of the Foundation agrees to provide such reports as may be required by the Secretary and makes its records available for audit by Federal agencies; and (5) the advisory committee created under subsection (b)— (A) recommends criteria for wetland evaluation and selection: Provided, That income earned from the Trust shall not be used to mitigate or compensate for wetland damage caused by Federal water projects; (B) recommends wetland parcels for lease, easement, or purchase and states reasons for its recommendations; and (C) recommends management and development plans for parcels of land that are purchased. (d) Investment of Wetland Trust Funds.— (1) The Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury, shall establish requirements for the investment of all funds received by the wetland trust under subsection (a) or reinvested under subsection (c)(3). (2) The requirements established under paragraph (1) shall ensure that— (A) funds are invested in accordance with sound investment principles; and (B) the Board of Directors of the Foundation manages such investments and exercises its fiduciary responsibilities in an appropriate manner. (e) Coordination With the Secretary of Agriculture.—(1) The Secretary shall make the Federal contribution under subsection (a) after consulting with the Secretary of Agriculture to provide for the coordination of activities under the wetland trust established under subsection (b) with the water bank program, the wetlands reserve program, and any similar Department of Agriculture programs providing for the protection of wetlands. (2) The Secretary of Agriculture shall take into consideration wetland protection activities under the wetland trust established under subsection (b) when considering whether to provide assistance under the water bank program, the wetlands reserve program, and any similar Department of Agriculture programs providing for the protection of wetlands.