The House voted 232 to 188 on Tuesday to pass H.R. 2578, a measure that includes provisions to allow Columbia River treaty tribes to kill sea lions that eat endangered salmon.

H.R.2578 includes H.R.3069, the Endangered Salmon and Fisheries Predation Prevention Act. The bill amends the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 to authorize the Warm Springs Tribes, the Umatilla Tribes, the Yakama Nation and the Nez Perce Tribe to obtain federal permits to remove a limited number of sea lions from the Columbia River.

The bill also authorizes permits for the Columbia River InterTribal Fish Commission and the states of Oregon and Washington. Each group would be limited to taking 10 sea lions a year, The Oregonian reported.

There is no companion version of the bill in the Senate.

Get the Story:
U.S. House passes bill to make killing sea lions easier in the Northwest (The Oregonian 6/19)

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