PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Congress has agreed with the Senate to make it easier to kill sea lions threatening fragile runs of salmon in the Northwest.
A bill approved by the House Tuesday changes the Marine Mammal Protection Act to lift some of the restrictions on killing sea lions to protect salmon and steelhead in the Columbia River. The measure had previously passed the Senate.
Wildlife managers say sea lion populations have grown so large that they no longer need all the protections that were put in place for them in 1972.
The measure would usher in a more streamlined process for Washington, Idaho, Oregon and several Pacific Northwest tribes to capture and euthanize sea lions.
Supporters, including the governors of Oregon, Washington and Idaho, have said the bill will give wildlife managers greater flexibility in controlling California sea lions that dramatically increased from about 30,000 in the 1960s to about 300,000 following enactment of the 1972 Marine Mammal Protection Act.