Volume 84
Public Law 91–427
To authorize the Secretaries of interior and the Smithsonian Institution to expend certain sums, in cooperation with the territory of Guam, the territory of American Samoa, the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, other United States territories in the Pacific Ocean, and the State of Hawaii, for the conservation of their protective and productive coral reefs.
Approved September 26, 1970
Statutory text
AN ACT
To authorize the Secretaries of interior and the Smithsonian Institution to expend certain sums, in cooperation with the territory of Guam, the territory of American Samoa, the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, other United States territories in the Pacific Ocean, and the State of Hawaii, for the conservation of their protective and productive coral reefs.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
That, for the purpose of conserving and protecting coral reef resources of the tropical islands of interest and concern to the United States in the Pacific and safeguarding critical island areas from possible erosion and to safeguard future recreational and esthetic uses of Pacific coral reefs, the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution are authorized to cooperate with and provide assistance to the governments of the State of Hawaii, the territories and possessions of the United States, including Guam and American Samoa, the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, and other island possessions of the United States, in the study and control of the seastar “Crown of Thorns” (Acanthaster planci).
Sec. 2.
In carrying out the purposes of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution are authorized to—
conduct such studies, research, and investigations, as they deem desirable to determine the causes of the population increase of the “Crown of Thorns”, their effects on corals and coral reefs, and the stability and regeneration of reefs following predation;
to monitor areas where the “Crown of Thorns” may be increasing in numbers and to determine future needs for control;
to develop improved methods of control and to carry out programs of control in areas where these are deemed necessary; and
to take such other actions as deemed desirable to gain sin Understanding of the ecology and control of the seastar “Crown of Thorns”.
Sec. 3.
For the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this Act, there is authorized to be appropriated for the period commencing on the date of its enactment and ending June 30, 1975, not to exceed $4,500,000.
Approved September 26, 1970.