I 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3496 

To sustain fish, plants, and wildlife on America’s public lands. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 18, 2011 

Mr. KIND (for himself and Mr. REICHERT) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to 

the Committee on Agriculture, for a period to be subsequently determined 

by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall 

within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To sustain fish, plants, and wildlife on America’s public 

lands. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘America’s Wildlife 

5 Heritage Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) Fish and wildlife are fundamental parts of 

9 America’s history and character, and fish and wildVerDate Mar 15 2010 04:18 Nov 22, 2011 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3496.IH H3496

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1 life conservation is a core value shared by all Ameri2 cans. All future generations deserve the opportunity 

3 to benefit from and enjoy a diverse array of fish and 

4 wildlife species. 

5 (2) Fish and wildlife conservation provides eco6 nomic, social, educational, recreational, emotional, 

7 and spiritual benefits. The economic value of hunt8 ing, fishing, and wildlife-associated recreation alone 

9 is estimated to contribute $122,000,000,000 annu10 ally to the American economy. Fish and wildlife 

11 habitats, including forests, grasslands, riparian 

12 lands, wetlands, rivers, and other bodies of water are 

13 an essential component of the American landscape, 

14 and are protected and valued by Federal, State, and 

15 local governments, tribes, private landowners, con16 servation organizations, and millions of American 

17 sportsmen and outdoor recreationists. 

18 (3) States possess broad trustee and police pow19 ers over fish and wildlife within their borders. 

20 (4) The States and the Federal Government 

21 both have management responsibilities affecting fish 

22 and wildlife, and should work cooperatively in ful23 filling these responsibilities. 

24 (5) The American landscape is rapidly chang25 ing, particularly in the Western United States where 


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1 the majority of the Federal public lands are found, 

2 increasing the importance of sustaining fish and 

3 wildlife and their habitats on our public lands. 

4 (6) Federal public lands are critical to the fu5 ture of fish, plant, and wildlife species in America. 

6 Federal public lands help to protect endangered and 

7 threatened species from going extinct and help pre8 vent species from becoming endangered in the first 

9 place. These lands complement the conservation of 

10 fish, plants, and wildlife on private lands by pro11 viding comparatively intact tracts of land that serve 

12 as refuges from human development and other pres13 sures. Federal public lands also help keep common 

14 species common, including species valued for hunting 

15 and fishing. 

16 (7) Federal public lands provide habitats for 

17 species impacted by the effects of global climate 

18 change and will play an important role in the ability 

19 of fish, plants, and wildlife to adapt to and survive 

20 global warming’s mounting impacts. 

21 (8) Consistent with long-standing principles of 

22 multiple use and sustained yield management, the 

23 goal of sustaining the diverse fish, wildlife, and plant 

24 communities that depend on our Federal public 


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1 lands should guide the stewardship of America’s 

2 public lands. 

3 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

4 In this Act: 

5 (1) DESIRED NON-NATIVE SPECIES.—The term 

6 ‘‘desired non-native species’’ means those wild spe7 cies of plants or animals that are not indigenous to 

8 a planning area but are valued for their contribution 

9 to species diversity or their social, cultural, or eco10 nomic value. 

11 (2) FOCAL SPECIES.—The term ‘‘focal species’’ 

12 means species selected for monitoring because their 

13 population status and trends are believed to provide 

14 useful information regarding the effects of manage15 ment activities, natural disruptions, or other factors 

16 on unmeasured species and to provide insights to the 

17 integrity of the ecological systems to which they be18 long. 

19 (3) NATIVE SPECIES.—The term ‘‘native spe20 cies’’ means species of plants and animals indige21 nous to a planning area. 

22 (4) PLANNING AREA.—The term ‘‘planning 

23 area’’ means any geographic unit of National Forest 

24 System lands or Bureau of Land Management lands 

25 covered by an individual management plan. 


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1 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 

2 means— 

3 (A) the Secretary of the Interior, with re4 spect to land under such Secretary’s jurisdic5 tion; and 

6 (B) the Secretary of Agriculture, with re7 spect to land under such Secretary’s jurisdic8 tion. 

9 (6) SPECIES-OF-CONCERN.—The term ‘‘species10 of-concern’’ means the following: 

11 (A) A species listed as an endangered spe12 cies or threatened species, or proposed or iden13 tified as candidates for such listing, under the 

14 Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 

15 1531 et seq.). 

16 (B) A species designated with a Global, 

17 State, or Taxon status ranking of G1, G2, G3, 

18 S1, S2, T1, T2, or T3 by a State Natural Her19 itage Program. 

20 (C) A species of greatest conservation need 

21 identified by State comprehensive wildlife con22 servation strategies. 

23 (D) Other species identified by the Forest 

24 Service or the Bureau of Land Management for 

25 which scientific evidence raises a concern reVerDate Mar 15 2010 04:18 Nov 22, 2011 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3496.IH H3496

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1 garding the species’ sustainability in a planning 

2 area. 

3 (7) SUSTAINABLE POPULATION.—The term 

4 ‘‘sustainable population’’ means a population of a 

5 species that has a high likelihood of persisting well 

6 distributed throughout its range within a planning 

7 area for a period of at least 50 years into the future, 

8 based on the best available scientific information, in9 cluding information obtained through the monitoring 

10 program under section 5, regarding its abundance, 

11 distribution, habitat quality, and reproduction and 

12 survival rates. 

13 SEC. 4. SUSTAINABLE POPULATIONS. 

14 (a) MANAGEMENT DIRECTION.—Each Secretary 

15 shall plan for and manage planning areas under the Sec16 retary’s respective jurisdiction in order to maintain sus17 tainable populations of native species and desired non-na18 tive species within each planning area, except that man19 agement for desired non-native species shall not interfere 

20 with the maintenance of sustainable populations of native 

21 species within a planning area. 

22 (b) MANAGEMENT COORDINATION.—If a population 

23 of a species extends across more than one planning area, 

24 each Secretary shall coordinate the management of lands 


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1 in the planning areas containing such population in order 

2 to maintain a sustainable population of such species. 

3 (c) EXTRINSIC CONDITIONS.—If a Secretary, using 

4 the best available science and after providing notice to the 

5 public by publication in the Federal Register and oppor6 tunity for public comment for a period of at least 60 days, 

7 determines that conditions beyond such Secretary’s au8 thority make it impossible for the Secretary to maintain 

9 a sustainable population of a native species or desired non10 native species within a planning area, or, under the cir11 cumstances identified in paragraph (2), within two or 

12 more planning areas, such Secretary shall— 

13 (1) manage lands within the planning area or 

14 areas in order to achieve to the maximum extent 

15 possible the survival and health of that population; 

16 and 

17 (2) ensure that any activity authorized, funded, 

18 or carried out within the planning area does not in19 crease the likelihood of extirpation of the population 

20 in such planning area or areas. 

21 (d) COMPLIANCE.—Each Secretary shall ensure that 

22 land management plans for a planning area under the Sec23 retary’s respective jurisdiction, actions implementing or 

24 authorized under such plans, and other activities that may 

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1 ducted under the Secretary’s jurisdiction comply with this 

2 section. 

3 SEC. 5. MONITORING AND EVALUATION. 

4 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF MONITORING PROGRAMS.— 

5 To provide a basis for determining the sustainability of 

6 native species and desired non-native species populations 

7 for purposes of section 4, each Secretary shall adopt and 

8 implement, as part of the land management planning for 

9 a planning area, a strategically targeted monitoring pro10 gram to determine the status and trends of such species 

11 populations in such planning area. 

12 (b) MONITORING PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS.—The 

13 monitoring programs established under subsection (a) 

14 shall designate focal species representing the diversity of 

15 ecological systems and species present in the planning 

16 area, identify species-of-concern in the planning area, and 

17 provide for— 

18 (1) the monitoring of the status and trends of 

19 the habitats and ecological conditions that support 

20 focal species and species-of-concern; 

21 (2) population surveys of the focal species iden22 tified in the monitoring program using methods suf23 ficient to ensure that monitoring of habitats and ec24 ological conditions pursuant to paragraph (1) is pro25 viding accurate information regarding the status and 


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1 trends of species’ populations in the planning area; 

2 and 

3 (3) population surveys of species-of-concern 

4 whose populations are not adequately assessed by 

5 monitoring pursuant to paragraphs (1) and (2) and 

6 for which there is reasonable concern regarding po7 tential reductions in distribution or abundance with8 in such planning area in order to evaluate informa9 tion regarding population status and trends. 

10 (c) COOPERATION WITH STATE ENTITIES AND

11 OTHER AGENCIES.—Each Secretary shall develop and im12 plement, to the maximum extent practicable, the moni13 toring program established under this section, including 

14 the selection of native species and desired non-native spe15 cies, habitat, and ecological conditions to be monitored 

16 and methodologies for conducting such monitoring, in co17 operation with State fish and wildlife agencies and in co18 ordination with other State agencies with responsibility for 

19 management of natural resources. Each Secretary shall 

20 consider and utilize relevant population data maintained 

21 by other Federal agencies, State agencies, tribes, or other 

22 relevant entities. 

23 SEC. 6. COORDINATION. 

24 (a) MANAGEMENT COORDINATION.—To the max25 imum extent practicable and consistent with applicable 


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1 law, each Secretary shall coordinate the management of 

2 planning areas with the management of the National 

3 Wildlife Refuge System and National Park System, other 

4 Federal agencies, State fish and wildlife agencies, other 

5 State agencies with responsibility for management of nat6 ural resources, tribes, local governments, and non-govern7 mental organizations engaged in species conservation in 

8 order to— 

9 (1) maintain sustainable populations of native 

10 species and desired non-native species; 

11 (2) develop strategies to address the impacts of 

12 climate change on native species and desired non-na13 tive species; 

14 (3) establish linkages between habitats and dis15 crete populations; 

16 (4) reintroduce extirpated species, where appro17 priate, when a species population is no longer 

18 present; and 

19 (5) conduct other joint efforts in support of 

20 sustainable plant and animal communities across ju21 risdictional boundaries. 

22 (b) COORDINATION WITH CONSERVATION ACTIVI23 TIES.—In planning for the management of lands for the 

24 purpose of maintaining sustainable populations of native 

25 species and desired non-native species in a planning area, 


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1 each Secretary shall, to the maximum extent practicable 

2 and consistent with Federal law— 

3 (1) consult with and offer opportunities for par4 ticipation to adjoining Federal, State, tribal, local, 

5 and private landowners, State and tribal fish and 

6 wildlife agencies, and other State and tribal agencies 

7 with responsibility for management of natural re8 sources; and 

9 (2) coordinate such management planning with 

10 relevant conservation plans for fish, plants, and 

11 wildlife and their habitats, including State com12 prehensive wildlife strategies and other State con13 servation strategies for species, National Fish Habi14 tat partnerships, North American Wetland Con15 servation Joint Ventures, and the Federal-State-pri16 vate partnership known as Partners in Flight. 

17 (c) NO EFFECT ON NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE

18 OR NATIONAL PARK SYSTEMS.—Nothing in this section 

19 affects the laws or management standards applicable to 

20 lands or species populations within the National Wildlife 

21 Refuge System or National Park System. 

22 SEC. 7. IMPLEMENTING REGULATIONS. 

23 Not later than one year following the date of enact24 ment of this Act, each Secretary shall issue regulations 


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1 implementing all provisions of America’s Wildlife Heritage 

2 Act. 

3 SEC. 8. CONSTRUCTION. 

4 Nothing in this Act shall be construed to— 

5 (1) affect the authority, jurisdiction, or respon6 sibility of each of the several States to manage, con7 trol, or regulate fish, plants, and wildlife under the 

8 laws and regulations of each of the States; or 

9 (2) authorize a Secretary to control or regulate 

10 within a State the fishing or hunting of fish and 

11 wildlife within the State except insofar as the Sec12 retary may exercise authority granted to him or her 

13 under other laws. 

Æ 


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