IB 

Union Calendar No. 717 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 9533 

[Report No. 118–879] 

To amend the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to optimize conservation 

through resource prioritization, incentivize wildlife conservation on private 

lands, provide for greater incentives to recover listed species, create 

greater transparency and accountability in recovering listed species, and 

limit reasonable and prudent measures. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 10, 2024 

Mr. WESTERMAN (for himself, Mr. NEWHOUSE, Mr. BENTZ, Ms. HAGEMAN, 

Mr. GOSAR, Mr. STAUBER, Mr. TIFFANY, and Mr. DUNCAN) introduced 

the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 

DECEMBER 16, 2024 

Additional sponsors: Mr. DUARTE, Mrs. RADEWAGEN, Mr. CARL, and Mr. 

FULCHER

DECEMBER 16, 2024 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 

House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on September 10, 2024] 


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A BILL 

To amend the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to optimize 

conservation through resource prioritization, incentivize 

wildlife conservation on private lands, provide for greater 

incentives to recover listed species, create greater transparency and accountability in recovering listed species, 

and limit reasonable and prudent measures. 


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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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘ESA Amendments Act of 2024’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Endangered Species Act of 1973 definitions. 

Sec. 3. Authorization of appropriations. 

Sec. 4. Rule of construction. 

TITLE I—OPTIMIZING CONSERVATION THROUGH RESOURCE 

PRIORITIZATION 

Sec. 101. Prioritization of listing petitions, reviews, and determinations. 

TITLE II—INCENTIVIZING WILDLIFE CONSERVATION ON PRIVATE 

LANDS 

Sec. 201. Candidate Conservation Agreements with Assurances. 

Sec. 202. Designation of critical habitat. 

TITLE III—PROVIDING FOR GREATER INCENTIVES TO RECOVER 

LISTED SPECIES 

Sec. 301. Protective regulations under Endangered Species Act of 1973. 

Sec. 302. 5-year review determinations. 

Sec. 303. Judicial review during monitoring period. 

Sec. 304. Codification of regulation. 

TITLE IV—CREATING GREATER TRANSPARENCY AND 

ACCOUNTABILITY IN RECOVERING LISTED SPECIES 

Sec. 401. Requirement to publish basis for listings on Internet. 

Sec. 402. Decisional transparency and use of State, Tribal, and local information. 

Sec. 403. Disclosure of expenditures under Endangered Species Act of 1973. 

Sec. 404. Award of litigation costs to prevailing parties in accordance with existing law. 

Sec. 405. Analysis of impacts and benefits of determination of endangered or 

threatened status. 

TITLE V—LIMITATION ON REASONABLE AND PRUDENT MEASURES 

Sec. 501. Limitation on reasonable and prudent measures. 


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1 SEC. 2. ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT OF 1973 DEFINITIONS. 

2 (a) FORESEEABLE FUTURE.—The final rule titled 

3 ‘‘Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Regula4 tions for Listing Species and Designating Critical Habitat’’ 

5 (84 Fed. Reg. 45020; published August 27, 2019) shall have 

6 the force and effect of law with respect to the use of the 

7 term ‘‘foreseeable future’’. 

8 (b) HABITAT.—Section 3(5) of the Endangered Species 

9 Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1532(5)) is amended by adding at 

10 the end the following: 

11 ‘‘(D) For the purposes of designating critical 

12 habitat under this Act, the term ‘habitat’ means the 

13 abiotic and biotic setting that currently or periodi14 cally contains the resources and conditions necessary 

15 to support 1 or more life processes of a species.’’. 

16 (c) ENVIRONMENTAL BASELINE.—Section 7(a) of the 

17 Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1536(a)) is 

18 amended by adding at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘(5) For the purposes of carrying out a consultation 

20 under this section with respect to a threatened species or 

21 an endangered species, the term ‘environmental baseline’— 

22 ‘‘(A) means the condition of the species or the 

23 critical habitat of the species in the action area, with24 out the consequences to the species or the critical habi25 tat of the species caused by the proposed action; and 

26 ‘‘(B) includes— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the past and present effects of all Fed2 eral, State, and private actions and other human 

3 activities in the action area; 

4 ‘‘(ii) the anticipated effects of each proposed 

5 Federal project within the action area for which 

6 a consultation under this section has been com7 pleted; 

8 ‘‘(iii) the effects of State and private actions 

9 that are contemporaneous with the consultation 

10 in process; and 

11 ‘‘(iv) the ongoing impacts to listed species 

12 or designated critical habitat from existing fa13 cilities or activities that are not caused by the 

14 proposed action or that are not within the dis15 cretion of the Federal action agency to modify.’’. 

16 SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

17 Section 15 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 

18 U.S.C. 1542) is amended— 

19 (1) in subsection (a)— 

20 (A) by striking ‘‘subsection (b), (c), and 

21 (d)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsections (b) and (c)’’; 

22 (B) in paragraph (1)— 

23 (i) by striking ‘‘and’’ after ‘‘fiscal year 

24 1991,’’; and 


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1 (ii) by inserting ‘‘, and $302,025,000 

2 for each of fiscal years 2025 through 2030’’ 

3 after ‘‘fiscal year 1992’’; 

4 (C) in paragraph (2)— 

5 (i) by striking ‘‘and’’ after ‘‘fiscal 

6 years 1989 and 1990,’’; and 

7 (ii) by inserting ‘‘, and $116,630,000 

8 for each of fiscal years 2025 through 2030’’ 

9 after ‘‘fiscal years 1991 and 1992’’; and 

10 (D) in paragraph (3)— 

11 (i) by striking ‘‘and’’ after ‘‘fiscal 

12 years 1989 and 1990,’’; and 

13 (ii) by inserting ‘‘and $2,600,000 for 

14 each of fiscal years 2025 through 2030’’ 

15 after ‘‘fiscal years 1991 and 1992,’’; 

16 (2) in subsection (b), by inserting ‘‘and $600,000 

17 for each of fiscal years 2025 through 2030’’ after 

18 ‘‘1992’’; and 

19 (3) in subsection (c)— 

20 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ after ‘‘fiscal years 

21 1988, 1989, and 1990,’’; and 

22 (B) by inserting ‘‘and $9,900,000 for each 

23 of fiscal years 2025 through 2030,’’ after ‘‘fiscal 

24 years 1991 and 1992,’’. 


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1 SEC. 4. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 

2 Nothing in this Act or the amendments made by this 

3 Act may be construed to enlarge or diminish the authority, 

4 jurisdiction, or responsibility of a State (as that term is 

5 defined in section 3 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 

6 (16 U.S.C. 1532)) to manage, control, or regulate fish and 

7 wildlife on lands and waters, including Federal lands and 

8 waters, within the State. 

9 TITLE I—OPTIMIZING CON10 SERVATION THROUGH RE11 SOURCE PRIORITIZATION 

12 SECTION 101. PRIORITIZATION OF LISTING PETITIONS, RE13 VIEWS, AND DETERMINATIONS. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 4 of the Endangered Spe15 cies Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1533) is amended by adding 

16 at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(j) NATIONAL LISTING WORK PLAN.— 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than the date de19 scribed in paragraph (2), the Secretary shall submit 

20 to Congress a national listing work plan that estab21 lishes, for each covered species, a schedule for the com22 pletion during the 5-fiscal year period beginning on 

23 October 1 of the first fiscal year after the date of the 

24 submission of the work plan of— 

25 ‘‘(A) findings as described in subsection 

26 (b)(3)(B) for each such covered species; 


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1 ‘‘(B) proposed and final determinations re2 garding listing each such covered species under 

3 this section; and 

4 ‘‘(C) proposed and final critical habitat des5 ignations under subsection (a)(3) relating to 

6 each such covered species. 

7 ‘‘(2) SUBMISSION TO CONGRESS.— 

8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

9 submit to Congress— 

10 ‘‘(i) together with the budget request of 

11 the Secretary for the first fiscal year that 

12 begins not less than 365 days after the date 

13 of the enactment of this subsection, the ini14 tial work plan required under paragraph 

15 (1); and 

16 ‘‘(ii) together with the budget request of 

17 the Secretary for each fiscal year thereafter, 

18 an updated work plan under paragraph (1). 

19 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL INCLUSIONS.—The Sec20 retary shall include with each budget request re21 ferred to in subparagraph (A) a description of 

22 the amounts to be requested to carry out the 

23 work plan for the fiscal year covered by the 

24 budget request, including any amounts requested 

25 to address emergency listings if the Secretary 


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1 identifies any emergency posing a significant 

2 risk to the well-being of any species of fish or 

3 wildlife or plant. 

4 ‘‘(3) PRIORITY.— 

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In developing a work 

6 plan under this subsection, the Secretary shall 

7 assign to each species included in the work plan 

8 a priority classification of Priority 1 through 

9 Priority 5, such that, as determined by the Sec10 retary, the following apply: 

11 ‘‘(i) Priority 1 represents species of the 

12 highest priority, to be designated as criti13 cally imperiled and in need of immediate 

14 action. 

15 ‘‘(ii) Priority 2 represents species with 

16 respect to which the best scientific and com17 mercial data available support a clear deci18 sion regarding the status of the species. 

19 ‘‘(iii) Priority 3 represents species 

20 with respect to which studies regarding the 

21 status of the species are being carried out— 

22 ‘‘(I) to answer key questions that 

23 may influence the findings of a peti24 tion to list the species submitted under 

25 subsection (b)(3); and 


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1 ‘‘(II) to resolve any uncertainty 

2 regarding the status of the species 

3 within a reasonable timeframe. 

4 ‘‘(iv) Priority 4 represents species for 

5 which proactive conservation efforts likely to 

6 reduce threats to the species are being devel7 oped or carried out, within a reasonable 

8 timeframe and in an organized manner, by 

9 Federal agencies, States, landowners, or 

10 other stakeholders. 

11 ‘‘(v) Priority 5 represents species— 

12 ‘‘(I) for which there exists little 

13 information regarding— 

14 ‘‘(aa) threats to the species; 

15 or 

16 ‘‘(bb) the status of the species; 

17 or 

18 ‘‘(II) that would receive limited 

19 conservation benefit in the foreseeable 

20 future by listing the species as a 

21 threatened species or endangered spe22 cies under this section. 

23 ‘‘(B) USE OF METHODOLOGY.—The Sec24 retary shall establish and assign priority classi25 fications under subparagraph (A) in accordance 


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1 with the notice of the Director of the United 

2 States Fish and Wildlife Service titled ‘Method3 ology for Prioritizing Status Reviews and Ac4 companying 12–Month Findings on Petitions for 

5 Listing Under the Endangered Species Act’ (81 

6 Fed. Reg. 49248; published July 27, 2016). 

7 ‘‘(C) EXTENSIONS FOR CERTAIN PRIORITY

8 CLASSIFICATIONS.— 

9 ‘‘(i) PRIORITY 3.—With respect to a 

10 species classified as Priority 3 under sub11 paragraph (A)(iii), if the Secretary deter12 mines that additional time would allow for 

13 more complete data collection or the comple14 tion of studies relating to the species, the 

15 Secretary may retain the species under the 

16 work plan for a period of not more than 5 

17 years after the deadline under paragraph 

18 (4). 

19 ‘‘(ii) PRIORITY 4.—With respect to a 

20 species classified as Priority 4 under sub21 paragraph (A)(iv), if the Secretary deter22 mines that existing conservation efforts con23 tinue to meet the conservation needs of the 

24 species, the Secretary may retain the species 

25 under the work plan for a period of not 


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1 more than 5 years after the deadline under 

2 paragraph (4). 

3 ‘‘(iii) PRIORITY 5.—With respect to a 

4 species classified as Priority 5 under sub5 paragraph (A)(v), the Secretary may retain 

6 the species under the work plan for a period 

7 of not more than 5 years after the deadline 

8 under paragraph (4). 

9 ‘‘(D) REVISION OF PRIORITY CLASSIFICA10 TION.—The Secretary may revise, in accordance 

11 with subparagraph (A), the assignment to a pri12 ority classification of a species included in a 

13 work plan at any time during the fiscal years to 

14 which the work plan applies. 

15 ‘‘(E) EFFECT OF PRIORITY CLASSIFICA16 TION.—The assignment of a priority classifica17 tion to a species included in a work plan is not 

18 a final agency action. 

19 ‘‘(4) DEADLINE.—The Secretary shall act on any 

20 petition to add a species to a list published under 

21 subsection (c) submitted under subsection (b)(3) not 

22 later than the last day of the fiscal year specified for 

23 that petition in the most recent work plan. 


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1 ‘‘(5) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary may issue 

2 such regulations as the Secretary determines appro3 priate to carry out this subsection. 

4 ‘‘(6) EFFECT OF SUBSECTION.—Nothing in this 

5 subsection may be construed to preclude or otherwise 

6 affect the emergency listing authority of the Secretary 

7 under subsection (b)(7). 

8 ‘‘(7) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

9 ‘‘(A) COVERED SPECIES.—The term ‘covered 

10 species’ means a species that is not included on 

11 a list published under subsection (c)— 

12 ‘‘(i) for which a petition to add the 

13 species to such a list has been submitted 

14 under subsection (b)(3); or 

15 ‘‘(ii) that is otherwise under consider16 ation by the Secretary for addition to such 

17 a list. 

18 ‘‘(B) WORK PLAN.—The term ‘work plan’ 

19 means the national listing work plan submitted 

20 by the Secretary under paragraph (1).’’. 

21 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 4(b)(3) of 

22 the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1533(b)(3)) 

23 is amended— 

24 (1) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘Within 12 

25 months’’ and inserting ‘‘In accordance with the naVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:36 Dec 17, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H9533.RH H9533

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1 tional listing work plan submitted under subsection 

2 (j),’’; and 

3 (2) in subparagraph (C), to read as follows: 

4 ‘‘(C) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—Any negative 

5 finding described in subparagraph (A) and any 

6 finding described in subparagraph (B)(i)(I) shall 

7 be subject to judicial review.’’. 

8 TITLE II—INCENTIVIZING WILD9 LIFE CONSERVATION ON PRI10 VATE LANDS 

11 SECTION 201. CANDIDATE CONSERVATION AGREEMENTS 

12 WITH ASSURANCES. 

13 (a) LISTING DETERMINATIONS.—Section 4(b)(1) of the 

14 Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1533(b)(1)) is 

15 amended by adding at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘(C) CANDIDATE CONSERVATION AGREE17 MENTS WITH ASSURANCES.—In making a deter18 mination under subsection (a)(1) with respect to 

19 a species, the Secretary shall take into account 

20 and document the effect of any net conservation 

21 benefit (as that term is defined in subsection (k) 

22 of section 10) of any Candidate Conservation 

23 Agreement with Assurances or any pro24 grammatic Candidate Conservation Agreement 


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1 with Assurances (as those terms are defined in 

2 that subsection) relating to such species.’’. 

3 (b) CANDIDATE CONSERVATION AGREEMENTS WITH

4 ASSURANCES.—Section 10 of the Endangered Species Act 

5 of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1539) is amended by adding at the end 

6 the following: 

7 ‘‘(k) CANDIDATE CONSERVATION AGREEMENTS WITH

8 ASSURANCES.— 

9 ‘‘(1) PROPOSED AGREEMENT.—A covered party 

10 may submit a proposed Agreement to the Secretary. 

11 ‘‘(2) APPROVAL.—Not later than 120 days after 

12 the date of the receipt of a proposed Agreement under 

13 paragraph (1), the Secretary shall approve the pro14 posed Agreement if the Secretary determines that the 

15 proposed Agreement— 

16 ‘‘(A) sets forth specific management activi17 ties that the covered party will undertake to con18 serve the covered species; 

19 ‘‘(B) provides a positive estimate of the net 

20 conservation benefit of such management activi21 ties to the covered species; 

22 ‘‘(C) describes, to the maximum extent prac23 ticable, the existing population levels of the cov24 ered species or the existing quality of habitat; 


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1 ‘‘(D) includes a monitoring plan to be car2 ried out by the parties to the Agreement; and 

3 ‘‘(E) provides assurances to the covered 

4 party that no additional conservation measures 

5 will be required and additional land, water, or 

6 resource use restrictions will not be imposed on 

7 the covered party if the covered species becomes 

8 listed after the effective date of such Agreement. 

9 ‘‘(3) DENIAL.—Not later than 120 days after the 

10 date of the receipt of a proposed Agreement under 

11 paragraph (1), the Secretary shall— 

12 ‘‘(A) deny the proposed Agreement if the 

13 Secretary determines that the proposed Agree14 ment does not meet the requirements described in 

15 paragraph (2); and 

16 ‘‘(B) provide the submitting covered party a 

17 written explanation for such determination and 

18 the adjustments required for the Secretary to ap19 prove such proposed Agreement. 

20 ‘‘(4) PROGRAMMATIC CANDIDATE CONSERVATION

21 AGREEMENT WITH ASSURANCES.— 

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may 

23 enter into a Candidate Conservation Agreement 

24 with Assurances with a covered party that au25 thorizes such covered party— 


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1 ‘‘(i) to administer such Candidate 

2 Conservation Agreement with Assurances; 

3 ‘‘(ii) to hold any permit issued under 

4 this section with regard to such Candidate 

5 Conservation Agreement with Assurances; 

6 ‘‘(iii) to enroll other covered parties 

7 within the area covered by such Candidate 

8 Conservation Agreement with Assurances in 

9 such Candidate Conservation Agreement 

10 with Assurances; and 

11 ‘‘(iv) to convey any permit authoriza12 tion held by such covered party under 

13 clause (ii) to each covered party enrolled 

14 under clause (iii). 

15 ‘‘(B) PUBLICATION.—Upon receipt of a pro16 posed programmatic Candidate Conservation 

17 Agreement with Assurances under paragraph (1) 

18 and before approving or denying such a proposed 

19 programmatic Candidate Conservation Agree20 ment with Assurances under paragraph (2) or 

21 (3), respectively, the Secretary shall— 

22 ‘‘(i) not later than 30 days after the 

23 date of such receipt, publish the proposed 

24 programmatic Candidate Conservation 

25 Agreement with Assurances in the Federal 


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1 Register for public comment for a period of 

2 not less than 60 days; 

3 ‘‘(ii) review any comments received 

4 under clause (i); and 

5 ‘‘(iii) after the close of the public com6 ment period for the proposed programmatic 

7 Candidate Conservation Agreement with As8 surances, publish in the Federal Register— 

9 ‘‘(I) any comments received under 

10 clause (i); and 

11 ‘‘(II) the approval or denial of the 

12 proposed programmatic Candidate 

13 Conservation Agreement with Assur14 ances under paragraph (2) or (3), re15 spectively. 

16 ‘‘(5) INCIDENTAL TAKE AUTHORIZATION.—If a 

17 covered species is listed under section 4, the Secretary 

18 shall issue a permit to the relevant covered party 

19 under this section allowing incidental take of and 

20 modification to the habitat of such covered species 

21 consistent with the Agreement. 

22 ‘‘(6) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary 

23 shall, upon request, provide a covered party with 

24 technical assistance in developing a proposed Agree25 ment. 


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1 ‘‘(7) APPLICABILITY TO FEDERAL LAND.—An 

2 Agreement may apply to a covered party that con3 ducts activities on land administered by any Federal 

4 agency pursuant to a permit or lease issued to the 

5 covered party by that Federal agency. 

6 ‘‘(8) EXEMPTION FROM CONSULTATION REQUIRE7 MENT.—An Agreement approved under this subsection 

8 shall be deemed to have been granted an exemption 

9 under section 7(h) for the purposes of that section. 

10 ‘‘(9) EXEMPTION FROM DISCLOSURE.—Informa11 tion submitted by a private party to the Secretary 

12 under this subsection shall be exempt from disclosure 

13 under section 552(b)(3)(B) of title 5, United States 

14 Code. 

15 ‘‘(10) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

16 ‘‘(A) AGREEMENT.—The term ‘Agreement’ 

17 means— 

18 ‘‘(i) a Candidate Conservation Agree19 ment with Assurances; or 

20 ‘‘(ii) a programmatic Candidate Con21 servation Agreement with Assurances. 

22 ‘‘(B) CANDIDATE CONSERVATION AGREE23 MENT WITH ASSURANCES.—The term ‘Candidate 

24 Conservation Agreement with Assurances’ means 

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1 tion benefit agreement, between the Secretary 

2 and a covered party in which— 

3 ‘‘(i) the covered party commits to im4 plementing mutually agreed upon conserva5 tion measures for a candidate species; and 

6 ‘‘(ii) the Secretary provides assurances 

7 that, if such candidate species is listed pur8 suant to section 4— 

9 ‘‘(I) the covered party shall incur 

10 no additional obligations beyond ac11 tions agreed to in the agreement with 

12 respect to conservation activities re13 quired under this Act; and 

14 ‘‘(II) no additional land, water, 

15 or resource use restrictions shall be im16 posed on the covered party beyond 

17 those included in the agreement. 

18 ‘‘(C) CANDIDATE SPECIES.—The term ‘can19 didate species’ means a species— 

20 ‘‘(i) designated by the Secretary as a 

21 candidate species under this Act; or 

22 ‘‘(ii) proposed to be listed pursuant to 

23 section 4. 

24 ‘‘(D) COVERED PARTY.—The term ‘covered 

25 party’ means a— 


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1 ‘‘(i) party that conducts activities on 

2 land administered by a Federal agency pur3 suant to a permit or lease issued to the 

4 party; 

5 ‘‘(ii) private property owner; 

6 ‘‘(iii) county; 

7 ‘‘(iv) State or State agency; or 

8 ‘‘(v) Tribal government. 

9 ‘‘(E) COVERED SPECIES.—The term ‘cov10 ered species’ means, with respect to an Agree11 ment, the species that is the subject of such 

12 Agreement. 

13 ‘‘(F) NET CONSERVATION BENEFIT.—The 

14 term ‘net conservation benefit’ means the net ef15 fect of an Agreement, determined by comparing 

16 the existing situation of the candidate species 

17 without the Agreement in effect and a situation 

18 in which the Agreement is in effect, on a can19 didate species, including— 

20 ‘‘(i) the net effect on threats to such 

21 species; 

22 ‘‘(ii) the net effect on the number of in23 dividuals of such species; or 

24 ‘‘(iii) the net effect on the habitat of 

25 such species. 


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1 ‘‘(G) PROGRAMMATIC CANDIDATE CON2 SERVATION AGREEMENT WITH ASSURANCES.— 

3 The term ‘programmatic Candidate Conservation 

4 Agreement with Assurances’ means a Candidate 

5 Conservation Agreement with Assurances de6 scribed in paragraph (4)(A).’’. 

7 SEC. 202. DESIGNATION OF CRITICAL HABITAT. 

8 (a) PRIVATELY OWNED OR CONTROLLED LAND.—Sec9 tion 4(a)(3) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 

10 U.S.C. 1533(a)(3)) is amended by adding at the end the 

11 following: 

12 ‘‘(C) PRIVATELY OWNED OR CONTROLLED

13 LAND.—The Secretary may not designate as crit14 ical habitat under subparagraph (A) any pri15 vately owned or controlled land or other geo16 graphical area that is subject to a land manage17 ment plan that— 

18 ‘‘(i) the Secretary determines is simi19 lar in nature to an integrated natural re20 sources management plan described in sec21 tion 101 of the Sikes Act (16 U.S.C. 670a); 

22 ‘‘(ii)(I) is prepared in cooperation 

23 with the Secretary and the head of each ap24 plicable State fish and wildlife agency of 


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1 each State in which such land or other geo2 graphical area is located; or 

3 ‘‘(II) is submitted to the Secretary in 

4 a manner that is similar to the manner in 

5 which an applicant submits a conservation 

6 plan to the Secretary under section 

7 10(a)(2)(A); 

8 ‘‘(iii) includes an activity or a limita9 tion on an activity that the Secretary deter10 mines will likely conserve the species con11 cerned; 

12 ‘‘(iv) the Secretary determines will re13 sult in— 

14 ‘‘(I) an increase in the population 

15 of the species concerned above the pop16 ulation of such species on the date that 

17 such species is listed as a threatened 

18 species or an endangered species; or 

19 ‘‘(II) maintaining the same popu20 lation of such species on the land or 

21 other geographical area as the popu22 lation that would likely occur if such 

23 land or other geographical area is des24 ignated as critical habitat; and 


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1 ‘‘(v) to the maximum extent prac2 ticable, will minimize and mitigate the im3 pacts of any activity that will likely result 

4 in an incidental taking of the species con5 cerned.’’. 

6 (b) DESIGNATION CONSIDERATIONS.—Section 4(b)(2) 

7 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 

8 1533(b)(2)) is amended in the first sentence by inserting 

9 ‘‘the impact on existing efforts of private landowners to con10 serve the species,’’ after ‘‘impact on national security,’’. 

11 TITLE III—PROVIDING FOR 

12 GREATER INCENTIVES TO RE13 COVER LISTED SPECIES 

14 SEC. 301. PROTECTIVE REGULATIONS UNDER ENDANGERED 

15 SPECIES ACT OF 1973. 

16 (a) AMENDMENT TO DEFINITION.—Section 3(3) of the 

17 Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1532(3)) is 

18 amended by striking ‘‘and transplantation, and, in the ex19 traordinary case where population pressures within a given 

20 ecosystem cannot be otherwise relieved, may include’’ and 

21 inserting ‘‘transplantation, and, at the discretion of the 

22 Secretary,’’. 

23 (b) PROTECTIVE REGULATIONS.—Section 4 of the En24 dangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1533) is amend25 ed— 


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1 (1) in subsection (d), to read as follows: 

2 ‘‘(d) PROTECTIVE REGULATIONS.— 

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Whenever any species is list4 ed as a threatened species pursuant to subsection (c), 

5 the Secretary shall issue such regulations as are nec6 essary and advisable to provide for the conservation 

7 of that species. 

8 ‘‘(2) RECOVERY GOALS.—If the Secretary issues 

9 a regulation under paragraph (1) that prohibits an 

10 act described in section 9(a), the Secretary shall, with 

11 respect to the species that is the subject of such regula12 tion— 

13 ‘‘(A) establish objective, incremental recov14 ery goals; 

15 ‘‘(B) provide for the stringency of such reg16 ulation to decrease as such recovery goals are 

17 met; and 

18 ‘‘(C) provide for State management within 

19 such State, if such State is willing to take on 

20 such management, beginning on the date on 

21 which the Secretary determines all such recovery 

22 goals are met and, if such recovery goals remain 

23 met, continuing until such species is removed 

24 from the list of threatened species published pur25 suant to subsection (c). 


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1 ‘‘(3) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT.—A regulation 

2 issued under paragraph (1) that prohibits an act de3 scribed in section 9(a) with respect to a resident spe4 cies shall apply with respect to a State that has en5 tered into a cooperative agreement with the Secretary 

6 pursuant to section 6(c) only to the extent that such 

7 regulation is adopted by such State. 

8 ‘‘(4) STATE RECOVERY STRATEGY.— 

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A State may develop a 

10 recovery strategy for a threatened species or a 

11 candidate species and submit to the Secretary a 

12 petition for the Secretary to use such recovery 

13 strategy as the basis for any regulation issued 

14 under paragraph (1) with respect to such species 

15 within such State. 

16 ‘‘(B) APPROVAL OR DENIAL OF PETITION.— 

17 Not later than 120 days after the date on which 

18 the Secretary receives a petition submitted under 

19 subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall— 

20 ‘‘(i) approve such petition if the Sec21 retary determines the recovery strategy is 

22 reasonably certain to be implemented by the 

23 petitioning State and to be effective in con24 serving the species that is the subject of such 

25 recovery strategy; or 


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1 ‘‘(ii) deny such petition if the require2 ments described in clause (i) are not met. 

3 ‘‘(C) PUBLICATION.—Not later than 30 days 

4 after the date on which the Secretary approves or 

5 denies a petition under subparagraph (B), the 

6 Secretary shall publish such approval or denial 

7 in the Federal Register. 

8 ‘‘(D) DENIAL OF PETITION.— 

9 ‘‘(i) WRITTEN EXPLANATION.—If the 

10 Secretary denies a petition under subpara11 graph (B), the Secretary shall include in 

12 such denial a written explanation for such 

13 denial, including a description of the 

14 changes to such petition that are necessary 

15 for the Secretary to approve such petition. 

16 ‘‘(ii) RESUBMISSION OF DENIED PETI17 TION.—A State may resubmit a petition 

18 that is denied under subparagraph (B). 

19 ‘‘(E) USE IN PROTECTIVE REGULATIONS.— 

20 If the Secretary approves a petition under sub21 paragraph (B), the Secretary shall— 

22 ‘‘(i) issue a regulation under para23 graph (1) that adopts the recovery strategy 

24 as such regulation with respect to the speVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:36 Dec 17, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00027 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H9533.RH H9533

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1 cies that is the subject of such recovery 

2 strategy within the petitioning State; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) establish objective criteria to 

4 evaluate the effectiveness of such recovery 

5 strategy in conserving such species within 

6 such State. 

7 ‘‘(F) REVISION.—If a recovery strategy that 

8 is adopted as a regulation issued under para9 graph (1) is determined by the Secretary to be 

10 ineffective in conserving the species that is the 

11 subject of such recovery strategy in accordance 

12 with the objective criteria established under sub13 paragraph (E)(ii) for such recovery strategy, the 

14 Secretary shall revise such regulation and reissue 

15 such regulation in accordance with paragraph 

16 (1).’’; and 

17 (2) in subsection (f)(1)(B)— 

18 (A) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

19 end; 

20 (B) in clause (iii), by striking the period at 

21 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

22 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

23 ‘‘(iv) with respect to an endangered species, 

24 objective, incremental recovery goals in accord25 ance with subsection (d)(2)(A) for use under that 


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1 subsection if such endangered species is changed 

2 in status from an endangered species to a threat3 ened species under subsection (c)(2)(B)(ii).’’. 

4 SEC. 302. 5-YEAR REVIEW DETERMINATIONS. 

5 Section 4(c) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 

6 U.S.C. 1533(c)) is amended by adding at the end the fol7 lowing: 

8 ‘‘(3) Not later than 30 days after the date on which 

9 the Secretary makes a determination under paragraph 

10 (2)(B), the Secretary shall initiate a rulemaking to carry 

11 out such determination.’’. 

12 SEC. 303. JUDICIAL REVIEW DURING MONITORING PERIOD. 

13 Section 4(g) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 

14 (16 U.S.C. 1533(g)) is amended by adding at the end the 

15 following: 

16 ‘‘(3) The removal of a species from a list published 

17 under subsection (c)(1) is not subject to judicial review dur18 ing the period established under paragraph (1) with respect 

19 to the species.’’. 

20 SEC. 304. CODIFICATION OF REGULATION. 

21 The final rule titled ‘‘Endangered and Threatened 

22 Wildlife and Plants; Regulations for Prohibitions to Threat23 ened Wildlife and Plants’’ (84 Fed. Reg. 44753; published 

24 August 27, 2019) shall have the force and effect of law. 


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1 TITLE IV—CREATING GREATER 

2 TRANSPARENCY AND AC3 COUNTABILITY IN RECOV4 ERING LISTED SPECIES 

5 SECTION 401. REQUIREMENT TO PUBLISH BASIS FOR LIST6 INGS ON INTERNET. 

7 Section 4(b) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 

8 (16 U.S.C. 1533(b)) is amended by adding at the end the 

9 following: 

10 ‘‘(9) The Secretary shall make publicly available on 

11 the Internet the best scientific and commercial data avail12 able that are used as the basis for each regulation, including 

13 each proposed regulation, promulgated under subsection 

14 (a)(1), except that— 

15 ‘‘(A) at the request of a Governor, State agency, 

16 or legislature of a State, the Secretary may not make 

17 such data available under this paragraph if such en18 tity determines that public disclosure of such data is 

19 prohibited by a law or regulation of such State, in20 cluding any law or regulation requiring the protec21 tion of personal information; and 

22 ‘‘(B) not later than 30 days after the date of the 

23 enactment of this paragraph, the Secretary shall exe24 cute an agreement with the Secretary of Defense that 

25 prevents the disclosure of classified information perVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:36 Dec 17, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00030 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H9533.RH H9533

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1 taining to Department of Defense personnel, facilities, 

2 lands, or waters.’’. 

3 SEC. 402. DECISIONAL TRANSPARENCY AND USE OF STATE, 

4 TRIBAL, AND LOCAL INFORMATION. 

5 (a) REQUIRING DECISIONAL TRANSPARENCY WITH

6 AFFECTED STATES.—Section 6(a) of the Endangered Spe7 cies Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1535(a)) is amended— 

8 (1) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ before the first sentence; 

9 and 

10 (2) by striking ‘‘Such cooperation shall include’’ 

11 and inserting the following: 

12 ‘‘(2) Such cooperation shall include— 

13 ‘‘(A) before making a determination under sec14 tion 4(a), providing to States affected by such deter15 mination all data that is the basis of the determina16 tion; and 

17 ‘‘(B)’’. 

18 (b) ENSURING USE OF STATE, TRIBAL, AND LOCAL IN19 FORMATION.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 3 of the Endangered 

21 Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1532) is amended— 

22 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (2) 

23 through (10) as paragraphs (3) through (11), re24 spectively; and 


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1 (B) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol2 lowing: 

3 ‘‘(2) The term ‘best scientific and commercial data 

4 available’ includes data submitted to the Secretary by a 

5 State, Tribal, or county government.’’. 

6 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 7(n) of 

7 the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 

8 1536(n)) is amended by striking ‘‘section 3(13)’’ and 

9 inserting ‘‘section 3(14)’’. 

10 SEC. 403. DISCLOSURE OF EXPENDITURES UNDER ENDAN11 GERED SPECIES ACT OF 1973. 

12 (a) REQUIREMENT TO DISCLOSE.—Section 13 of the 

13 Endangered Species Act of 1973 (87 Stat. 902) is amended 

14 to read as follows: 

15 ‘‘SEC. 13. DISCLOSURE OF EXPENDITURES. 

16 ‘‘(a) REQUIREMENT.—The Secretary of the Interior, in 

17 consultation with the Secretary of Commerce, shall— 

18 ‘‘(1) not later than 90 days after the end of each 

19 fiscal year, submit to the Committee on Natural Re20 sources of the House of Representatives and the Com21 mittee on Environment and Public Works of the Sen22 ate an annual report detailing Federal Government 

23 expenditures for covered suits during the preceding 

24 fiscal year (including the information described in 

25 subsection (b)); and 


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1 ‘‘(2) make publicly available through the Inter2 net a searchable database, updated monthly, of the in3 formation described in subsection (b). 

4 ‘‘(b) INCLUDED INFORMATION.—The report shall in5 clude— 

6 ‘‘(1) the case name and number of each covered 

7 suit, and, with respect to each such covered suit, a 

8 hyperlink to each settlement decision, final decision, 

9 consent decree, stipulation of dismissal, release, in10 terim decision, motion to dismiss, partial motion for 

11 summary judgement, or related final document; 

12 ‘‘(2) a description of each claim or cause of ac13 tion in each covered suit; 

14 ‘‘(3) the name of each covered agency the actions 

15 of which give rise to any claim in a covered suit and 

16 each plaintiff in such suit; 

17 ‘‘(4) funds expended by each covered agency 

18 (disaggregated by agency account) to receive and re19 spond to notices referred to in section 11(g)(2) or to 

20 prepare for litigation of, litigate, negotiate a settle21 ment agreement or consent decree in, or provide mate22 rial, technical, or other assistance in relation to, a 

23 covered suit; 


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1 ‘‘(5) the number of full-time equivalent employ2 ees that participated in the activities described in 

3 paragraph (4); 

4 ‘‘(6) any information required to be published 

5 under section 1304 of title 31, United States Code, 

6 with respect to a covered suit; and 

7 ‘‘(7) attorneys fees and other expenses 

8 (disaggregated by agency account) awarded in covered 

9 suits, including any consent decrees or settlement 

10 agreements (regardless of whether a decree or settle11 ment agreement is sealed or otherwise subject to non12 disclosure provisions), including the basis for such 

13 awards. 

14 ‘‘(c) REQUIREMENT TO PROVIDE INFORMATION.—The 

15 head of each covered agency shall provide to the Secretary 

16 in a timely manner all information requested by the Sec17 retary to comply with the requirements of this section. 

18 ‘‘(d) LIMITATION ON DISCLOSURE.—Notwithstanding 

19 any other provision of this section, this section shall not 

20 affect any restriction in a consent decree or settlement 

21 agreement on the disclosure of information that is not de22 scribed in subsection (b). 

23 ‘‘(e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

24 ‘‘(1) COVERED AGENCY.—The term ‘covered 

25 agency’ means any agency of the— 


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1 ‘‘(A) Department of the Interior; 

2 ‘‘(B) Forest Service; 

3 ‘‘(C) Environmental Protection Agency; 

4 ‘‘(D) National Marine Fisheries Service; 

5 ‘‘(E) Bonneville Power Administration; 

6 ‘‘(F) Western Area Power Administration; 

7 ‘‘(G) Southwestern Power Administration; 

8 or 

9 ‘‘(H) Southeastern Power Administration. 

10 ‘‘(2) COVERED SUIT.—The term ‘covered suit’ 

11 means— 

12 ‘‘(A) any civil action containing any claim 

13 arising under this Act against the Federal Gov14 ernment and based on the action of a covered 

15 agency; and 

16 ‘‘(B) any administrative proceeding under 

17 which the United States awards fees and other 

18 expenses to a third party under section 504 of 

19 title 5, United States Code.’’. 

20 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents in 

21 the first section of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 

22 U.S.C. 1531 note) is amended by striking the item relating 

23 to section 13 and inserting the following: 

‘‘Sec. 13. Disclosure of expenditures.’’. 


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1 SEC. 404. AWARD OF LITIGATION COSTS TO PREVAILING 

2 PARTIES IN ACCORDANCE WITH EXISTING 

3 LAW. 

4 Section 11(g)(4) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 

5 (16 U.S.C. 1540(g)(4)) is amended by striking ‘‘to any 

6 party, whenever the court determines such award is appro7 priate’’ and inserting ‘‘in accordance with section 2412 of 

8 title 28, United States Code and section 504 of title 5, 

9 United States Code’’. 

10 SEC. 405. ANALYSIS OF IMPACTS AND BENEFITS OF DETER11 MINATION OF ENDANGERED OR THREAT12 ENED STATUS. 

13 Section 4(a) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 

14 (16 U.S.C. 1533(a)) is amended by adding at the end the 

15 following: 

16 ‘‘(4) ANALYSIS OF EFFECTS OF DETERMINATION.— 

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall, concur18 rently with making a determination under paragraph 

19 (1) that a species is a threatened species or an endan20 gered species, prepare an analysis with respect to 

21 such determination of— 

22 ‘‘(i) the economic effect; 

23 ‘‘(ii) the effects on national security; and 

24 ‘‘(iii) any other relevant effect. 

25 ‘‘(B) EFFECT.—Nothing in this paragraph shall 

26 delay a determination made by the Secretary under 


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1 paragraph (1) or change the criteria used by the Sec2 retary to make such a determination.’’. 

3 TITLE V—LIMITATION ON REA4 SONABLE AND PRUDENT 

5 MEASURES 

6 SECTION 501. LIMITATION ON REASONABLE AND PRUDENT 

7 MEASURES. 

8 Section 7(b)(4) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 

9 (16 U.S.C. 1536(b)(4)) is amended by inserting ‘‘and that 

10 do not propose, recommend, or require the Federal agency 

11 or the applicant concerned, if any, to mitigate or offset such 

12 impact’’ after ‘‘minimize such impact’’. 


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Union Calendar No. 717 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 9533 

[Report No. 118–879] 

A BILL 

To amend the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to 

and limit reasonable and prudent measures. and accountability in recovering listed species, cover listed species, create greater transparency private lands, provide for greater incentives to reprioritization, incentivize wildlife conservation on optimize conservation through resource 

DECEMBER 16, 2024 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Comand ordered to be printed mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, 


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