I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 9964 

To direct the Secretary of the Interior to establish the Urban Bird Treaty 

Program. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 11, 2024 

Mrs. DINGELL introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of the Interior to establish the Urban 

Bird Treaty Program. 

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 ‘‘Urban Bird Treaty 

5 Act of 2024’’. 

6 SEC. 2. URBAN BIRD TREATY PROGRAM. 

7 (a) URBAN BIRD TREATY PROGRAM.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall establish 

9 a program for the voluntary conservation of birds 


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1 and the habitats of such birds in urban areas, to be 

2 known as the ‘‘Urban Bird Treaty Program’’. 

3 (2) PROGRAM DUTIES.—In carrying out the 

4 Program, the Director shall— 

5 (A) work with and support covered entities 

6 to— 

7 (i) protect, restore, or enhance urban 

8 habitats for birds, including through the 

9 control of invasive species and restoration 

10 of native plant species; 

11 (ii) reduce urban hazards to birds; 

12 (iii) engage communities in scientific 

13 activities involving the monitoring of birds 

14 and the habitats of such birds in urban 

15 areas; and 

16 (iv) educate and engage communities 

17 in caring about and conserving birds and 

18 the habitats of such birds in urban areas; 

19 (B) provide technical and financial assist20 ance through partnerships with covered entities 

21 to build capacity for, plan, and carry out 

22 projects related to activities described in sub23 paragraph (A); and 

24 (C) facilitate collaboration and information 

25 sharing among covered entities and the public 


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1 with respect to best management practices for 

2 the conservation, restoration, and enhancement 

3 of urban bird habitats. 

4 (3) GRANT PROGRAM.— 

5 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall es6 tablish a competitive grant program to award 

7 amounts to eligible entities for the purposes of 

8 conducting research, planning, assessments, 

9 management, building capacity, monitoring, col10 laboration and information sharing, workforce 

11 training, and accomplishing related activities as 

12 described in paragraph (2) with respect to the 

13 conservation, restoration, enhancement or man14 agement of urban birds and the habitats of 

15 urban birds. 

16 (B) APPLICATIONS.—To be eligible for a 

17 grant under this paragraph, an eligible entity 

18 shall submit to the Director an application in 

19 such form, at such time, and containing such 

20 information as the Director determines appro21 priate. 

22 (C) ADMINISTRATION.— 

23 (i) AGREEMENT.—The Director shall 

24 enter into an agreement with the Founda25 tion for the Foundation to administer the 


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1 grant program established under subpara2 graph (A) pursuant to the National Fish 

3 and Wildlife Foundation Establishment 

4 Act (16 U.S.C. 3701 et seq.). 

5 (ii) APPLICATION OF NATIONAL FISH

6 AND WILDLIFE FOUNDATION ESTABLISH7 MENT ACT.—Section 10(a) of the National 

8 Fish and Wildlife Foundation Establish9 ment Act (16 U.S.C. 3709(a)) shall not 

10 apply with respect to— 

11 (I) an agreement entered into 

12 under clause (i); or 

13 (II) amounts made available to 

14 carry out this section. 

15 (b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

16 (1) COVERED ENTITY.—The term ‘‘covered en17 tity’’ means— 

18 (A) a Federal, Tribal, State, or municipal 

19 agency; 

20 (B) a nongovernmental organization; 

21 (C) a community group; and 

22 (D) an academic institution. 

23 (2) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 

24 the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the DiVerDate Sep 11 2014 06:32 Oct 24, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H9964.IH H9964

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1 rector of the United States Fish and Wildlife Serv2 ice. 

3 (3) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti4 ty’’ means— 

5 (A) a Tribal, State, or municipal agency; 

6 (B) a nongovernmental organization; 

7 (C) a community group; and 

8 (D) an academic institution. 

9 (4) FOUNDATION.—The term ‘‘Foundation’’ 

10 means the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation 

11 established by section 2(a) of the National Fish and 

12 Wildlife Foundation Establishment Act (16 U.S.C. 

13 3701(a)). 

14 (5) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘Program’’ means 

15 the Urban Bird Treaty Program established under 

16 subsection (a)(1). 

17 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be 

19 appropriated to the Director to carry out this section 

20 $1,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2025 through 

21 2031. 

22 (2) ADJUSTMENT FOR INFLATION.—Beginning 

23 in fiscal year 2026, and annually thereafter, the 

24 amount authorized to be appropriated under para25 graph (1) shall be adjusted to reflect the change in 


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1 the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers 

2 published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

Æ 


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