I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 7408 

To amend the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act to make supplemental funds available for management of fish and wildlife species of 

greatest conservation need as determined by State fish and wildlife agencies, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 20, 2024 

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

CURTIS, Mr. CARL, Mr. LAMBORN, Ms. BOEBERT, Mrs. KIGGANS of Virginia, Mr. LAMALFA, Mr. NEWHOUSE, Mrs. RADEWAGEN, Mr. MOYLAN, 

Mrs. GONZA ́LEZ-COLO ́N, Ms. MALOY, Mr. CARTER of Georgia, Mr. 

ZINKE, Mr. SMITH of Nebraska, and Mr. WITTMAN) 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 amend the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act 

to make supplemental funds available for management 

of fish and wildlife species of greatest conservation need 

as determined by State fish and wildlife agencies, and 

for other purposes. 

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


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

3 ‘‘America’s Wildlife Habitat Conservation Act’’. 

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

5 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Statement of purpose. 

Sec. 3. GAO study. 

TITLE I—WILDLIFE CONSERVATION AND RESTORATION 

Sec. 101. Wildlife Conservation and Restoration Subaccount. 

Sec. 102. Technical amendments. 

Sec. 103. Savings clause. 

TITLE II—TRIBAL WILDLIFE CONSERVATION AND RESTORATION 

Sec. 201. Indian Tribes. 

TITLE III—CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT FOR WILDLIFE 

REFUGES 

Sec. 301. Definitions. 

Sec. 302. Good neighbor authority for the United States Fish and Wildlife 

Service. 

Sec. 303. Stewardship end result contracting projects. 

TITLE IV—INCENTIVIZING WILDLIFE CONSERVATION ON 

PRIVATE LANDS 

Sec. 401. Candidate Conservation Agreements with Assurances. 

Sec. 402. Designation of critical habitat. 

Sec. 403. Private land. 

TITLE V—FOREST INFORMATION REFORM 

Sec. 501. No additional consultation required. 

TITLE VI—PROVIDING FOR GREATER INCENTIVES TO RECOVER 

LISTED SPECIES 

Sec. 601. Protective regulations under Endangered Species Act of 1973. 

TITLE VII—RESCISSIONS AND REPEALS 

Sec. 701. Rescission of funds. 

Sec. 702. Repeal of certain programs. 


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1 SEC. 2. STATEMENT OF PURPOSE. 

2 The purpose of this Act is to extend financial and 

3 technical assistance to States, territories, the District of 

4 Columbia, and Indian Tribes, including under the Pitt5 man-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act (16 U.S.C. 669 

6 et seq.), for the purpose of restoring habitat on State, 

7 Tribal, Federal, and private lands— 

8 (1) to recover species currently listed as threat9 ened or endangered under the Endangered Species 

10 Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) or under State 

11 law; and 

12 (2) to prevent the need to list species under the 

13 Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et 

14 seq.) or under State law. 

15 SEC. 3. GAO STUDY. 

16 Not later than 5 years after the date of enactment 

17 of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States 

18 shall conduct a study to examine the progress of States, 

19 territories, the District of Columbia, and Indian Tribes to20 ward achieving the purpose described in section 2. 


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1 TITLE I—WILDLIFE CONSERVA2 TION AND RESTORATION 

3 SEC. 101. WILDLIFE CONSERVATION AND RESTORATION 

4 SUBACCOUNT. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 3 of the Pittman-Robert6 son Wildlife Restoration Act (16 U.S.C. 669b) is amend7 ed— 

8 (1) in subsection (a)— 

9 (A) by striking ‘‘(1) An amount equal to’’ 

10 and inserting ‘‘An amount equal to’’; and 

11 (B) by striking paragraph (2); and 

12 (2) subsection (c)— 

13 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (2) and 

14 (3) as paragraphs (10) and (11); and 

15 (B) by striking paragraph (1) and insert16 ing the following: 

17 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

18 ‘‘(A) RESTORATION.—The term ‘restora19 tion’ means the implementation of conservation 

20 actions and practices that reestablish or en21 hance environmental conditions and ecosystem 

22 functions that benefit the diversity, resilience, 

23 health, and productivity of plants and animals. 

24 ‘‘(B) REWILDING.—The term ‘rewilding’ 

25 means a restoration approach that prohibits 


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1 human management activities and relies only on 

2 natural processes to maintain or improve habi3 tat. 

4 ‘‘(C) TERRITORY AND TERRITORIES.—The 

5 terms ‘territory’ and ‘territories’ mean the 

6 Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, Amer7 ican Samoa, the Commonwealth of the North8 ern Mariana Islands, and the United States 

9 Virgin Islands. 

10 ‘‘(2) ESTABLISHMENT OF SUBACCOUNT.— 

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—There is established in 

12 the fund a subaccount to be known as the 

13 ‘Wildlife Habitat Conservation and Restoration 

14 Subaccount’. 

15 ‘‘(B) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts in the Sub16 account shall be available until expended, sub17 ject to future appropriations, for apportionment 

18 in accordance with this Act. 

19 ‘‘(C) DEPOSITS INTO SUBACCOUNT.—Sub20 ject to the availability of appropriations made 

21 in advance for such purposes, the Secretary 

22 shall allocate not more than $300,000,000 to 

23 the Subaccount for each of fiscal years 2025 

24 through 2029. 


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1 ‘‘(D) TREATMENT OF REVENUE.—Funds 

2 received by a State fish and wildlife department 

3 as a result of a wildlife conservation and res4 toration program or project of such department 

5 that is carried out on Federal or State land and 

6 funded by the Subaccount shall be retained and 

7 used by such department to carry out additional 

8 authorized wildlife conservation and restoration 

9 programs or projects pursuant to this Act. 

10 ‘‘(E) SUNSET.—No funds may be appro11 priated to the Subaccount after fiscal year 

12 2029. 

13 ‘‘(3) SUPPLEMENT NOT SUPPLANT.—Amounts 

14 transferred to the Subaccount shall supplement, but 

15 not replace, existing funds available to the States 

16 from— 

17 ‘‘(A) the funds distributed pursuant to the 

18 Dingell-Johnson Sport Fish Restoration Act 

19 (16 U.S.C. 777 et seq.); and 

20 ‘‘(B) the fund. 

21 ‘‘(4) INNOVATION GRANTS.— 

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

23 distribute 10 percent of amounts in the Sub24 account in each fiscal year through a competi25 tive grant program to State fish and wildlife deVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:36 Feb 24, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7408.IH H7408

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1 partments, the District of Columbia fish and 

2 wildlife department, fish and wildlife depart3 ments of territories, or to regional associations 

4 of fish and wildlife departments (or any group 

5 composed of more than 1 such entity). 

6 ‘‘(B) PURPOSE.—Recipients of a grant 

7 issued under subparagraph (A) shall use such 

8 grant funds for the purpose of catalyzing inno9 vation of techniques, tools, strategies, or col10 laborative partnerships that accelerate, expand, 

11 or replicate effective and measurable recovery 

12 efforts for habitat of species of greatest con13 servation need and species listed under the En14 dangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 

15 et seq.). 

16 ‘‘(C) REVIEW COMMITTEE.—The Secretary 

17 shall appoint a review committee comprised 

18 of— 

19 ‘‘(i) 1 State Director from each re20 gional association of State fish and wildlife 

21 departments; 

22 ‘‘(ii) the head of a department respon23 sible for fish and wildlife management in a 

24 territory; 


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1 ‘‘(iii) 1 delegate from the United 

2 States Fish and Wildlife Service, for the 

3 purpose of providing technical assistance; 

4 ‘‘(iv) 2 individuals who represent 2 

5 different nonprofit organizations, each of 

6 which participated in carrying out wildlife 

7 conservation and restoration activities 

8 using funds apportioned from the Sub9 account during the 5-year period ending on 

10 the date of appointment of such individual; 

11 and 

12 ‘‘(v) 2 individuals who represent 2 dif13 ferent nonprofit hunting and fishing orga14 nizations who are each a member of— 

15 ‘‘(I) the Hunting and Wildlife 

16 Conservation Council of the Depart17 ment of the Interior and Department 

18 of Agriculture and classified as rep19 resenting a ‘wildlife & habitat con20 servation/management organization’; 

21 or 

22 ‘‘(II) the Sport Fishing and 

23 Boating Partnership Council of the 

24 Department of the Interior and classi25 fied as representing a ‘recreational 


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1 fishery resource conservation organi2 zation’. 

3 ‘‘(D) SUPPORT FROM UNITED STATES FISH

4 AND WILDLIFE SERVICE.—Using not more than 

5 3 percent of the amounts distributed under sub6 paragraph (A) to carry out a competitive grant 

7 program, the United States Fish and Wildlife 

8 Service shall provide any personnel or adminis9 trative support services necessary for such com10 mittee to carry out its responsibilities under 

11 this Act. 

12 ‘‘(E) EVALUATION.—Such committee shall 

13 evaluate each proposal submitted under this 

14 paragraph and recommend projects for funding, 

15 giving preference to solutions that accelerate 

16 the recovery of habitat for species identified as 

17 priorities through regional scientific assess18 ments of species of greatest conservation need. 

19 ‘‘(5) USE OF FUNDS.— 

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Funds apportioned 

21 from the Subaccount under paragraph (2)(B)— 

22 ‘‘(i) shall be used for purposes and 

23 practices consistent with section 2 of the 

24 America’s Wildlife Habitat Conservation 

25 Act; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) shall be used to develop, carry 

2 out, revise, or enhance the Wildlife Con3 servation Strategy of a State, territory, or 

4 the District of Columbia, as required under 

5 section 4(e), by carrying out, revising, or 

6 enhancing existing wildlife conservation 

7 and restoration programs or strategies and 

8 developing and implementing new wildlife 

9 conservation and restoration programs or 

10 strategies, as determined by the appro11 priate State fish and wildlife department; 

12 ‘‘(iii) shall be used to assist in the res13 toration of habitat for species found in the 

14 State, territory, or the District of Colum15 bia that are listed as endangered species, 

16 threatened species, candidate species or 

17 species proposed for listing, or species peti18 tioned for listing under the Endangered 

19 Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et 

20 seq.) or under State law; 

21 ‘‘(iv) may be used for management of 

22 animals, including harvesting; 

23 ‘‘(v) may be used for the conservation 

24 and restoration of habitat for species of 

25 greatest conservation need whose range is 


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1 shared with another State, territory, In2 dian Tribe, or foreign government; 

3 ‘‘(vi) may be used to manage, control, 

4 and prevent invasive species, disease, and 

5 other risks to the habitat of species of 

6 greatest conservation need; 

7 ‘‘(vii) may be used for forest and 

8 vegetation management activities if a pri9 mary purpose of such activity is to modify, 

10 improve, enhance, or create wildlife habitat 

11 or reduce the risk of damage or destruc12 tion to wildlife habitat due to wildfires, in13 sects, or disease, including— 

14 ‘‘(I) planting, seeding, and har15 vesting; 

16 ‘‘(II) mechanical thinning; 

17 ‘‘(III) prescribed burning; 

18 ‘‘(IV) chemical applications de19 signed to restore natural range vari20 ation including creating and maintain21 ing early seral communities; and 

22 ‘‘(V) prescribed haying and graz23 ing practices; 

24 ‘‘(viii) may be used to carry out vol25 untary, collaborative conservation work 


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1 with willing landowners consistent with 

2 section 2 of the America’s Wildlife Habitat 

3 Conservation Act to keep private lands 

4 working; and 

5 ‘‘(ix) may be used to provide incen6 tives to private landowners to carry out 

7 habitat conservation work for threatened 

8 and endangered species or species of great9 est conservation need on the land owned by 

10 such private landowners and to provide fi11 nancial assistance or technical assistance 

12 to such private landowners to carry out 

13 such work. 

14 ‘‘(B) PROHIBITED USES.—Funds appor15 tioned from the Subaccount may not be used 

16 for— 

17 ‘‘(i) rewilding; 

18 ‘‘(ii) the reintroduction or manage19 ment of a species in a manner not sup20 ported by the applicable State fish and 

21 wildlife management authorities; or 

22 ‘‘(iii) climate-focused decisions that 

23 lack a connection to the State comprehen24 sive plan developed under section 4(e)(1). 


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1 ‘‘(6) MINIMUM REQUIRED SPENDING FOR EN2 DANGERED SPECIES RECOVERY.—Not less than 15 

3 percent of the total amount apportioned to a State, 

4 territory, or the District of Columbia from the Sub5 account during the period of fiscal years 2025 

6 through 2029 shall be used for purposes described 

7 in paragraph (5)(A)(iii). 

8 ‘‘(7) PUBLIC ACCESS TO PRIVATE LANDS NOT

9 REQUIRED.—Apportionment of funds from the Sub10 account may not be conditioned upon the provision 

11 of public access to private lands, waters, or holdings. 

12 ‘‘(8) REQUIREMENTS FOR MATCHING FUNDS.— 

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For the purposes of 

14 the non-Federal fund matching requirement for 

15 a wildlife conservation and restoration program 

16 or project funded by the Subaccount, a State, 

17 territory, or the District of Columbia may use 

18 as matching non-Federal funds— 

19 ‘‘(i) in-kind contributions of services 

20 and materials; 

21 ‘‘(ii) voluntarily donated privately 

22 owned easements; 

23 ‘‘(iii) in circumstances described in 

24 subparagraph (B), revenue generated 


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1 through the sale of State hunting and fish2 ing licenses; and 

3 ‘‘(iv) other sources consistent with 

4 part 80 of title 50, Code of Federal Regu5 lations, as in effect on the date of the en6 actment of the America’s Wildlife Habitat 

7 Conservation Act. 

8 ‘‘(B) CIRCUMSTANCES DESCRIBED.—Rev9 enue described in subparagraph (A)(iii) may 

10 only be used to fulfill the requirements of such 

11 non-Federal fund matching requirement if— 

12 ‘‘(i) no Federal funds apportioned to 

13 the State fish and wildlife department of 

14 such State from the Wildlife Restoration 

15 Program or the Sport Fish Restoration 

16 Program have been reverted because of a 

17 failure to fulfill such non-Federal fund 

18 matching requirement by such State dur19 ing the previous 2 years; and 

20 ‘‘(ii) the project or program being 

21 funded benefits the habitat of a species 

22 that is a— 

23 ‘‘(I) hunted or fished species; and 

24 ‘‘(II) species of greatest con25 servation need. 


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1 ‘‘(9) STATE LAND ACQUISITION.—Land ac2 quired by a State, territory, or the District of Co3 lumbia using funds apportioned from the Sub4 account— 

5 ‘‘(A) may only be purchased from a willing 

6 seller; 

7 ‘‘(B) may only be so acquired for the pur8 poses described in paragraph (5)(A)(iii); 

9 ‘‘(C) may only be so acquired when no 

10 other source of funding is available to purchase 

11 such land; and 

12 ‘‘(D) shall be open to the public for wild13 life-related outdoor recreation, including hunt14 ing, trapping, fishing, or recreational shooting 

15 to the extent allowed by State law.’’. 

16 (b) ALLOCATION AND APPORTIONMENT OF AVAIL17 ABLE AMOUNTS.—Section 4 of the Pittman-Robertson 

18 Wildlife Restoration Act (16 U.S.C. 669c) is amended— 

19 (1) in subsection (d)— 

20 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

21 (i) by inserting ‘‘, after deducting the 

22 amount distributed pursuant to section 

23 3(c)(4),’’ after ‘‘Secretary of the Interior 

24 shall’’; 

25 (ii) in subparagraph (A)— 


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1 (I) by striking ‘‘to the District of 

2 Columbia and to the Commonwealth 

3 of Puerto Rico, each’’ and inserting 

4 ‘‘To the District of Columbia’’; and 

5 (II) by striking ‘‘one-half’’ and 

6 inserting ‘‘one-fourth’’; 

7 (iii) in subparagraph (B)— 

8 (I) by striking ‘‘to Guam’’ and 

9 inserting ‘‘To Guam’’; and 

10 (II) by striking ‘‘not more than 

11 one-fourth of 1 percent’’ and inserting 

12 ‘‘not less than one-third of 1 percent’’; 

13 and 

14 (iv) by adding at the end the fol15 lowing: 

16 ‘‘(C) To the Commonwealth of Puerto 

17 Rico, a sum equal to not less than 1 percent 

18 thereof.’’; 

19 (B) in paragraph (2)(A)— 

20 (i) by amending clause (i) to read as 

21 follows: 

22 ‘‘(i) half of which is based on the ratio to 

23 which the land and water area of such State 

24 bears to the total land and water area of all 

25 such States;’’; 


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1 (ii) in clause (ii)— 

2 (I) by striking ‘‘two-thirds’’ and 

3 inserting ‘‘one-quarter’’; and 

4 (II) by striking the period and 

5 inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

6 (iii) by adding at the end the fol7 lowing: 

8 ‘‘(iii) one quarter of which is based upon 

9 the ratio to which the number of species listed 

10 as endangered or threatened under the Endan11 gered Species Act of 1973 in such State bears 

12 to the total number of such species listed in all 

13 such States.’’; 

14 (C) by amending paragraph (2)(B) to read 

15 as follows: 

16 ‘‘(B) The amounts apportioned under this para17 graph shall be adjusted equitably so that no such 

18 State, unless otherwise designated, shall be appor19 tioned a sum which is less than 1 percent or more 

20 than 5 percent of the amount available for appor21 tionment under— 

22 ‘‘(i) subparagraph (A)(i); 

23 ‘‘(ii) subparagraph (A)(ii); and 

24 ‘‘(iii) the overall amount available for sub25 paragraph (A).’’; and 


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1 (D) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘3 per2 cent’’ and inserting ‘‘one-third of 1 percent’’; 

3 (2) in subsection (e) in paragraph (3), by strik4 ing ‘‘75’’ and inserting ‘‘90’’; and 

5 (3) by adding at the end following: 

6 ‘‘(f) ACCOUNTABILITY.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

8 the date of the enactment of the America’s Wildlife 

9 Habitat Conservation Act and every 2 years there10 after until the last day of fiscal year 2029, the head 

11 of each State fish and wildlife department shall sub12 mit to the Director of the United States Fish and 

13 Wildlife Service a report describing, with respect to 

14 such department during the preceding 2 years, the 

15 following: 

16 ‘‘(A) A summary of each activity carried 

17 out using funds apportioned from the Sub18 account, including— 

19 ‘‘(i) an accounting of the administra20 tive costs associated with each such activ21 ity; 

22 ‘‘(ii) an accounting of land acquired, 

23 if any, from willing sellers by each State 

24 fish and wildlife department using funds 

25 from the Subaccount, including— 


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1 ‘‘(I) the number of acres ac2 quired; 

3 ‘‘(II) the endangered species, 

4 threatened species, candidate species 

5 or species proposed for listing, or spe6 cies petitioned for listing under the 

7 Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 

8 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) or State law as9 sociated with the land acquired; 

10 ‘‘(III) the justification for such 

11 land acquisition; and 

12 ‘‘(IV) a detailed explanation re13 garding why other sources of funding 

14 were not used for the land acquisition; 

15 and 

16 ‘‘(iii) the number of acres of habitat 

17 restored, enhanced, created, or conserved 

18 by each such activity. 

19 ‘‘(B) A summary of the results and effec20 tiveness of each activity carried out using funds 

21 apportioned from the Subaccount, including, if 

22 determinable— 

23 ‘‘(i) any change in the population 

24 trends of species of greatest conservation 

25 need; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) any reduction in threats to spe2 cies of greatest conservation need. 

3 ‘‘(2) SUMMARY REPORT.—The Secretary shall, 

4 not later than 180 days after each deadline for the 

5 submission of reports under paragraph (1), submit 

6 a report summarizing each report received by the 

7 Secretary under paragraph (1) to— 

8 ‘‘(A) the Committee on Environment and 

9 Public Works of the Senate; and 

10 ‘‘(B) the Committee on Natural Resources 

11 of the House of Representatives. 

12 ‘‘(3) STATE DEFINED.—In this subsection, the 

13 term ‘State’ includes the District of Columbia, the 

14 Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American 

15 Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 

16 Islands, and the United States Virgin Islands.’’. 

17 SEC. 102. TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS. 

18 (a) DEFINITIONS.—Section 2 of the Pittman-Robert19 son Wildlife Restoration Act (16 U.S.C. 669a) is amend20 ed— 

21 (1) in paragraph (7), by striking ‘‘including 

22 fish,’’; and 

23 (2) in paragraph (9)— 

24 (A) by striking ‘‘section 304(d)’’ and in25 serting ‘‘section 4(e)’’; and 


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1 (B) by inserting ‘‘Indian Tribes,’’ before 

2 ‘‘wildlife conservation organizations’’. 

3 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—The Pittman-Rob4 ertson Wildlife Restoration Act (16 U.S.C. 669 et seq.) 

5 is amended— 

6 (1) in section 2— 

7 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (6) 

8 through (11) as paragraphs (7) through (12), 

9 respectively; 

10 (B) by inserting after paragraph (5) the 

11 following: 

12 ‘‘(6) the term ‘species of greatest conservation 

13 need’ means, with respect to funds apportioned to a 

14 State, terrestrial, aquatic, or marine fauna or flora 

15 that the State fish and wildlife department of such 

16 State determines are— 

17 ‘‘(A) of low or declining population; or 

18 ‘‘(B) facing threats and in need of con19 servation attention;’’; 

20 (C) by redesignating paragraphs (8) 

21 through (12), as so redesignated by subpara22 graph (A) of this paragraph, as paragraphs (9) 

23 through (13), respectively; and 

24 (D) by inserting after paragraph (7) the 

25 following: 


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1 ‘‘(8) the term ‘Subaccount’ means the Wildlife 

2 Habitat Conservation and Restoration Subaccount 

3 established by section 3(c)(2)(A);’’; 

4 (2) in section 3— 

5 (A) in subsection (c)— 

6 (i) in paragraph (10), as so redesig7 nated by section 101(a)(3) of this Act, by 

8 striking ‘‘or an Indian tribe’’; and 

9 (ii) in paragraph (11), as so redesig10 nated by section 101(a)(3) of this Act— 

11 (I) by striking ‘‘Wildlife Con12 servation and Restoration Account’’ 

13 and inserting ‘‘Subaccount’’; and 

14 (II) by striking ‘‘those species 

15 with the greatest conservation need as 

16 defined by the State wildlife conserva17 tion and restoration program’’ and in18 serting ‘‘species of greatest conserva19 tion need’’; and 

20 (B) in subsection (d), by striking ‘‘Wildlife 

21 Conservation and Restoration Account’’ and in22 serting ‘‘Subaccount’’; 

23 (3) in section 4 (16 U.S.C. 669c)— 

24 (A) in subsection (d)— 


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1 (i) in the heading, by striking ‘‘WILD2 LIFE CONSERVATION AND RESTORATION

3 ACCOUNT’’ and inserting ‘‘SUBACCOUNT’’; 

4 and 

5 (ii) by striking ‘‘Wildlife Conservation 

6 and Restoration Account’’ each place it ap7 pears and inserting ‘‘Subaccount’’; and 

8 (B) in subsection (e)(1), by striking ‘‘Wild9 life Conservation and Restoration Account’’ and 

10 inserting ‘‘Subaccount’’; and 

11 (4) in section 8 (16 U.S.C. 669g), in subsection 

12 (a), by striking ‘‘Wildlife Conservation and Restora13 tion Account’’ and inserting ‘‘Subaccount’’. 

14 SEC. 103. SAVINGS CLAUSE. 

15 The Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act (16 

16 U.S.C. 669 et seq.) is amended— 

17 (1) by redesignating section 14 as section 16; 

18 and 

19 (2) by inserting after section 13 the following: 

20 ‘‘SEC. 14. SAVINGS CLAUSE. 

21 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this Act may be con22 strued to enlarge or diminish the authority, jurisdiction, 

23 or responsibility of a State, territory, or the District of 

24 Columbia to manage, control, or regulate fish and wildlife 


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1 on lands and waters within the State, territory, or the Dis2 trict of Columbia including on Federal lands and waters. 

3 ‘‘(b) NO FUNDS AUTHORIZED FOR DAM REMOVAL

4 OR MODIFICATION.—None of the funds made available 

5 under this Act may be used to remove a federally owned 

6 dam or modify a federally owned dam in a manner that 

7 reduces storage or diversion capacity. 

8 ‘‘(c) PROHIBITION ON LAND TRANSFERS.—The Fed9 eral Government may not accept a transfer, donation, or 

10 exchange of land or an interest in land from a State gov11 ernment, a fish and wildlife department of the District of 

12 Columbia or a territory, or a regional association of fish 

13 and wildlife departments if such land or interest in land 

14 was purchased using funds apportioned under this Act. 

15 ‘‘(d) TERRITORY DEFINED.—In this section, the 

16 term ‘territory’ has the meaning given the term in section 

17 3(c)(1). 

18 ‘‘SEC. 15. STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION WITH RESPECT TO 

19 ALASKA. 

20 ‘‘If any conflict arises between any provision of this 

21 Act and any provision of the Alaska National Interest 

22 Lands Conservation Act or the Alaska Native Claims Set23 tlement Act, then the provision in the Alaska National In24 terest Lands Conservation Act or the Alaska Native 

25 Claims Settlement Act shall prevail.’’. 


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1 TITLE II—TRIBAL WILDLIFE 

2 CONSERVATION AND RES3 TORATION 

4 SEC. 201. INDIAN TRIBES. 

5 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

6 (1) ACCOUNT.—The term ‘‘Account’’ means the 

7 Tribal Wildlife Conservation and Restoration Ac8 count established by subsection (b)(1). 

9 (2) CONSERVATION.—The term ‘‘conservation’’ 

10 has the meaning given the term in section 2 of the 

11 Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act (16 

12 U.S.C. 669a). 

13 (3) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian Tribe’’ 

14 has the meaning given such term in section 4 of the 

15 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 

16 Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). 

17 (4) RESTORATION.—The term ‘‘restoration’’ 

18 means the implementation of conservation actions 

19 and practices that reestablish or enhance environ20 mental conditions and ecosystem functions that ben21 efit the diversity, resilience, health, and productivity 

22 of plants and animals. 

23 (5) REWILDING.—The term ‘‘rewilding’’ means 

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1 agement activities and relies only on natural proc2 esses to maintain or improve habitat. 

3 (6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

4 the Secretary of the Interior. 

5 (7) TRIBAL SPECIES OF GREATEST CONSERVA6 TION NEED.—The term ‘‘Tribal species of greatest 

7 conservation need’’ means, with respect to an Indian 

8 Tribe, any terrestrial, aquatic, or marine fauna or 

9 flora that such Indian Tribe determines is— 

10 (A) of low or declining population, 

11 (B) facing threats and in need of conserva12 tion attention; or 

13 (C) of cultural importance to such Indian 

14 Tribe. 

15 (8) WILDLIFE.—The term ‘‘wildlife’’ means any 

16 species of— 

17 (A) wild, free-ranging fauna, including 

18 fish; and 

19 (B) fauna in a captive breeding program 

20 the object of which is to reintroduce individuals 

21 of a depleted indigenous species into previously 

22 occupied range of such species. 

23 (b) TRIBAL WILDLIFE CONSERVATION AND RES24 TORATION ACCOUNT.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is established in the 

2 Treasury an account to be known as the ‘‘Tribal 

3 Wildlife Conservation and Restoration Account’’. 

4 (2) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts in the Account 

5 shall be available until expended, subject to future 

6 appropriations, for each fiscal year for apportion7 ment in accordance with this section. 

8 (3) DEPOSITS INTO ACCOUNT.—There is au9 thorized to be appropriated to the Account 

10 $20,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2025 through 

11 2029. 

12 (4) SUNSET.—No funds may be appropriated to 

13 the Account after fiscal year 2029. 

14 (c) DISTRIBUTION OF AMOUNTS TO INDIAN

15 TRIBES.—Each fiscal year, the Secretary shall distribute 

16 amounts in the Account through a noncompetitive grant 

17 program according to guidelines, criteria, and reporting 

18 requirements determined by the Secretary, acting through 

19 the Director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, in consulta20 tion with Indian Tribes. 

21 (d) WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT RESPONSIBILITIES.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—The distribution guidelines 

23 and criteria described in subsection (c) shall be 

24 based, in part, upon the wildlife management re25 sponsibilities of an Indian Tribe. 


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1 (2) INDIAN TRIBES IN ALASKA.— 

2 (A) IN GENERAL.—Any amounts allocated 

3 to an Indian Tribe in Alaska under this section 

4 may only be used in a manner consistent with 

5 the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 

6 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.), the Alaska National In7 terest Lands Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 3101 

8 et seq.), and Public Law 85–508 (commonly 

9 known as the ‘‘Alaska Statehood Act’’) (48 

10 U.S.C. note prec. 21). 

11 (B) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.—An In12 dian Tribe in Alaska may enter into a coopera13 tive agreement with the State of Alaska regard14 ing a conservation project of mutual concern. 

15 (e) USE OF AMOUNTS.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para17 graph (2), amounts distributed to an Indian Tribe 

18 under subsection (c)— 

19 (A) shall be used for purposes consistent 

20 with section 2; 

21 (B) shall be used to carry out, develop, or 

22 enhance wildlife and habitat conservation and 

23 restoration programs; 

24 (C) shall be used to assist in the restora25 tion of habitat for species found in the lands 


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1 and waters of such Tribe that are listed as en2 dangered species, threatened species, candidate 

3 species or species proposed for listing, or spe4 cies petitioned for listing under the Endangered 

5 Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), 

6 or under State or Tribal law; 

7 (D) may be used for management of ani8 mals, including harvesting; 

9 (E) may be used for the conservation and 

10 restoration of habitat for Tribal species of 

11 greatest conservation need whose range is 

12 shared with another State, territory, Indian 

13 Tribe, or foreign government; 

14 (F) may be used to manage, control, and 

15 prevent invasive species, disease, and other 

16 risks to the habitat of Tribal species of greatest 

17 conservation need; and 

18 (G) may be used for forest and vegetation 

19 management activities if the primary purpose of 

20 such activity is to modify, improve, enhance, or 

21 create wildlife habitat or reduce the risk of 

22 damage or destruction to wildlife habitat due to 

23 wildfires, insects, or disease, including— 

24 (i) planting, seeding, and harvesting; 

25 (ii) mechanical thinning; 


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1 (iii) prescribed burning; 

2 (iv) chemical applications designed to 

3 restore natural range of variation including 

4 creating and maintaining early seral com5 munities; and 

6 (v) prescribed haying and grazing 

7 practices. 

8 (2) PROHIBITED USES.—Amounts distributed 

9 to an Indian Tribe under subsection (c) may not be 

10 used for— 

11 (A) rewilding; or 

12 (B) the reintroduction or management of a 

13 species in a manner not supported by the appli14 cable Tribal fish and wildlife management au15 thorities. 

16 (f) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.—With respect to any 

17 grant issued under subsection (c) that exceeds $100,000, 

18 the Federal share of total costs of the project funded 

19 through such grant may not exceed 90 percent. 

20 (g) PUBLIC ACCESS NOT REQUIRED.—Amounts dis21 tributed to an Indian Tribe under subsection (c) shall not 

22 be conditioned upon the provision of public or non-Tribal 

23 access to Tribal or private lands, waters, or holdings. 

24 (h) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—Of the amounts de25 posited under subsection (b)(3) for each fiscal year, not 


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1 more than 3 percent shall be used by the Secretary for 

2 administrative costs. 

3 (i) ACCOUNTABILITY.— 

4 (1) TRIBAL REPORTS.—Not later than the last 

5 day of fiscal year 2029, each Indian Tribe that re6 ceives funds under this section shall submit to the 

7 Director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs a report 

8 describing, with respect to such Indian Tribe during 

9 the preceding 5 years, the following: 

10 (A) A summary of each activity carried out 

11 using funding received under subsection (c), in12 cluding— 

13 (i) an accounting of the administrative 

14 costs associated with each such activity; 

15 and 

16 (ii) the number of acres of habitat re17 stored, enhanced, or conserved by each 

18 such activity. 

19 (B) A summary of the results and effec20 tiveness of each activity carried out using fund21 ing received under subsection (c), including, if 

22 determinable— 

23 (i) any change in the population 

24 trends of species of greatest conservation 

25 need; and 


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1 (ii) any reduction in threats to species 

2 of greatest conservation need. 

3 (2) SUMMARY REPORT.—The Director of the 

4 Bureau of Indian Affairs shall, not later than 180 

5 days after each deadline for the submission of re6 ports under paragraph (1), submit a report summa7 rizing each report received by the Director under 

8 paragraph (1) to— 

9 (A) the Committee on Environment and 

10 Public Works of the Senate; and 

11 (B) the Committee on Natural Resources 

12 of the House of Representatives. 

13 (j) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—Nothing in this section may 

14 be construed as modifying or abrogating a treaty with any 

15 Indian Tribe, or as enlarging or diminishing the authority, 

16 jurisdiction, or responsibility of an Indian Tribe to man17 age, control, or regulate wildlife. 

18 (k) STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION WITH RESPECT TO

19 ALASKA.—If any conflict arises between any provision of 

20 this section and any provision of the Alaska National In21 terest Lands Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 3101 et seq.) 

22 or the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 

23 1601 et seq.), then the provision in the Alaska National 

24 Interest Lands Conservation Act or the Alaska Native 

25 Claims Settlement Act shall prevail. 


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1 TITLE III—CONSERVATION AND 

2 MANAGEMENT FOR WILDLIFE 

3 REFUGES 

4 SEC. 301. DEFINITIONS. 

5 In this title: 

6 (1) AUTHORIZED RECREATION SERVICES.—The 

7 term ‘‘authorized recreation services’’ means similar 

8 and complementary recreation enhancement or im9 provement services carried out— 

10 (A) on Federal land, non-Federal land, and 

11 land owned by or held in trust for an Indian 

12 Tribe; and 

13 (B) by the Secretary, a Governor, or a 

14 county, as applicable, pursuant to a good neigh15 bor agreement. 

16 (2) AUTHORIZED RESTORATION SERVICES.— 

17 The term ‘‘authorized restoration services’’ means 

18 similar and complementary forest, rangeland, and 

19 watershed restoration services— 

20 (A) carried out— 

21 (i) on land administered by the 

22 United States Fish and Wildlife Service, 

23 non-Federal land, and land owned by an 

24 Indian Tribe; and 


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1 (ii) by the Secretary, a Governor, an 

2 Indian Tribe, or a county; and 

3 (B) in the case of forest, rangeland, and 

4 watershed restoration services carried out on 

5 land administered by the United States Fish 

6 and Wildlife Service, such services shall be con7 sistent with the purposes for which such lands 

8 were established. 

9 (3) COUNTY.—The term ‘‘county’’ means— 

10 (A) the appropriate executive official of an 

11 affected county or parish; or 

12 (B) in any case in which multiple counties 

13 or parishes are affected, the appropriate execu14 tive official of a compact of the affected coun15 ties or parishes. 

16 (4) FOREST, RANGELAND, AND WATERSHED

17 RESTORATION SERVICES.— 

18 (A) The term ‘‘forest, rangeland, and wa19 tershed restoration services’’ means an activ20 ity— 

21 (i) to reduce hazardous fuels; 

22 (ii) to restore or improve fish, wildlife, 

23 and their habitats; 


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1 (iii) to remove vegetation or other ac2 tivities to promote healthy forest structure 

3 and composition; 

4 (iv) to treat insect- or disease-infected 

5 trees; 

6 (v) to control noxious or exotic weeds; 

7 (vi) to reestablish native plant species; 

8 or 

9 (vii) to maintain a road or trail to re10 store or maintain water quality. 

11 (B) The term ‘‘forest, rangeland, and wa12 tershed restoration services’’ does not include— 

13 (i) construction, reconstruction, re14 pair, or restoration of paved roads or park15 ing areas, other than— 

16 (I) activities described in sub17 paragraph (A)(vii); or 

18 (II) the reconstruction, repair, or 

19 restoration of a National Wildlife Ref20 uge System road or other road on 

21 United States Fish and Wildlife Serv22 ice land that is necessary to carry out 

23 authorized restoration services pursu24 ant to a good neighbor agreement; or 


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1 (ii) construction, alteration, repair, or 

2 replacement of public buildings or works. 

3 (5) GOOD NEIGHBOR AGREEMENT.—The term 

4 ‘‘good neighbor agreement’’ means an agreement or 

5 contract authorized by section 302(a). 

6 (6) GOVERNOR.—The term ‘‘Governor’’ means 

7 the Governor or any other appropriate executive offi8 cial of an affected State or a territory or possession 

9 of the United States. 

10 (7) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian Tribe’’ 

11 has the meaning given such term in section 4 of the 

12 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 

13 Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). 

14 (8) RECREATION ENHANCEMENT OR IMPROVE15 MENT SERVICES.—The term ‘‘recreation enhance16 ment or improvement services’’ means— 

17 (A) establishing, repairing, restoring, im18 proving, relocating, constructing, or recon19 structing new or existing— 

20 (i) trails or trailheads; 

21 (ii) shooting ranges; 

22 (iii) paved or permanent roads or 

23 parking areas that serve existing recreation 

24 facilities or areas; 


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1 (iv) fishing piers, wildlife viewing plat2 forms, docks, or other constructed features 

3 at a recreation site; 

4 (v) boat landings; 

5 (vi) hunting or fishing sites; or 

6 (vii) levees and drainage structures to 

7 improve wetland habitat; and 

8 (B) activities that create, improve, or re9 store access to existing recreation facilities or 

10 areas. 

11 (9) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

12 the Secretary of the Interior. 

13 SEC. 302. GOOD NEIGHBOR AUTHORITY FOR THE UNITED 

14 STATES FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may enter into a 

16 cooperative agreement or contract with a Governor, an In17 dian Tribe, or a county to carry out authorized restoration 

18 services or authorized recreation services. 

19 (b) APPROVAL OF FOREST, RANGELAND, AND WA20 TERSHED RESTORATION SERVICES.—The Secretary shall 

21 provide or approve any forest, rangeland, and watershed 

22 services to be carried out on land administered by the 

23 United States Fish and Wildlife Service under this section. 

24 (c) RESTORATION ACTIVITIES REQUIRING TIMBER

25 SALES.— 


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1 (1) APPROVAL OF SILVICULTURE PRESCRIP2 TIONS AND MARKING GUIDES.—The Secretary shall 

3 provide or approve all silviculture prescriptions and 

4 marking guides to be applied on Federal land in all 

5 timber sale projects conducted under this section. 

6 (2) TREATMENT OF REVENUE.—Funds received 

7 from the sale of timber by a Governor, an Indian 

8 Tribe, or a county under a good neighbor agreement 

9 shall be retained and used by the Governor, Indian 

10 Tribe, or county, as applicable— 

11 (A) to carry out authorized restoration 

12 services or authorized recreation services on 

13 Federal land under the good neighbor agree14 ment; and 

15 (B) if there are funds remaining after car16 rying out authorized restoration services or au17 thorized recreation services under subparagraph 

18 (A), to carry out authorized restoration services 

19 or authorized recreation services on Federal 

20 land within the State under other good neigh21 bor agreements. 

22 (d) RETENTION OF NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL

23 PROTECTION ACT OF 1969 RESPONSIBILITIES.—Any de24 cision required to be made under the National Environ25 mental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) with 


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1 respect to any authorized restoration services or author2 ized recreation services to be conducted under this section 

3 on land administered by the United States Fish and Wild4 life Service may not be delegated to a Governor, an Indian 

5 Tribe, or county. 

6 (e) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The Secretary shall 

7 make each good neighbor agreement available to the pub8 lic. 

9 (f) EXCLUSIONS.—The authority provided by this 

10 section does not apply to— 

11 (1) a component of the National Wilderness 

12 Preservation System; 

13 (2) land on which the removal of vegetation is 

14 prohibited or restricted by an Act of Congress or a 

15 Presidential proclamation (including the applicable 

16 implementation plan) and for which there is no au17 thority to otherwise manage or permit such actions 

18 consistent with the purposes for which the lands 

19 were established; or 

20 (3) a wilderness study area. 

21 SEC. 303. STEWARDSHIP END RESULT CONTRACTING 

22 PROJECTS. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may enter into an 

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1 tershed restoration services that are consistent with the 

2 purposes for which the United States Fish and Wildlife 

3 Service lands that are the subject of the agreement were 

4 established and local and rural community needs. 

5 (b) AGREEMENTS OR CONTRACTS.— 

6 (1) PROCUREMENT PROCEDURE.—A source for 

7 performance or an agreement or contract entered 

8 into under subsection (a) shall be selected on a best9 value basis, including consideration of source under 

10 other public and private agreements or contracts. 

11 (2) CONTRACT FOR SALE OF FOREST PROD12 UCTS.—A contract entered into under this section 

13 may, at the discretion of the Secretary, be consid14 ered a contract for the sale of forest products under 

15 such terms as the Secretary may prescribe without 

16 regard to any other provision of law. 

17 (3) TERM.—The Secretary may enter into an 

18 agreement or contract under subsection (a) for an 

19 initial period of not more than 20 years. 

20 (4) OFFSETS.— 

21 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may 

22 apply the value of forest products removed as 

23 an offset against the cost of forest, rangeland, 

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1 suant to an agreement or contract under this 

2 section. 

3 (B) VALUE OF OFFSET.—The value of tim4 ber or other forest products used as an offset— 

5 (i) shall be determined using appro6 priate methods of appraisal commensurate 

7 with the quantity of products to be re8 moved; and 

9 (ii) may— 

10 (I) be determined using a unit of 

11 measure appropriate to the contracts; 

12 and 

13 (II) may include valuing products 

14 on a per-acre basis. 

15 (C) CONTRACTING OFFICER.—Notwith16 standing any other provision of law, the Sec17 retary may determine the appropriate con18 tracting officer to enter into and administer an 

19 agreement or contract under this section. 

20 (c) RECEIPTS.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may collect 

22 monies from an agreement or contract under this 

23 section if the collection is a secondary objective of 

24 negotiating the contract that will best achieve the 

25 purpose of this section. 


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1 (2) DISPOSITION AND AVAILABILITY OF MON2 EYS.—Monies from an agreement or contract under 

3 this section shall remain available until expended for 

4 forest, rangeland, and watershed restoration services 

5 at the project site from which the monies are col6 lected, or at another project site. 

7 (d) RELATION TO OTHER LAWS.—Notwithstanding 

8 any other provision of law, the value of services received 

9 by the Secretary under a stewardship contract project con10 ducted under this section, and any payments made or re11 sources provided by the contractor or Secretary, shall not 

12 be considered monies received from United States Fish 

13 and Wildlife Service lands. 

14 (e) COSTS OF REMOVAL.—Notwithstanding the fact 

15 that a contractor did not harvest the timber, the Secretary 

16 may collect deposits from a contractor covering the costs 

17 of removal of timber or other forest products. 

18 (f) PERFORMANCE AND PAYMENT GUARANTEES.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may require 

20 performance and payment bonds under sections 

21 28.103–2 and 28.103–3 of the Federal Acquisition 

22 Regulation, in an amount that the contracting offi23 cer considers sufficient to protect the investment in 

24 receipts by the Federal Government generated by 

25 the contractor from the estimated value of the forest 


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1 products to be removed under a contract under this 

2 section. 

3 (2) EXCESS OFFSET VALUE.—If the offset 

4 value of the forest products exceeds the value of the 

5 resource improvement treatments, the Secretary 

6 may— 

7 (A) use the excess to satisfy any out8 standing liabilities from cancelled agreements or 

9 contracts; or 

10 (B) if there are no outstanding liabilities 

11 described in subparagraph (A), apply the excess 

12 to other authorized stewardship projects. 

13 (g) CANCELLATION CEILINGS.—Notwithstanding 

14 section 3903(b)(1) of title 41, United States Code, the 

15 Secretary may obligate funds in stages that are economi16 cally or programmatically viable to cover any potential 

17 cancellation or termination costs for an agreement or con18 tract under this section. 

19 (h) MONITORING AND EVALUATION.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish 

21 a monitoring and evaluation process that accesses 

22 the stewardship contracting projects conducted 

23 under this section. 


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1 (2) PARTICIPANTS.—Other than the Secretary, 

2 participants in the process described in this para3 graph may include— 

4 (A) any cooperating governmental agen5 cies, including Tribal governments; and 

6 (B) other interested groups or individuals. 

7 TITLE IV—INCENTIVIZING WILD8 LIFE CONSERVATION ON PRI9 VATE LANDS 

10 SECTION 401. CANDIDATE CONSERVATION AGREEMENTS 

11 WITH ASSURANCES. 

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

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

14 1533(b)(1)) is amended by adding at the end the fol15 lowing: 

16 ‘‘(C) CANDIDATE CONSERVATION AGREEMENTS

17 WITH ASSURANCES.—In making a determination 

18 under subsection (a)(1) with respect to a species, the 

19 Secretary shall take into account the net conserva20 tion benefit (as that term is defined in section 

21 10(k)) of any Candidate Conservation Agreement 

22 with Assurances or any programmatic Candidate 

23 Conservation Agreement with Assurances (as those 

24 terms are defined in that subsection) relating to 

25 such species.’’. 


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1 (b) CANDIDATE CONSERVATION AGREEMENTS WITH

2 ASSURANCES.—Section 10 of the Endangered Species Act 

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

4 end the following: 

5 ‘‘(k) CANDIDATE CONSERVATION AGREEMENTS

6 WITH ASSURANCES.— 

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

8 may submit a proposed Agreement to the Secretary. 

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

10 after the date of the receipt of a proposed Agree11 ment under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall ap12 prove the proposed Agreement if the Secretary de13 termines that the proposed Agreement— 

14 ‘‘(A) sets forth specific management activi15 ties that the covered party will undertake to 

16 conserve the covered species; 

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

18 conservation benefit of such management activi19 ties to the covered species; 

20 ‘‘(C) requires the Director of the United 

21 States Fish and Wildlife Service to determine, 

22 to the maximum extent practicable, the existing 

23 population levels of the covered species or the 

24 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 Agree9 ment. 

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

11 the date of the receipt of a proposed Agreement 

12 under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall— 

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

14 Secretary determines that the proposed Agree15 ment does not meet the requirements described 

16 in paragraph (2); and 

17 ‘‘(B) provide the submitting covered party 

18 a written explanation for such determination 

19 and the adjustments required for the Secretary 

20 to approve such proposed Agreement. 

21 ‘‘(4) PROGRAMMATIC CANDIDATE CONSERVA22 TION AGREEMENT WITH ASSURANCES.— 

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting 

24 through the Director of the United States Fish 

25 and Wildlife Service, may enter into a CanVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:36 Feb 24, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00046 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7408.IH H7408

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1 didate Conservation Agreement with Assurances 

2 with a covered party that authorizes such cov3 ered party— 

4 ‘‘(i) to administer such Candidate 

5 Conservation Agreement with Assurances; 

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

7 this section with regard to such Candidate 

8 Conservation Agreement with Assurances; 

9 ‘‘(iii) to enroll other covered parties 

10 within the area covered by such Candidate 

11 Conservation Agreement with Assurances 

12 in such Candidate Conservation Agreement 

13 with Assurances; and 

14 ‘‘(iv) to convey any permit authoriza15 tion held by such covered party under 

16 clause (ii) to each covered party enrolled 

17 under clause (iii). 

18 ‘‘(B) PUBLICATION.—Upon receipt of a 

19 proposed programmatic Candidate Conservation 

20 Agreement with Assurances under paragraph 

21 (1) and before approving or denying such a pro22 posed programmatic Candidate Conservation 

23 Agreement with Assurances under paragraph 

24 (2) or (3), respectively, the Secretary shall— 


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

2 date of such receipt, publish the proposed 

3 programmatic Candidate Conservation 

4 Agreement with Assurances in the Federal 

5 Register for public comment for a period 

6 of not less than 60 days; 

7 ‘‘(ii) review any comments received 

8 under clause (i); and 

9 ‘‘(iii) after the close of the public com10 ment period for the proposed pro11 grammatic Candidate Conservation Agree12 ment with Assurances, publish in the Fed13 eral Register— 

14 ‘‘(I) any comments received 

15 under clause (i); and 

16 ‘‘(II) the approval or denial of 

17 the proposed programmatic Candidate 

18 Conservation Agreement with Assur19 ances under paragraph (2) or (3), re20 spectively. 

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

22 covered species is listed under section 4, the Sec23 retary shall issue a permit to the relevant covered 

24 party under this section allowing incidental take of 


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1 and modification to the habitat of such covered spe2 cies consistent with the Agreement. 

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

4 shall, upon request, provide a covered party with 

5 technical assistance in developing a proposed Agree6 ment. 

7 ‘‘(7) REQUEST BY FEDERAL AGENCY TO JOIN

8 AGREEMENT.—A Federal agency may, subject to the 

9 consent of the relevant covered party, join the 

10 Agreement of a covered party that conducts activi11 ties on land administered by the Federal agency pur12 suant to a permit or lease issued to the covered 

13 party. 

14 ‘‘(8) EXEMPTION FROM CONSULTATION RE15 QUIREMENT.—An Agreement approved under this 

16 subsection shall be deemed to have been granted an 

17 exemption under section 7(h) for the purposes of 

18 that section. 

19 ‘‘(9) EXEMPTION FROM DISCLOSURE.—Infor20 mation submitted by a private party to the Secretary 

21 under this subsection shall be exempt from disclo22 sure under section 552(b)(3)(B) of title 5, United 

23 States Code. 

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


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

2 means— 

3 ‘‘(i) a Candidate Conservation Agree4 ment with Assurances; or 

5 ‘‘(ii) a programmatic Candidate Con6 servation Agreement with Assurances. 

7 ‘‘(B) CANDIDATE CONSERVATION AGREE8 MENT WITH ASSURANCES.—The term ‘Can9 didate Conservation Agreement with Assur10 ances’ means a voluntary agreement between 

11 the Secretary, acting through the Director of 

12 the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, 

13 and a covered party in which— 

14 ‘‘(i) the covered party commits to im15 plementing mutually agreed upon conserva16 tion measures for a candidate species; and 

17 ‘‘(ii) the Secretary provides assur18 ances that, if such candidate species is list19 ed pursuant to section 4— 

20 ‘‘(I) the covered party shall incur 

21 no additional obligations beyond ac22 tions agreed to in the agreement with 

23 respect to conservation activities re24 quired under this Act; and 


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1 ‘‘(II) no additional land, water, 

2 or resource use restrictions shall be 

3 imposed on the covered party beyond 

4 those included in the agreement. 

5 ‘‘(C) CANDIDATE SPECIES.—The term 

6 ‘candidate species’ means a species— 

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

8 candidate species under this Act; or 

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

10 section 4. 

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

12 party’ means a— 

13 ‘‘(i) party that conducts activities on 

14 land administered by a Federal agency 

15 pursuant to a permit or lease issued to the 

16 party; 

17 ‘‘(ii) private property owner; 

18 ‘‘(iii) county; 

19 ‘‘(iv) State or State agency; 

20 ‘‘(v) Federal agency; or 

21 ‘‘(vi) Tribal government. 

22 ‘‘(E) COVERED SPECIES.—The term ‘cov23 ered species’ means, with respect to an Agree24 ment, the species that is the subject of such 

25 Agreement. 


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

2 term ‘net conservation benefit’ means the net 

3 effect of an Agreement, determined by com4 paring the situation of the candidate species 

5 without the Agreement in effect and a situation 

6 in which the Agreement is in effect, on a can7 didate species, including— 

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

9 species; 

10 ‘‘(ii) the net effect on the number of 

11 individuals of such species; and 

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

13 such species. 

14 ‘‘(G) PROGRAMMATIC CANDIDATE CON15 SERVATION AGREEMENT WITH ASSURANCES.— 

16 The term ‘programmatic Candidate Conserva17 tion Agreement with Assurances’ means a Can18 didate Conservation Agreement with Assurances 

19 described in paragraph (4)(A).’’. 

20 SEC. 402. DESIGNATION OF CRITICAL HABITAT. 

21 Section 4(a)(3) of the Endangered Species Act of 

22 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1533(a)(3)) is amended by adding at the 

23 end the following: 

24 ‘‘(C) PRIVATELY OWNED OR CONTROLLED

25 LAND.—The Secretary may not designate as critical 


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1 habitat under subparagraph (A) any privately owned 

2 or controlled land or other geographical area that is 

3 subject to a land management plan that— 

4 ‘‘(i) the Secretary determines is similar in 

5 nature to an integrated natural resources man6 agement plan described in section 101 of the 

7 Sikes Act (16 U.S.C. 670a); 

8 ‘‘(ii)(I) is prepared in cooperation with the 

9 Secretary and the head of each applicable State 

10 fish and wildlife agency of each State in which 

11 such land or other geographical area is located; 

12 or 

13 ‘‘(II) is submitted to the Secretary in a 

14 manner that is similar to the manner in which 

15 an applicant submits a conservation plan to the 

16 Secretary under section 10(a)(2)(A); 

17 ‘‘(iii) includes an activity or a limitation on 

18 an activity that the Secretary determines will 

19 likely conserve the species concerned; 

20 ‘‘(iv) the Secretary determines will result 

21 in— 

22 ‘‘(I) an increase in the population of 

23 the species concerned above the population 

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1 cies is listed as threatened or endangered; 

2 or 

3 ‘‘(II) maintaining the same population 

4 of such species on the land or other geo5 graphical area as the population that 

6 would likely occur if such land or other 

7 geographical area is designated as critical 

8 habitat; and 

9 ‘‘(v) to the maximum extent practicable, 

10 will minimize and mitigate the impacts of any 

11 activity that will likely result in an incidental 

12 taking of the species concerned.’’. 

13 SEC. 403. PRIVATE LAND. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection 

15 (b), information regarding the occurrence of, including the 

16 specific location of, a species of fish or wildlife or plant 

17 on privately owned or controlled land may not be made 

18 available to the public under section 552 of title 5, United 

19 States Code. 

20 (b) EXCEPTION.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may make 

22 publicly available information described in subsection 

23 (a) upon receipt of a written request submitted by— 

24 (A)(i) a Federal agency; 

25 (ii) a State governmental agency; or 


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1 (iii) a bona fide educational or research in2 stitution; and 

3 (B) the private party concerned. 

4 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—A written request sub5 mitted under paragraph (1) shall— 

6 (A) describe the specific site or area for 

7 which information described in subsection (a) is 

8 sought; 

9 (B) explain the purpose for which such in10 formation is sought; and 

11 (C) include assurances sufficient to satisfy 

12 the Secretary that the confidentiality of such 

13 information will be protected. 

14 TITLE V—FOREST INFORMATION 

15 REFORM 

16 SEC. 501. NO ADDITIONAL CONSULTATION REQUIRED. 

17 (a) FOREST SERVICE PLANS.—Section 6(d)(2) of the 

18 Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act 

19 of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1604(d)(2)) is amended to read as 

20 follows: 

21 ‘‘(2) NO ADDITIONAL CONSULTATION RE22 QUIRED UNDER CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES.—Not23 withstanding any other provision of law, the Sec24 retary shall not be required to reinitiate consultation 

25 under section 7(a)(2) of the Endangered Species Act 


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1 of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1536(a)(2)) or section 402.16 of 

2 title 50, Code of Federal Regulations (or a successor 

3 regulation), on a land management plan approved, 

4 amended, or revised under this section when a spe5 cies is listed, critical habitat is designated, or new 

6 information concerning a listed species or critical 

7 habitat becomes available.’’. 

8 (b) BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT PLANS.—Sec9 tion 202 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act 

10 of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1712) is amended by adding at the 

11 end the following: 

12 ‘‘(g) NO ADDITIONAL CONSULTATION REQUIRED

13 UNDER CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES.—Notwithstanding 

14 any other provision of law, the Secretary shall not be re15 quired to reinitiate consultation under section 7(a)(2) of 

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

17 1536(a)(2)) or section 402.16 of title 50, Code of Federal 

18 Regulations (or a successor regulation), on a land use plan 

19 approved, amended, or revised under this section when a 

20 species is listed, critical habitat is designated, or new in21 formation concerning a listed species or critical habitat be22 comes available.’’. 


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1 TITLE VI—PROVIDING FOR 

2 GREATER INCENTIVES TO RE3 COVER LISTED SPECIES 

4 SEC. 601. PROTECTIVE REGULATIONS UNDER ENDAN5 GERED SPECIES ACT OF 1973. 

6 (a) AMENDMENT TO DEFINITION.—Section 3(3) of 

7 the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1532(3)) 

8 is amended by striking ‘‘and transplantation, and, in the 

9 extraordinary case where population pressures within a 

10 given ecosystem cannot be otherwise relieved, may in11 clude’’ and inserting ‘‘transplantation, and, at the discre12 tion of the Secretary,’’. 

13 (b) PROTECTIVE REGULATIONS.—Section 4 of the 

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

15 amended— 

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

17 ‘‘(d) PROTECTIVE REGULATIONS.— 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Whenever any species 

19 is listed as a threatened species pursuant to 

20 subsection (c), the Secretary shall issue such 

21 regulations as are necessary and advisable to 

22 provide for the conservation of that species. 

23 ‘‘(2) RECOVERY GOALS.—If the Secretary 

24 issues a regulation under paragraph (1) that 

25 prohibits an act described in section 9(a), the 


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1 Secretary shall, with respect to the species that 

2 is the subject of such regulation— 

3 ‘‘(A) establish objective, incremental 

4 recovery goals; 

5 ‘‘(B) provide for the stringency of 

6 such regulation to decrease as such recov7 ery goals are met; and 

8 ‘‘(C) provide for State management 

9 within such State, if such State is willing 

10 to take on such management, beginning on 

11 the date on which the Secretary determines 

12 all such recovery goals are met and, if such 

13 recovery goals remain met, continuing until 

14 such species is removed from the list of 

15 threatened species published pursuant to 

16 subsection (c). 

17 ‘‘(3) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT.—A regu18 lation issued under paragraph (1) that prohibits 

19 an act described in section 9(a)(1) with respect 

20 to a resident species shall apply with respect to 

21 a State that has entered into a cooperative 

22 agreement with the Secretary pursuant to sec23 tion 6(c) only to the extent that such regulation 

24 is adopted by such State. 

25 ‘‘(4) STATE RECOVERY STRATEGY.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A State may de2 velop a recovery strategy for a threatened 

3 species or a candidate species and submit 

4 to the Secretary a petition for the Sec5 retary to use such recovery strategy as the 

6 basis for any regulation issued under para7 graph (1) with respect to such species 

8 within such State. 

9 ‘‘(B) APPROVAL OR DENIAL OF PETI10 TION.—Not later than 120 days after the 

11 date on which the Secretary receives a pe12 tition submitted under subparagraph (A), 

13 the Secretary shall— 

14 ‘‘(i) approve such petition if the 

15 recovery strategy is reasonably certain 

16 to be implemented by the petitioning 

17 State and to be effective in conserving 

18 the species that is the subject of such 

19 recovery strategy; or 

20 ‘‘(ii) deny such petition if the re21 quirements described in clause (i) are 

22 not met. 

23 ‘‘(C) PUBLICATION.—Not later than 

24 30 days after the date on which the Sec25 retary approves or denies a petition under 


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1 subparagraph (B), the Secretary shall pub2 lish such approval or denial in the Federal 

3 Register. 

4 ‘‘(D) DENIAL OF PETITION.— 

5 ‘‘(i) WRITTEN EXPLANATION.—If 

6 the Secretary denies a petition under 

7 subparagraph (B), the Secretary shall 

8 include in such denial a written expla9 nation for such denial, including a de10 scription of the changes to such peti11 tion that are necessary for the Sec12 retary to approve such petition. 

13 ‘‘(ii) RESUBMISSION OF DENIED

14 PETITION.—A State may resubmit a 

15 petition that is denied under subpara16 graph (B). 

17 ‘‘(E) USE IN PROTECTIVE REGULA18 TIONS.—If the Secretary approves a peti19 tion under subparagraph (B), the Sec20 retary shall— 

21 ‘‘(i) issue a regulation under 

22 paragraph (1) that adopts the recov23 ery strategy as such regulation with 

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1 ject of such recovery strategy within 

2 the petitioning State; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) establish objective criteria to 

4 evaluate the effectiveness of such re5 covery strategy in conserving such 

6 species within such State. 

7 ‘‘(F) REVISION.—If a recovery strat8 egy that is adopted as a regulation issued 

9 under paragraph (1) is determined by the 

10 Secretary to be ineffective in conserving 

11 the species that is the subject of such re12 covery strategy in accordance with the ob13 jective criteria established under subpara14 graph (E)(ii) for such recovery strategy, 

15 the Secretary shall revise such regulation 

16 and reissue such regulation in accordance 

17 with paragraph (1).’’; and 

18 (2) in subsection (f)(1)(B)— 

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

20 end; 

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

22 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

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1 cordance with subsection (d)(2)(A) for use 

2 under that subsection if such endangered spe3 cies is changed in status from an endangered 

4 species to a threatened species under subsection 

5 (c)(2)(B)(ii).’’. 

6 TITLE VII—RESCISSIONS AND 

7 REPEALS 

8 SEC. 701. RESCISSION OF FUNDS. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Any unobligated covered funds 

10 are hereby rescinded. 

11 (b) COVERED FUNDS DEFINED.—In this section, the 

12 term ‘‘covered funds’’ means— 

13 (1) any funds appropriated or otherwise made 

14 available by sections 40002, 50232, 60401, and 

15 60402 of Public Law 117–169 (commonly known as 

16 the ‘‘Inflation Reduction Act’’); 

17 (2) $700,000,000 of the $2,600,000,000 appro18 priated to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

19 Administration in section 40001 of Public Law 117– 

20 169 (commonly known as the ‘‘Inflation Reduction 

21 Act’’); 

22 (3) $700,000,000 of the $3,200,000,000 appro23 priated to the ‘‘Bureau of Reclamation—Water and 

24 Related Resources’’ account in the Infrastructure 

25 Investment and Jobs Act (Public Law 117–58) for 


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1 transfer into the Aging Infrastructure Account es2 tablished by section 9603(d)(1) of the Omnibus Pub3 lic Land Management Act of 2009 (43 U.S.C. 

4 510b(d)(1)); and 

5 (4) $50,000,000 of the $250,000,000 appro6 priated to the ‘‘Bureau of Reclamation—Water and 

7 Related Resources’’ account in the Infrastructure 

8 Investment and Jobs Act (Public Law 117–58) for 

9 design, study, and construction of aquatic ecosystem 

10 restoration and protection projects in accordance 

11 with section 1109 of division FF of the Consolidated 

12 Appropriations Act, 2021 (Public Law 116–260). 

13 SEC. 702. REPEAL OF CERTAIN PROGRAMS. 

14 The following sections of division AA of the Consoli15 dated Appropriations Act, 2021 (Public Law 116–260) 

16 are repealed: 

17 (1) Section 507 (16 U.S.C. 4701 note). 

18 (2) Section 508 (16 U.S.C. 742b note). 

19 (3) Section 510 (16 U.S.C. 742b note). 

Æ 


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