II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4953 

To establish the Wildlife Movement and Movement Area Grant Program 

and the State and Tribal Migration Research Program, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

AUGUST 1, 2024 

Mr. PADILLA introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Environment and Public Works 

A BILL 

To establish the Wildlife Movement and Movement Area 

Grant Program and the State and Tribal Migration Research Program, 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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Wildlife Movement 

5 Through Partnerships Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 

7 The purpose of this Act is to provide financial and 

8 technical assistance for the purposes of promoting 


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1 connectivity by improving habitat quality in movement 

2 areas by migratory big game and other wildlife— 

3 (1) to identify and conserve movement areas by 

4 methods of science and management expertise em5 ployed by State and Tribal wildlife agencies and 

6 other wildlife professionals; and 

7 (2) to coordinate and advance the purposes 

8 of— 

9 (A) Secretarial Order 3362, entitled ‘‘Im10 proving Habitat Quality in Western Big-Game 

11 Winter Range and Migration Corridors’’ and 

12 issued by the Secretary on February 9, 2018; 

13 (B) the wildlife crossings pilot program es14 tablished under section 171(b) of title 23, 

15 United States Code; and 

16 (C) the Migratory Big Game Initiative of 

17 the Department of Agriculture. 

18 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

19 In this Act: 

20 (1) BIG GAME.—The term ‘‘big game’’ means 

21 native species of large mammals, including deer, elk, 

22 pronghorn, wild sheep, and moose, for which State 

23 and Tribal wildlife agencies have established regu24 lated means and methods of take. 


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1 (2) CONNECTIVITY.—The term ‘‘connectivity’’ 

2 means the degree to which a species of wildlife 

3 moves within and among areas of its habitat. 

4 (3) ELIGIBLE RECIPIENT.—The term ‘‘eligible 

5 recipient’’ means— 

6 (A) a State fish and wildlife agency or 

7 other State agency responsible for managing 

8 natural resources or wildlife; 

9 (B) a State department of transportation; 

10 (C) an Indian Tribe; 

11 (D) a nonprofit organization described in 

12 section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 

13 1986 and exempt from tax under section 501(a) 

14 of such Code, or a coalition of those organiza15 tions, including an organization that represents 

16 private landowners; 

17 (E) an institution of higher education (as 

18 defined in section 101(a) of the Higher Edu19 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a))); 

20 (F) a national or regional association rep21 resenting a State or Tribal fish and wildlife 

22 agency; 

23 (G) a Federal agency that may carry out 

24 projects that would support the purpose of this 

25 Act; and 


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1 (H) a county government. 

2 (4) FEDERAL LAND.—The term ‘‘Federal land’’ 

3 means land or water managed by the relevant agen4 cies. 

5 (5) FOUNDATION.—The term ‘‘Foundation’’ 

6 means the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation 

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

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

9 3701(a)). 

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

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

12 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 

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

14 (7) MOVEMENT AREA.—The term ‘‘movement 

15 area’’ means— 

16 (A) an area wildlife frequently use, or 

17 could frequently use, to move, including for 

18 travel within, or colonization, of additional habi19 tat by wildlife that occurs seasonally or more 

20 frequently in and around corridors; or 

21 (B) seasonal habitat where migration or 

22 other natural movement of big game and other 

23 wildlife has been observed and documented 

24 by— 


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1 (i) a State or Tribal wildlife agency; 

2 or 

3 (ii)(I) a scientific report published in 

4 a peer-reviewed professional publication; or 

5 (II) any other professional scientific 

6 publication recognized by a State or Tribal 

7 wildlife agency. 

8 (8) RELEVANT AGENCIES.—The term ‘‘relevant 

9 agencies’’ means— 

10 (A) the Department of the Interior, includ11 ing the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, 

12 the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Bureau of 

13 Land Management, the National Park Service, 

14 and the United States Geological Survey; 

15 (B) the Department of Agriculture, includ16 ing the Forest Service, the Natural Resources 

17 Conservation Service, and the Farm Service 

18 Agency; and 

19 (C) the Department of Transportation. 

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

21 the Secretary of the Interior. 

22 (10) WILDLIFE.—The term ‘‘wildlife’’ means 

23 native terrestrial vertebrate species. 


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1 SEC. 4. WILDLIFE MOVEMENT AND MOVEMENT AREA 

2 GRANT PROGRAM. 

3 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 180 days after 

4 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall es5 tablish a nonregulatory program, to be known as the 

6 ‘‘Wildlife Movement and Movement Area Grant Program’’ 

7 (referred to in this section as the ‘‘grant program’’). 

8 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the grant program is 

9 to fund projects that improve or conserve habitat quality 

10 in movement areas, including projects that— 

11 (1) secure habitat leases, fence modification, 

12 non-Federal land acquisition, conservation ease13 ments, improved hydrology, human-wildlife vehicle 

14 collision reduction, and road and infrastructure 

15 modification; 

16 (2) arrange voluntary collaboration with land17 owners; and 

18 (3) coordinate efforts among State and Tribal 

19 governments, including departments of transpor20 tation and other relevant agencies. 

21 (c) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT.—Not later than 1 

22 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

23 shall enter into a cooperative agreement with the Founda24 tion to administer the grant program for purposes of pro25 viding competitive matching grants in varying amounts to 

26 eligible recipients. 


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1 (d) GRANTS.— 

2 (1) PROPOSALS.— 

3 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 

4 days after the date on which amounts are made 

5 available to carry out the grant program, and 

6 not less frequently than annually thereafter, the 

7 Foundation, in consultation with the Secretary, 

8 shall issue a request for proposals for projects 

9 to fund under the grant program. 

10 (B) REQUIREMENTS.—A proposal sub11 mitted to the Foundation by an eligible recipi12 ent for funding under the grant program shall 

13 identify 1 or more movement areas where habi14 tat improvement will be achieved, subject to the 

15 condition that the proposal shall include written 

16 acknowledgment of support from a State or 

17 Tribal fish and wildlife agency with jurisdiction 

18 over the movement area in which the proposal 

19 will be carried out. 

20 (2) COST SHARING.— 

21 (A) FEDERAL SHARE.—Except as provided 

22 in subparagraph (C), the Federal share of the 

23 cost of a project funded under the grant pro24 gram shall not exceed 90 percent of the total 

25 cost of the project. 


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1 (B) NON-FEDERAL SHARE.—The non-Fed2 eral share of the cost of a project funded under 

3 the grant program— 

4 (i) except as provided in subparagraph 

5 (C), shall be not less than 10 percent of 

6 the total cost of the project; and 

7 (ii) may be provided in cash or in8 kind, as determined by the Foundation. 

9 (C) WAIVER.—The Foundation may waive 

10 the requirements under subparagraphs (A) and 

11 (B) for projects that would benefit Indian 

12 Tribes, historically disadvantaged communities, 

13 or areas of persistent poverty, as determined by 

14 the Foundation. 

15 (e) REQUIREMENT.—After the date on which the Sec16 retary enters into a cooperative agreement with the Foun17 dation under subsection (c), any amounts received by the 

18 Foundation under this section shall be subject to the Na19 tional Fish and Wildlife Foundation Establishment Act 

20 (16 U.S.C. 3701 et seq.), excluding section 10(a) of that 

21 Act (16 U.S.C. 3709(a)). 

22 (f) PRIORITY.—In funding projects under the grant 

23 program, the Foundation may give priority to proposals 

24 that are— 


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1 (1) submitted by an eligible recipient described 

2 in section 3(3)(F); or 

3 (2) jointly submitted by multiple eligible recipi4 ents. 

5 (g) FUNDING.—After the date on which the Secretary 

6 enters into a cooperative agreement with the Foundation 

7 under subsection (c), the Foundation shall— 

8 (1)(A) for each fiscal year, receive amounts 

9 made available to carry out the grant program in an 

10 advance payment of the entire amount on October 1, 

11 or as soon as practicable thereafter, of that fiscal 

12 year, to remain available until expended; and 

13 (B) invest and reinvest those amounts for the 

14 benefit of the grant program; and 

15 (2) otherwise administer the grant program to 

16 support partnerships between the public and private 

17 sectors in accordance with this section. 

18 (h) REPORT.—Not less frequently than once every 2 

19 years, the Foundation shall submit to the Secretary, the 

20 Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Transportation, 

21 and Congress a report on projects funded under the grant 

22 program and the contribution of those projects to con23 servation successes. 

24 (i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be 

2 appropriated to the Secretary to carry out the grant 

3 program such sums as are necessary for each of fis4 cal years 2025 through 2030. 

5 (2) BIG GAME.—Of the amounts made available 

6 to carry out the grant program for each fiscal year, 

7 not less than 50 percent shall be used for projects 

8 that directly conserve, restore, or enhance big game 

9 movement areas. 

10 SEC. 5. STATE AND TRIBAL MIGRATION RESEARCH PRO11 GRAM. 

12 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 180 days after 

13 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall es14 tablish a program, to be known as the ‘‘State and Tribal 

15 Migration Research Program’’ (referred to in this section 

16 as the ‘‘program’’), to provide funds directly to State fish 

17 and wildlife agencies and Indian Tribes through an agreed 

18 on process between States, Indian Tribes, and the relevant 

19 agencies, to collect and analyze data on the identification, 

20 characteristics, or management of movement areas. 

21 (b) ADMINISTRATION.—Funds provided under this 

22 section shall be administered by the Science Applications 

23 program of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. 

24 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

25 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry 


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1 out the program such sums as are necessary for each of 

2 fiscal years 2025 through 2030. 

3 SEC. 6. PARTNERS FOR FISH AND WILDLIFE PROGRAM. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 4 of the Partners for Fish 

5 and Wildlife Act (16 U.S.C. 3773) is amended— 

6 (1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by 

7 striking ‘‘The Secretary shall carry out the Partners 

8 for Fish and Wildlife Program’’ and inserting the 

9 following: 

10 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall carry out 

11 the Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program (referred to 

12 in this section as the ‘Program’)’’; and 

13 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘(b) USE OF FUNDS.—Where prudent and necessary, 

15 funds under the Program may be used to provide technical 

16 assistance to other Federal agencies to implement vol17 untary programs with a focus on migration corridor or 

18 seasonal habitat conservation efforts on private and Tribal 

19 land.’’. 

20 (b) REAUTHORIZATION.—Section 5 of the Partners 

21 for Fish and Wildlife Act (16 U.S.C. 3774) is amended 

22 by striking ‘‘2019 through 2023’’ and inserting ‘‘2025 

23 through 2030’’. 


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1 SEC. 7. USGS WILDLIFE COORIDOR MAPPING. 

2 The Secretary, acting through the Director of the 

3 United States Geological Survey, shall support the con4 tinuation of a Corridor Mapping Team to provide technical 

5 assistance, as prioritized and required by States and In6 dian Tribes, to Federal agencies, States, and Indian 

7 Tribes working— 

8 (1) to map movement areas using existing Glob9 al Positioning System data or other sources of cred10 ible scientific information; and 

11 (2) to assess or research movement areas. 

12 SEC. 8. USGS EXISTING EFFORTS. 

13 (a) USGS EXISTING EFFORTS.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the United 

15 States Geological Survey shall work with Federal 

16 and State agencies and Indian Tribes to build on ex17 isting efforts to map movement areas. 

18 (2) PROTECTION OF INFORMATION.—In car19 rying out this subsection, the Director of the United 

20 States Geological Survey, in cooperation with Fed21 eral and State agencies and Indian Tribes, and con22 sistent with rights afforded to sovereign nations and 

23 applicable State law, shall carry out necessary meas24 ures— 

25 (A) to protect sensitive information with 

26 respect to the protection of private property 


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1 rights and the precise locations of individuals; 

2 and 

3 (B) to prevent the poaching, illegal taking, 

4 and unfair chase of wildlife. 

5 (3) REPORTS; PUBLISHED MIGRATION MAPS.— 

6 (A) IN GENERAL.—Annually, the Director 

7 of the United States Geological Survey shall 

8 publish a report on completed analyses of 

9 mapped migration corridors, seasonal habitats, 

10 and connectivity areas. 

11 (B) REQUIREMENT.—To the extent prac12 ticable, all efforts shall be made to incorporate 

13 data with existing State programs and use ex14 isting published maps described in subpara15 graph (A). 

16 (4) REPORTS.—Not less frequently than once 

17 every 2 years, the Secretary shall submit to Con18 gress a report on projects funded under this sub19 section, including a description of the conservation 

20 value of each project. 

21 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 

22 2 of the Act of September 2, 1960 (16 U.S.C. 753b), is 

23 amended to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

2 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be ap3 propriated to carry out this Act such sums as are nec4 essary for each of fiscal years 2025 through 2030. 

5 ‘‘(b) SET-ASIDE.—Of the amounts made available to 

6 carry out this Act for each fiscal year, not less than 50 

7 percent shall be used for projects that promote 

8 connectivity by improving habitat quality in movement 

9 areas of big game and other wildlife.’’. 

10 SEC. 9. COORDINATION. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall appoint a 

12 Senior Executive Service employee, who has experience 

13 with big game movement, to serve in the Office of the Sec14 retary as coordinator of activities and necessary staff to 

15 carry out this Act and the amendments made by this Act. 

16 (b) AUTHORITY AND RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Sen17 ior Executive Service employee appointed under subsection 

18 (a) shall— 

19 (1) advise and assist— 

20 (A) State and Tribal agencies and other el21 igible recipients; 

22 (B) relevant Federal agencies and pro23 grams; and 

24 (C) the Foundation; and 


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1 (2) maintain an informative summary of activi2 ties, and the results of those activities, carried out 

3 under this Act. 

4 (c) INTERAGENCY COORDINATION.—The Secretaries, 

5 or their authorized representatives, of the relevant agen6 cies shall regularly convene— 

7 (1) to coordinate actions and funding across 

8 Federal agencies for programs under this Act and 

9 the amendments made by this Act; and 

10 (2) to streamline coordination with States, In11 dian Tribes, and non-governmental partners with re12 spect to those actions and that funding. 

13 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

14 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

15 such sums as are necessary for each of fiscal years 2025 

16 through 2030. 

17 SEC. 10. REQUIREMENT; SAVINGS PROVISION. 

18 (a) REQUIREMENT.—No funds obligated under this 

19 Act or an amendment made by this Act shall be applied 

20 in a manner that requires non-voluntary changes in agri21 cultural or domestic livestock production, permitted for22 estry practices, or access to valid existing rights, such as 

23 for energy development and mining, or water rights, con24 sistent with Federal organic Acts and associated regula25 tions. 


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1 (b) SAVINGS PROVISION.—Nothing in this Act or an 

2 amendment made by this Act— 

3 (1) enlarges or diminishes the authority, juris4 diction, or responsibility of a State to manage, con5 trol, or regulate fish and wildlife under the law and 

6 regulations of the State on land and waters within 

7 the State, including on Federal land; 

8 (2) modifies or abrogates a treaty with any In9 dian Tribe or enlarges or diminishes the authority, 

10 jurisdiction, or responsibility of an Indian Tribe to 

11 manage, control, or regulate wildlife on Tribal land; 

12 (3) impacts the private property or privacy 

13 rights of landowners; 

14 (4) restricts or reduces public access for hunt15 ing, angling, recreational shooting, or other compat16 ible types of outdoor recreation; 

17 (5) affects military readiness for training occur18 ring on land of the Department of the Interior re19 served by the Department of the Defense; 

20 (6) constitutes a Federal land designation or 

21 federally designated migration route, an alteration 

22 or removal of such a designation, or a directive to 

23 impact pre-existing administrative or management 

24 authority in any manner; or 


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1 (7) amends or otherwise affects any other Fed2 eral law (including regulations) relating to the con3 servation of native species. 

Æ 


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