I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 8811 

To reauthorize the America’s Conservation Enhancement Act, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 21, 2024 

Mr. WITTMAN (for himself, Mrs. KIGGANS of Virginia, Mrs. DINGELL, and 

Mr. THOMPSON of California) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the 

Committees on Transportation and Infrastructure, Agriculture, and Energy and Commerce, 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 reauthorize the America’s Conservation Enhancement 

Act, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

5 ‘‘America’s Conservation Enhancement Reauthorization 

6 Act of 2024’’. 

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

8 this Act is as follows: 


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Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—WILDLIFE ENHANCEMENT, DISEASE, AND PREDATION 

Sec. 101. Losses of livestock due to depredation by federally protected species. 

Sec. 102. Black vulture livestock protection program. 

Sec. 103. Chronic Wasting Disease Task Force. 

Sec. 104. Protection of water, oceans, coasts, and wildlife from invasive species. 

Sec. 105. North American Wetlands Conservation Act. 

Sec. 106. National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Establishment Act. 

Sec. 107. Modification of definition of sport fishing equipment under TSCA. 

Sec. 108. Chesapeake Bay Program. 

Sec. 109. Chesapeake Bay Initiative Act of 1998. 

Sec. 110. Chesapeake Watershed Investments for Landscape Defense. 

TITLE II—NATIONAL FISH HABITAT CONSERVATION THROUGH 

PARTNERSHIPS 

Sec. 201. National Fish Habitat Board. 

Sec. 202. Fish Habitat Partnerships. 

Sec. 203. Fish habitat conservation projects. 

Sec. 204. Technical and scientific assistance. 

Sec. 205. Accountability and reporting. 

Sec. 206. Funding. 

Sec. 207. Technical correction. 

1 TITLE I—WILDLIFE ENHANCE2 MENT, DISEASE, AND PREDA3 TION 

4 SEC. 101. LOSSES OF LIVESTOCK DUE TO DEPREDATION BY 

5 FEDERALLY PROTECTED SPECIES. 

6 Section 102(d) of the America’s Conservation En7 hancement Act (7 U.S.C. 8355(d)) is amended, in the 

8 matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘2025’’ and 

9 inserting ‘‘2030’’. 

10 SEC. 102. BLACK VULTURE LIVESTOCK PROTECTION PRO11 GRAM. 

12 Section 103 of the America’s Conservation Enhance13 ment Act (7 U.S.C. 8356) is amended— 


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1 (1) in the section heading, by inserting ‘‘; 

2 BLACK VULTURE LIVESTOCK PROTECTION

3 PROGRAM’’ after ‘‘COMMON RAVENS’’; 

4 (2) by redesignating subsections (a) through (c) 

5 as paragraphs (1) through (3), respectively, and in6 denting appropriately; 

7 (3) in each of paragraphs (2) and (3) (as so re8 designated), by striking ‘‘subsection (a)’’ and insert9 ing ‘‘paragraph (1)’’; 

10 (4) by inserting before paragraph (1) (as so re11 designated) the following: 

12 ‘‘(a) DEPREDATION PERMITS FOR BLACK VULTURES

13 AND COMMON RAVENS.—’’; and 

14 (5) by adding at the end the following: 

15 ‘‘(b) BLACK VULTURE LIVESTOCK PROTECTION

16 PROGRAM.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in coordina18 tion with States, shall carry out, through fiscal year 

19 2030, a black vulture livestock protection program 

20 (referred to in this subsection as the ‘program’) that 

21 allows 1 public entity or Farm Bureau organization 

22 per State to hold a statewide depredation permit to 

23 protect commercial agriculture livestock from black 

24 vulture predation. 


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1 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—Each public entity or 

2 Farm Bureau organization that holds a depredation 

3 permit under the program— 

4 ‘‘(A) shall— 

5 ‘‘(i) demonstrate sufficient experience 

6 and capacity to provide government regu7 lated services to the public, as determined 

8 by the Secretary; 

9 ‘‘(ii) submit a complete depredation 

10 permit application, as determined by the 

11 Secretary, for review and approval accord12 ing to procedures of the United States 

13 Fish and Wildlife Service; 

14 ‘‘(iii) be responsible for complying 

15 with, and ensuring subpermittee compli16 ance with, as applicable, all permit condi17 tions; and 

18 ‘‘(iv) be responsible for collecting, 

19 managing, and reporting required informa20 tion under the permit; and 

21 ‘‘(B) may subpermit to livestock producers 

22 to take black vultures for the purposes of live23 stock protection. 

24 ‘‘(3) STUDY.—The Secretary, in consultation 

25 with the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the 


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1 Administrator of the Animal and Plant Health In2 spection Service, shall carry out a study on whether 

3 prescribed take levels of black vultures may be in4 creased for subpermittees within a biologically sus5 tainable take level for the population. 

6 ‘‘(4) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the 

7 date of enactment of the America’s Conservation 

8 Enhancement Reauthorization Act of 2024, the Sec9 retary, in consultation with the Secretary of Agri10 culture, acting through the Administrator of the 

11 Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, shall 

12 submit to the Chair and Ranking Member of the 

13 Committee on Environment and Public Works of the 

14 Senate and the Chair and Ranking Member of the 

15 Committee on Natural Resources of the House of 

16 Representatives a report on the status of the pro17 gram, including the results of the study required 

18 under paragraph (3).’’. 

19 SEC. 103. CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE TASK FORCE. 

20 Section 104(d)(1) of the America’s Conservation En21 hancement Act (16 U.S.C. 667h(d)(1)) is amended by 

22 striking ‘‘2025’’ and inserting ‘‘2030’’. 


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1 SEC. 104. PROTECTION OF WATER, OCEANS, COASTS, AND 

2 WILDLIFE FROM INVASIVE SPECIES. 

3 Section 10(p) of the Fish and Wildlife Coordination 

4 Act (16 U.S.C. 666c–1(p)) is amended, in the matter pre5 ceding paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘2025’’ and inserting 

6 ‘‘2030’’. 

7 SEC. 105. NORTH AMERICAN WETLANDS CONSERVATION 

8 ACT. 

9 Section 7(c) of the North American Wetlands Con10 servation Act (16 U.S.C. 4406(c)) is amended by striking 

11 ‘‘2025’’ and inserting ‘‘2030’’. 

12 SEC. 106. NATIONAL FISH AND WILDLIFE FOUNDATION ES13 TABLISHMENT ACT. 

14 Section 10 of the National Fish and Wildlife Founda15 tion Establishment Act (16 U.S.C. 3709) is amended— 

16 (1) in subsection (a)(1), in the matter pre17 ceding subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘2025’’ and 

18 inserting ‘‘2030’’; and 

19 (2) in subsection (b)(1)— 

20 (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘and 

21 cooperative agreements,’’ and inserting ‘‘, coop22 erative agreements, participating agreements, 

23 and similar instruments used for providing 

24 partnership funds,’’; 


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1 (B) by redesignating subparagraphs (B) 

2 and (C) as subparagraphs (C) and (D), respec3 tively; 

4 (C) by inserting after subparagraph (A) 

5 the following: 

6 ‘‘(B) FUNDING AGREEMENTS.—Federal 

7 departments, agencies, and instrumentalities 

8 may enter into a Federal funding agreement 

9 with the Foundation for a period of not less 

10 than 5 years and not more than 10 years.’’; and 

11 (D) in subparagraph (C) (as so redesig12 nated), by inserting ‘‘, and should when pos13 sible,’’ after ‘‘may’’. 

14 SEC. 107. MODIFICATION OF DEFINITION OF SPORT FISH15 ING EQUIPMENT UNDER TSCA. 

16 Section 108(a) of the America’s Conservation En17 hancement Act (15 U.S.C. 2601 note) is amended by 

18 striking ‘‘During the 5-year period beginning on the date 

19 of enactment of this Act’’ and inserting ‘‘During the pe20 riod beginning on the date of enactment of the America’s 

21 Conservation Enhancement Reauthorization Act of 2024 

22 and ending on September 30, 2030’’. 

23 SEC. 108. CHESAPEAKE BAY PROGRAM. 

24 Section 117(j) of the Federal Water Pollution Control 

25 Act (33 U.S.C. 1267(j)) is amended— 


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1 (1) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

2 end; 

3 (2) in paragraph (5), by striking the period at 

4 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

5 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(6) for each of fiscal years 2026 through 

7 2030, $92,000,000.’’. 

8 SEC. 109. CHESAPEAKE BAY INITIATIVE ACT OF 1998. 

9 Section 502(c) of the Chesapeake Bay Initiative Act 

10 of 1998 (Public Law 105–312; 112 Stat. 2963; 134 Stat. 

11 920) is amended by striking ‘‘2025’’ and inserting 

12 ‘‘2030’’. 

13 SEC. 110. CHESAPEAKE WATERSHED INVESTMENTS FOR 

14 LANDSCAPE DEFENSE. 

15 Section 111(e)(1) of the America’s Conservation En16 hancement Act (33 U.S.C. 1267 note) is amended by 

17 striking ‘‘2025’’ and inserting ‘‘2030’’. 

18 TITLE II—NATIONAL FISH HABI19 TAT CONSERVATION 

20 THROUGH PARTNERSHIPS 

21 SEC. 201. NATIONAL FISH HABITAT BOARD. 

22 Section 203 of the America’s Conservation Enhance23 ment Act (16 U.S.C. 8203) is amended— 

24 (1) in subsection (a)(2)— 


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1 (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph 

2 (A), by striking ‘‘26 members’’ and inserting 

3 ‘‘28 members’’; 

4 (B) by amending subparagraph (A) to read 

5 as follows: 

6 ‘‘(A) 2 shall be representatives of the De7 partment of the Interior, including the United 

8 States Fish and Wildlife Service and the Bu9 reau of Land Management;’’; and 

10 (C) by striking subparagraphs (G) and (H) 

11 and inserting the following: 

12 ‘‘(G) 2 shall be representatives of Indian 

13 Tribes, of whom— 

14 ‘‘(i) 1 shall be a representative of In15 dian Tribes in the State of Alaska; and 

16 ‘‘(ii) 1 shall be a representative of In17 dian Tribes in States other than the State 

18 of Alaska; 

19 ‘‘(H) 2 shall be representatives of— 

20 ‘‘(i) the Regional Fishery Manage21 ment Councils established by section 

22 302(a)(1) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fish23 ery Conservation and Management Act (16 

24 U.S.C. 1852(a)(1)); or 


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1 ‘‘(ii) the Marine Fisheries Commis2 sions;’’; and 

3 (2) in subsection (e)(1)(B), by striking ‘‘all 

4 members’’ and inserting ‘‘the members present’’. 

5 SEC. 202. FISH HABITAT PARTNERSHIPS. 

6 Section 204(e) of the America’s Conservation En7 hancement Act (16 U.S.C. 8204(e)) is amended— 

8 (1) in paragraph (1), in the matter preceding 

9 subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘, subject to para10 graph (3),’’ after ‘‘Act and’’; and 

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

12 ‘‘(3) LIMITATION.—The Board shall only sub13 mit a report required under paragraph (1) in the fis14 cal years in which the Board is proposing modifica15 tions to, or new designations of, 1 or more Partner16 ships.’’. 

17 SEC. 203. FISH HABITAT CONSERVATION PROJECTS. 

18 Section 205 of the America’s Conservation Enhance19 ment Act (16 U.S.C. 8205) is amended— 

20 (1) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘for the fol21 lowing fiscal year’’; and 

22 (2) in subsection (e)— 

23 (A) by striking paragraph (1) and insert24 ing the following: 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The non-Federal share of 

2 the total cost of all fish habitat conservation projects 

3 carried out by a Partnership each year shall be at 

4 least 50 percent.’’; and 

5 (B) in paragraph (2), in the matter pre6 ceding subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘Such 

7 non-Federal share of the cost of a fish habitat 

8 conservation project’’ and inserting ‘‘The non9 Federal share described in paragraph (1)’’. 

10 SEC. 204. TECHNICAL AND SCIENTIFIC ASSISTANCE. 

11 Section 206(a) of the America’s Conservation En12 hancement Act (16 U.S.C. 8206(a)) is amended by insert13 ing ‘‘, the Bureau of Land Management,’’ after ‘‘the For14 est Service’’. 

15 SEC. 205. ACCOUNTABILITY AND REPORTING. 

16 Section 209 of the America’s Conservation Enhance17 ment Act (16 U.S.C. 8209) is amended— 

18 (1) by striking subsection (b); 

19 (2) in subsection (a)— 

20 (A) by striking the subsection designation 

21 and heading and all that follows through ‘‘Not 

22 later than’’ in paragraph (1) and inserting the 

23 following: 

24 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than’’; and 


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1 (B) by redesignating paragraph (2) as sub2 section (b) and indenting appropriately; and 

3 (3) in subsection (b) (as so redesignated)— 

4 (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph 

5 (A), by striking ‘‘paragraph (1)’’ and inserting 

6 ‘‘subsection (a)’’; 

7 (B) by redesignating subparagraphs (A), 

8 (B), (C), and (D) as paragraphs (1), (2), (3), 

9 and (5), respectively, and indenting appro10 priately; 

11 (C) in paragraph (3) (as so redesignated), 

12 by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

13 (D) by inserting after paragraph (3) (as so 

14 redesignated) the following: 

15 ‘‘(4) a description of the status of fish habitats 

16 in the United States as identified by Partnerships; 

17 and’’; and 

18 (E) in paragraph (5) (as so redesig19 nated)— 

20 (i) by redesignating clauses (i) 

21 through (v) as subparagraphs (A) through 

22 (E), respectively, and indenting appro23 priately; and 

24 (ii) in subparagraph (C) (as so redes25 ignated), by redesignating subclauses (I) 


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1 and (II) as clauses (i) and (ii), respec2 tively, and indenting appropriately. 

3 SEC. 206. FUNDING. 

4 Section 212(a) of the America’s Conservation En5 hancement Act (16 U.S.C. 8212(a)) is amended— 

6 (1) in paragraph (1)— 

7 (A) in the paragraph heading, by inserting 

8 ‘‘PARTNERSHIPS AND’’ after ‘‘HABITAT’’; 

9 (B) by striking ‘‘2025’’ and inserting 

10 ‘‘2030’’; and 

11 (C) by inserting ‘‘Partnership operations 

12 under section 204 and’’ after ‘‘to provide funds 

13 for’’; 

14 (2) in paragraph (2), in the matter preceding 

15 subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘2025’’ and inserting 

16 ‘‘2030’’; and 

17 (3) in paragraph (3), in the matter preceding 

18 subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘2025’’ and inserting 

19 ‘‘2030’’. 

20 SEC. 207. TECHNICAL CORRECTION. 

21 Section 211 of the America’s Conservation Enhance22 ment Act (16 U.S.C. 8211) is amended, in the matter pre23 ceding paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘The Federal Advisory 

24 Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.)’’ and inserting ‘‘Chapter 


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1 10 of title 5, United States Code (commonly known as 

2 the ‘Federal Advisory Committee Act’),’’. 

Æ 


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