II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3791 

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

purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 8 (legislative day, FEBRUARY 7), 2024 

Mr. CARPER (for himself, Mrs. CAPITO, Mr. CARDIN, Mr. BOOZMAN, Mr. 

PADILLA, Mr. WICKER, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, Mr. MULLIN, and Mr. VAN

HOLLEN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Environment and Public Works 

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: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—WILDLIFE ENHANCEMENT, DISEASE, AND PREDATION 


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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— 

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

15 BLACK VULTURE LIVESTOCK PROTECTION

16 PROGRAM’’ after ‘‘COMMON RAVENS’’; 


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

2 as paragraphs (1) through (3), respectively, and in3 denting appropriately; 

4 (3) in each of paragraphs (2) and (3) (as so re5 designated), by striking ‘‘subsection (a)’’ and insert6 ing ‘‘paragraph (1)’’; 

7 (4) by inserting before paragraph (1) (as so re8 designated) the following: 

9 ‘‘(a) DEPREDATION PERMITS FOR BLACK VULTURES

10 AND COMMON RAVENS.—’’; and 

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

12 ‘‘(b) BLACK VULTURE LIVESTOCK PROTECTION

13 PROGRAM.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in coordina15 tion with States, shall carry out, through fiscal year 

16 2030, a black vulture livestock protection program 

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

18 allows 1 public entity per State to hold a statewide 

19 depredation permit to protect commercial agriculture 

20 livestock from black vulture predation. 

21 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—Each public entity that 

22 holds a depredation permit under the program— 

23 ‘‘(A) shall— 

24 ‘‘(i) demonstrate sufficient experience 

25 and capacity to provide government reguVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:02 Feb 16, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3791.IS S3791

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1 lated services to the public, as determined 

2 by the Secretary; 

3 ‘‘(ii) submit a complete depredation 

4 permit application, as determined by the 

5 Secretary, for review and approval accord6 ing to procedures of the United States 

7 Fish and Wildlife Service; 

8 ‘‘(iii) be responsible for complying 

9 with, and ensuring subpermittee compli10 ance with, as applicable, all permit condi11 tions; and 

12 ‘‘(iv) be responsible for collecting, 

13 managing, and reporting required informa14 tion under the permit; and 

15 ‘‘(B) may subpermit to livestock producers 

16 to take black vultures for the purposes of live17 stock protection. 

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

19 with the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the 

20 Administrator of the Animal and Plant Health In21 spection Service, shall carry out a study on whether 

22 prescribed take levels of black vultures may be in23 creased for subpermittees within a biologically sus24 tainable take level for the population. 


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

2 date of enactment of the America’s Conservation 

3 Enhancement Reauthorization Act of 2024, the Sec4 retary, in consultation with the Secretary of Agri5 culture, acting through the Administrator of the 

6 Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, shall 

7 submit to the Chair and Ranking Member of the 

8 Committee on Environment and Public Works of the 

9 Senate and the Chair and Ranking Member of the 

10 Committee on Natural Resources of the House of 

11 Representatives a report on the status of the pro12 gram, including the results of the study required 

13 under paragraph (3).’’. 

14 SEC. 103. CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE TASK FORCE. 

15 Section 104(d)(1) of the America’s Conservation En16 hancement Act (16 U.S.C. 667h(d)(1)) is amended by 

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

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

19 WILDLIFE FROM INVASIVE SPECIES. 

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

21 Act (16 U.S.C. 666c–1(p)) is amended, in the matter pre22 ceding paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘2025’’ and inserting 

23 ‘‘2030’’. 


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1 SEC. 105. NORTH AMERICAN WETLANDS CONSERVATION 

2 ACT. 

3 Section 7(c) of the North American Wetlands Con4 servation Act (16 U.S.C. 4406(c)) is amended— 

5 (1) by striking ‘‘not to exceed $60,000,000’’ 

6 and inserting the following: ‘‘not to exceed— 

7 ‘‘(1) $60,000,000’’; 

8 (2) in paragraph (1) (as so designated), by 

9 striking the period at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; 

10 and 

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

12 ‘‘(2) $65,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2026 

13 through 2030.’’. 

14 SEC. 106. NATIONAL FISH AND WILDLIFE FOUNDATION ES15 TABLISHMENT ACT. 

16 Section 10 of the National Fish and Wildlife Founda17 tion Establishment Act (16 U.S.C. 3709) is amended— 

18 (1) in subsection (a)(1), in the matter pre19 ceding subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘2025’’ and 

20 inserting ‘‘2030’’; and 

21 (2) in subsection (b)(1)— 

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

23 cooperative agreements,’’ and inserting ‘‘, coop24 erative agreements, participating agreements, 

25 and similar instruments used for providing 

26 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; Public Law 116– 

18 188) is amended by striking ‘‘During the 5-year period 

19 beginning on the date of enactment of this Act’’ and in20 serting ‘‘During the period beginning on the date of enact21 ment of the America’s Conservation Enhancement Reau22 thorization Act of 2024 and ending on September 30, 

23 2030’’. 


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1 SEC. 108. CHESAPEAKE BAY PROGRAM. 

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

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

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

5 end; 

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

7 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

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

10 2030, $100,000,000.’’. 

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

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

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

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

15 ‘‘2030’’. 

16 SEC. 110. CHESAPEAKE WATERSHED INVESTMENTS FOR 

17 LANDSCAPE DEFENSE. 

18 Section 111(e)(1) of the America’s Conservation En19 hancement Act (33 U.S.C. 1267 note; Public Law 116– 

20 188) is amended by striking ‘‘2025’’ and inserting 

21 ‘‘2030’’. 


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1 TITLE II—NATIONAL FISH HABI2 TAT CONSERVATION 

3 THROUGH PARTNERSHIPS 

4 SEC. 201. NATIONAL FISH HABITAT BOARD. 

5 Section 203(a)(2) of the America’s Conservation En6 hancement Act (16 U.S.C. 8203(a)(2)) is amended— 

7 (1) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), 

8 by striking ‘‘26 members’’ and inserting ‘‘28 mem9 bers’’; 

10 (2) by striking subparagraph (A) and inserting 

11 the following: 

12 ‘‘(A) 2 shall be representatives of the De13 partment of the Interior, including the United 

14 States Fish and Wildlife Service and the Bu15 reau of Land Management;’’; and 

16 (3) by striking subparagraph (H) and inserting 

17 the following: 

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

19 ‘‘(i) the Regional Fishery Manage20 ment Councils established by section 

21 302(a)(1) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fish22 ery Conservation and Management Act (16 

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

24 ‘‘(ii) the Marine Fisheries Commis25 sions;’’. 


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1 SEC. 202. FISH HABITAT PARTNERSHIPS. 

2 Section 204(e) of the America’s Conservation En3 hancement Act (16 U.S.C. 8204(e)) is amended— 

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

5 subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘, subject to para6 graph (3),’’ after ‘‘Act and’’; and 

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

8 ‘‘(3) LIMITATION.—The Board shall only sub9 mit a report required under paragraph (1) in the fis10 cal years in which the Board is proposing modifica11 tions to, or new designations of, 1 or more Partner12 ships.’’. 

13 SEC. 203. FISH HABITAT CONSERVATION PROJECTS. 

14 Section 205 of the America’s Conservation Enhance15 ment Act (16 U.S.C. 8205) is amended— 

16 (1) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘for the fol17 lowing fiscal year’’; and 

18 (2) in subsection (e)— 

19 (A) by striking paragraph (1) and insert20 ing the following: 

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

22 the total cost of all fish habitat conservation projects 

23 carried out by a Partnership each year shall be at 

24 least 50 percent.’’; and 

25 (B) in paragraph (2), in the matter pre26 ceding subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘Such 


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

2 conservation project’’ and inserting ‘‘The non3 Federal share described in paragraph (1)’’. 

4 SEC. 204. TECHNICAL AND SCIENTIFIC ASSISTANCE. 

5 Section 206(a) of the America’s Conservation En6 hancement Act (16 U.S.C. 8206(a)) is amended by insert7 ing ‘‘, the Bureau of Land Management,’’ after ‘‘the For8 est Service’’. 

9 SEC. 205. ACCOUNTABILITY AND REPORTING. 

10 Section 209 of the America’s Conservation Enhance11 ment Act (16 U.S.C. 8209) is amended— 

12 (1) by striking subsection (b); 

13 (2) in subsection (a)— 

14 (A) by striking the subsection designation 

15 and heading and all that follows through ‘‘Not 

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

17 following: 

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

19 (B) by redesignating paragraph (2) as sub20 section (b) and indenting appropriately; and 

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

22 (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph 

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

24 ‘‘subsection (a)’’; 


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1 (B) by redesignating subparagraphs (A), 

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

3 and (5), respectively, and indenting appro4 priately; 

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

6 by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

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

8 redesignated) the following: 

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

10 in the United States as identified by Partnerships; 

11 and’’; and 

12 (E) in paragraph (5) (as so redesig13 nated)— 

14 (i) by redesignating clauses (i) 

15 through (v) as subparagraphs (A) through 

16 (E), respectively, and indenting appro17 priately; and 

18 (ii) in subparagraph (C) (as so redes19 ignated), by redesignating subclauses (I) 

20 and (II) as clauses (i) and (ii), respec21 tively, and indenting appropriately. 

22 SEC. 206. FUNDING. 

23 Section 212 of the America’s Conservation Enhance24 ment Act (16 U.S.C. 8212) is amended— 

25 (1) in subsection (a)— 


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1 (A) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘and 

2 $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2026 

3 through 2030’’ after ‘‘through 2025’’; 

4 (B) in paragraph (2), in the matter pre5 ceding subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘2025’’ 

6 and inserting ‘‘2030’’; and 

7 (C) in paragraph (3)— 

8 (i) in the matter preceding subpara9 graph (A), by striking ‘‘2025’’ and insert10 ing ‘‘2030’’; 

11 (ii) by redesignating subparagraphs 

12 (B) through (E) as subparagraphs (C) 

13 through (F), respectively; and 

14 (iii) by inserting after subparagraph 

15 (A) the following: 

16 ‘‘(B) $400,000 to the Secretary for use by 

17 the Bureau of Land Management;’’; and 

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

19 ‘‘(d) NATIONAL FISH HABITAT ASSESSMENT.— 

20 There is authorized to be appropriated for completion of 

21 the National Fish Habitat Assessment described in section 

22 201(4), including the associated database of the National 

23 Fish Habitat Assessment described in that section, 

24 $1,000,000, to remain available until expended.’’. 


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1 SEC. 207. TECHNICAL CORRECTION. 

2 Section 211 of the America’s Conservation Enhance3 ment Act (16 U.S.C. 8211) is amended, in the matter pre4 ceding paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘The Federal Advisory 

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

6 10 of title 5, United States Code (commonly known as 

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

Æ 


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