II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1381 

To authorize the Secretary of the Interior, through the Coastal Program 

of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, to work with willing 

partners and provide support to efforts to assess, protect, restore, and 

enhance important coastal landscapes that provide fish and wildlife habitat on which certain Federal trust species depend, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 27, 2023 

Mr. CARDIN (for himself and Mr. GRAHAM) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and 

Public Works 

A BILL 

To authorize the Secretary of the Interior, through the 

Coastal Program of the United States Fish and Wildlife 

Service, to work with willing partners and provide support to efforts to assess, protect, restore, and enhance 

important coastal landscapes that provide fish and wildlife habitat on which certain Federal trust species depend, 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. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Coastal Habitat Con3 servation Act of 2023’’. 

4 SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 

5 The purpose of this Act is to legislatively authorize 

6 the Coastal Program of the Service in effect as of the date 

7 of enactment of this Act to conduct collaborative land8 scape-level planning and on-the-ground coastal habitat as9 sessment, coastal habitat protection, coastal habitat res10 toration, and coastal habitat enhancement projects in pri11 ority coastal landscapes to conserve and recover Federal 

12 trust species. 

13 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

14 In this Act: 

15 (1) COASTAL ECOSYSTEM.—The term ‘‘coastal 

16 ecosystem’’ means a biological community of orga17 nisms interacting with each other and their habitats 

18 in a coastal landscape. 

19 (2) COASTAL HABITAT ASSESSMENT.—The 

20 term ‘‘coastal habitat assessment’’ means the proc21 ess of evaluating the physical, chemical, and biologi22 cal function of a coastal site to determine the value 

23 of the site to fish and wildlife. 

24 (3) COASTAL HABITAT ENHANCEMENT.—The 

25 term ‘‘coastal habitat enhancement’’ means the ma26 nipulation of the physical, chemical, or biological 


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1 characteristics of a coastal ecosystem to increase or 

2 decrease specific biological functions that make the 

3 ecosystem valuable to fish and wildlife. 

4 (4) COASTAL HABITAT PLANNING.—The term 

5 ‘‘coastal habitat planning’’ means the process of de6 veloping a comprehensive plan that— 

7 (A) characterizes a coastal ecosystem; 

8 (B) sets protection, restoration, or en9 hancement goals, and identifies the priorities of 

10 those goals; 

11 (C) describes conservation strategies and 

12 methodologies; 

13 (D) establishes a timetable for implementa14 tion of the plan; and 

15 (E) identifies roles of participants and 

16 stakeholders. 

17 (5) COASTAL HABITAT PROTECTION.— 

18 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘coastal 

19 habitat protection’’ means a long-term action to 

20 safeguard habitats of value to fish and wildlife 

21 in a coastal ecosystem. 

22 (B) INCLUSION.—The term ‘‘coastal habi23 tat protection’’ includes activities to support es24 tablishment of a conservation easement or fee 


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1 title acquisition by Federal and non-Federal 

2 partners. 

3 (6) COASTAL HABITAT RESTORATION.—The 

4 term ‘‘coastal habitat restoration’’ means the manip5 ulation of the physical, chemical, or biological char6 acteristics of a coastal ecosystem with the goal of re7 turning, to the maximum extent practicable, the full 

8 natural biological functions to lost or degraded na9 tive habitat. 

10 (7) COASTAL LANDSCAPE.—The term ‘‘coastal 

11 landscape’’ means a portion of a coastal ecosystem 

12 within or adjacent to a coastal State that contains 

13 various habitat types, including— 

14 (A) a fresh or saltwater wetland in a coast15 al watershed; 

16 (B) a coastal river, stream, or waterway; 

17 (C) a coastal bay or estuary; 

18 (D) a seagrass bed, reef, or other near19 shore marine habitat; 

20 (E) a beach or dune system; 

21 (F) a mangrove forest; and 

22 (G) an associated coastal upland. 

23 (8) COASTAL STATE.—The term ‘‘coastal 

24 State’’ means— 


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1 (A) a State in, or bordering on, the Atlan2 tic, Pacific, or Arctic Ocean, the Gulf of Mex3 ico, the Long Island Sound, or 1 or more of the 

4 Great Lakes; 

5 (B) the District of Columbia; 

6 (C) the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; 

7 (D) Guam; 

8 (E) American Samoa; 

9 (F) the Commonwealth of the Northern 

10 Mariana Islands; 

11 (G) the Federated States of Micronesia; 

12 (H) the Republic of the Marshall Islands; 

13 (I) the Republic of Palau; and 

14 (J) the United States Virgin Islands. 

15 (9) FEDERAL TRUST SPECIES.—The term 

16 ‘‘Federal trust species’’ means— 

17 (A) migratory birds, threatened species or 

18 endangered species listed under the Endangered 

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

20 interjurisdictional fish, and marine mammals 

21 for which the Secretary has management au22 thority; and 

23 (B) any other species of concern, as deter24 mined by the Secretary. 


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1 (10) FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.—The term ‘‘fi2 nancial assistance’’ means Federal funding provided 

3 to Federal, State, local, and Tribal governments, 

4 nongovernmental institutions, nonprofit organiza5 tions, and private individuals and entities through a 

6 grant or cooperative agreement. 

7 (11) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 

8 means the Secretary of the Interior. 

9 (12) SERVICE.—The term ‘‘Service’’ means the 

10 United States Fish and Wildlife Service. 

11 (13) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The term 

12 ‘‘technical assistance’’ means a collaboration, facili13 tation, or consulting action relating to a coastal 

14 habitat planning, coastal habitat assessment, coastal 

15 habitat protection, coastal habitat restoration, or 

16 coastal habitat enhancement project or initiative in 

17 which the Service contributes scientific knowledge, 

18 skills, and expertise to the project or initiative. 

19 SEC. 4. COASTAL PROGRAM. 

20 The Secretary shall carry out the Coastal Program 

21 within the Service to— 

22 (1) identify the leading threats to priority 

23 coastal landscapes and conservation actions to ad24 dress those threats in partnership with Federal, 

25 State, local, and Tribal governments, nongovernVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:59 May 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1381.IS S1381

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1 mental institutions, nonprofit organizations, and pri2 vate individuals and entities; 

3 (2) provide technical assistance and financial 

4 assistance through partnerships with Federal, State, 

5 local, and Tribal governments, nongovernmental in6 stitutions, nonprofit organizations, and private indi7 viduals and entities to conduct voluntary coastal 

8 habitat planning, coastal habitat assessment, coastal 

9 habitat protection, coastal habitat restoration, and 

10 coastal habitat enhancement projects on public land 

11 or private land; 

12 (3) ensure the health and resilience of coastal 

13 ecosystems through adaptive management proce14 dures based on the best available science; 

15 (4) build the capacity of Federal, State, local, 

16 and Tribal governments, nongovernmental institu17 tions, nonprofit organizations, and private individ18 uals and entities to carry out environmental con19 servation and stewardship measures; 

20 (5) assist in the development and implementa21 tion of monitoring protocols to ensure the success of 

22 coastal ecosystem restoration and coastal ecosystem 

23 enhancement measures; and 

24 (6) collaborate and share information with part25 ners and the public relating to best management 


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1 practices for the conservation, restoration, and en2 hancement of coastal ecosystems. 

3 SEC. 5. REPORTS. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 

5 date of enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, 

6 the Secretary, acting through the Director of the Service, 

7 shall submit to the Committees on Appropriations and En8 vironment and Public Works of the Senate and the Com9 mittees on Appropriations and Natural Resources of the 

10 House of Representatives, and make available to the pub11 lic on the website of the Service, a report on the Coastal 

12 Program carried out under this Act. 

13 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—Each report submitted under 

14 subsection (a) shall assess on regional and nationwide 

15 bases— 

16 (1) Coastal Program work on coastal eco17 systems; 

18 (2) progress made by the Coastal Program to19 ward identifying the leading threats to priority 

20 coastal landscapes and conservation actions to ad21 dress those threats; and 

22 (3) prospects for, and success of, protecting, re23 storing, and enhancing coastal ecosystems. 

24 (c) INCLUSIONS.—Each report submitted under sub25 section (a) shall include— 


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1 (1) quantitative information on coastal land2 scapes protected, restored, or enhanced; 

3 (2) funds appropriated to the Coastal Program 

4 that have been expended or leveraged; 

5 (3) a description of adaptive management prac6 tices implemented; and 

7 (4) a description of emerging challenges or data 

8 gaps that hinder the ability of the Coastal Program 

9 to achieve the purpose of this Act. 

10 SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

11 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

12 this Act— 

13 (1) $20,000,000 for fiscal year 2024; 

14 (2) $21,250,000 for fiscal year 2025; 

15 (3) $22,500,000 for fiscal year 2026; 

16 (4) $23,750,000 for fiscal year 2027; and 

17 (5) $25,000,000 for fiscal year 2028. 

Æ 


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