SEC. 2. EXCLUSION OF MILITARY INSTITUTIONS AS CRIT-
ICAL HABITAT. 
Section 4(a)(3)(B) of the Endangered Species Act of 
1973 (16 U.S.C. 1533(a)(3)(B)) are amended to read as 
follows: 
‘‘(i) The Secretary shall not designate 
as critical habitat— 
‘‘(I) any military installation or a 
State-owned National Guard installa-
tion, or any portion thereof, as such 
terms are defined in section 100 of 
the Sikes Act (16 U.S.C. 670); or 
‘‘(II) any other lands, waters, or 
geographical area not described in 
clause (i) that is otherwise designated 
for use by the Secretary of Defense 
including by any contractor of the De-
partment of Defense, if the Secretary 
of Defense determines in writing and 
submitted to the Secretary of the In-
terior that such area is necessary for 
military training, weapons testing, or 
any other reason determined appro-
priate by such Secretary of Defense. 
‘‘(ii) The Secretary of Defense shall 
not be required to consult with the Sec-
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retary of the Interior, under section 
7(a)(2) of this Act with respect to agency 
action, regardless of whether the area de-
scribed in clause (i) is subject to an inte-
grated natural resources management plan 
prepared under section 101 of the Sikes 
Act (16 U.S.C. 670a).’’. 
SEC. 3. ADDITIONAL EXCLUSIONS AND EXEMPTIONS FROM 
THE ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT FOR DE-
FENSE-RELATED OPERATIONS. 
Section 10 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 
(16 U.S.C. 1539) is amended by adding at the end the 
following new subsection: 
‘‘(h) EXCLUSION FOR NATIONAL DEFENSE-RELATED 
OPERATIONS.— 
‘‘(1) EXCLUSIONS.—The prohibitions under sec-
tion 9 shall not apply with respect to— 
‘‘(A) the taking of any endangered species 
or threatened species, or the importation or ex-
portation of any such species taken as prohib-
ited by such section, by military personnel en-
gaged in a national defense-related operation; 
‘‘(B) damaging or destroying any threat-
ened or endangered species, or removing, cut-
ting, digging up, damaging, or destroying any 
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such species, by military personnel engaged in 
a national defense-related operation; or 
‘‘(C) an injury to or mortality of a threat-
ened or endangered species that results from, 
but is not the purpose of, a national defense-re-
lated operation, 
regardless of whether the operation is conducted on 
a military installation or other area described in sec-
tion 4(a)(3)(B)(i). 
‘‘(2) DEFINITIONS.—For the purposes of this 
subsection— 
‘‘(A) the term ‘national defense-related op-
eration’ means— 
‘‘(i) research, development, testing, 
and evaluation of military munitions, other 
ordnance, and weapons systems; 
‘‘(ii) the training of members of the 
Armed Forces in the use and handling of 
military munitions, other ordnance, and 
weapons systems; 
‘‘(iii) general training and military 
preparedness; or 
‘‘(iv) any action or duty that the Sec-
retary of Defense deems necessary to sup-
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port the Department of Defense in its mis-
sion; and 
‘‘(B) 
the 
term 
‘military 
personnel’ 
means— 
‘‘(i) a member of the Armed Forces; 
and 
‘‘(ii) a civilian employee or contractor 
(including a subcontractor at any tier) of 
the— 
‘‘(I) Department of Defense (in-
cluding a nonappropriated fund in-
strumentality of the Department); or 
‘‘(II) any other Federal agency, 
or any provisional authority, to the 
extent such employment relates to 
supporting the mission of the Depart-
ment of Defense overseas.’’. 
Æ 
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