I 
119TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3276 
To direct the Secretary of the Interior to establish the Urban Bird Treaty 
Program. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 8, 2025 
Mrs. DINGELL (for herself and Mr. CLINE) introduced the following bill; which 
was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 
A BILL 
To direct the Secretary of the Interior to establish the Urban 
Bird Treaty Program. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Local Communities 
& Bird Habitat Stewardship Act of 2025’’. 
SEC. 2. URBAN BIRD TREATY PROGRAM. 
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 
(1) According to the 2025 State of Birds Re-
port, bird populations continue to decline and have 
resulted in a 50 percent loss of tipping point bird 
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population species in the last 50 years. The report 
found that policies to reverse bird declines carry 
benefits such as healthier working lands, cleaner 
water, and more resilient landscapes that can with-
stand fires, floods, and drought. 
(2) Nearly 96 million Americans—more than a 
third of United States adults—engage in bird-
watching every year, generating $279,000,000,000 
in annual economic output from these birder expend-
itures—including spending $108,000,000,000 annu-
ally on birding-related trips and equipment, directly 
supporting local businesses and 1.4 million American 
jobs. 
(3) Maintaining an abundance of healthy, well- 
distributed green spaces and bird habitats in and 
near communities reduces the risk of cross-trans-
mission between wild birds and domestic poultry by 
dispersing bird populations, minimizing overlap at 
concentrated feeding or resting areas, and enabling 
earlier disease detection and response through co-
ordinated monitoring. 
(4) Enhancing bird habitat and stewardship in 
populated areas serves not only to conserve bird pop-
ulations and connect people to nature, but also to 
strengthen the ecological infrastructure necessary to 
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mitigate the spread of wildlife-borne diseases such as 
Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza. 
(b) URBAN BIRD TREATY PROGRAM.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall establish 
a program for the voluntary conservation of birds 
and the habitats of such birds in urban areas, to be 
known as the ‘‘Urban Bird Treaty Program’’. 
(2) PROGRAM
DUTIES.—In carrying out the 
Program, the Director shall— 
(A) work with and support covered entities 
to— 
(i) protect, restore, or enhance urban 
habitats for birds, including through the 
control of invasive species and restoration 
of native plant species; 
(ii) reduce urban hazards to birds; 
(iii) engage communities in scientific 
activities involving the monitoring of birds 
and the habitats of such birds in urban 
areas; and 
(iv) educate and engage communities 
in caring about and conserving birds and 
the habitats of such birds in urban areas; 
(B) provide technical and financial assist-
ance through partnerships with covered entities 
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to build capacity for, plan, and carry out 
projects related to activities described in sub-
paragraph (A); and 
(C) facilitate collaboration and information 
sharing among covered entities and the public 
with respect to best management practices for 
the conservation, restoration, and enhancement 
of urban bird habitats. 
(3) GRANT PROGRAM.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall es-
tablish a competitive grant program to award 
amounts to eligible entities for the purposes of 
conducting research, planning, assessments, 
management, building capacity, monitoring, col-
laboration and information sharing, workforce 
training, and accomplishing related activities as 
described in paragraph (2) with respect to the 
conservation, restoration, enhancement or man-
agement of urban birds and the habitats of 
urban birds. 
(B) APPLICATIONS.—To be eligible for a 
grant under this paragraph, an eligible entity 
shall submit to the Director an application in 
such form, at such time, and containing such 
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information as the Director determines appro-
priate. 
(C) ADMINISTRATION.— 
(i) AGREEMENT.—The Director shall 
enter into an agreement with the Founda-
tion for the Foundation to administer the 
grant program established under subpara-
graph (A) pursuant to the National Fish 
and Wildlife Foundation Establishment 
Act (16 U.S.C. 3701 et seq.). 
(ii) APPLICATION OF NATIONAL FISH 
AND
WILDLIFE
FOUNDATION
ESTABLISH-
MENT ACT.—Section 10(a) of the National 
Fish and Wildlife Foundation Establish-
ment Act (16 U.S.C. 3709(a)) shall not 
apply with respect to— 
(I) an agreement entered into 
under clause (i); or 
(II) amounts made available to 
carry out this section. 
(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) COVERED ENTITY.—The term ‘‘covered en-
tity’’ means— 
(A) a Federal, Tribal, State, or municipal 
agency; 
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(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 
authorized to be appropriated to the Director to carry out 
this section $1,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2026 
through 2032. 
Æ 
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