I 
112TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3496 
To sustain fish, plants, and wildlife on America’s public lands. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
NOVEMBER 18, 2011 
Mr. KIND (for himself and Mr. REICHERT) introduced the following bill; which 
was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to 
the Committee on Agriculture, 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 sustain fish, plants, and wildlife on America’s public 
lands. 
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 ‘‘America’s Wildlife 
Heritage Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) Fish and wildlife are fundamental parts of 
America’s history and character, and fish and wild-
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life conservation is a core value shared by all Ameri-
cans. All future generations deserve the opportunity 
to benefit from and enjoy a diverse array of fish and 
wildlife species. 
(2) Fish and wildlife conservation provides eco-
nomic, social, educational, recreational, emotional, 
and spiritual benefits. The economic value of hunt-
ing, fishing, and wildlife-associated recreation alone 
is estimated to contribute $122,000,000,000 annu-
ally to the American economy. Fish and wildlife 
habitats, including forests, grasslands, riparian 
lands, wetlands, rivers, and other bodies of water are 
an essential component of the American landscape, 
and are protected and valued by Federal, State, and 
local governments, tribes, private landowners, con-
servation organizations, and millions of American 
sportsmen and outdoor recreationists. 
(3) States possess broad trustee and police pow-
ers over fish and wildlife within their borders. 
(4) The States and the Federal Government 
both have management responsibilities affecting fish 
and wildlife, and should work cooperatively in ful-
filling these responsibilities. 
(5) The American landscape is rapidly chang-
ing, particularly in the Western United States where 
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the majority of the Federal public lands are found, 
increasing the importance of sustaining fish and 
wildlife and their habitats on our public lands. 
(6) Federal public lands are critical to the fu-
ture of fish, plant, and wildlife species in America. 
Federal public lands help to protect endangered and 
threatened species from going extinct and help pre-
vent species from becoming endangered in the first 
place. These lands complement the conservation of 
fish, plants, and wildlife on private lands by pro-
viding comparatively intact tracts of land that serve 
as refuges from human development and other pres-
sures. Federal public lands also help keep common 
species common, including species valued for hunting 
and fishing. 
(7) Federal public lands provide habitats for 
species impacted by the effects of global climate 
change and will play an important role in the ability 
of fish, plants, and wildlife to adapt to and survive 
global warming’s mounting impacts. 
(8) Consistent with long-standing principles of 
multiple use and sustained yield management, the 
goal of sustaining the diverse fish, wildlife, and plant 
communities that depend on our Federal public 
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lands should guide the stewardship of America’s 
public lands. 
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) DESIRED NON-NATIVE SPECIES.—The term 
‘‘desired non-native species’’ means those wild spe-
cies of plants or animals that are not indigenous to 
a planning area but are valued for their contribution 
to species diversity or their social, cultural, or eco-
nomic value. 
(2) FOCAL SPECIES.—The term ‘‘focal species’’ 
means species selected for monitoring because their 
population status and trends are believed to provide 
useful information regarding the effects of manage-
ment activities, natural disruptions, or other factors 
on unmeasured species and to provide insights to the 
integrity of the ecological systems to which they be-
long. 
(3) NATIVE SPECIES.—The term ‘‘native spe-
cies’’ means species of plants and animals indige-
nous to a planning area. 
(4) PLANNING
AREA.—The term ‘‘planning 
area’’ means any geographic unit of National Forest 
System lands or Bureau of Land Management lands 
covered by an individual management plan. 
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(5) 
SECRETARY.—The 
term 
‘‘Secretary’’ 
means— 
(A) the Secretary of the Interior, with re-
spect to land under such Secretary’s jurisdic-
tion; and 
(B) the Secretary of Agriculture, with re-
spect to land under such Secretary’s jurisdic-
tion. 
(6) SPECIES-OF-CONCERN.—The term ‘‘species- 
of-concern’’ means the following: 
(A) A species listed as an endangered spe-
cies or threatened species, or proposed or iden-
tified as candidates for such listing, under the 
Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 
1531 et seq.). 
(B) A species designated with a Global, 
State, or Taxon status ranking of G1, G2, G3, 
S1, S2, T1, T2, or T3 by a State Natural Her-
itage Program. 
(C) A species of greatest conservation need 
identified by State comprehensive wildlife con-
servation strategies. 
(D) Other species identified by the Forest 
Service or the Bureau of Land Management for 
which scientific evidence raises a concern re-
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garding the species’ sustainability in a planning 
area. 
(7) SUSTAINABLE
POPULATION.—The term 
‘‘sustainable population’’ means a population of a 
species that has a high likelihood of persisting well 
distributed throughout its range within a planning 
area for a period of at least 50 years into the future, 
based on the best available scientific information, in-
cluding information obtained through the monitoring 
program under section 5, regarding its abundance, 
distribution, habitat quality, and reproduction and 
survival rates. 
SEC. 4. SUSTAINABLE POPULATIONS. 
(a) MANAGEMENT
DIRECTION.—Each Secretary 
shall plan for and manage planning areas under the Sec-
retary’s respective jurisdiction in order to maintain sus-
tainable populations of native species and desired non-na-
tive species within each planning area, except that man-
agement for desired non-native species shall not interfere 
with the maintenance of sustainable populations of native 
species within a planning area. 
(b) MANAGEMENT COORDINATION.—If a population 
of a species extends across more than one planning area, 
each Secretary shall coordinate the management of lands 
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in the planning areas containing such population in order 
to maintain a sustainable population of such species. 
(c) EXTRINSIC CONDITIONS.—If a Secretary, using 
the best available science and after providing notice to the 
public by publication in the Federal Register and oppor-
tunity for public comment for a period of at least 60 days, 
determines that conditions beyond such Secretary’s au-
thority make it impossible for the Secretary to maintain 
a sustainable population of a native species or desired non- 
native species within a planning area, or, under the cir-
cumstances identified in paragraph (2), within two or 
more planning areas, such Secretary shall— 
(1) manage lands within the planning area or 
areas in order to achieve to the maximum extent 
possible the survival and health of that population; 
and 
(2) ensure that any activity authorized, funded, 
or carried out within the planning area does not in-
crease the likelihood of extirpation of the population 
in such planning area or areas. 
(d) COMPLIANCE.—Each Secretary shall ensure that 
land management plans for a planning area under the Sec-
retary’s respective jurisdiction, actions implementing or 
authorized under such plans, and other activities that may 
affect the maintenance of sustainable populations con-
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ducted under the Secretary’s jurisdiction comply with this 
section. 
SEC. 5. MONITORING AND EVALUATION. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF MONITORING PROGRAMS.— 
To provide a basis for determining the sustainability of 
native species and desired non-native species populations 
for purposes of section 4, each Secretary shall adopt and 
implement, as part of the land management planning for 
a planning area, a strategically targeted monitoring pro-
gram to determine the status and trends of such species 
populations in such planning area. 
(b) MONITORING PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS.—The 
monitoring programs established under subsection (a) 
shall designate focal species representing the diversity of 
ecological systems and species present in the planning 
area, identify species-of-concern in the planning area, and 
provide for— 
(1) the monitoring of the status and trends of 
the habitats and ecological conditions that support 
focal species and species-of-concern; 
(2) population surveys of the focal species iden-
tified in the monitoring program using methods suf-
ficient to ensure that monitoring of habitats and ec-
ological conditions pursuant to paragraph (1) is pro-
viding accurate information regarding the status and 
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trends of species’ populations in the planning area; 
and 
(3) population surveys of species-of-concern 
whose populations are not adequately assessed by 
monitoring pursuant to paragraphs (1) and (2) and 
for which there is reasonable concern regarding po-
tential reductions in distribution or abundance with-
in such planning area in order to evaluate informa-
tion regarding population status and trends. 
(c) COOPERATION
WITH
STATE
ENTITIES
AND 
OTHER AGENCIES.—Each Secretary shall develop and im-
plement, to the maximum extent practicable, the moni-
toring program established under this section, including 
the selection of native species and desired non-native spe-
cies, habitat, and ecological conditions to be monitored 
and methodologies for conducting such monitoring, in co-
operation with State fish and wildlife agencies and in co-
ordination with other State agencies with responsibility for 
management of natural resources. Each Secretary shall 
consider and utilize relevant population data maintained 
by other Federal agencies, State agencies, tribes, or other 
relevant entities. 
SEC. 6. COORDINATION. 
(a) MANAGEMENT COORDINATION.—To the max-
imum extent practicable and consistent with applicable 
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law, each Secretary shall coordinate the management of 
planning areas with the management of the National 
Wildlife Refuge System and National Park System, other 
Federal agencies, State fish and wildlife agencies, other 
State agencies with responsibility for management of nat-
ural resources, tribes, local governments, and non-govern-
mental organizations engaged in species conservation in 
order to— 
(1) maintain sustainable populations of native 
species and desired non-native species; 
(2) develop strategies to address the impacts of 
climate change on native species and desired non-na-
tive species; 
(3) establish linkages between habitats and dis-
crete populations; 
(4) reintroduce extirpated species, where appro-
priate, when a species population is no longer 
present; and 
(5) conduct other joint efforts in support of 
sustainable plant and animal communities across ju-
risdictional boundaries. 
(b) COORDINATION WITH CONSERVATION ACTIVI-
TIES.—In planning for the management of lands for the 
purpose of maintaining sustainable populations of native 
species and desired non-native species in a planning area, 
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each Secretary shall, to the maximum extent practicable 
and consistent with Federal law— 
(1) consult with and offer opportunities for par-
ticipation to adjoining Federal, State, tribal, local, 
and private landowners, State and tribal fish and 
wildlife agencies, and other State and tribal agencies 
with responsibility for management of natural re-
sources; and 
(2) coordinate such management planning with 
relevant conservation plans for fish, plants, and 
wildlife and their habitats, including State com-
prehensive wildlife strategies and other State con-
servation strategies for species, National Fish Habi-
tat partnerships, North American Wetland Con-
servation Joint Ventures, and the Federal-State-pri-
vate partnership known as Partners in Flight. 
(c) NO EFFECT ON NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE 
OR NATIONAL PARK SYSTEMS.—Nothing in this section 
affects the laws or management standards applicable to 
lands or species populations within the National Wildlife 
Refuge System or National Park System. 
SEC. 7. IMPLEMENTING REGULATIONS. 
Not later than one year following the date of enact-
ment of this Act, each Secretary shall issue regulations 
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implementing all provisions of America’s Wildlife Heritage 
Act. 
SEC. 8. CONSTRUCTION. 
Nothing in this Act shall be construed to— 
(1) affect the authority, jurisdiction, or respon-
sibility of each of the several States to manage, con-
trol, or regulate fish, plants, and wildlife under the 
laws and regulations of each of the States; or 
(2) authorize a Secretary to control or regulate 
within a State the fishing or hunting of fish and 
wildlife within the State except insofar as the Sec-
retary may exercise authority granted to him or her 
under other laws. 
Æ 
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