117TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 2773 
AN ACT 
To amend the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act 
to make supplemental funds available for management 
of fish and wildlife species of greatest conservation need 
as determined by State fish and wildlife agencies, and 
for other purposes. 
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 ‘‘Recovering America’s 
Wildlife Act of 2022’’. 
SEC. 2. STATEMENT OF PURPOSE. 
The purpose of this Act is to extend financial and 
technical assistance to States, territories, the District of 
Columbia, and Indian Tribes, including under the Pitt-
man-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act (16 U.S.C. 669 
et seq.), for the purpose of avoiding the need to list spe-
cies, or recovering species currently listed as a threatened 
species or an endangered species, under the Endangered 
Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) or under 
State law. 
TITLE I—WILDLIFE CONSERVA-
TION AND RESTORATION 
SEC. 101. WILDLIFE CONSERVATION AND RESTORATION 
SUBACCOUNT. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 3 of the Pittman-Robert-
son Wildlife Restoration Act (16 U.S.C. 669b) is amended 
in subsection (c)— 
(1) by redesignating paragraphs (2) and (3) as 
paragraphs (9) and (10); and 
(2) by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the 
following: 
‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT OF SUBACCOUNT.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—There is established in 
the fund a subaccount to be known as the 
‘Wildlife Conservation and Restoration Sub-
account’ (referred to in this section as the ‘Sub-
account’). 
‘‘(B) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts in the Sub-
account shall be available without further ap-
propriation, for each fiscal year, for apportion-
ment in accordance with this Act. 
‘‘(C) DEPOSITS INTO SUBACCOUNT.—The 
Secretary of the Treasury shall transfer from 
the general fund of the Treasury to the Sub-
account— 
‘‘(i) 
for 
fiscal 
year 
2023, 
$850,000,000; 
‘‘(ii) 
for 
fiscal 
year 
2024, 
$1,100,000,000; 
‘‘(iii) 
for 
fiscal 
year 
2025, 
$1,200,000,000; and 
‘‘(iv) for fiscal year 2026 and each fis-
cal year thereafter, $1,300,000,000. 
‘‘(2) SUPPLEMENT NOT SUPPLANT.—Amounts 
transferred to the Subaccount shall supplement, but 
not replace, existing funds available to the States 
from—
‘‘(A) the funds distributed pursuant to the 
Dingell-Johnson Sport Fish Restoration Act 
(16 U.S.C. 777 et seq.); and 
‘‘(B) the fund. 
‘‘(3) INNOVATION GRANTS.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 
distribute 10 percent of funds apportioned from 
the Subaccount through a competitive grant 
program to State fish and wildlife departments, 
the District of Columbia fish and wildlife de-
partment, fish and wildlife departments of terri-
tories, nonprofit organizations, or to regional 
associations of fish and wildlife departments (or 
any group composed of more than 1 such enti-
ty). 
‘‘(B) PURPOSE.—Such grants shall be pro-
vided for the purpose of catalyzing innovation 
of techniques, tools, strategies, or collaborative 
partnerships that accelerate, expand, or rep-
licate effective and measurable recovery efforts 
for species of greatest conservation need and 
species listed under the Endangered Species Act 
of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and the habi-
tats of such species.
‘‘(C) REVIEW COMMITTEE.—The Secretary 
shall appoint a review committee comprised 
of— 
‘‘(i) a State Director from each re-
gional association of State fish and wildlife 
departments; 
‘‘(ii) the head of a department respon-
sible for fish and wildlife management in a 
territory; 
‘‘(iii) one delegate from the United 
States Fish and Wildlife Service, for the 
purpose of providing technical assistance; 
and 
‘‘(iv) beginning in fiscal year 2023, 
four individuals representing four different 
nonprofit organizations each of which is 
actively participating in carrying out wild-
life conservation restoration activities using 
funds apportioned from the Subaccount. 
‘‘(D) SUPPORT FROM UNITED STATES FISH 
AND WILDLIFE SERVICE.—Using not more than 
3 percent of the amounts apportioned under 
subparagraph (A) to carry out a competitive 
grant program, the United States Fish and 
Wildlife Service shall provide any personnel or
administrative support services necessary for 
such committee to carry out its responsibilities 
under this Act. 
‘‘(E) EVALUATION.—Such committee shall 
evaluate each proposal submitted under this 
paragraph and recommend projects for funding, 
giving preference to solutions that accelerate 
the recovery of species identified as priorities 
through regional scientific assessments of spe-
cies of greatest conservation need. 
‘‘(4) USE OF FUNDS.—Funds apportioned from 
the Subaccount shall be used for purposes consistent 
with section 2 of the Recovering America’s Wildlife 
Act of 2022 and— 
‘‘(A) shall be used to implement the Wild-
life Conservation Strategy of a State, territory, 
or the District of Columbia, as required under 
section 4(e), by carrying out, revising, or en-
hancing existing wildlife and habitat conserva-
tion and restoration programs and developing 
and implementing new wildlife conservation and 
restoration programs to recover and manage 
species of greatest conservation need and the 
key habitats and plant community types essen-
tial to the conservation of those species, as de-
termined by the appropriate State fish and 
wildlife department; 
‘‘(B) shall be used to develop, revise, and 
enhance the Wildlife Conservation Strategy of a 
State, territory, or the District of Columbia, as 
may be required by this Act; 
‘‘(C) shall be used to assist in the recovery 
of species found in the State, territory, or the 
District of Columbia that are listed as endan-
gered species, threatened species, candidate spe-
cies or species proposed for listing, or species 
petitioned for listing under the Endangered 
Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) 
or under State law; 
‘‘(D) may be used for wildlife conservation 
education and wildlife-associated recreation 
projects, especially in historically underserved 
communities; 
‘‘(E) may be used to manage a species of 
greatest conservation need whose range is 
shared with another State, territory, Indian 
Tribe, or foreign government and for the con-
servation of the habitat of such species;
‘‘(F) may be used to manage, control, and 
prevent invasive species, disease, and other 
risks to species of greatest conservation need; 
‘‘(G) may be used for law enforcement ac-
tivities that are directly related to the protec-
tion and conservation of a species of greatest 
conservation need and the habitat of such spe-
cies; 
‘‘(H) may be used to expand the use of in-
novative technologies, tools, strategies, or col-
laborative partnerships that accelerate, expand, 
or replicate effective and measurable recovery 
efforts for species of greatest conservation need 
and species listed as threatened or endangered 
under section 4 of the Endangered Species Act 
of 1973 and the habitats of such species; 
‘‘(I) may be used for conservation infra-
structure projects related to the protection and 
conservation of a species of greatest conserva-
tion need and the habitat of such species; and 
‘‘(J) may be used to conserve and restore 
a native pollinator species which is a species of 
greatest conservation need. 
‘‘(5) MINIMUM REQUIRED SPENDING FOR EN-
DANGERED SPECIES RECOVERY.—Not less than an