Title: Recovering America's Wildlife Act
Policy area: Environmental Protection

Summary:
Recovering America's Wildlife Act
This bill requires the Department of the Treasury to transfer $1.3 billion of revenues from energy and mineral development on federal lands to the Wildlife Conservation and Restoration Subaccount of the Federal Aid to Wildlife Restoration Fund and revises requirements governing the uses of and distributions from the fund.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3223 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3223

    To amend the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act to make 
 supplemental funds available for the management of fish and wildlife 
species of greatest conservation need, as determined by State fish and 
               wildlife agencies, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 17, 2018

 Mr. Risch (for himself, Mr. Manchin, Mr. Alexander, and Ms. Heitkamp) 
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 
               Committee on Environment and Public Works

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To amend the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act to make 
 supplemental funds available for the 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 Representatives 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''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) a diverse array of species of fish and wildlife is of 
        significant value to the United States for aesthetic, 
        ecological, educational, cultural, recreational, economic, and 
        scientific reasons;
            (2) more than 100,000,000 citizens of the United States 
        participate in outdoor recreation through hunting, fishing, 
        birding, and other wildlife-dependent recreation, all of 
        which--
                    (A) have significant value to those citizens; and
                    (B) provide economic benefits to local communities;
            (3) it is in the interest of the United States--
                    (A) to retain for present and future generations 
                the opportunity to hunt, fish, observe, understand, and 
                appreciate a wide variety of fish and wildlife;
                    (B) to recover species of fish and wildlife listed 
                as threatened species or endangered species under the 
                Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) 
                and to prevent fish and wildlife species from declining 
                to the point of requiring Federal protection under that 
                Act; and
                    (C) to support collaborative and proactive 
                conservation that will sustain the diverse fish and 
                wildlife populations of the United States;
            (4) the first nongovernmental conservation organizations to 
        instill fish and wildlife conservation values in hunters, 
        anglers, bird watchers, and all citizens were founded during 
        the 1880s and 1890s at the behest of hunters and anglers, 
        including Theodore Roosevelt and naturalist George Bird 
        Grinnell, who were alarmed that--
                    (A) game and sportfish could not sustain 
                unregulated harvest; and
                    (B) avifauna needed protection from commercial 
                take;
            (5) at the turn of the 20th century, the States--
                    (A) realized the need to regulate the harvest of 
                game and sportfish for sustainable use;
                    (B) required hunters and anglers to obtain licenses 
                and established regulations for game seasons, bag and 
                creel limits, and legal means of take for game and 
                sportfish; and
                    (C) used the funds received for the licenses 
                largely for enforcement of those regulations;
            (6) in 1937, an alliance among hunters and conservation 
        organizations, States, the Federal Government, and the shooting 
        sports industry convinced Congress to transfer to the States 
        receipts from an existing Federal excise tax on sporting arms 
        and ammunition, matched by State hunting license dollars, for 
        the management of wildlife and conservation of habitat under 
        the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act (16 U.S.C. 669 
        et seq.), which greatly enhanced the ability of the States to 
        transition from primarily enforcing game seasons and bag limits 
        to science-based research and management of wildlife;
            (7) in 1951, an alliance among anglers and conservation 
        organizations, States, the Federal Government, and the 
        sportfishing industry convinced Congress to impose a Federal 
        excise tax on fishing equipment under the Dingell-Johnson 
        Sportfish Restoration Act (16 U.S.C. 777 et seq.) and to 
        transfer to the States those receipts, matched by State fishing 
        license revenues, to manage sportfish and conserve aquatic 
        habitats, enhancing the ability of State fish and wildlife 
        agencies to use science-based research and management of fish 
        species;
            (8) those user-pay, public-benefits means of funding fish 
        and wildlife conservation is unique in the world, having been 
        initiated in the United States by sportsmen and sportswomen who 
        were willing to pay the fees to ensure dedicated funds went to 
        fish and wildlife conservation delivered by the States;
            (9) those user-pay funds (such as license fees and excise 
        taxes)--
                    (A) have benefitted not only hunters and anglers, 
                but all citizens of the United States by providing 
                abundant fish and wildlife (including game and nongame 
                species), clean water, outdoor recreation, healthy 
                activities, and quality of life; and
                    (B) provide, and will continue to provide, a 
                majority of the funds that are available to State fish 
                and wildlife agencies for science-based research and 
                management of fish and wildlife;
            (10) State fish and wildlife agencies are--
                    (A) responsible for the conservation and management 
                of all fish and wildlife in the State; but
                    (B) grossly underfunded because there are few funds 
                available at the State level for fish and wildlife 
                conservation, except those driven by--
                            (i) hunting and fishing license revenues; 
                        and
                            (ii) Federal excise tax revenues;
            (11) a subaccount known as the ``Wildlife Conservation and 
        Restoration Account'' was established by Congress by section 
        3(a)(2) of the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act (16 
        U.S.C. 669b(a)(2)) (as in effect on the day before the date of 
        enactment of this Act) to support the full array of fish and 
        wildlife conservation needs identified by State fish and 
        wildlife agencies (including for species that are not hunted or 
        fished), but only authorized appropriations for the subaccount 
        for 1 year;
            (12) while appropriated funds have been made available 
        through the State and Tribal Wildlife Grants program of the 
        United States Fish and Wildlife Service, the lack of assured 
        and sufficient dedicated funding for the Wildlife Conservation 
        and Restoration subaccount has left unrealized the goals of the 
        subaccount--
                    (A) allowing fish and wildlife populations to 
                continue to decline across the United States; and
                    (B) resulting in hundreds of species being listed 
                as threatened species or endangered species under the 
                Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et 
                seq.);
            (13) under the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act 
        (16 U.S.C. 669 et seq.), each State and territory is required 
        to seek public input and produce a comprehensive fish and 
        wildlife conservation strategy, commonly known as a ``State 
        Wildlife Action Plan'', to guide the State-led conservation of 
        the full array of fish, wildlife, and habitat;
            (14) providing sufficient dedicated funding to the Wildlife 
        Conservation and Restoration subaccount will advance the 
        national interest by ensuring sustainable populations of fish 
        and wildlife species are available for the use and enjoyment of 
        residents of the United States through implementing the 
        comprehensive fish and wildlife conservation strategy of each 
        State and territory; and
            (15) as funds become available for the purposes of this Act 
        and the amendments made by this Act, sportsmen and sportswomen 
        expect States to secure the needed non-Federal match from 
        sources other than revenue generated by sportsmen and 
        sportswomen through the sale of State hunting and fishing 
        licenses (except when projects or programs benefit habitat for 
        species that are hunted or fished and other associated 
        wildlife).

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    Section 2 of the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act (16 
U.S.C. 669a) is amended--
            (1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking ``As 
        used in this Act--'' and inserting ``In this Act:'';
            (2) by striking paragraph (4);
            (3) by redesignating paragraphs (5) through (8) as 
        paragraphs (4) through (7), respectively; and
            (4) in paragraph (5) (as so redesignated)--
                    (A) by striking ``section 304(d)'' and inserting 
                ``section 4(e)''; and
                    (B) by inserting ``Indian Tribes, institutions of 
                higher education,'' before ``wildlife conservation 
                organizations''.

SEC. 4. WILDLIFE CONSERVATION AND RESTORATION SUBACCOUNT.

    (a) In General.--Section 3 of the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife 
Restoration Act (16 U.S.C. 669b) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)--
                    (A) by striking paragraph (2); and
                    (B) in paragraph (1)--
                            (i) in the third sentence, by striking 
                        ``Any amount'' and inserting the following:
            ``(3) Other unexpended and unobligated funds.--Any 
        amount''; and
                            (ii) in the second sentence, by striking 
                        ``So much of such appropriation'' and inserting 
                        the following:
            ``(2) Unexpended amounts.--Any amount appropriated under 
        paragraph (1) and'';
            (2) by striking the section designation and all that 
        follows through ``(a)(1) An'' and inserting the following:

``SEC. 3. FUNDING.

    ``(a) Authorization of Appropriations.--
            ``(1) In general.--An'';
            (3) in subsection (c)--
                    (A) by redesignating paragraphs (2) and (3) as 
                paragraphs (7) and (8), respectively;
                    (B) by striking ``(c)(1) Amounts'' and all that 
                follows through the end of paragraph (1) and inserting 
                the following:
    ``(c) Wildlife Conservation and Restoration Subaccount.--
            ``(1) Definitions.--In this subsection:
                    ``(A) Subaccount.--The term `Subaccount' means the 
                Wildlife Conservation and Restoration Subaccount 
                established by paragraph (2)(A).
                    ``(B) Wildlife.--The term `wildlife' means--
                            ``(i) any species of wild, freeranging 
                        fauna (including fish); and
                            ``(ii) any fauna in a captive breeding 
                        program, the object of which is to reintroduce 
                        individuals of a depleted indigenous species 
                        into previously occupied range.
            ``(2) Establishment.--
                    ``(A) In general.--There is established in the fund 
                a subaccount, to be known as the `Wildlife Conservation 
                and Restoration Subaccount'.
                    ``(B) Availability.--There are authorized to be 
                appropriated from the Subaccount for each fiscal year 
                such amounts as are necessary for apportionment in 
                accordance with this Act.
                    ``(C) Deposits.--Beginning in fiscal year 2018, the 
                Secretary of the Treasury shall transfer to the fund 
                for deposit in the Subaccount the following:
                            ``(i) Of the amounts deposited in the 
                        Treasury under section 9 of the Outer 
                        Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1338), 
                        $650,000,000.
                            ``(ii) Of the amounts deposited in the 
                        Treasury under section 35 of the Mineral 
                        Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 191), after the 
                        withdrawal of funds to the States under 
                        subsection (a) of that section, $650,000,000.
            ``(3) Supplement not supplant.--Amounts transferred to the 
        Subaccount shall supplement, but not supplant, existing funds 
        available to the States from the sport fish restoration account 
        and wildlife restoration account.
            ``(4) Use of funds.--The funds apportioned from the 
        Subaccount--
                    ``(A) shall be used--
                            ``(i) to carry out, revise, or enhance 
                        existing wildlife conservation and restoration 
                        programs;
                            ``(ii) to develop and implement new 
                        wildlife conservation and restoration programs 
                        to manage wildlife species of greatest 
                        conservation need, including species that are 
                        not hunted or fished, and the habitats of those 
                        species, as determined by the appropriate State 
                        fish and wildlife department;
                            ``(iii) to develop, revise, and implement a 
                        wildlife conservation strategy of the State in 
                        accordance with this Act; and
                            ``(iv) for wildlife conservation education 
                        and wildlife-associated recreation projects; 
                        and
                    ``(B) may be used--
                            ``(i) to assist in the recovery of a 
                        species listed as a threatened species or an 
                        endangered species under the Endangered Species 
                        Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) or to 
                        conserve a species from becoming a threatened 
                        species or an endangered species in the State 
                        under that Act;
                            ``(ii) to manage a species of greatest 
                        conservation need, the range of which is shared 
                        with a foreign government, and the habitat of 
                        such a species;
                            ``(iii) to manage, control, and prevent 
                        invasive and nuisance species and other risks 
                        to species of greatest conservation need; or
                            ``(iv) for law enforcement activities that 
                        are directly related to the protection and 
                        conservation of a species of greatest 
                        conservation need and the habitat of such a 
                        species.
            ``(5) Public access to private land not required.--The 
        funds apportioned from the Subaccount shall not be conditioned 
        on the provision of public access to any private land, water, 
        or holding.
            ``(6) Requirements for matching funds.--For purposes of the 
        non-Federal fund matching requirement for a wildlife 
        conservation or restoration program or project funded by the 
        Subaccount, a State--
                    ``(A) may use as matching non-Federal funds--
                            ``(i) funds from a Federal department or 
                        agency other than--
                                    ``(I) the Department of the 
                                Interior; or
                                    ``(II) the Department of 
                                Agriculture; and
                            ``(ii) donated private land or water, 
                        including any privately owned easement; and
                    ``(B) may not use as matching non-Federal funds any 
                revenue from the sale of State hunting and fishing 
                licenses, unless all available Federal funds 
                apportioned to a State fish and wildlife agency from 
                the wildlife restoration account or the sport fish 
                restoration account have been obligated by the State, 
                in which case revenue generated through the sale of 
                State hunting and fishing licenses may be used as non-
                Federal matching funds for a project or program that 
                benefits the habitat of a species that is hunted or 
                fished or another species with the greatest 
                conservation need.'';
                    (C) in paragraph (7) (as redesignated by 
                subparagraph (A)), in the first sentence--
                            (i) by striking ``or an Indian tribe''; and
                            (ii) by striking ``sections 4(d) and (e) of 
                        this Act'' and inserting ``section 4(e)'';
                    (D) in paragraph (8) (as redesignated by 
                subparagraph (A)), by striking ``Wildlife Conservation 
                and Restoration Account'' and inserting ``Subaccount''; 
                and
                    (E) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(9) Effect on other revenues.--Nothing in this subsection 
        affects the disposition of revenues that--
                    ``(A) are due to the United States, special funds, 
                trust funds, or States from mineral and energy 
                development on Federal land and water; or
                    ``(B) have been otherwise appropriated under 
                Federal law, including the Gulf of Mexico Energy 
                Security Act of 2006 (43 U.S.C. 1331 note; Public Law 
                109-432), the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 181 et 
                seq.), and chapter 2003 of title 54, United States 
                Code.''; and
            (4) in subsection (d), by striking ``Wildlife Conservation 
        and Restoration Account'' and inserting ``Wildlife Conservation 
        and Restoration Subaccount''.
    (b) Allocation and Apportionment of Available Amounts.--Section 4 
of the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act (16 U.S.C. 669c) is 
amended--
            (1) by redesignating subsection (d) as subsection (e);
            (2) by redesignating the second subsection (c) (relating to 
        apportionment of the Wildlife Conservation and Restoration 
        Account) as subsection (d);
            (3) in paragraph (2)(A) of subsection (d) (as so 
        redesignated)--
                    (A) in clause (i)--
                            (i) by striking ``one-third of'' and 
                        inserting ``\1/2\ of''; and
                            (ii) by striking ``States; and'' and 
                        inserting ``States.''; and
                    (B) in clause (ii), by striking ``two-thirds of'' 
                and inserting ``\1/2\ of'';
            (4) in paragraph (1) of subsection (e) (as so 
        redesignated), in the first sentence of the matter preceding 
        subparagraph (A), by striking ``Wildlife Conservation and 
        Restoration Account'' and inserting ``Wildlife Conservation and 
        Restoration Subaccount''; and
            (5) by adding at the end following:
    ``(f) Minimization of Planning and Reporting.--Nothing in this Act 
requires a State to create a comprehensive strategy relating to--
            ``(1) conservation education; or
            ``(2) outdoor recreation.''.
    (c) Conforming Amendment.--Section 8(a) of the Pittman-Robertson 
Wildlife Restoration Act (16 U.S.C. 669g) is amended, in the fourth 
sentence, by striking ``Account'' and inserting ``Subaccount''.

SEC. 5. SAVINGS CLAUSE.

    The Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act is amended--
            (1) by redesignating section 13 (16 U.S.C. 669 note; 50 
        Stat. 917, chapter 899; 114 Stat. 1763) as section 14; and
            (2) by inserting after section 12 (16 U.S.C. 669i) the 
        following:

``SEC. 13. SAVINGS CLAUSE.

    ``(a) In General.--Nothing in this Act affects the authority, 
jurisdiction, or responsibility of a State to manage, control, or 
regulate fish and wildlife under the law and regulations of the State 
on land or water within the State (including Federal land and water).
    ``(b) State of Alaska.--
            ``(1) In general.--Nothing in this Act affects--
                    ``(A) the provisions for subsistence uses in the 
                State of Alaska under the Alaska National Interest 
                Lands Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 3101 et seq.), 
                including titles III and VIII of that Act;
                    ``(B) section 102 of the Alaska National Interest 
                Lands Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 3102);
                    ``(C) the jurisdiction of the Federal courts over--
                            ``(i) subsistence uses in the State of 
                        Alaska; or
                            ``(ii) any assertion of subsistence uses in 
                        that State; or
                    ``(D) the manner in which section 810 of the Alaska 
                National Interest Lands Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 
                3120) is implemented on Federal land or water in the 
                State of Alaska.
            ``(2) Conflicts of laws.--If any conflict arises between a 
        provision of this Act and a provision of the Alaska National 
        Interest Lands Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 3101 et seq.), the 
        provision of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation 
        Act (16 U.S.C. 3101 et seq.) shall control.''.

SEC. 6. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING OFFSET.

    It is the sense of Congress that the costs of carrying out this Act 
and the amendments made by this Act shall be offset.
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