Recovering America’s Wildlife Act of 2022

II Calendar No. 424 117TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 2773 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JUNE 15, 2022 Received; read twice and placed on the calendar 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- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:17 Jun 16, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2773.PCS H2773 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 HR 2773 PCS SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Recovering America’s 2 Wildlife Act of 2022’’. 3 SEC. 2. STATEMENT OF PURPOSE. 4 The purpose of this Act is to extend financial and 5 technical assistance to States, territories, the District of 6 Columbia, and Indian Tribes, including under the Pitt- 7 man-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act (16 U.S.C. 669 8 et seq.), for the purpose of avoiding the need to list spe- 9 cies, or recovering species currently listed as a threatened 10 species or an endangered species, under the Endangered 11 Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) or under 12 State law. 13 TITLE I—WILDLIFE CONSERVA- 14 TION AND RESTORATION 15 SEC. 101. WILDLIFE CONSERVATION AND RESTORATION 16 SUBACCOUNT. 17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 3 of the Pittman-Robert- 18 son Wildlife Restoration Act (16 U.S.C. 669b) is amended 19 in subsection (c)— 20 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (2) and (3) as 21 paragraphs (9) and (10); and 22 (2) by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the 23 following: 24 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT OF SUBACCOUNT.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:17 Jun 16, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2773.PCS H2773 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 HR 2773 PCS ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—There is established in 1 the fund a subaccount to be known as the 2 ‘Wildlife Conservation and Restoration Sub- 3 account’ (referred to in this section as the ‘Sub- 4 account’). 5 ‘‘(B) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts in the Sub- 6 account shall be available without further ap- 7 propriation, for each fiscal year, for apportion- 8 ment in accordance with this Act. 9 ‘‘(C) DEPOSITS INTO SUBACCOUNT.—The 10 Secretary of the Treasury shall transfer from 11 the general fund of the Treasury to the Sub- 12 account— 13 ‘‘(i) for fiscal year 2023, 14 $850,000,000; 15 ‘‘(ii) for fiscal year 2024, 16 $1,100,000,000; 17 ‘‘(iii) for fiscal year 2025, 18 $1,200,000,000; and 19 ‘‘(iv) for fiscal year 2026 and each fis- 20 cal year thereafter, $1,300,000,000. 21 ‘‘(2) SUPPLEMENT NOT SUPPLANT.—Amounts 22 transferred to the Subaccount shall supplement, but 23 not replace, existing funds available to the States 24 from— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:17 Jun 16, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2773.PCS H2773 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 HR 2773 PCS ‘‘(A) the funds distributed pursuant to the 1 Dingell-Johnson Sport Fish Restoration Act 2 (16 U.S.C. 777 et seq.); and 3 ‘‘(B) the fund. 4 ‘‘(3) INNOVATION GRANTS.— 5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 6 distribute 10 percent of funds apportioned from 7 the Subaccount through a competitive grant 8 program to State fish and wildlife departments, 9 the District of Columbia fish and wildlife de- 10 partment, fish and wildlife departments of terri- 11 tories, nonprofit organizations, or to regional 12 associations of fish and wildlife departments (or 13 any group composed of more than 1 such enti- 14 ty). 15 ‘‘(B) PURPOSE.—Such grants shall be pro- 16 vided for the purpose of catalyzing innovation 17 of techniques, tools, strategies, or collaborative 18 partnerships that accelerate, expand, or rep- 19 licate effective and measurable recovery efforts 20 for species of greatest conservation need and 21 species listed under the Endangered Species Act 22 of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and the habi- 23 tats of such species. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:17 Jun 16, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2773.PCS H2773 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 HR 2773 PCS ‘‘(C) REVIEW COMMITTEE.—The Secretary 1 shall appoint a review committee comprised 2 of— 3 ‘‘(i) a State Director from each re- 4 gional association of State fish and wildlife 5 departments; 6 ‘‘(ii) the head of a department respon- 7 sible for fish and wildlife management in a 8 territory; 9 ‘‘(iii) one delegate from the United 10 States Fish and Wildlife Service, for the 11 purpose of providing technical assistance; 12 and 13 ‘‘(iv) beginning in fiscal year 2023, 14 four individuals representing four different 15 nonprofit organizations each of which is 16 actively participating in carrying out wild- 17 life conservation restoration activities using 18 funds apportioned from the Subaccount. 19 ‘‘(D) SUPPORT FROM UNITED STATES FISH 20 AND WILDLIFE SERVICE.—Using not more than 21 3 percent of the amounts apportioned under 22 subparagraph (A) to carry out a competitive 23 grant program, the United States Fish and 24 Wildlife Service shall provide any personnel or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:17 Jun 16, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2773.PCS H2773 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 6 HR 2773 PCS administrative support services necessary for 1 such committee to carry out its responsibilities 2 under this Act. 3 ‘‘(E) EVALUATION.—Such committee shall 4 evaluate each proposal submitted under this 5 paragraph and recommend projects for funding, 6 giving preference to solutions that accelerate 7 the recovery of species identified as priorities 8 through regional scientific assessments of spe- 9 cies of greatest conservation need. 10 ‘‘(4) USE OF FUNDS.—Funds apportioned from 11 the Subaccount shall be used for purposes consistent 12 with section 2 of the Recovering America’s Wildlife 13 Act of 2022 and— 14 ‘‘(A) shall be used to implement the Wild- 15 life Conservation Strategy of a State, territory, 16 or the District of Columbia, as required under 17 section 4(e), by carrying out, revising, or en- 18 hancing existing wildlife and habitat conserva- 19 tion and restoration programs and developing 20 and implementing new wildlife conservation and 21 restoration programs to recover and manage 22 species of greatest conservation need and the 23 key habitats and plant community types essen- 24 tial to the conservation of those species, as de- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:17 Jun 16, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2773.PCS H2773 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 7 HR 2773 PCS termined by the appropriate State fish and 1 wildlife department; 2 ‘‘(B) shall be used to develop, revise, and 3 enhance the Wildlife Conservation Strategy of a 4 State, territory, or the District of Columbia, as 5 may be required by this Act; 6 ‘‘(C) shall be used to assist in the recovery 7 of species found in the State, territory, or the 8 District of Columbia that are listed as endan- 9 gered species, threatened species, candidate spe- 10 cies or species proposed for listing, or species 11 petitioned for listing under the Endangered 12 Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) 13 or under State law; 14 ‘‘(D) may be used for wildlife conservation 15 education and wildlife-associated recreation 16 projects, especially in historically underserved 17 communities; 18 ‘‘(E) may be used to manage a species of 19 greatest conservation need whose range is 20 shared with another State, territory, Indian 21 Tribe, or foreign government and for the con- 22 servation of the habitat of such species; 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:17 Jun 16, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2773.PCS H2773 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 8 HR 2773 PCS ‘‘(F) may be used to manage, control, and 1 prevent invasive species, disease, and other 2 risks to species of greatest conservation need; 3 ‘‘(G) may be used for law enforcement ac- 4 tivities that are directly related to the protec- 5 tion and conservation of a species of greatest 6 conservation need and the habitat of such spe- 7 cies; 8 ‘‘(H) may be used to expand the use of in- 9 novative technologies, tools, strategies, or col- 10 laborative partnerships that accelerate, expand, 11 or replicate effective and measurable recovery 12 efforts for species of greatest conservation need 13 and species listed as threatened or endangered 14 under section 4 of the Endangered Species Act 15 of 1973 and the habitats of such species; 16 ‘‘(I) may be used for conservation infra- 17 structure projects related to the protection and 18 conservation of a species of greatest conserva- 19 tion need and the habitat of such species; and 20 ‘‘(J) may be used to conserve and restore 21 a native pollinator species which is a species of 22 greatest conservation need. 23 ‘‘(5) MINIMUM REQUIRED SPENDING FOR EN- 24 DANGERED SPECIES RECOVERY.—Not less than an 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:17 Jun 16, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2773.PCS H2773 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 9 HR 2773 PCS average of 15 percent over a 5-year period of 1 amounts apportioned to a State, territory, or the 2 District of Columbia from the Subaccount shall be 3 used for purposes described in paragraph (4)(C). 4 The Secretary may reduce the minimum requirement 5 of a State, territory, or the District of Columbia on 6 an annual basis if the Secretary determines that the 7 State, territory, or the District of Columbia is meet- 8 ing the conservation and recovery needs of all spe- 9 cies described in paragraph (4)(C). 10 ‘‘(6) PUBLIC ACCESS TO PRIVATE LANDS NOT 11 REQUIRED.—Funds apportioned from the Sub- 12 account shall not be conditioned upon the provision 13 of public access to private lands, waters, or holdings. 14 ‘‘(7) REQUIREMENTS FOR MATCHING FUNDS.— 15 ‘‘(A) For the purposes of the non-Federal 16 fund matching requirement for a wildlife con- 17 servation or restoration program or project 18 funded by the Subaccount, a State, territory, or 19 the District of Columbia may use as matching 20 non-Federal funds— 21 ‘‘(i) funds from Federal agencies 22 other than the Department of the Interior 23 and the Department of Agriculture; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:17 Jun 16, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2773.PCS H2773 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 10 HR 2773 PCS ‘‘(ii) donated private lands and 1 waters, including privately owned ease- 2 ments; 3 ‘‘(iii) in circumstances described in 4 subparagraph (B), revenue generated 5 through the sale of State hunting and fish- 6 ing licenses; and 7 ‘‘(iv) other sources consistent with 8 part 80 of title 50, Code of Federal Regu- 9 lations, in effect on the date of enactment 10 of the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act of 11 2022. 12 ‘‘(B) Revenue described in subparagraph 13 (A)(iii) may only be used to fulfill the require- 14 ments of such non-Federal fund matching re- 15 quirement if— 16 ‘‘(i) no Federal funds apportioned to 17 the State fish and wildlife department of 18 such State from the Wildlife Restoration 19 Program or the Sport Fish Restoration 20 Program have been reverted because of a 21 failure to fulfill such non-Federal fund 22 matching requirement by such State dur- 23 ing the previous 2 years; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:17 Jun 16, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2773.PCS H2773 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 11 HR 2773 PCS ‘‘(ii) the project or program being 1 funded benefits the habitat of a hunted or 2 fished species and a species of greatest 3 conservation need. 4 ‘‘(8) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection, the fol- 5 lowing definitions apply: 6 ‘‘(A) PARTNERSHIPS.—The term ‘partner- 7 ships’ may include collaborative efforts with 8 Federal agencies, State agencies, local agencies, 9 Indian Tribes, nonprofit organizations, aca- 10 demic institutions, industry groups, and private 11 individuals to implement a State’s Wildlife Con- 12 servation Strategy. 13 ‘‘(B) SPECIES OF GREATEST CONSERVA- 14 TION NEED.—The term ‘species of greatest con- 15 servation need’ may be fauna or flora, and may 16 include terrestrial, aquatic, marine, and inverte- 17 brate species that are of low population, declin- 18 ing, rare, or facing threats and in need of con- 19 servation attention, as determined by each 20 State fish and wildlife department, with respect 21 to funds apportioned to such State. 22 ‘‘(C) TERRITORY AND TERRITORIES.—The 23 terms ‘territory’ and ‘territories’ mean the 24 Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, Amer- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:17 Jun 16, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2773.PCS H2773 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 12 HR 2773 PCS ican Samoa, the Commonwealth of the North- 1 ern Mariana Islands, and the United States 2 Virgin Islands. 3 ‘‘(D) WILDLIFE.—The term ‘wildlife’ 4 means any species of wild, freeranging fauna, 5 including fish, and also fauna in captive breed- 6 ing programs the object of which is to reintro- 7 duce individuals of a depleted indigenous spe- 8 cies into previously occupied range.’’. 9 (b) Section 3 of the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Res- 10 toration Act (16 U.S.C. 669b) is amended by adding at 11 the end the following: 12 ‘‘(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS TO IN- 13 SPECTOR GENERAL.—There is authorized to be appro- 14 priated to the Office of the Inspector General of the De- 15 partment of the Interior 1⁄2 of 1 percent of the amounts 16 made available under subsection (c) for the purposes of 17 providing oversight and accountability with respect to ex- 18 penditure of funds authorized under such subsection, to 19 remain available until September 30, 2029.’’. 20 (c) ALLOCATION AND APPORTIONMENT OF AVAIL- 21 ABLE AMOUNTS.—Section 4 of the Pittman-Robertson 22 Wildlife Restoration Act (16 U.S.C. 669c) is amended— 23 (1) in subsection (d)— 24 (A) in paragraph (1)— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:17 Jun 16, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2773.PCS H2773 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 13 HR 2773 PCS (i) in subparagraph (A), by striking 1 ‘‘to the District of Columbia and to the 2 Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, each’’ and 3 inserting ‘‘To the District of Columbia’’; 4 (ii) in subparagraph (B)— 5 (I) by striking ‘‘to Guam’’ and 6 inserting ‘‘To Guam’’; and 7 (II) by striking ‘‘not more than 8 one-fourth of one percent’’ and insert- 9 ing ‘‘not less than one-third of one 10 percent’’; and 11 (iii) by adding at the end the fol- 12 lowing: 13 ‘‘(C) To the Commonwealth of Puerto 14 Rico, a sum equal to not less than 1 percent 15 thereof.’’; [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]