Wildlife Corridors Conservation Act of 2019

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1499 To establish National Wildlife Corridors to provide for the protection and restoration of certain native fish, wildlife, and plant species, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 16, 2019 Mr. UDALL (for himself, Mr. BOOKER, Ms. HARRIS, Mr. MERKLEY, Mr. WYDEN, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. SANDERS, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, Mr. TESTER, and Mrs. FEINSTEIN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works A BILL To establish National Wildlife Corridors to provide for the protection and restoration of certain native fish, wildlife, and plant species, 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 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘Wildlife Corridors Conservation Act of 2019’’. 5 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 6 this Act is as follows: 7 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:44 May 25, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\S1499.IS S1499 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1499 IS Sec. 2. Findings and purposes. Sec. 3. Definitions. TITLE I—NATIONAL WILDLIFE CORRIDOR SYSTEM ON FEDERAL LAND AND WATER Sec. 101. National Wildlife Corridors. Sec. 102. Administrative designation of National Wildlife Corridors. Sec. 103. Management of National Wildlife Corridors. Sec. 104. Collaboration and coordination. Sec. 105. Effect. TITLE II—TRIBAL WILDLIFE CORRIDORS Sec. 201. Tribal Wildlife Corridors. Sec. 202. Protection of Indian tribes. TITLE III—WILDLIFE MOVEMENT GRANT PROGRAM ON NON- FEDERAL LAND AND WATER Sec. 301. Wildlife movements grant program. Sec. 302. National Coordination Committee. Sec. 303. Regional wildlife movement councils. TITLE IV—NATIONAL WILDLIFE CORRIDORS DATABASE Sec. 401. National wildlife corridors database. TITLE V—FUNDING Sec. 501. Wildlife Corridors Stewardship Fund. Sec. 502. Working landscapes. Sec. 503. Authorization of appropriations. SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 1 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 2 (1) the native fish, wildlife, and plant species in 3 the United States are part of a rich natural heritage 4 and an important legacy to pass on to future genera- 5 tions; 6 (2) the populations of many native fish, wildlife, 7 and plant species in the United States are in decline; 8 (3) scientists estimate that 1 in 5 animal and 9 plant species in the United States is at risk of ex- 10 tinction, and many species are declining in numbers; 11 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:44 May 25, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1499.IS S1499 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1499 IS (4) threats to the survival and diversity of 1 many native fish, wildlife, and plant species in the 2 United States include the loss, degradation, frag- 3 mentation, and obstruction of natural habitats; 4 (5) climate change threatens native fish, wild- 5 life, and plant species; 6 (6) the 2019 global assessment report from the 7 Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Bio- 8 diversity and Ecosystem Services found that— 9 (A) 1,000,000 wildlife and plant species 10 worldwide are now threatened with extinction; 11 and 12 (B) 75 percent of the land-based environ- 13 ment, and approximately 66 percent of the ma- 14 rine environment, have been significantly al- 15 tered by human actions; 16 (7) the conservation of new and existing land- 17 scape and seascape corridors, through which native 18 species can transition from 1 habitat to another, 19 plays an important role in helping— 20 (A) to conserve native biodiversity; and 21 (B) to ensure resiliency against impacts 22 from a range of biotic and abiotic stressors; 23 (8) the conservation, restoration, and establish- 24 ment of new ecological connections to facilitate the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:44 May 25, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1499.IS S1499 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 1499 IS movement of species into more suitable habitats is a 1 key climate change adaptation strategy; 2 (9) the protection of new and existing corridors 3 is often one of the first steps in restoration and re- 4 covery planning; 5 (10) States have recognized the importance of 6 habitat connectivity, including— 7 (A) a New England Governors and East- 8 ern Canadian Premiers’ Conference on the im- 9 portance of connectivity for ecosystem adapt- 10 ability and resilience, biodiversity, and human 11 communities; and 12 (B) an expired 2007 policy resolution of 13 the Western Governors’ Association; 14 (11) the strategic plan of the United States 15 Fish and Wildlife Service to respond to accelerating 16 climate change entitled ‘‘Rising to the Urgent Chal- 17 lenge’’ acknowledges that ‘‘processes such as polli- 18 nation, seed dispersal, nutrient cycling, natural dis- 19 turbance cycles, predator-prey relations, and others 20 must be part of the natural landscapes we seek to 21 maintain or restore . . . and are likely to function 22 more optimally in landscapes composed of large 23 habitat blocks connected by well-placed corridors’’; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:44 May 25, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1499.IS S1499 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 1499 IS (12) Federal and State agencies continue to de- 1 velop policies to address— 2 (A) the importance of conserving fish, 3 wildlife, and plant corridors; 4 (B) the gap between science and manage- 5 ment for at-risk species; and 6 (C) ecological connectivity; and 7 (13) Federal policies consistently recognize the 8 importance of voluntary improvement projects by 9 private landowners to habitat conservation and res- 10 toration for native species. 11 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are— 12 (1) to support a diverse array of native species, 13 including species protected under Federal, State, 14 and Tribal law, that have experienced or may experi- 15 ence habitat loss, degradation, fragmentation, or ob- 16 struction to connectivity; 17 (2) to provide long-term habitat connectivity for 18 native species migration, dispersal, adaptation to cli- 19 mate and other environmental change, and genetic 20 exchange; 21 (3) to help restore wildlife movements that have 22 been disrupted by habitat loss, degradation, frag- 23 mentation, or obstruction; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:44 May 25, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1499.IS S1499 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 1499 IS (4) to facilitate coordinated landscape- and 1 seascape-scale connectivity planning and manage- 2 ment across jurisdictions; and 3 (5) to support State, Tribal, local, voluntary 4 private landowner, and Federal agency decision- 5 makers in the planning and development of National 6 Wildlife Corridors. 7 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 8 In this Act: 9 (1) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CON- 10 GRESS.—The term ‘‘appropriate committees of Con- 11 gress’’ means— 12 (A) the Committee on Energy and Natural 13 Resources of the Senate; 14 (B) the Committee on Environment and 15 Public Works of the Senate; 16 (C) the Committee on Appropriations of 17 the Senate; 18 (D) the Committee on Energy and Com- 19 merce of the House of Representatives; 20 (E) the Committee on Natural Resources 21 of the House of Representatives; and 22 (F) the Committee on Appropriations of 23 the House of Representatives. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:44 May 25, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1499.IS S1499 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 1499 IS (2) CONNECTIVITY.—The term ‘‘connectivity’’ 1 means the degree to which the landscape or seascape 2 facilitates native species movement. 3 (3) CORRIDOR.—The term ‘‘corridor’’ means a 4 feature of the landscape or seascape that— 5 (A) provides habitat or ecological 6 connectivity; and 7 (B) allows for native species movement or 8 dispersal. 9 (4) DATABASE.—The term ‘‘Database’’ means 10 the National Wildlife Corridors Database established 11 under section 401(a). 12 (5) FEDERAL LAND OR WATER.—The term 13 ‘‘Federal land or water’’ means any land or water, 14 or interest in land or water, owned by the United 15 States. 16 (6) FUND.—The term ‘‘Fund’’ means the Wild- 17 life Corridors Stewardship Fund established by sec- 18 tion 501(a). 19 (7) HABITAT.—The term ‘‘habitat’’ means 20 land, water, and substrate occupied at any time dur- 21 ing the life cycle of a native species that is nec- 22 essary, with respect to the native species, for spawn- 23 ing, breeding, feeding, growth to maturity, or migra- 24 tion. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:44 May 25, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1499.IS S1499 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 1499 IS (8) INDIAN LAND.—The term ‘‘Indian land’’ 1 means land of an Indian tribe, or an Indian indi- 2 vidual, that is— 3 (A) held in trust by the United States; or 4 (B) subject to a restriction against alien- 5 ation imposed by the United States. 6 (9) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ 7 has the meaning given the term in section 4 of the 8 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 9 Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). 10 (10) NATIONAL COORDINATION COMMITTEE.— 11 The term ‘‘National Coordination Committee’’ 12 means the National Coordination Committee estab- 13 lished under section 302(a). 14 (11) NATIONAL WILDLIFE CORRIDOR.—The 15 term ‘‘National Wildlife Corridor’’ means any Fed- 16 eral land or water designated as a National Wildlife 17 Corridor under section 101(a). 18 (12) NATIONAL WILDLIFE CORRIDOR SYS- 19 TEM.—The term ‘‘National Wildlife Corridor Sys- 20 tem’’ means the system of National Wildlife Cor- 21 ridors established by section 101(a). 22 (13) NATIVE SPECIES.—The term ‘‘native spe- 23 cies’’ means— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:44 May 25, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1499.IS S1499 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 1499 IS (A) an indigenous fish, wildlife, or plant 1 species of the United States, including sub- 2 species and plant varieties; 3 (B) a fish, wildlife, or plant species not in- 4 digenous to the United States that the Sec- 5 retary determines to be— 6 (i) noninvasive; or 7 (ii) beneficial to the biodiversity of the 8 natural ecosystem; and 9 (C) a migratory bird species that is native 10 to the United States or its territories (as de- 11 fined in section 2(b) of the Migratory Bird 12 Treaty Act (16 U.S.C. 703(b))). 13 (14) REGIONAL OCEAN PARTNERSHIP.—The 14 term ‘‘regional ocean partnership’’ means a regional 15 organization of coastal or Great Lakes States, terri- 16 tories, or possessions voluntarily convened by Gov- 17 ernors to address cross-jurisdictional ocean matters, 18 or the functional equivalent of such a regional ocean 19 organization designated by the Governor or Gov- 20 ernors of a State or States. 21 (15) REGIONAL WILDLIFE MOVEMENT COUN- 22 CIL.—The term ‘‘regional wildlife movement council’’ 23 means a regional wildlife movement council estab- 24 lished under section 303(a). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:44 May 25, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1499.IS S1499 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 1499 IS (16) SECRETARIES.—The term ‘‘Secretaries’’ 1 means— 2 (A) the Secretary of Agriculture; 3 (B) the Secretary of Commerce; 4 (C) the Secretary of Defense; 5 (D) the Secretary of the Interior; and 6 (E) the Secretary of Transportation. 7 (17) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 8 means the Secretary of the Interior, acting through 9 the Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife 10 Service. 11 (18) TRIBAL WILDLIFE CORRIDOR.—The term 12 ‘‘Tribal Wildlife Corridor’’ means a corridor estab- 13 lished by the Secretary under section 201(a)(1)(C). 14 (19) UNITED STATES.—The term ‘‘United 15 States’’, when used in a geographical sense, 16 means— 17 (A) a State; 18 (B) the District of Columbia; 19 (C) the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; 20 (D) Guam; 21 (E) American Samoa; 22 (F) the Commonwealth of the Northern 23 Mariana Islands; 24 (G) the Federated States of Micronesia; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:44 May 25, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1499.IS S1499 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 1499 IS (H) the Republic of the Marshall Islands; 1 (I) the Republic of Palau; 2 (J) the United States Virgin Islands; and 3 (K) the territorial sea (within the meaning 4 of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation 5 and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.)) 6 and the exclusive economic zone (as defined in 7 section 3 of that Act (16 U.S.C. 1802)) within 8 the jurisdiction or sovereignty of the Federal 9 Government. 10 (20) WILDLIFE MOVEMENT.—The term ‘‘wild- 11 life movement’’ means the passage of individual 12 members or populations of a fish, wildlife, or plant 13 species across a landscape or seascape. 14 TITLE I—NATIONAL WILDLIFE 15 CORRIDOR SYSTEM ON FED- 16 ERAL LAND AND WATER 17 SEC. 101. NATIONAL WILDLIFE CORRIDORS. 18 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a system 19 of corridors on Federal land and water, to be known as 20 the ‘‘National Wildlife Corridor System’’, which shall con- 21 sist of National Wildlife Corridors designated as part of 22 the National Wildlife Corridor System by— 23 (1) statute; 24 (2) rulemaking under section 102; or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:44 May 25, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1499.IS S1499 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 1499 IS (3) a land management plan developed or re- 1 vised under section 202 of the Federal Land Policy 2 and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1712). 3 (b) STRATEGY.—Not later than 18 months after the 4 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall develop 5 a strategy for the effective development of the National 6 Wildlife Corridor System— 7 (1) to support the fulfillment of the purposes 8 described in section 2(b); 9 (2) to ensure coordination and consistency 10 across Federal agencies in the development, imple- 11 mentation, and management of National Wildlife 12 Corridors; and 13 (3) to develop a timeline for the implementation 14 of National Wildlife Corridors. 15 SEC. 102. ADMINISTRATIVE DESIGNATION OF NATIONAL 16 WILDLIFE CORRIDORS. 17 (a) RULEMAKING.— 18 (1) NATIONAL WILDLIFE CORRIDORS.—Not 19 later than 2 years after the date of enactment of 20 this Act, the Secretary, in consultation with the Sec- 21 retaries, pursuant to the land, water, and resource 22 management planning and conservation authorities 23 of the Secretaries, shall establish a process, by regu- 24 lation, for the designation and manage [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]