Recovering America’s Wildlife Act of 2023

II 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1149 To amend the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act to make supple- mental funds available for management of fish and wildlife species of greatest conservation need as determined by State fish and wildlife agen- cies, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MARCH 30, 2023 Mr. HEINRICH (for himself and Mr. TILLIS) 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 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 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Recovering America’s 4 Wildlife Act of 2023’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:02 Apr 13, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1149.IS S1149 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1149 IS SEC. 2. STATEMENT OF PURPOSE. 1 The purpose of this Act is to extend financial and 2 technical assistance to States, territories, the District of 3 Columbia, and Indian Tribes, including under the Pitt- 4 man-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act (16 U.S.C. 669 5 et seq.), for the purpose of avoiding the need to list spe- 6 cies, or recovering species currently listed as a threatened 7 species or an endangered species, under the Endangered 8 Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) or under 9 State law. 10 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS RELATING TO OFFSETS. 11 It is the sense of Congress that the costs of carrying 12 out this Act, and the amendments made by this Act, shall 13 be offset. 14 TITLE I—WILDLIFE CONSERVA- 15 TION AND RESTORATION 16 SEC. 101. WILDLIFE CONSERVATION AND RESTORATION 17 SUBACCOUNT. 18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 3 of the Pittman-Robert- 19 son Wildlife Restoration Act (16 U.S.C. 669b) is amended 20 in subsection (c)— 21 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (2) and (3) as 22 paragraphs (9) and (10); and 23 (2) by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the 24 following: 25 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT OF SUBACCOUNT.— 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:02 Apr 13, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1149.IS S1149 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1149 IS ‘‘(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 2024, 14 $850,000,000; 15 ‘‘(ii) for fiscal year 2025, 16 $1,100,000,000; 17 ‘‘(iii) for fiscal year 2026, 18 $1,200,000,000; and 19 ‘‘(iv) for fiscal year 2027, and each 20 fiscal 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 03:02 Apr 13, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1149.IS S1149 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 1149 IS ‘‘(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, or to regional associations of fish and 12 wildlife departments (or any group composed of 13 more than 1 such entity). 14 ‘‘(B) PURPOSE.—Such grants shall be pro- 15 vided for the purpose of catalyzing innovation 16 of techniques, tools, strategies, or collaborative 17 partnerships that accelerate, expand, or rep- 18 licate effective and measurable recovery efforts 19 for species of greatest conservation need and 20 species listed under the Endangered Species Act 21 of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and the habi- 22 tats of such species. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:02 Apr 13, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1149.IS S1149 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 1149 IS ‘‘(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 2024, 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 03:02 Apr 13, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1149.IS S1149 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •S 1149 IS 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 2023 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 03:02 Apr 13, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1149.IS S1149 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •S 1149 IS 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 ‘‘(F) may be used to manage, control, and 24 prevent invasive species, disease, and other 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:02 Apr 13, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1149.IS S1149 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •S 1149 IS risks to species of greatest conservation need; 1 and 2 ‘‘(G) may be used for law enforcement ac- 3 tivities that are directly related to the protec- 4 tion and conservation of a species of greatest 5 conservation need and the habitat of such spe- 6 cies. 7 ‘‘(5) MINIMUM REQUIRED SPENDING FOR EN- 8 DANGERED SPECIES RECOVERY.—Not less than an 9 average of 15 percent over a 5-year period of 10 amounts apportioned to a State, territory, or the 11 District of Columbia from the Subaccount shall be 12 used for purposes described in paragraph (4)(C). 13 The Secretary may reduce the minimum requirement 14 of a State, territory, or the District of Columbia on 15 an annual basis if the Secretary determines that the 16 State, territory, or the District of Columbia is meet- 17 ing the conservation and recovery needs of all spe- 18 cies described in paragraph (4)(C). 19 ‘‘(6) PUBLIC ACCESS TO PRIVATE LANDS NOT 20 REQUIRED.—Funds apportioned from the Sub- 21 account shall not be conditioned upon the provision 22 of public access to private lands, waters, or holdings. 23 ‘‘(7) REQUIREMENTS FOR MATCHING FUNDS.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:02 Apr 13, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1149.IS S1149 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •S 1149 IS ‘‘(A) For the purposes of the non-Federal 1 fund matching requirement for a wildlife con- 2 servation or restoration program or project 3 funded by the Subaccount, a State, territory, or 4 the District of Columbia may use as matching 5 non-Federal funds— 6 ‘‘(i) funds from Federal agencies 7 other than the Department of the Interior 8 and the Department of Agriculture; 9 ‘‘(ii) donated private lands and 10 waters, including privately owned ease- 11 ments; 12 ‘‘(iii) in circumstances described in 13 subparagraph (B), revenue generated 14 through the sale of State hunting and fish- 15 ing licenses; and 16 ‘‘(iv) other sources consistent with 17 part 80 of title 50, Code of Federal Regu- 18 lations, in effect on the date of enactment 19 of the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act of 20 2023. 21 ‘‘(B) Revenue described in subparagraph 22 (A)(iii) may only be used to fulfill the require- 23 ments of such non-Federal fund matching re- 24 quirement if— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:02 Apr 13, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1149.IS S1149 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •S 1149 IS ‘‘(i) no Federal funds apportioned to 1 the State fish and wildlife department of 2 such State from the Wildlife Restoration 3 Program or the Sport Fish Restoration 4 Program have been reverted because of a 5 failure to fulfill such non-Federal fund 6 matching requirement by such State dur- 7 ing the previous 2 years; and 8 ‘‘(ii) the project or program being 9 funded benefits the habitat of a hunted or 10 fished species and a species of greatest 11 conservation need. 12 ‘‘(8) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection, the fol- 13 lowing definitions apply: 14 ‘‘(A) PARTNERSHIPS.—The term ‘partner- 15 ships’ may include collaborative efforts with 16 Federal agencies, State agencies, local agencies, 17 Indian Tribes, nonprofit organizations, aca- 18 demic institutions, industry groups, and private 19 individuals to implement a State’s Wildlife Con- 20 servation Strategy. 21 ‘‘(B) SPECIES OF GREATEST CONSERVA- 22 TION NEED.—The term ‘species of greatest con- 23 servation need’ may be fauna or flora, and may 24 include terrestrial, aquatic, marine, and inverte- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:02 Apr 13, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1149.IS S1149 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •S 1149 IS brate species that are of low population, declin- 1 ing, rare, or facing threats and in need of con- 2 servation attention, as determined by each 3 State fish and wildlife department, with respect 4 to funds apportioned to such State. 5 ‘‘(C) TERRITORY AND TERRITORIES.—The 6 terms ‘territory’ and ‘territories’ mean the 7 Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, Amer- 8 ican Samoa, the Commonwealth of the North- 9 ern Mariana Islands, and the United States 10 Virgin Islands. 11 ‘‘(D) WILDLIFE.—The term ‘wildlife’ 12 means any species of wild, freeranging fauna, 13 including fish, and also fauna in captive breed- 14 ing programs the object of which is to reintro- 15 duce individuals of a depleted indigenous spe- 16 cies into previously occupied range.’’. 17 (b) ALLOCATION AND APPORTIONMENT OF AVAIL- 18 ABLE AMOUNTS.—Section 4 of the Pittman-Robertson 19 Wildlife Restoration Act (16 U.S.C. 669c) is amended— 20 (1) in subsection (d)— 21 (A) in paragraph (1)— 22 (i) in subparagraph (A), by striking 23 ‘‘to the District of Columbia and to the 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:02 Apr 13, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1149.IS S1149 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •S 1149 IS Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, each’’ and 1 inserting ‘‘To the District of Columbia’’; 2 (ii) in subparagraph (B)— 3 (I) by striking ‘‘to Guam’’ and 4 inserting ‘‘To Guam’’; and 5 (II) by striking ‘‘not more than 6 one-fourth of one percent’’ and insert- 7 ing ‘‘not less than one-third of one 8 percent’’; and 9 (iii) by adding at the end the fol- 10 lowing: 11 ‘‘(C) To the Commonwealth of Puerto 12 Rico, a sum equal to not less than 1 percent 13 thereof.’’; 14 (B) in paragraph (2)(A)— 15 (i) by amending clause (i) to read as 16 follows: 17 ‘‘(i) one-half of which is based on the ratio 18 to which the land and water area of such State 19 bears to the total land and water area of all 20 such States;’’; 21 (ii) in clause (ii)— 22 (I) by striking ‘‘two-thirds’’ and 23 inserting ‘‘one-quarter’’; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:02 Apr 13, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1149.IS S1149 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 13 •S 1149 IS (II) by striking the period and 1 inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 2 (iii) by adding at the end the fol- 3 lowing: 4 ‘‘(iii) one-quarter of which is based upon 5 the ratio to which the number of species listed 6 as endangered or threatened under the Endan- 7 gered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et 8 seq.) in such State bears to the total number of 9 such species listed in all such States.’’; 10 (C) by amending paragraph (2)(B) to read 11 as follows: 12 ‘‘(B) The amo [Text truncated for display. 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