[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4092 Introduced in House (IH)]
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117th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 4092
To authorize the Secretary of the Interior, through the Coastal Program
of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, to work with willing
partners and provide support to efforts to assess, protect, restore,
and enhance important coastal areas that provide fish and wildlife
habitat on which Federal trust species depend, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 23, 2021
Mr. Huffman (for himself and Miss Gonzalez-Colon) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural
Resources
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To authorize the Secretary of the Interior, through the Coastal Program
of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, to work with willing
partners and provide support to efforts to assess, protect, restore,
and enhance important coastal areas that provide fish and wildlife
habitat on which Federal trust species depend, 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 ``Coastal Habitat Conservation Act of
2021''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.
(a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
(1) an effective means of conserving and recovering Federal
trust species and promoting self-sustaining populations of
those species is to protect, conserve, restore, and enhance the
habitats of the species;
(2) coastal ecosystems are highly dynamic areas that
provide valuable breeding, nursery, staging, and resting areas
for a rich diversity of fish, shellfish, migratory birds, and
mammals;
(3) coastal areas support--
(A) 40 percent of the refuges within the National
Wildlife Refuge System;
(B) 40 percent of the threatened species or
endangered species, including 75 percent of the listed
mammals and birds, under the Endangered Species Act of
1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.); and
(C) 50 percent of the fisheries conservation
activities of the Service;
(4) although coastal counties make up only 10 percent of
total contiguous United States land area, coastal areas are
home to more than 40 percent of the human population of the
United States, which is placing enormous pressure on coastal
ecosystems;
(5) because coastal deterioration can cause fragmentation
and landward migration of coastal ecosystems, as well as create
new habitats along shorelines, it has become necessary to
incorporate adaptation assistance into coastal ecosystem
management strategies;
(6) in addition to serving as fish and wildlife habitat,
coastal ecosystems--
(A) serve as an important source of food;
(B) protect coastal communities, including
infrastructure in those communities, against floods;
(C) filter polluted runoff; and
(D) provide valuable commercial and recreational
benefits to coastal communities and the United States;
(7)(A) fish and wildlife conservation is a responsibility
shared by citizens and government; and
(B) public-private partnerships should be supported through
technical assistance and financial assistance to conduct
coastal habitat assessment, protection, planning, restoration,
and enhancement projects in coastal ecosystems;
(8) successful fish and wildlife conservation increasingly
relies on interdependent partnerships in which priority
setting, planning, and conservation delivery are collaborative
endeavors;
(9) since 1985, the Service has administered the Coastal
Program through which the Service works with willing partners
to assess, protect, plan, restore, and enhance coastal
ecosystems, including coastal wetlands and watersheds, uplands,
and riparian and in-stream habitats, that provide significant
benefits to Federal trust species;
(10) through the Coastal Program, the Service provides
strategic conservation planning and design at the regional and
landscape scales, and integrates the resources of the Service
to address priorities identified by partners; and
(11) the Coastal Program of the Service complements and
enhances the National Coastal Wetlands Conservation Grant
Program under section 305 of the Coastal Wetlands Planning,
Protection and Restoration Act (16 U.S.C. 3954), which provides
matching grants to coastal States to support long-term
conservation of coastal wetlands and associated habitats.
(b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to legislatively authorize
the Coastal Program of the Service in effect as of the date of
enactment of this Act to conduct collaborative landscape-level planning
and on-the-ground coastal habitat protection, restoration, and
enhancement projects in priority coastal areas to conserve and recover
Federal trust species.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Coastal area.--The term ``coastal area'' means a marine
or freshwater area within or adjacent to a coastal State,
including--
(A) a coastal wetland or watershed;
(B) coastal water;
(C) a coastal bay;
(D) a coastline; and
(E) an estuary and associated upland.
(2) Coastal ecosystem.--The term ``coastal ecosystem''
means an ecological community that provides fish and wildlife
habitat in coastal areas.
(3) Coastal habitat assessment.--The term ``coastal habitat
assessment'' means the process of evaluating the physical,
chemical, and biological function of a coastal site to
determine the value of the site to fish and wildlife.
(4) Coastal habitat enhancement.--The term ``coastal
habitat enhancement'' means the manipulation of the physical,
chemical, or biological characteristics of a coastal ecosystem
to increase or decrease specific biological functions that make
the ecosystem valuable to fish and wildlife.
(5) Coastal habitat planning.--The term ``coastal habitat
planning'' means the process of developing a comprehensive plan
that--
(A) characterizes a coastal ecosystem;
(B) sets protection, restoration, or enhancement
goals, and identifies the priorities of those goals;
(C) describes conservation strategies and
methodologies;
(D) establishes a timetable for implementation of
the plan; and
(E) identifies roles of participants and
stakeholders.
(6) Coastal habitat protection.--
(A) In general.--The term ``coastal habitat
protection'' means a long-term action to safeguard
habitats of importance to fish and wildlife species in
a coastal ecosystem.
(B) Inclusion.--The term ``coastal habitat
protection'' includes activities to support
establishment of conservation easements or fee-title
acquisition by Federal and non-Federal partners.
(7) Coastal habitat restoration.--The term ``coastal
habitat restoration'' means the manipulation of the physical,
chemical, or biological characteristics of a coastal ecosystem
with the goal of returning, to the maximum extent practicable,
the full natural biological functions to lost or degraded
native habitat.
(8) Coastal state.--The term ``coastal State'' means--
(A) a State in, or bordering on, the Atlantic,
Pacific, or Arctic Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico, the Long
Island Sound, or 1 or more of the Great Lakes;
(B) the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico;
(C) Guam;
(D) American Samoa;
(E) the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana
Islands;
(F) the Federated States of Micronesia;
(G) the Republic of the Marshall Islands;
(H) the Republic of Palau; and
(I) the United States Virgin Islands.
(9) Federal trust species.--The term ``Federal trust
species'' means--
(A) 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.);
(B) a species of migratory bird;
(C) a species of interjurisdictional fish;
(D) any species of marine mammal, as identified by
the Secretary; and
(E) any other species of concern, as determined by
the Secretary.
(10) Financial assistance.--The term ``financial
assistance'' means Federal funding support provided to eligible
recipients through a grant or cooperative agreement.
(11) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of the Interior.
(12) Service.--The term ``Service'' means the United States
Fish and Wildlife Service.
(13) Technical assistance.--The term ``technical
assistance'' means a collaboration, facilitation, or consulting
action relating to a habitat protection, planning, restoration,
or enhancement project or initiative in which the Service
contributes scientific knowledge, skills, and expertise to a
project or program.
SEC. 4. COASTAL PROGRAM.
The Secretary shall carry out the Coastal Program within the
Service--
(1) to identify the most important natural resource
problems and solutions in priority coastal ecosystems in
partnership with--
(A) Federal, State, local, and Tribal governments;
(B) nongovernmental institutions;
(C) nonprofit organizations;
(D) private individuals; and
(E) corporations;
(2) to provide technical assistance and financial
assistance through partnerships with Federal, State, local, and
Tribal governments, nongovernmental institutions, nonprofit
organizations, private individuals, and corporations to conduct
voluntary coastal habitat assessment, protection, planning,
restoration, and enhancement projects on public land or private
land;
(3) to ensure the health and resilience of coastal
ecosystems through adaptive management procedures based on the
best available science;
(4) to build the capacity of Federal, State, local, and
Tribal governments, nongovernmental institutions, nonprofit
organizations, private individuals, and corporations to carry
out environmental conservation and stewardship measures;
(5) to assist in the development and implementation of
monitoring protocols to ensure the success of coastal ecosystem
restoration and enhancement measures; and
(6) to collaborate and share information with partners and
the public relating to best management practices for the
conservation, restoration, and enhancement of coastal
ecosystems.
SEC. 5. REPORTS.
(a) In General.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment
of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Secretary, acting through the
Director of the Service, shall submit to the Committees on
Appropriations and Environment and Public Works of the Senate and the
Committees on Appropriations and Natural Resources of the House of
Representatives, and make available to the public on the website of the
Service, a report on the Coastal Program carried out under this Act.
(b) Requirements.--Each report submitted under subsection (a) shall
assess on regional and nationwide bases--
(1) Coastal Program work on coastal ecosystems;
(2) progress made by the Coastal Program toward identifying
the most important natural resource problems and solutions in
priority ecosystems; and
(3) prospects for, and success of, protecting, restoring,
and enhancing coastal ecosystems.
(c) Inclusions.--Each report submitted under subsection (a) shall
include--
(1) quantitative information on coastal areas protected,
restored, or enhanced;
(2) funds appropriated to the Coastal Program that have
been expended or leveraged;
(3) a description of adaptive management practices
implemented; and
(4) recommendations, if any, for additional research,
management, or legislation needed to fully--
(A) address problems and implement solutions in
coastal ecosystems; and
(B) achieve the objectives of this Act.
SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act--
(1) $20,000,000 for fiscal year 2022;
(2) $21,250,000 for fiscal year 2023;
(3) $22,500,000 for fiscal year 2024;
(4) $23,750,000 for fiscal year 2025; and
(5) $25,000,000 for fiscal year 2026.
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