[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4995 Introduced in House (IH)]
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117th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 4995
To require the Secretary of the Interior to establish Tribal Wildlife
Corridors, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
August 10, 2021
Mr. Gallego introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on
Agriculture, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker,
in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the
jurisdiction of the committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require the Secretary of the Interior to establish Tribal Wildlife
Corridors, 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 ``Tribal Wildlife Corridors Act of
2021''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Indian tribe.--The term ``Indian Tribe'' has the
meaning given the term in section 4 of the Indian Self-
Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304).
(2) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of the Interior, acting through the Director of the United
States Fish and Wildlife Service, in consultation with the
Director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
SEC. 3. TRIBAL WILDLIFE CORRIDORS.
(a) Establishment.--
(1) In general.--
(A) Nominations.--An Indian Tribe may nominate a
corridor within the boundaries of the land of the
Indian Tribe as a Tribal Wildlife Corridor by
submitting to the Secretary an application at such
time, in such manner, and containing such information
as the Secretary may require.
(B) Determination.--Not later than 90 days after
the date on which the Secretary receives an application
under subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall determine
whether the nominated Tribal Wildlife Corridor
described in the application meets the criteria
established under paragraph (2).
(C) Publication.--On approval of an application
under subparagraph (B), the Secretary shall publish in
the Federal Register a notice of the establishment of
the Tribal Wildlife Corridor, which shall include a map
and legal description of the land designated as a
Tribal Wildlife Corridor.
(2) Criteria.--
(A) In general.--Not later than 18 months after the
date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall
establish criteria for determining whether a corridor
nominated by an Indian Tribe under paragraph (1)(A)
qualifies as a Tribal Wildlife Corridor.
(B) Inclusions.--The criteria established under
subparagraph (A) shall include, at a minimum, the
following:
(i) The restoration of historical habitat
for the purposes of facilitating connectivity.
(ii) The management of land for the
purposes of facilitating connectivity.
(iii) The management of land to prevent the
imposition of barriers that may hinder current
or future connectivity.
(3) Removal.--
(A) In general.--An Indian Tribe may elect to
remove the designation of a Tribal Wildlife Corridor on
the land of the Indian Tribe by notifying the
Secretary.
(B) Effect of removal.--An Indian Tribe that elects
to remove a designation under subparagraph (A) may not
receive assistance under subsection (c) or (d).
(b) Coordination of Land Use Plans.--Section 202 of the Federal
Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1712) is amended--
(1) in subsection (b)--
(A) by striking ``Indian tribes by'' and inserting
the following: ``Indian Tribes--
``(1) by'';
(B) in paragraph (1) (as so designated), by
striking the period at the end and inserting ``; and'';
and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(2) for the purposes of determining whether the land use
plans for land in the National Forest System would provide
additional connectivity to benefit the purposes of a Tribal
Wildlife Corridor established under section 3(a)(1) of the
Tribal Wildlife Corridors Act of 2021.''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(g) Tribal Wildlife Corridors.--On the establishment of a Tribal
Wildlife Corridor under section 3(a)(1) of the Tribal Wildlife
Corridors Act of 2021, the Secretary shall conduct a meaningful
consultation with the Indian Tribe that administers the Tribal Wildlife
Corridor to determine whether, through the revision of 1 or more
existing land use plans, the Tribal Wildlife Corridor can--
``(1) be expanded into public lands; or
``(2) otherwise benefit connectivity between public lands
and the Tribal Wildlife Corridor.''.
(c) Technical Assistance.--The Secretary shall provide to Indian
Tribes technical assistance relating to the establishment, management,
and expansion of a Tribal Wildlife Corridor, including assistance with
accessing wildlife data and working with voluntary private landowners
to access Federal and State programs to improve wildlife habitat and
connectivity on non-Federal land.
(d) Availability of Assistance.--
(1) Tribal wildlife corridors grant program.--
(A) Establishment.--The Secretary shall establish a
Tribal Wildlife Corridors grant program (referred to in
this subsection as the ``program'') to encourage
wildlife movement in accordance with this section.
(B) Grants.--Beginning not later than 3 years after
the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall
make grants under the program to 1 or more Indian
Tribes to increase connectivity through Tribal Wildlife
Corridors.
(2) Authorization of appropriations.--There is authorized
to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry out the program
$50,000,000 for fiscal year 2022 and each fiscal year
thereafter.
(e) Savings Clause.--Nothing in this section authorizes or affects
the use of private property or Indian land.
SEC. 4. PROTECTION OF INDIAN TRIBES.
(a) Federal Trust Responsibility.--Nothing in this Act or an
amendment made by this Act amends, alters, or waives the Federal trust
responsibility to Indian Tribes.
(b) Freedom of Information Act.--
(1) Exemption.--Information described in paragraph (2)
shall not be subject to disclosure under section 552 of title
5, United States Code (commonly known as the ``Freedom of
Information Act''), if the head of the agency that receives the
information, in consultation with the Secretary and the
affected Indian Tribe, determines that disclosure may--
(A) cause a significant invasion of privacy;
(B) risk harm to human remains or resources,
cultural items, uses, or activities; or
(C) impede the use of a traditional religious site
by practitioners.
(2) Information described.--Information referred to in
paragraph (1) is information received by a Federal agency--
(A) pursuant to this Act or an amendment made by
this Act relating to--
(i) the location, character, or ownership
of human remains of a person of Indian
ancestry; or
(ii) resources, cultural items, uses, or
activities identified by an Indian Tribe as
traditional or cultural because of the long-
established significance or ceremonial nature
to the Indian Tribe; or
(B) pursuant to the Native American Graves
Protection and Repatriation Act (25 U.S.C. 3001 et
seq.).
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