[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2950 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]
H.R.2950
One Hundred Eighteenth Congress
of the
United States of America
AT THE SECOND SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Wednesday,
the third day of January, two thousand and twenty-four
An Act
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 landscapes that provide fish and wildlife
habitat on which certain 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
2023''.
SEC. 2. PURPOSE.
The purpose of this Act is to legislatively authorize the Coastal
Program of the Service in effect as of the date of the enactment of
this Act to conduct collaborative landscape-level planning and on-the-
ground coastal habitat assessment, coastal habitat protection, coastal
habitat restoration, and coastal habitat enhancement projects in
priority coastal landscapes to conserve and recover Federal trust
species.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Coastal ecosystem.--The term ``coastal ecosystem'' means a
biological community of organisms interacting with each other and
their habitats in a coastal landscape.
(2) 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.
(3) 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.
(4) 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.
(5) Coastal habitat protection.--
(A) In general.--The term ``coastal habitat protection''
means a long-term action to safeguard habitat of value to fish
and wildlife in a coastal ecosystem.
(B) Inclusion.--The term ``coastal habitat protection''
includes activities to support establishment of a conservation
easement or fee title acquisition by Federal and non-Federal
partners.
(6) 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.
(7) Coastal landscape.--The term ``coastal landscape'' means a
portion of a coastal ecosystem within or adjacent to a coastal
State that contains various habitat types, including--
(A) a fresh or saltwater wetland in a coastal watershed;
(B) a coastal river, stream, or waterway;
(C) a coastal bay or estuary;
(D) a seagrass bed, reef, or other nearshore marine
habitat;
(E) a beach or dune system;
(F) a mangrove forest; and
(G) an associated coastal upland.
(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 District of Columbia;
(C) the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico;
(D) Guam;
(E) American Samoa;
(F) the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands;
(G) the Federated States of Micronesia;
(H) the Republic of the Marshall Islands;
(I) the Republic of Palau; and
(J) the United States Virgin Islands.
(9) Federal trust species.--The term ``Federal trust species''
means migratory birds, threatened species or endangered species
listed under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et
seq.), interjurisdictional fish, and marine mammals for which the
Secretary has management authority.
(10) Financial assistance.--The term ``financial assistance''
means Federal funding provided to Federal, State, local, or Tribal
governments, nongovernmental institutions, nonprofit organizations,
and private individuals and entities 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 coastal habitat planning, coastal habitat assessment, coastal
habitat protection, coastal habitat restoration, or coastal habitat
enhancement project or initiative in which the Service contributes
scientific knowledge, skills, and expertise to the project or
initiative.
SEC. 4. COASTAL PROGRAM.
The Secretary shall carry out the Coastal Program within the
Service to--
(1) identify the leading threats to priority coastal landscapes
and conservation actions to address those threats in partnership
with Federal, State, local, and Tribal governments, nongovernmental
institutions, nonprofit organizations, and private individuals and
entities;
(2) provide technical assistance and financial assistance
through partnerships with Federal, State, local, and Tribal
governments, nongovernmental institutions, nonprofit organizations,
and private individuals and entities to conduct voluntary coastal
habitat planning, coastal habitat assessment, coastal habitat
protection, coastal habitat restoration, and coastal habitat
enhancement projects on public land or private land;
(3) ensure the health and resilience of coastal ecosystems
through adaptive management procedures based on the best available
science;
(4) build the capacity of Federal, State, local, and Tribal
governments, nongovernmental institutions, nonprofit organizations,
and private individuals and entities to carry out environmental
conservation and stewardship measures;
(5) assist in the development and implementation of monitoring
protocols to ensure the success of coastal ecosystem restoration
and coastal ecosystem enhancement measures; and
(6) 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 the
enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Secretary, acting
through the Director of the Service, shall submit to the Committees on
Appropriations and Natural Resources of the House of Representatives
and the Committees on Appropriations and Environment and Public Works
of the Senate, 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
leading threats to priority coastal landscapes and conservation
actions to address those threats; 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 landscapes 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) a description of emerging challenges or data gaps that
hinder the ability of the Coastal Program to achieve the purpose of
this Act.
SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act
$16,957,000 for each of fiscal years 2024 through 2028.
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Vice President of the United States and
President of the Senate.