[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4219 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4219

   To direct the Secretary of the Interior to establish the National 
      Wildlife Refuge System Invasive Species Strike Team Program.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 27, 2025

 Mr. Case (for himself and Mr. Moylan) introduced the following bill; 
        which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To direct the Secretary of the Interior to establish the National 
      Wildlife Refuge System Invasive Species Strike Team Program.

    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 ``National Wildlife Refuge System 
Invasive Species Strike Team Act of 2025''.

SEC. 2. NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE SYSTEM INVASIVE SPECIES STRIKE TEAM 
              PROGRAM.

    (a) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to legislatively authorize 
the National Wildlife Refuge System Invasive Species Strike Team 
Program within the United States Fish and Wildlife Service to 
eradicate, control, and reduce the adverse effects of invasive species 
on and adjacent to National Wildlife Refuge System lands and waters, 
primarily through prevention, biosecurity, early detection, and rapid 
response.
    (b) Invasive Species Strike Team Program.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary shall carry out a program to 
        identify and respond to priority invasive species threats 
        within and adjacent to National Wildlife Refuge System lands 
        and waters in coordination with partners, to be known as the 
        ``National Wildlife Refuge System Invasive Species Strike Team 
        Program''.
            (2) Requirements.--In carrying out the Program, the 
        Secretary shall--
                    (A) establish at least 1 invasive species strike 
                team within each region of the United States Fish and 
                Wildlife Service trained in early detection and rapid 
                response for multiple invasive species taxa to--
                            (i) conserve, manage, and, where 
                        appropriate, restore, habitat conditions that 
                        help native biological communities flourish on 
                        and adjacent to National Wildlife Refuge System 
                        lands and waters;
                            (ii) conduct prevention, early detection 
                        surveillance, eradication, containment, 
                        mapping, monitoring, and active management of 
                        invasive species;
                            (iii) use integrated pest management 
                        techniques and tools;
                            (iv) conduct inreach and outreach, 
                        including trainings and table-top exercises, 
                        including on the use of the Incident Command 
                        System, as part of their planning and 
                        operations; and
                            (v) use risk assessments, research, 
                        innovations, management outcomes, monitoring, 
                        and evaluation to improve the effectiveness of 
                        detection and response activities;
                    (B) engage in partnerships and collaborations 
                with--
                            (i) Federal, State, Tribal, and local 
                        governments;
                            (ii) nongovernmental institutions;
                            (iii) nonprofit organizations; and
                            (iv) private individuals and entities to 
                        advance mutual priorities and promote 
                        efficiency and cost-savings;
                    (C) collaborate in the development of a set of 
                consistent taxonomy standards and work with others to 
                implement such standards among all Department of the 
                Interior databases; and
                    (D) utilize national and regional standardized 
                reporting platforms, such as--
                            (i) the National Agricultural Pest 
                        Information System;
                            (ii) the National Data Repository of the 
                        National Plant Diagnostic Network;
                            (iii) the Early Detection and Distribution 
                        Mapping System;
                            (iv) the Nonindigenous Aquatic Species 
                        Database of the United States Geological 
                        Survey;
                            (v) iMapInvasives; and
                            (vi) State databases.
            (3) Provision of assistance.--In carrying out the Program, 
        the Secretary is authorized to--
                    (A) conduct outreach to Federal, State, 
                Territorial, local, and Tribal governments, 
                nongovernmental institutions, nonprofit organizations, 
                and private individuals and entities to address the 
                management of property adjacent to a unit of the 
                National Wildlife Refuge System, including providing or 
                entering into, upon request--
                            (i) financial assistance, including direct 
                        expenditures;
                            (ii) technical assistance;
                            (iii) contracts; or
                            (iv) grants or cooperative agreements; and
                    (B) upon the request of another Federal department 
                or agency or a State, Tribal, or Territorial agency, 
                enter into an agreement within the mission and 
                authorities of the United States Fish and Wildlife 
                Service with such department or agency to provide the 
                expertise and use of invasive species strike teams 
                established under paragraph (2) to respond to invasive 
                species under the jurisdiction of such department or 
                agency, or to rapidly respond to a newly detected 
                invasive species.
            (4) Coordination of management actions.--The Secretary 
        shall encourage the National Wildlife Refuge System to 
        coordinate invasive species management actions of each Invasive 
        Species Strike Team with adjacent landowners and the State 
        agencies within the State of which Invasive Species Strike Team 
        activities may occur.
            (5) Report.--
                    (A) In general.--The Secretary shall submit to the 
                Committee on Appropriations and the Committee on 
                Natural Resources of the House of Representatives and 
                the Committee on Appropriations and the Committee on 
                Environment and Public Works of the Senate, and make 
                available to the public on the website of the United 
                States Fish and Wildlife Service, a report regarding 
                the Program 2 years after enactment and 5 years after 
                enactment.
                    (B) Contents of report.--Each report submitted 
                under subparagraph (A) shall include--
                            (i) a summary of each Invasive Species 
                        Strike Team's work to address priority invasive 
                        species within the National Wildlife Refuge 
                        System; and
                            (ii) progress made by the Program toward 
                        the prevention, detection, control, or 
                        eradication of each priority invasive species.
    (c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to the Secretary to carry out this section $15,000,000 for 
each of fiscal years 2026 through 2030.
    (d) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Invasive species.--The term ``invasive species'' means, 
        with regard to a particular ecosystem, a non-native organism 
        whose introduction causes or is likely to cause economic or 
        environmental harm or harm to human, animal, or plant health.
            (2) Early detection.--The term ``early detection'' means a 
        process of surveying for, reporting, and verifying the presence 
        of a non-native species before the founding population becomes 
        established or spreads so widely that eradication is no longer 
        feasible.
            (3) Priority invasive species.--The term ``priority 
        invasive species'' means an invasive species that is a major 
        concern and necessary to map, monitor, and manage based on the 
        following factors:
                    (A) Potential impact on other native species.
                    (B) Ability to alter habitats.
                    (C) Ability to harm human health.
                    (D) Severity of economic impact.
            (4) Program.--The term ``Program'' means the National 
        Wildlife Refuge System Invasive Species Strike Team Program 
        authorized under subsection (b)(1).
            (5) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of the Interior, acting through the Director of the United 
        States Fish and Wildlife Service.
            (6) State.--The term ``State'' means each of the several 
        States, the District of Columbia, and each territory and 
        possession of the United States.
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