[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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