[Senate Report 118-128]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                                                   Calendar No. 179

118th Congress}                                            { Report
                                 SENATE
 1st Session  }                                            { 118-128

======================================================================
 
  WILDLIFE INNOVATION AND LONGEVITY DRIVER REAUTHORIZATION (WILD) ACT

                                _______
                                

               December 11, 2023.--Ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

       Mr. Carper, from the Committee on Environment and Public 
                     Works, submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                         [To accompany S. 2395]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Environment and Public Works, to which was 
referred the bill (S. 2395), to reauthorize wildlife habitat 
and conservation programs, and for other purposes, having 
considered the same, reports favorably thereon without 
amendment and recommends that the bill do pass.

                    General Statement and Background

    The Wildlife Innovation and Longevity Driver 
Reauthorization (WILD) Act, S. 2395, would reauthorize the U.S. 
Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) Partners for Fish and 
Wildlife Program and the Multinational Species Conservation 
Funds (MSCF).
    The Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program provides 
technical and financial assistance to private landowners to 
restore, enhance, and manage private land to improve fish and 
wildlife habitats. Since the program began operating in 1987, 
the USFWS has partnered with more than 60,000 landowners to 
care for more than 7 million acres of habitat for wildlife and 
people across America. In 2022, 250 USFWS biologists completed 
1,877 wildlife habitat projects across all states and U.S. 
territories, restoring and enhancing 233,890 acres of uplands, 
17,452 acres of wetlands, and 280 miles of rivers and streams 
for fish, wildlife, and plant species.\1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\USFWS, Partners for Fish and Wildlife, 2022 Annual Report (Mar. 
31, 2023), https://www.fws.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2023-03-
29%20PFW%202022%20Annual%20
Report%20%28full%20spread%20508%29.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Congress first authorized the Partners for Fish and 
Wildlife Program through the Partners for Fish and Wildlife Act 
(P.L. 109-294) at $75 million annually for fiscal years (FY) 
2006 through 2011. Prior to that, Congress funded the program 
as a line item in annual appropriations laws pursuant to the 
general grant making authorities under the Fish and Wildlife 
Coordination Act (P.L. 85-624), the Fish and Wildlife Act (P.L. 
105-242), and the Partnerships for Wildlife Act (P.L. 102-587). 
In its accompanying report on the Partners for Fish and 
Wildlife Act, which the Committee on Environment and Public 
Works favorably reported on June 8, 2005, the Committee noted 
that one purpose of the Act was to ``provide the program with 
the added recognition and stability of congressional 
authorization.''\2\ The second time Congress authorized the 
Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program was in 2019 through the 
John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation 
Act of 2019 (P.L. 116-9). That law reauthorized the program at 
$75 annually for five years--for FY 2019 through 2023.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \2\S. Rep. No. 109-86 (2005), https://www.congress.gov/
congressional-report/109th-congress/senate-report/86/1.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Congress also reauthorized the MSCF for FY 2019 through 
2023 as part of the John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, 
Management, and Recreation Act of 2019. MSCF are federal 
programs administered by the USFWS that make targeted 
investments in the conservation of several global priority 
species. Congress authorized the first fund in 1988 through the 
African Elephant Conservation Act (P.L. 100-478) with the 
intent to protect African elephants from rampant ivory 
poaching. Since then, Congress has authorized four additional 
funds to help protect other priority species, including Asian 
elephants, great apes (gorillas, chimpanzees, bonobos, 
orangutans, and various species of gibbons), marine turtles, 
and rhinoceros and tigers.\3\ In the John D. Dingell, Jr. 
Conservation, Management and Recreation Act of 2019, the funds 
for African elephants, Asian elephants, great apes, and marine 
turtles were each authorized for $5 million annually, and the 
fund for rhinoceros and tigers was authorized for $10 million 
annually over the five-year period (FY 2019 through FY 2023). 
As of 2020, the USFWS estimated that the MSCF had engaged 
nearly 600 domestic and foreign partners in 54 countries.\4\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \3\Congressional Research Service, Multinational Species 
Conservation Fund: FY2020 Appropriations, R45668 (Apr. 5, 2019), 
https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R45668.
    \4\ USFWS, Budget Justification and Performance Information, Fiscal 
Year 2021, https://www.fws.gov/media/fiscal-year-2021-fish-and-
wildlife-service-presidents-budget.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Prior to the enactment of the John D. Dingell, Jr. 
Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act of 2019, the 
Committee on Environment and Public Works favorably reported 
the Wildlife Innovation and Longevity Driver Act (S. 826), a 
bill that reauthorized the Partners for Fish and Wildlife 
Program and the MSCF during the 115th Congress. The Senate 
passed that bill, with an amendment, by unanimous consent on 
June 8, 2017. The Wildlife Innovation and Longevity Driver Act 
reauthorized the Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program at $100 
million annually for FY 2018 through 2022. It also contained 
provisions to reauthorize each of the MSCF from FY 2018 through 
2022 at the same levels that Congress ultimately included in 
the John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and 
Recreation Act of 2019.

                     Objectives of the Legislation

    The purpose of the bill is to reauthorize the Partners for 
Fish and Wildlife Program and the MSCF for FY 2024 through 
2028.

                      Section-by-Section Analysis


Section 1. Short title

    This section states that the Act may be cited as the 
``Wildlife Innovation and Longevity Driver Reauthorization 
Act'' or the ``WILD Act.''

Sec. 2. Partners for Fish and Wildlife Act

    This section reauthorizes appropriations for the Partners 
for Fish and Wildlife Program under the Partners for Fish and 
Wildlife Act for FY 2024 through 2028 at $75 million per FY.

Sec. 3. African Elephant Conservation Act

    This section authorizes the Department of the Interior to 
award grants of up to 5 years for long-term conservation 
projects for African elephants and their habitat. It also 
reauthorizes appropriations for the African Elephant 
Conservation Act for FY 2024 through 2028 at $5 million per FY.

Sec. 4. Asian Elephant Conservation Act of 1997

    This section authorizes the Department of the Interior to 
award grants of up to 5 years for long-term conservation 
projects for Asian elephants and their habitat. It also 
reauthorizes appropriations for the Asian Elephant Conservation 
Act of 1997 for FY 2024 through 2028 at $5 million per FY.

Sec. 5. Rhinoceros and Tiger Conservation Act of 1994

    This section authorizes the Department of the Interior to 
award grants of up to 5 years for long-term conservation 
projects for rhinoceroses or tigers and their habitats. It also 
reauthorizes appropriations for the Rhinoceros and Tiger 
Conservation Act of 1994 for FY 2024 through 2028 at $10 
million per FY.

Sec. 6. Great Ape Conservation Act of 2000

    This section revises an existing Great Ape conservation 
multiyear grant program to include a 5-year funding limit. It 
also reauthorizes appropriations for the Great Ape Conservation 
Act of 2000 for FY 2024 through 2028 at $5 million per FY.

Sec. 7. Marine Turtle Conservation Act of 2004

    This section authorizes the Department of the Interior to 
award grants of up to 5 years for long-term conservation 
projects for turtles and tortoises and their habitat. This 
section reauthorizes appropriations for the Marine Turtle 
Conservation Act of 2004 for FY 2024 through 2028 at $5 million 
per FY.

                          Legislative History

    On July 19, 2023, Senator Carper introduced S. 2395, the 
WILD Act. Senator Capito was an original cosponsor. The bill 
was referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.

                                Hearings

    No committee hearings were held on S. 2395.

                             Rollcall Votes

    On July 26, 2023, the Committee on Environment and Public 
Works met to consider S. 2395. The bill was ordered favorably 
reported without amendment by voice vote. No roll call votes 
were taken.

                      Regulatory Impact Statement

    In compliance with section 11(b) of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee on Environment and 
Public Works finds that S. 2395 does not create any additional 
regulatory burdens, nor will it cause any adverse impact on the 
personal privacy of individuals.

                          Mandates Assessment

    In compliance with the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 
(Public Law 104-4), the Committee on Environment and Public 
Works notes that the Congressional Budget Office found that S. 
2395 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates 
as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) and would 
impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments.

                          Cost of Legislation

    Section 403 of the Congressional Budget and Impoundment 
Control Act requires that a statement of the cost of the 
reported bill, prepared by the Congressional Budget Office, be 
included in the report. That statement follows:




    S. 2395 would reauthorize the appropriation of $75 million 
annually over the 2024-2028 period for the USFWS to implement 
the Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program. The program 
provides grants to landowners to restore fish and wildlife 
habitats on private land. In 2023, USFWS allocated $60 million 
for that program. The bill also would reauthorize the 
appropriation of $30 million annually over the 2024-2028 period 
to support international efforts to conserve certain wild 
animals. In 2023, $21 million was appropriated for those 
purposes. In addition, the bill would allow USFWS to provide 
multiyear grants for up to five years for those efforts. The 
costs of the multiyear grants would be covered by the bill's 
authorized appropriations.
    Using historical spending patterns for those programs and 
assuming appropriation of the authorized amounts, CBO estimates 
that implementing S. 2395 would cost $483 million over the 
2024-2028 period and $42 million after 2028.
    The costs of the legislation, detailed in Table 1, fall 
within budget function 300 (natural resources and environment).

                TABLE 1.--ESTIMATED INCREASES IN SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION UNDER S. 2395
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                     By fiscal year, millions of dollars--
                                                              --------------------------------------------------
                                                                2024    2025    2026    2027    2028   2024-2028
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program:
    Authorization............................................      75      75      75      75      75        375
    Estimated Outlays........................................      58      69      72      74      75        348
International Efforts to Conserve Wild Animals:
    Authorization............................................      30      30      30      30      30        150
    Estimated Outlays........................................      18      27      30      30      30        135
    Total Changes:
        Authorization........................................     105     105     105     105     105        525
        Estimated Outlays....................................      76      96     102     104     105        483
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Lilia Ledezma. 
The estimate was reviewed by Ann E. Futrell, Senior Adviser for 
Budget Analysis.

                        Changes in Existing Law

    In compliance with section 12 of rule XXVI of the Standing 
Rules of the Senate, changes in existing law made by the bill 
as reported are shown as follows: Existing law proposed to be 
omitted is enclosed in [black brackets], new matter is printed 
in italic, existing law in which no change is proposed is shown 
in roman:

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


    Title 16-CONSERVATIONCHAPTER 57B-PARTNERS FOR FISH AND WILDLIFE


3774. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONSTHERE IS AUTHORIZED TO BE 
                    APPROPRIATED TO CARRY OUT THIS CHAPTER NOT MORE 
                    THAN $75,000,000 FOR EACH OF FISCAL YEARS [2019 
                    THROUGH 2023] 2024 THROUGH 2028.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


AFRICAN ELEPHANT CONSERVATION ACT

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *



            PART I--AFRICAN ELEPHANT CONSERVATION ASSISTANCE

SEC. 2101. [16 U.S.C. 4211] PROVISION OF ASSISTANCE.

  (a) In General.-- * * *

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

  (g) Multiyear Grants.--
          (1) Authorization.--The Secretary may award to a 
        person who is otherwise eligible for a grant under this 
        section a multiyear grant of up to 5 years to carry out 
        a project that the person demonstrates is an effective, 
        long-term conservation strategy for African elephants 
        and the habitat of African elephants.
          (2) Effect.--Nothing in this subsection precludes the 
        Secretary from awarding a grant on an annual basis.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


SEC. 2306. [16 U.S.C. 4245] AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

  (a) In General.--There is authorized to be appropriated to 
the Fund and to the Secretary a total of not to exceed 
$5,000,000 for each of fiscal years [2019 through 2023] 2024 
through 2028 to carry out this title, to remain available until 
expended.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


ASIAN ELEPHANT CONSERVATION ACT OF 1997

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *



SECTION 1. [16 U.S.C. 4261 NOTE] SHORT TITLE.

  This Act may be cited as the ``Asian Elephant Conservation 
Act of 1997''.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


SEC. 5. [16 U.S.C. 4264] ASIAN ELEPHANT CONSERVATION ASSISTANCE.

  (a) In General.--The Secretary, subject to the availability 
of funds and in consultation with the Administrator, shall use 
amounts in the Fund to provide financial assistance for 
projects for the conservation of Asian elephants for which 
final project proposals are approved by the Secretary in 
accordance with this section.
  (b) Project Proposal.-- * * *

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


SEC. 8. [16 U.S.C. 4266] AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

  (a) In General.--There is authorized to be appropriated to 
the Fund $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years [2019 through 
2023] 2024 through 2028 to carry out this Act, which may remain 
available until expended.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


RHINOCEROS AND TIGER CONSERVATION ACT OF 1994

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *



SECTION 1. [16 U.S.C. 5301 NOTE] SHORT TITLE.

  This Act may be cited as the ``Rhinoceros and Tiger 
Conservation Act of 1994''.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


SEC. 5. [16 U.S.C. 5304] RHINOCEROS AND TIGER CONSERVATION ASSISTANCE.

  (a) In General.--The Secretary, subject to the availability 
of appropriations and in consultation with the Administrator, 
shall use amounts in the Fund to provide financial assistance 
for projects for the conservation of rhinoceros and tigers.
  (b) Project Proposal.-- * * *

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

  (f) Project Reporting.--
  (g) Multiyear Grants.--
          (1) Authorization.--The Secretary may award to a 
        person who is otherwise eligible for a grant under this 
        section a multiyear grant of up to 5 years to carry out 
        a project that the person demonstrates is an effective, 
        long-term conservation strategy for rhinoceroses or 
        tigers and the habitat of rhinoceroses or tigers.
          (2) Effect.--Nothing in this subsection precludes the 
        Secretary from awarding a grant on an annual basis.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


SEC. 10. [16 U.S.C. 5306] AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

  (a) In General.--There is authorized to be appropriated to 
the Fund $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years [2019 through 
2023] 2024 through 2028 to carry out this Act, to remain 
available until expended.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


                   GREAT APE CONSERVATION ACT OF 2000

  (a) In general
    Subject to the availability of funds and in consultation 
with other appropriate Federal officials, the Secretary shall 
use amounts in the Fund to provide financial assistance for 
projects for the conservation of great apes for which project 
proposals are approved by the Secretary in accordance with this 
section.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


SECTION 6303(J)(1)

  (j) Multiyear grants
          (1) Authorization
    The Secretary may award to a person who is otherwise 
eligible for a grant under this section a multiyear grant of up 
to 5 years after to carry out a project that the person 
demonstrates is an effective, long-term conservation strategy 
for great apes and the habitat of great apes.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


SECTION 6305.

    There are authorized to be appropriated to the Fund 
$5,000,000 for each of fiscal years [2019 through 2023] 2024 
through 2028.

                 MARINE TURTLE CONSERVATION ACT OF 2004


SECTION 6603. CONSERVATION ASSISTANCE

  (a) In general * * *

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

  (g) Project reporting
          (1) In general * * *

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

  (h) Multiyear Grants.
          (1) Authorization.--The Secretary may award to a 
        person who is otherwise eligible for a grant under this 
        section a multiyear grant of up to 5 years to carry out 
        a project that the person demonstrates is an effective, 
        long-term conservation strategy for marine turtles, 
        freshwater turtles, or tortoises and the habitat of 
        marine turtles, freshwater turtles, or tortoises.
          (2) Effect.--Nothing in this subsection precludes the 
        Secretary from awarding a grant on an annual basis.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


SECTION 6606. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS

  (a) In general
    There is authorized to be appropriated to the Fund 
$5,000,000 for each of fiscal years [2019 through 2023] 2024 
through 2028.

                                  [all]