Brief

The Partners for Fish and Wildlife Act was enacted on October 3, 2006, to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to provide technical and financial assistance to private landowners to restore, enhance, and manage private land for fish and wildlife habitats. The program aims to work with willing private landowners to implement cost-effective habitat projects, promoting efficient and innovative ways to protect and enhance natural resources.

120 STAT. 1351 PUBLIC LAW 109–294—OCT. 3, 2006
Public Law 109–294
109th Congress
An Act
To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to provide technical and financial assist-
ance to private landowners to restore, enhance, and manage private land toimprove fish and wildlife habitats through the Partners for Fish and WildlifeProgram.
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 ‘‘Partners for Fish and Wildlife
Act’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.
(a) F INDINGS .—Congress finds that—
(1) approximately 60 percent of fish and wildlife in the
United States are on private land;
(2) it is imperative to facilitate private landowner-centered
and results-oriented efforts that promote efficient and innova-tive ways to protect and enhance natural resources;
(3) there is no readily available source of technical biological
information that the public can access to assist with the applica-tion of state-of-the-art techniques to restore, enhance, and man-age fish and wildlife habitats;
(4) a voluntary cost-effective program that leverages public
and private funds to assist private landowners in the conductof state-of-the-art fish and wildlife habitat restoration, enhance-ment, and management projects is needed;
(5) durable partnerships working collaboratively with
willing private landowners to implement on-the-ground projectshas lead to the reduction of endangered species listings;
(6) Executive Order No. 13352 (69 Fed. Reg. 52989) directs
the Departments of the Interior, Agriculture, Commerce, andDefense and the Environmental Protection Agency to pursuenew cooperative conservation programs involving the collabora-tion of Federal, State, local, and tribal governments, privatefor-profit and non-profit institutions, non-governmental entities,and individuals;
(7) since 1987, the Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program
has exemplified cooperative conservation as an innovative, vol-untary partnership program that helps private landownersrestore wetland and other important fish and wildlife habitat;and
(8) through 33,103 agreements with private landowners,
the Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program has accomplishedthe restoration of 677,000 acres of wetland, 1,253,700 acres16 USC 3771.16 USC 3771
note.Partners for Fish
and Wildlife Act.Oct. 3, 2006
[S. 260]
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of prairie and native grasslands, and 5,560 miles of riparian
and in-stream habitat since 1987, demonstrating much of thatsuccess since only 2001.(b) P
URPOSE .—The purpose of this Act is to provide for the
restoration, enhancement, and management of fish and wildlifehabitats on private land through the Partners for Fish and WildlifeProgram, a program that works with private landowners to conductcost-effective habitat projects for the benefit of fish and wildliferesources in the United States.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) F EDERAL TRUST SPECIES .—The term ‘‘Federal trust spe-
cies’’ means migratory birds, threatened species, endangeredspecies, interjurisdictional fish, marine mammals, and otherspecies of concern.
(2) H
ABITAT ENHANCEMENT .—
(A) I N GENERAL .—The term ‘‘habitat enhancement’’
means the manipulation of the physical, chemical, orbiological characteristics of a habitat to change a specificfunction or seral stage of the habitat.
(B) I
NCLUSIONS .—The term ‘‘habitat enhancement’’
includes—
(i) an activity conducted to increase or decrease
a specific function for the purpose of benefitting spe-cies, including—
(I) increasing the hydroperiod and water depth
of a stream or wetland beyond what would natu-rally occur;
(II) improving waterfowl habitat conditions;(III) establishing water level management
capabilities for native plant communities;
(IV) creating mud flat conditions important
for shorebirds; and
(V) cross fencing or establishing a rotational
grazing system on native range to improve grass-land nesting bird habitat conditions; and(ii) an activity conducted to shift a native plant
community successional stage, including—
(I) burning an established native grass
community to reduce or eliminate invading brushor exotic species;
(II) brush shearing to set back early succes-
sional plant communities; and
(III) forest management that promotes a par-
ticular seral stage.
(C) E
XCLUSIONS .—The term ‘‘habitat enhancement’’
does not include regularly scheduled and routine mainte-nance and management activities, such as annual mowingor spraying of unwanted vegetation.(3) H
ABITAT ESTABLISHMENT .—The term ‘‘habitat establish-
ment’’ means the manipulation of physical, chemical, orbiological characteristics of a project site to create and maintainhabitat that did not previously exist on the project site,including construction of—
(A) shallow water impoundments on non-hydric soils;
and16 USC 3772.
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(B) side channel spawning and rearing habitat.
(4) H ABITAT IMPROVEMENT .—The term ‘‘habitat improve-
ment’’ means restoring, enhancing, or establishingphysiographic, hydrological, or disturbance conditions necessaryto establish or maintain native plant and animal communities,including periodic manipulations to maintain intended habitatconditions on completed project sites.
(5) H
ABITAT RESTORATION .—
(A) I N GENERAL .—The term ‘‘habitat restoration’’
means the manipulation of the physical, chemical, orbiological characteristics of a site with the goal of returningthe majority of natural functions to the lost or degradednative habitat.
(B) I
NCLUSIONS .—The term ‘‘habitat restoration’’
includes—
(i) an activity conducted to return a project site,
to the maximum extent practicable, to the ecologicalcondition that existed prior to the loss or degradation,including—
(I) removing tile drains or plugging drainage
ditches in former or degraded wetland;
(II) returning meanders and sustainable pro-
files to straightened streams;
(III) burning grass communities heavily
invaded by exotic species to reestablish nativegrass and plant communities; and
(IV) planting plant communities that are
native to the project site;(ii) if restoration of a project site to its original
ecological condition is not practicable, an activity thatrepairs 1 or more of the original habitat functionsand that involve the use of native vegetation,including—
(I) the installation of a water control structure
in a swale on land isolated from overbank floodingby a major levee to simulate natural hydrologicalprocesses; and
(II) the placement of streambank or instream
habitat diversity structures in streams that cannotbe restored to original conditions or profile; and(iii) removal of a disturbing or degrading element
to enable the native habitat to reestablish or becomefully functional.
(6) P
RIVATE LAND .—
(A) I N GENERAL .—The term ‘‘private land’’ means any
land that is not owned by the Federal Government ora State.
(B) I
NCLUSIONS .—The term ‘‘private land’’ includes
tribal land and Hawaiian homeland.(7) P
ROJECT .—The term ‘‘project’’ means a project carried
out under the Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program estab-lished by section 4.
(8) S
ECRETARY .—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary
of the Interior.
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LEGISLATIVE HISTORY—S. 260:
HOUSE REPORTS: No. 109–562 (Comm. on Resources).
SENATE REPORTS: No. 109–86 (Comm. on Environment and Public Works).CONGRESSIONAL RECORD:
Vol. 151 (2005): June 27, considered and passed Senate.Vol. 152 (2006): Sept. 20, considered and passed House.SEC. 4. PARTNERS FOR FISH AND WILDLIFE PROGRAM.
The Secretary shall carry out the Partners for Fish and Wildlife
Program within the United States Fish and Wildlife Service toprovide—
(1) technical and financial assistance to private landowners
for the conduct of voluntary projects to benefit Federal trustspecies by promoting habitat improvement, habitat restoration,habitat enhancement, and habitat establishment; and
(2) technical assistance to other public and private entities
regarding fish and wildlife habitat restoration on private land.
SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act
not more than $75,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2006 through2011.
Approved October 3, 2006.16 USC 3774.16 USC 3773.
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Highlights content goes here...

Purpose

The purpose of Public Law 109-294, also known as the Partners for Fish and Wildlife Act, is to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to provide technical and financial assistance to private landowners to restore, enhance, and manage private land to improve fish and wildlife habitats. The Act aims to promote innovative, voluntary partnerships between federal agencies and private landowners to protect and enhance natural resources.

The primary goal of this legislation is to leverage public and private funds to assist private landowners in conducting state-of-the-art habitat restoration, enhancement, and management projects that benefit fish and wildlife species. This partnership program has been demonstrated to be successful in reducing endangered species listings and improving fish and wildlife habitats on private lands.

Key Provisions

The Partners for Fish and Wildlife Act provides several key provisions:

  1. Authorization of the Program: The Secretary of the Interior is authorized to carry out the Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program within the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.
  2. Technical and Financial Assistance: The program provides technical and financial assistance to private landowners for voluntary projects that benefit federal trust species by promoting habitat improvement, restoration, enhancement, and establishment.
  3. Definitions: The Act defines key terms such as “habitat enhancement,” “habitat establishment,” “habitat improvement,” and “habitat restoration” to ensure clarity in implementing the program.
  4. Authorization of Appropriations: The Act authorizes appropriations not exceeding $75 million for each fiscal year from 2006 to 2011.

Industry Impact

The Partners for Fish and Wildlife Act has significant implications for various industries, including:

  1. Private Landowners: The program provides technical and financial assistance to private landowners to restore, enhance, and manage their lands for the benefit of fish and wildlife species.
  2. Federal Agencies: The Act promotes innovative partnerships between federal agencies and private landowners to protect and enhance natural resources.
  3. Conservation Organizations: The program supports conservation efforts by providing funding and technical assistance to non-profit organizations working on habitat restoration and enhancement projects.

Updates/Amendments

The Partners for Fish and Wildlife Act has undergone several updates and amendments since its inception in 2006:

  1. S. 260: This bill, sponsored in the Senate, aimed to reauthorize the program and provide additional funding.
  2. House Report No. 109-562: The House Committee on Resources reported this bill, which proposed changes to the program’s authorization and appropriations.
  3. Senate Report No. 109-86: The Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works reported a similar bill that aimed to reauthorize the program.

These updates and amendments reflect ongoing efforts to refine and improve the Partners for Fish and Wildlife Act in response to changing conservation needs and priorities.

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