Sponsors
The bill redirects U.S. Endangered Species Act efforts and funding toward domestic species—reducing federal spending on foreign land acquisition—but at the cost of weakening international conservation partnerships and potentially impairing management of invasive or harmful nonnative species that affect U.S. communities.
Federal wildlife managers and federal employees: ESA protections and limited conservation resources will be refocused on species native to the United States, concentrating domestic conservation efforts.
U.S. taxpayers and federal budget managers: The bill restricts use of funds for acquiring foreign land, likely reducing federal spending on foreign property and lowering costs for international land‑purchase programs.
Rural communities, land managers, and agriculture interests: Non‑native but invasive or harmful species that originate abroad may be less likely to be listed or managed under the ESA, which could hinder coordinated control and increase ecological and economic harms domestically.
Conservation organizations and foreign ecosystems: Limiting U.S. funding and land acquisition abroad reduces the ability of nonprofits and partners to secure habitat internationally, weakening conservation outcomes for species outside the U.S.
U.S. foreign policy and executive environmental diplomacy: Restrictions on buying or funding foreign land can constrain international conservation partnerships and reduce U.S. leverage in global environmental initiatives.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Prohibits listing species not native to the United States as endangered or threatened and bars use of certain ESA funds to acquire foreign land or water interests.
Introduced January 3, 2025 by Andrew S. Biggs · Last progress January 3, 2025
Prohibits the federal government from listing any species that are not native to the United States as endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act. Also bars funds made available under the cited ESA provision from being used to acquire lands, waters, or other interests in foreign countries, narrowing the law’s international land-acquisition authority.