Building Native Habitats at Federal Facilities Act

This bill tells federal agencies to use native plants for government construction and maintenance projects whenever it makes sense for cost, schedule, and product supply. Agencies must also think about long-term benefits—like creating wildlife habitat, helping pollinators, reducing soil erosion, saving water, and controlling stormwater—when choosing plants for these projects.

Within 270 days of the bill becoming law, agencies must follow these rules and update their design and landscaping standards to match. Contracts with outside companies must include these plant-use priorities and pass them down to subcontractors. The Council on Environmental Quality must issue guidance within 180 days and then every two years, and publish public reports every two years with case studies and findings on how native plants are being used. Turfgrass and lawns are not required to be prioritized, but agencies are encouraged to add native plants to suitable, especially unused, lawn areas when it makes sense for cost, maintenance, and how the property is used.

• Who is affected: Federal agencies and their contractors on construction and maintenance projects at federal sites.
• What changes: Prioritize native plants over non-native ones; consider ecological benefits; update agency standards; include these rules in contracts and subcontracts; CEQ provides guidance and public reports; encourage native plantings in appropriate lawn areas.
• When: CEQ issues guidance within 180 days; agencies comply and update standards within 270 days; CEQ reports every two years thereafter.