Sponsors (5)
The bill expands federal, tribal, state, and local coordination, maps, and grant funding to improve habitat connectivity and species resilience, at the cost of new recurring federal expenditures, administrative burdens, and restrictions or tradeoffs that can affect local economies, private landowners, and allocation priorities.
Wildlife, native plant populations, and communities that depend on healthy ecosystems will benefit from coordinated, landscape- and seascape-scale planning and restoration that improves habitat connectivity and species climate resilience.
Private landowners, Tribes, local governments, and NGOs can access grants and technical support to restore and connect habitats on non‑Federal lands, creating stewardship jobs and supporting rural economies.
State, federal, tribal, and local agencies, researchers, and conservation groups gain standardized definitions, public maps, and a shared database that reduce legal ambiguity, streamline planning and approvals, and improve decisionmaking.
Taxpayers and federal budgets will face recurring new spending (authorized at roughly $135M+ per year beginning FY2026, plus mapping and grant programs), increasing the fiscal cost or diverting funds from other priorities.
Designation, withdrawal, and expanded statutory definitions could restrict uses of federal lands and waters and expand federal influence, potentially reducing local resource development, creating intergovernmental disputes, and complicating infrastructure projects.
Federal, state, local agencies and grant recipients will face increased administrative, reporting, and coordination burdens (data-sharing, plan updates, consultations), which can be time-consuming, costly, and slow on-the-ground implementation.
Based on analysis of 6 sections of legislative text.
Creates a National Wildlife Corridor System, funds USGS mapping and research, requires agency coordination, and establishes $75M/year grants for non‑Federal connectivity projects starting FY2026.
Creates a federal National Wildlife Corridor System and directs agencies to map, plan, designate, and manage habitat corridors to support native species movement, climate adaptation, and genetic exchange. It sets up a USGS mapping and science program, a multi-agency Coordinating Committee, a grant program for non‑Federal lands, and authorizes annual funding for mapping, agency implementation, and grants beginning FY2026. Requires public mapping and data-sharing (with protections for sensitive locations), agency coordination and prioritization using best available science, a timeline for agency actions and plan updates, and competitive grants to States, Tribes, local governments, private landowners, and partners to restore and maintain connectivity (with set funding floors and a reserved percentage for big-game migration projects).
Official title: To provide for the conservation of wildlife corridors and habitat connectivity, and for other purposes.
Introduced April 22, 2026 by Donald Sternoff Beyer · Last progress April 22, 2026