Sponsors (9)
Introduced January 23, 2025 by Ryan Zinke · Last progress January 23, 2025
The bill strengthens federal, State, Tribal, and local capacity to map, fund, and protect wildlife movement corridors—improving habitat connectivity and road safety—but does so with open‑ended spending, a strong big‑game funding focus, administrative centralization, and design choices (matches, endorsements, data publication, savings clauses) that may disadvantage under‑resourced communities, constrain other conservation needs, and limit flexibility for local development.
State and Tribal wildlife agencies, tribes, nonprofits, universities, and local governments will receive dedicated grants and technical assistance to identify, conserve, and restore wildlife movement corridors and improve habitat connectivity.
Rural communities and drivers could see fewer wildlife–vehicle collisions because DOTs and county governments are eligible for funding and coordinated road-crossing improvements will be promoted.
Indian Tribes retain treaty rights and sovereignty while gaining direct funding and technical capacity to map and manage migration corridors and receive waivers of cost‑share requirements where appropriate.
The bill authorizes open‑ended spending ('such sums as necessary') and creates new staff/coordination roles, increasing federal spending and fiscal uncertainty for taxpayers.
Requiring at least 50% of funds to target big‑game connectivity risks crowding out funding for other species, habitats, and regional conservation priorities.
Matching requirements, the need for State/Tribal endorsements, and reliance on recognized scientific documentation may disadvantage under‑resourced states, Tribes, counties, and small landowners, slowing or excluding eligible projects.
Based on analysis of 10 sections of legislative text.
Provides federal funding and technical support to identify, map, and conserve areas wildlife use to move or migrate, with a focus on big game. It creates a competitive grant program run by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, a State and Tribal research grant program administered by USFWS, and direction for USGS mapping and coordination. The law requires federal coordination, a senior coordinator in the Department of the Interior, reporting, and authorizes funding for fiscal years 2026–2031 while explicitly protecting State and Tribal authority, private property rights, public hunting access, and existing energy, water, and military uses.