Sponsors (4)
The bill provides dedicated federal funding and improved access for tribal and rural wildlife-crossing projects—boosting road safety and project delivery—but does so by drawing from the Highway Trust Fund and retaining small administrative set‑asides, which may lessen funds available for other transportation priorities.
Rural communities, drivers, and state/local transportation agencies get stable dedicated funding of $200M per year (FY2027–2031) for wildlife crossings, enabling construction that reduces vehicle–animal collisions and improves road safety.
Tribal governments and residents can build eligible wildlife-crossing projects without local matching funds (100% federal share) and benefit from up to 0.5% annually for tribal technical assistance to help apply and speed project delivery, improving access and tribal project participation.
Program funds are available until expended, allowing multi-year planning and completion of wildlife-crossing projects without fiscal-year expiration pressures, which improves project delivery and flexibility for states and localities.
Taxpayers and state transportation programs face reduced Highway Trust Fund balances because the $200M/year authorization is paid from the HTF (excluding the Mass Transit Account), potentially crowding out other highway priorities.
Concentrating federal dollars on wildlife crossings could shift state and local transportation prioritization away from other pressing local needs where HTF dollars are limited.
Up to 0.5% for administration plus up to 0.5% for tribal assistance (up to 1% total) reduces the share of program funds available for on-the-ground projects.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Authorizes $200M/year (FY2027–FY2031) for the wildlife crossings program, makes tribal grants 100% Federally funded, and creates small set‑asides for tribal assistance and program administration.
Authorizes $200 million per year from the Highway Trust Fund for fiscal years 2027–2031 for the federal wildlife crossings program and makes several program changes. It directs the program to provide a 100% federal share for eligible tribal grants, creates small set‑asides (up to 0.5% annually) for tribal technical assistance, and allows the Secretary to retain up to 0.5% annually for grant review and program administration; it also updates statutory subsection designations and the table of contents entry.
Official title: Reauthorize and improve the wildlife crossings program, and for other purposes.
Introduced December 16, 2025 by Martin Heinrich · Last progress December 16, 2025