§3771 — Title 16 Conservation | U.S. Code

Summary

Creates the Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program to help private landowners restore, improve, and care for fish and wildlife habitat. About 60 percent of fish and wildlife in the United States live on private land, so private landowner action is important. There is no single public source of technical biology information for using modern restoration methods. A voluntary, cost‑effective program that mixes public and private money and builds partnerships with willing landowners is needed. Executive Order No. 13352 (69 Fed. Reg. 52989) asks several federal agencies to start new cooperative conservation efforts. Since 1987 the program has used 33,103 agreements to restore 677,000 acres of wetlands, 1,253,700 acres of prairie and native grasslands, and 5,560 miles of riparian and in‑stream habitat, much of it since 2001. Its purpose is to support private landowners in carrying out affordable, on-the-ground habitat projects that help fish and wildlife.

Title 16, §3771

Conservation — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Congress finds that—

(1)approximately 60 percent of fish and wildlife in the United States are on private land;

(2)it is imperative to facilitate private landowner-centered and results-oriented efforts that promote efficient and innovative ways to protect and enhance natural resources;

(3)there is no readily available source of technical biological information that the public can access to assist with the application of state-of-the-art techniques to restore, enhance, and manage fish and wildlife habitats;

(4)a voluntary cost-effective program that leverages public and private funds to assist private landowners in the conduct of state-of-the-art fish and wildlife habitat restoration, enhancement, and management projects is needed;

(5)durable partnerships working collaboratively with willing private landowners to implement on-the-ground projects has lead to the reduction of endangered species listings;

(6)Executive Order No. 13352 (69 Fed. Reg. 52989) directs the Departments of the Interior, Agriculture, Commerce, and Defense and the Environmental Protection Agency to pursue new cooperative conservation programs involving the collaboration of Federal, State, local, and tribal governments, private for-profit and non-profit institutions, non-governmental entities, and individuals;

(7)since 1987, the Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program has exemplified cooperative conservation as an innovative, voluntary partnership program that helps private landowners restore wetland and other important fish and wildlife habitat; and

(8)through 33,103 agreements with private landowners, the Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program has accomplished the restoration of 677,000 acres of wetland, 1,253,700 acres of prairie and native grasslands, and 5,560 miles of riparian and in-stream habitat since 1987, demonstrating much of that success since only 2001.

(b)The purpose of this chapter is to provide for the restoration, enhancement, and management of fish and wildlife habitats on private land through the Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program, a program that works with private landowners to conduct cost-effective habitat projects for the benefit of fish and wildlife resources in the United States.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

Executive Order No. 13352, referred to in subsec. (a)(6), is Ex. Ord. No. 13352, Aug. 26, 2004, 69 F.R. 52989, which is set out as a note under section 4332 of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Short Title

of 2024 Amendment Pub. L. 118–159, div. E, title LIII, § 5301, Dec. 23, 2024, 138 Stat. 2445, provided that: “This subtitle [subtitle A (§§ 5301–5308) of title LIII of div. E of Pub. L. 118–159, amending section 3774, 4211, 4245, 4264, 4266, 5304, 5306, 6303, 6305, 6603, and 6606 of this title and enacting provisions set out as a note under section 4201 of this title] may be cited as the ‘Wildlife Innovation and Longevity Driver reauthorization Act’ or the ‘WILD Act’.”

Short Title

Pub. L. 109–294, § 1, Oct. 3, 2006, 120 Stat. 1351, provided that: “This Act [enacting this chapter] may be cited as the ‘Partners for Fish and Wildlife Act’.”

§3771 Findings and purpose

Summary

Title 16, §3771

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

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