§3771 Findings and Purpose

Summary

Creates the Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program to help private landowners restore, improve, and manage habitats for fish and wildlife across the United States. It notes that about 60 percent of fish and wildlife are on private land, so the program focuses on landowner-centered, results-based work. There is little easy-to-find technical biology information for habitat work, so the program must be voluntary, cost-effective, and use both public and private money to support modern habitat projects. Strong partnerships with willing landowners have helped lower endangered species listings, and Executive Order No. 13352 (69 Fed. Reg. 52989) calls for more cooperative conservation. Since 1987, the program has made 33,103 agreements restoring 677,000 acres of wetlands, 1,253,700 acres of prairie and native grasslands, and 5,560 miles of riparian and in-stream habitat, with much of that success occurring since 2001. The purpose is to carry out these cost-effective habitat projects with private landowners for the benefit of fish and wildlife.