119-hr4219

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4219 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 H. R. 4219

 To direct the Secretary of the Interior to establish the National 
 Wildlife Refuge System Invasive Species Strike Team Program.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 June 27, 2025

 Mr. Case (for himself and Mr. Moylan) introduced the following bill; 
 which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

 To direct the Secretary of the Interior to establish the National 
 Wildlife Refuge System Invasive Species Strike Team Program.

 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

 This Act may be cited as the ``National Wildlife Refuge System 
Invasive Species Strike Team Act of 2025''.

SEC. 2. NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE SYSTEM INVASIVE SPECIES STRIKE TEAM 
 PROGRAM.

    (a) 

=== Purpose ===
-The purpose of this Act is to legislatively authorize 
the National Wildlife Refuge System Invasive Species Strike Team 
Program within the United States Fish and Wildlife Service to 
eradicate, control, and reduce the adverse effects of invasive species 
on and adjacent to National Wildlife Refuge System lands and waters, 
primarily through prevention, biosecurity, early detection, and rapid 
response.

    (b) Invasive Species Strike Team Program.--

    (1) In general.--The Secretary shall carry out a program to 
 identify and respond to priority invasive species threats 
 within and adjacent to National Wildlife Refuge System lands 
 and waters in coordination with partners, to be known as the 
 ``National Wildlife Refuge System Invasive Species Strike Team 
 Program''.

    (2) Requirements.--In carrying out the Program, the 
 Secretary shall--
        (A) establish at least 1 invasive species strike 
 team within each region of the United States Fish and 
 Wildlife Service trained in early detection and rapid 
 response for multiple invasive species taxa to--
            (i) conserve, manage, and, where 
 appropriate, restore, habitat conditions that 
 help native biological communities flourish on 
 and adjacent to National Wildlife Refuge System 
 lands and waters;
            (ii) conduct prevention, early detection 
 surveillance, eradication, containment, 
 mapping, monitoring, and active management of 
 invasive species;
            (iii) use integrated pest management 
 techniques and tools;
            (iv) conduct inreach and outreach, 
 including trainings and table-top exercises, 
 including on the use of the Incident Command 
 System, as part of their planning and 
 operations; and
            (v) use risk assessments, research, 
 innovations, management outcomes, monitoring, 
 and evaluation to improve the effectiveness of 
 detection and response activities;
        (B) engage in partnerships and collaborations 
 with--
            (i) Federal, State, Tribal, and local 
 governments;
            (ii) nongovernmental institutions;
            (iii) nonprofit organizations; and
            (iv) private individuals and entities to 
 advance mutual priorities and promote 
 efficiency and cost-savings;
            (C) collaborate in the development of a set of 
 consistent taxonomy standards and work with others to 
 implement such standards among all Department of the 
 Interior databases; and
            (D) utilize national and regional standardized 
 reporting platforms, such as--
            (i) the National Agricultural Pest 
 Information System;
            (ii) the National Data Repository of the 
 National Plant Diagnostic Network;
            (iii) the Early Detection and Distribution 
 Mapping System;
            (iv) the Nonindigenous Aquatic Species 
 Database of the United States Geological 
 Survey;
            (v) iMapInvasives; and
            (vi) State databases.

    (3) Provision of assistance.--In carrying out the Program, 
 the Secretary is authorized to--
        (A) conduct outreach to Federal, State, 
 Territorial, local, and Tribal governments, 
 nongovernmental institutions, nonprofit organizations, 
 and private individuals and entities to address the 
 management of property adjacent to a unit of the 
 National Wildlife Refuge System, including providing or 
 entering into, upon request--
            (i) financial assistance, including direct 
 expenditures;
            (ii) technical assistance;
            (iii) contracts; or
            (iv) grants or cooperative agreements; and
        (B) upon the request of another Federal department 
 or agency or a State, Tribal, or Territorial agency, 
 enter into an agreement within the mission and 
 authorities of the United States Fish and Wildlife 
 Service with such department or agency to provide the 
 expertise and use of invasive species strike teams 
 established under paragraph

    (2) to respond to invasive 
 species under the jurisdiction of such department or 
 agency, or to rapidly respond to a newly detected 
 invasive species.

    (4) Coordination of management actions.--The Secretary 
 shall encourage the National Wildlife Refuge System to 
 coordinate invasive species management actions of each Invasive 
 Species Strike Team with adjacent landowners and the State 
 agencies within the State of which Invasive Species Strike Team 
 activities may occur.

    (5) Report.--
        (A) In general.--The Secretary shall submit to the 
 Committee on Appropriations and the Committee on 
 Natural Resources of the House of Representatives and 
 the Committee on Appropriations and the Committee on 
 Environment and Public Works of the Senate, and make 
 available to the public on the website of the United 
 States Fish and Wildlife Service, a report regarding 
 the Program 2 years after enactment and 5 years after 
 enactment.
        (B) Contents of report.--Each report submitted 
 under subparagraph
        (A) shall include--
            (i) a summary of each Invasive Species 
 Strike Team's work to address priority invasive 
 species within the National Wildlife Refuge 
 System; and
            (ii) progress made by the Program toward 
 the prevention, detection, control, or 
 eradication of each priority invasive species.
            (c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to the Secretary to carry out this section $15,000,000 for 
each of fiscal years 2026 through 2030.
            (d) === Definitions. ===
-In this section:

    (1) Invasive species.--The term ``invasive species'' means, 
 with regard to a particular ecosystem, a non-native organism 
 whose introduction causes or is likely to cause economic or 
 environmental harm or harm to human, animal, or plant health.

    (2) Early detection.--The term ``early detection'' means a 
 process of surveying for, reporting, and verifying the presence 
 of a non-native species before the founding population becomes 
 established or spreads so widely that eradication is no longer 
 feasible.

    (3) Priority invasive species.--The term ``priority 
 invasive species'' means an invasive species that is a major 
 concern and necessary to map, monitor, and manage based on the 
 following factors:
        (A) Potential impact on other native species.
        (B) Ability to alter habitats.
            (C) Ability to harm human health.
            (D) Severity of economic impact.

    (4) Program.--The term ``Program'' means the National 
 Wildlife Refuge System Invasive Species Strike Team Program 
 authorized under subsection

    (b)

    (1) .

    (5) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
 of the Interior, acting through the Director of the United 
 States Fish and Wildlife Service.

    (6) State.--The term ``State'' means each of the several 
 States, the District of Columbia, and each territory and 
 possession of the United States.
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