“To direct the Secretary of the Interior to establish the Urban Bird Treaty Program.”
No CRS summary available for this bill.
This section establishes the Urban Bird Treaty Program, to be carried out by the Secretary of the Interior acting through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director, to support voluntary conservation of birds and their habitats in urban areas (i.e., areas with populations of 50,000 or more). In implementing the program, the Director must partner with covered entities (i.e., federal, tribal, state, municipal agencies; nongovernmental organizations; community groups; academic institutions) to protect and restore urban bird habitats (including invasive species control and native plant restoration), reduce urban bird hazards, engage communities in bird monitoring and education, provide technical and financial assistance, and facilitate best practices information-sharing. This section further establishes a competitive grant program to eligible entities (i.e., tribal, state, municipal agencies; nongovernmental organizations; community groups; academic institutions) for related research, planning, assessments, management, capacity-building, monitoring, collaboration, workforce training, and other activities; directs the Director to enter an agreement with the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to administer the grants; and waives application of the Foundation's standard federal funding requirements (i.e., 1-to-1 matching of federal appropriations, advance payment on October 1, and prohibition on administrative use; 16 U.S.C. 3709(a)). (Thus, these grant funds may be provided to the Foundation without matching or those restrictions.) This section authorizes appropriations of $1 million to the Director for each of FY2026 through 2032.