Sec. 2. Findings and purposes
527 words·~2 min read·
/bill/116/s/1499/is/section-2·A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
Congress finds that— the native fish, wildlife, and plant species in the United States are part of a rich natural heritage and an important legacy to pass on to future generations; the populations of many native fish, wildlife, and plant species in the United States are in decline; scientists estimate that 1 in 5 animal and plant species in the United States is at risk of extinction, and many species are declining in numbers; threats to the survival and diversity of many native fish, wildlife, and plant species in the United States include the loss, degradation, fragmentation, and obstruction of natural habitats; climate change threatens native fish, wildlife, and plant species; the 2019 global assessment report from the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services found that— 1,000,000 wildlife and plant species worldwide are now threatened with extinction; and 75 percent of the land-based environment, and approximately 66 percent of the marine environment, have been significantly altered by human actions; the conservation of new and existing landscape and seascape corridors, through which native species can transition from 1 habitat to another, plays an important role in helping— to conserve native biodiversity; and to ensure resiliency against impacts from a range of biotic and abiotic stressors; the conservation, restoration, and establishment of new ecological connections to facilitate the movement of species into more suitable habitats is a key climate change adaptation strategy; the protection of new and existing corridors is often one of the first steps in restoration and recovery planning;
States have recognized the importance of habitat connectivity, including— a New England Governors and Eastern Canadian Premiers' Conference on the importance of connectivity for ecosystem adaptability and resilience, biodiversity, and human communities; and an expired 2007 policy resolution of the Western Governors' Association; the strategic plan of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service to respond to accelerating climate change entitled Rising to the Urgent Challenge acknowledges that processes such as pollination, seed dispersal, nutrient cycling, natural disturbance cycles, predator-prey relations, and others must be part of the natural landscapes we seek to maintain or restore … and are likely to function more optimally in landscapes composed of large habitat blocks connected by well-placed corridors ;
Federal and State agencies continue to develop policies to address— the importance of conserving fish, wildlife, and plant corridors; the gap between science and management for at-risk species; and ecological connectivity; and Federal policies consistently recognize the importance of voluntary improvement projects by private landowners to habitat conservation and restoration for native species. The purposes of this Act are— to support a diverse array of native species, including species protected under Federal, State, and Tribal law, that have experienced or may experience habitat loss, degradation, fragmentation, or obstruction to connectivity; to provide long-term habitat connectivity for native species migration, dispersal, adaptation to climate and other environmental change, and genetic exchange; to help restore wildlife movements that have been disrupted by habitat loss, degradation, fragmentation, or obstruction; to facilitate coordinated landscape- and seascape-scale connectivity planning and management across jurisdictions; and to support State, Tribal, local, voluntary private landowner, and Federal agency decisionmakers in the planning and development of National Wildlife Corridors.