Sec. 4. Agriculture-Wildlife Disease Coordinator

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There is established within the United States Fish and Wildlife Service a position, to be known as the Agriculture-Wildlife Disease Coordinator , to be jointly appointed by the Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and the Administrator of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, to serve as a liaison between the Department of the Interior, the Department of Agriculture, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Department of Homeland Security, and other relevant Federal, State, and Tribal agencies, as determined necessary by the Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and the Administrator of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

The Agriculture-Wildlife Disease Coordinator shall have expertise in wildlife health, agricultural animal veterinary science, epidemiology, or another related field. The Agriculture-Wildlife Disease Coordinator shall— establish relationships with relevant Federal, State, and Tribal agencies to carry out the purposes of this Act; facilitate information sharing about existing and emerging wildlife disease, including disease in livestock and domestic animals, and zoonotic disease outbreaks between States, including State departments of agriculture, environment, natural resources, fish and wildlife, and public health and State animal health officials, Indian Tribes, the National Animal Health Laboratory Network, the National Wildlife Health Center of the United States Geological Survey, the Department of Agriculture, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Department of Homeland Security, and other relevant Federal agencies, as determined by the Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and the Administrator of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service; assist States and Indian Tribes in accessing resources, including applying for funding, to work on wildlife disease issues, including diseases— with potential to transmit between wildlife and livestock or domestic animals; and with zoonotic potential; coordinate— between States, including State departments of agriculture, environment, natural resources, fish and wildlife, and public health and State animal health officials, and Federal agencies; and with other relevant entities engaged in wildlife disease and zoonotic disease testing, monitoring, surveillance, and management activities, including entities convened by the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies; develop and share best management practices relating to wildlife diseases and zoonotic diseases prepared by the Department of Agriculture, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and State and Tribal agencies between those Federal agencies and State and Tribal agencies, including State departments of agriculture, environment, natural resources, fish and wildlife, and public health and State animal health officials; and submit to Congress a report on recommendations for improving interagency coordination and additional resources necessary to address and prevent wildlife disease and zoonotic disease outbreaks.

Best management practices developed and shared under subsection (c)(5) may include voluntary guidance relating to the humane dispatch of animals in the field, surveillance and monitoring techniques, biosecurity and biosafety measures, public education, and other information, as determined necessary by the Agriculture-Wildlife Disease Coordinator. There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section such sums as are necessary for fiscal year 2025 and each fiscal year thereafter.