H.R. 4219

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

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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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