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This bill would change the Endangered Species Act so places and activities needed for military purposes are largely protected from the Act’s habitat rules and many of its take prohibitions. It says the Interior Secretary cannot label military bases or other areas used by the Department of Defense as “critical habitat” if the Defense Secretary says in writing the area is needed for training, testing, or other military purposes. The bill also creates a broad exemption that lets military personnel, and civilians or contractors supporting them, harm or kill listed animals or damage plants during defense activities without breaking the Act. In short, the bill prioritizes military training, testing, and related operations over certain protections for endangered and threatened species.
- The Secretary of the Interior would be barred from designating any military installation, State National Guard installation, or other DoD-used land or water as critical habitat when the Secretary of Defense provides a written determination that the area is needed for military training, weapons testing, or similar purposes; it also removes the requirement for consultation between Defense and Interior about such areas.
- Military actions that would normally be illegal under the Act (like taking, injuring, killing, removing, or destroying listed species) would be allowed when done by military personnel during “national defense-related operations.”
- “National defense-related operations” are defined broadly to include research, development, testing, and evaluation of weapons and munitions; training in their use; general military training and preparedness; and any other actions the Defense Secretary considers necessary.
- “Military personnel” is defined to include service members as well as civilian employees and contractors (and subcontractors) who support the Department of Defense, including overseas support—making the exemption apply to a wide range of people working for or with the military.
Official Summaries
Armed Forces Endangered Species Exemption Act
This bill establishes exemptions from the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA) for defense-related operations.
First, the bill prohibits the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) from designating military installations or state-owned National Guard installations as critical habitat under the ESA. It also prohibits FWS and NMFS from designating other lands, waters, or geographical areas as critical habitats if the Department of Defense (DOD) determines that the areas are necessary for military training, weapons testing, or other reasons. While DOD must submit such determinations in writing to the FWS, DOD is not required to consult with the FWS under the ESA about such determinations.
Next, the bill exempts military personnel engaged in national defense-related operations (actions or duties that DOD deems necessary to support its mission) from ESA prohibitions on (1) taking (e.g., harming or killing) of endangered species or threatened species; (2) importing or exporting such species; and (3) damaging, destroying, removing, cutting, or digging up such species. Further, the bill exempts any injury to or mortality of a threatened or endangered species that results from, but is not the purpose of, a national defense-related operation.
The term military personnel means a member of the Armed Forces as well as a civilian employee or contractor of (1) DOD; or (2) any other federal agency, or any provisional authority, to the extent such employment relates to supporting the mission of DOD overseas.
Current Full Text
[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 65 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 65
To amend the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to further restrict the
Secretary of the Interior from designating certain lands used for
national defense-related purposes as critical habitat for any species
under that Act and to broaden exclusions and exemptions from that Act
for such defense-related purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 3, 2025
Mr. Biggs of Arizona (for himself and Mr. Gosar) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural
Resources
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to further restrict the
Secretary of the Interior from designating certain lands used for
national defense-related purposes as critical habitat for any species
under that Act and to broaden exclusions and exemptions from that Act
for such defense-related purposes.
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 ``Armed Forces Endangered Species
Exemption Act''.
SEC. 2. EXCLUSION OF MILITARY INSTITUTIONS AS CRITICAL HABITAT.
Section 4(a)(3)(B) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C.
1533(a)(3)(B)) is amended to read as follows:
``(i) The Secretary shall not designate as critical
habitat--
``(I) any military installation or a State-owned
National Guard installation, or any portion thereof, as
such terms are defined in section 100 of the Sikes Act
(16 U.S.C. 670); or
``(II) any other lands, waters, or geographical
area not described in clause (i) that is otherwise
designated for use by the Secretary of Defense
including by any contractor of the Department of
Defense, if the Secretary of Defense determines in
writing and submitted to the Secretary of the Interior
that such area is necessary for military training,
weapons testing, or any other reason determined
appropriate by such Secretary of Defense.
``(ii) The Secretary of Defense shall not be required to
consult with the Secretary of the Interior, under section
7(a)(2) of this Act with respect to agency action, regardless
of whether the area described in clause (i) is subject to an
integrated natural resources management plan prepared under
section 101 of the Sikes Act (16 U.S.C. 670a).''.
SEC. 3. ADDITIONAL EXCLUSIONS AND EXEMPTIONS FROM ENDANGERED SPECIES
ACT OF 1973 FOR DEFENSE-RELATED OPERATIONS.
Section 10 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1539)
is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(k) Exclusion for National Defense-Related Operations.--
``(1) Exclusions.--The prohibitions under section 9 shall
not apply with respect to--
``(A) the taking of any endangered species or
threatened species, or the importation or exportation
of any such species taken as prohibited by such
section, by military personnel engaged in a national
defense-related operation;
``(B) damaging or destroying any threatened or
endangered species, or removing, cutting, digging up,
damaging, or destroying any such species, by military
personnel engaged in a national defense-related
operation; or
``(C) an injury to or mortality of a threatened or
endangered species that results from, but is not the
purpose of, a national defense-related operation,
regardless of whether the operation is conducted on a military
installation or other area described in section 4(a)(3)(B)(i).
``(2) Definitions.--For the purposes of this subsection--
``(A) the term `national defense-related operation'
means--
``(i) research, development, testing, and
evaluation of military munitions, other
ordnance, and weapons systems;
``(ii) the training of members of the Armed
Forces in the use and handling of military
munitions, other ordnance, and weapons systems;
``(iii) general training and military
preparedness; or
``(iv) any action or duty that the
Secretary of Defense deems necessary to support
the Department of Defense in its mission; and
``(B) the term `military personnel' means--
``(i) a member of the Armed Forces; and
``(ii) a civilian employee or contractor
(including a subcontractor at any tier) of
the--
``(I) Department of Defense
(including a nonappropriated fund
instrumentality of the Department); or
``(II) any other Federal agency, or
any provisional authority, to the
extent such employment relates to
supporting the mission of the
Department of Defense overseas.''.
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