Sec. 201 Tribal Wildlife Corridors
Establishment—
In general—
Nominations— An Indian tribe may nominate a corridor within Indian land of the Indian tribe as a Tribal Wildlife Corridor by submitting to the Secretary, in consultation with the Director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (referred to in this section as the Secretary), an application at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may require.
Determination— Not later than 90 days after the date on which the Secretary receives an application under subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall determine whether the nominated Tribal Wildlife Corridor described in the application meets the criteria established under paragraph (2).
Publication— On approval of an application under subparagraph (B), the Secretary shall publish in the Federal Register a notice of the establishment of the Tribal Wildlife Corridor, which shall include a map and legal description of the land designated as a Tribal Wildlife Corridor.
Criteria—
In general— Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall establish criteria for determining whether a corridor nominated by an Indian tribe under paragraph (1)(A) qualifies as a Tribal Wildlife Corridor.
Inclusions— The criteria established under subparagraph (A) shall include, at a minimum, the following:
The restoration of historical habitat for the purposes of facilitating connectivity.
The management of land for the purposes of facilitating connectivity.
The management of land to prevent the imposition of barriers that may hinder current or future connectivity.
Removal—
In general— An Indian tribe may elect to remove the designation of a Tribal Wildlife Corridor on the Indian land of the Indian tribe by notifying the Secretary.
Effect of removal— An Indian tribe that elects to remove a designation under subparagraph (A) may not receive assistance under subsection (c) or (d)(1) or section 301.
Coordination of land use plans— Section 202 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1712) is amended—
in subsection (b)—
by striking “Indian tribes by” and inserting the following:
“(1) by”
in paragraph (1) (as so designated), by striking the period at the end and inserting “; and”; and
by adding at the end the following:
“(2) for the purposes of determining whether the land use plans for land in the National Forest System would provide additional connectivity to benefit the purposes of a Tribal Wildlife Corridor established under section 10(a)(1) of the Wildlife Corridors Conservation Act of 2019.”
by adding at the end the following:
“(g) Tribal Wildlife Corridors—On the establishment of a Tribal Wildlife Corridor under section 10(a)(1) of the Wildlife Corridors Conservation Act of 2019, the Secretary shall conduct a meaningful consultation with the Indian tribe that administers the Tribal Wildlife Corridor to determine whether, through the revision of 1 or more existing land use plans, the Tribal Wildlife Corridor can—
“(1) be expanded into public lands; or
“(2) otherwise benefit connectivity (as defined in section 3 of that Act) between public lands and the Tribal Wildlife Corridor.”
Technical assistance— The Secretary shall provide to Indian tribes technical assistance relating to the establishment, management, and expansion of a Tribal Wildlife Corridor, including assistance with accessing wildlife data and working with voluntary private landowners to access Federal and State programs to improve wildlife habitat and connectivity on non-Federal land.
Availability of assistance—
Conservation programs consideration—
In general— In evaluating applications under conservation programs described in subparagraph (B), the Secretary of Agriculture may consider whether a project would enhance connectivity through the expansion of a Tribal Wildlife Corridor.
Programs described— The conservation programs referred to in subparagraph (A) are any of the following conservation programs administered by the Secretary of Agriculture:
The conservation reserve program established under subchapter B of chapter 1 of subtitle D of title XII of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3831 et seq.).
The environmental quality incentives program established under subchapter A of chapter 4 of subtitle D of title XII of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa et seq.).
The conservation stewardship program established under subchapter B of chapter 4 of subtitle D of title XII of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa–21 et seq.).
The agricultural conservation easement program established under subtitle H of title XII of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3865 et seq.).
Wildlife movements grant program— An Indian tribe that has a Tribal Wildlife Corridor established on the Indian land of the Indian tribe shall be eligible for a grant under the wildlife movements grant program under section 301, subject to other applicable requirements of that grant program.
Savings clause— Nothing in this section authorizes or affects the use of private property or Indian land.