U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: FY2025 Appropriations

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: FY2025 Appropriations

link to page 1 link to page 1

April 19, 2024
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: FY2025 Appropriations
Introduction
Figure 1. FWS FY2016-FY2024 Enacted Discretionary
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), an agency
Funding and FY2025 Administration Request
within the Department of the Interior (DOI), has a mission
(in FY2023 dol ars)
to conserve, protect, and enhance fish, wildlife, and plants
and their habitats. Congress funds FWS through
discretionary and mandatory appropriations. FWS
discretionary appropriations typically are included in the
annual Department of the Interior, Environment, and
Related Agencies appropriations acts. Discretionary
appropriations fund many activities related to the agency’s
mission, such as resource management and conservation,
construction projects, and payments and grants to states and
other parties.

This In Focus pertains primarily to discretionary funding
Source: CRS using “budget authority” data from Appendix A of The
for FWS for FY2025. For FY2025, issues for Congress
Interior Budget in Brief. In general, enacted amounts are taken from the
include determining the amount of funding for FWS
volume two years later than the fiscal year indicated. Enacted
accounts and activities, the terms and conditions of such
amounts for FY2024 are from the explanatory statement
funding, and whether to enact related Biden Administration
accompanying P.L. 118-42, Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024.
proposals.
Notes: Appropriations general y exclude supplemental funding,
transfers, rescissions, and cancel ations. Amounts adjusted to FY2023
FWS sometimes receives supplemental funding in addition
constant dol ars using Office of Management and Budget, Historical
to annual discretionary appropriations. For instance, the
Tables, Table 10.1: Gross Domestic Product and Deflators Used in the
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA; P.L. 117-58),
Historical Tables: 1940-2029.
enacted in 2021, provided FWS with supplemental funding
of $91.0 million annually from FY2022 to FY2026. The
Table 1. Discretionary Funding by Account for FWS
monies were provided for activities under the Resource
(nominal $ in millions)
Management account, including fish and wildlife passage
restoration and regional ecosystem restoration.
FY2024
FY2025
Account
Enacted
Request
Mandatory (permanent) appropriations also are provided to
FWS under various statutes within the jurisdiction of
Resource Management
1,520.3
1,706.6
authorizing committees. The Interior Budget in Brief,
Construction
19.3
32.2
Fiscal Year 2025, estimated FWS mandatory appropriations
at $2.02 billion for FY2025. This total does not include
Cooperative Endangered Species
23.0
14.4
$95.0 million in annual mandatory funding authorized
Conservation Fund
under the Great American Outdoors Act (P.L. 116-152) for
National Wildlife Refuge Fund
13.2
0.0
deferred maintenance.
North American Wetlands
FWS Discretionary Appropriations
49.0
33.0
Conservation Fund
From FY2016 to FY2024, FWS received, on average, $1.83
Neotropical Migratory Bird
billion in discretionary funding (adjusted to FY2023
5.0
5.1
Conservation Fund
dollars; see Figure 1). For FY2025, the Administration
requested $1.89 billion in discretionary funding for FWS
Multinational Species
20.5
21.0
across eight accounts (Table 1). The FY2025
Conservation Fund
Administration request is approximately $163.4 million
State and Tribal Wildlife Grants
72.4
73.8
above the FY2024 enacted amount of $1.72 billion.
Accounts Total
$1,722.7
$1,886.1
Source: CRS using data from the Congressional Record, vol. 170, no.
39 (March 5, 2024), pp. S1801-S1803, and “budget authority” data
from Appendix A, The Interior Budget in Brief, Fiscal Year 2025, p. A-3.
Notes: Totals do not include supplemental funding and transfers.
Columns may not sum to totals shown due to rounding.
https://crsreports.congress.gov

link to page 1 link to page 2 link to page 1 link to page 1 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: FY2025 Appropriations
Resource Management Account
projects. The North American Wetlands Conservation Fund
The Resource Management account comprises the majority
receives annual discretionary appropriations and funds
(88% in FY2024) of the FWS annual discretionary
transferred from the Sport Fish Restoration and Boating
appropriation (Table 1). For FY2025, the Administration
Trust Fund (previously known as the Aquatic Resources
request of $1.71 billion is $186.3 million above the FY2024
Trust Fund; 26 U.S.C. §9504). For FY2025, the
enacted level for this account. Table 2 shows the funding
Administration requested $33.0 million for the North
levels for activities within the account.
American Wetlands Conservation Fund, a decrease of $16.0
million from the FY2024 enacted level (Table 1). The
Table 2. Activities Within Resource Management
North American Wetlands Conservation Fund receives 15%
(nominal $ in millions)
of the receipts deposited into the trust fund in the fiscal year
following their collection.
FY2024
FY2025
Activity
Enacted
Request
A second proposal in the FY2025 Administration request
seeks to increase the percentage of funds available (from
Ecological Services
288.3
338.2
not more than 3% to not more than 5%) to administer the
Habitat Conservation
72.0
82.7
Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act (NMBCA; 16
U.S.C. §§6101 et seq.). According to FWS, this increase
National Wildlife Refuge System
527.0
602.3
would help agency staff guide grantees through grant
Conservation and Enforcement
173.7
221.3
complexities, provide strategic guidance on conservation
priorities, and increase outreach and awareness of the
Fish and Aquatic Conservation
226.8
239.3
NMBCA grant program. The NMBCA authorizes grants for
Science Support
33.8
37.9
the conservation of neotropical migratory birds in the
United States, Canada, Latin America, and the Caribbean.
General Operations
153.8
183.8
Of the amounts made available, 75% are to be expended on
Stewardship Priorities
44.9
0.0
projects outside the United States. The budget proposal also
seeks to lower the nonfederal match requirements for
Damage Recovery Provision
0.0
1.0
projects outside the United States from 3:1 to 1:1 for the
NMBCA grant program as a means to increase
Account Total
$1,520.3
$1,706.6
opportunities to support bird conservation measures.
Source: CRS using data from the Congressional Record, vol. 170, no.
39 (March 5, 2024), pp. S1799-S1801, and The Interior Budget in Brief,
A third proposal in the FY2025 Administration request
Fiscal Year 2025, pp. FWS-9-FWS-10.
seeks to expand the Good Neighbor Authority (16 U.S.C.
Notes: Columns may not sum to totals shown due to rounding.
§2113a), currently available to the Bureau of Land
Management (BLM) and the U.S. Forest Service (FS), to
Other FWS Accounts
include FWS and the National Park Service. The Good
In FY2024, $202.4 million in annual discretionary funding
Neighbor Authority authorizes BLM and FS to enter into
was appropriated for seven other FWS accounts that
cooperative agreements or contracts with states, counties,
support construction, conservation activities, financial and
and federally recognized Indian tribes to perform watershed
technical assistance, and revenue sharing, among other
restoration and forest management services on the federal
activities (Table 1). For FY2025, the Administration
land managed by those agencies.
requested $179.5 million for the seven accounts, an overall
$22.9 million decrease from the FY2024 enacted level. The
A fourth FY2025 Administration relates to FWS planning
request reflected decreases to the Cooperative Endangered
and consultation activities (under the Ecological Services
Species Conservation Fund and the North American
activity). In FY2024, the Administration sought to expand
Wetlands Conservation Fund accounts. It also reflected an
the authority for agencies to transfer funds under the IIJA to
elimination of appropriations for the National Wildlife
FWS to accelerate and improve environmental reviews in
Refuge Fund. Under the Refuge Revenue Sharing Act (16
support of development of infrastructure projects and
U.S.C. §715s), FWS makes payments to counties with FWS
energy solutions on federal land. The Further Consolidated
lands from the sale of products on those lands. The FY2025
Appropriations Act, 2024 (P.L. 118-47), Division B,
budget did not include appropriations for this purpose.
Section 754, authorized the transfer of unobligated IIJA
funds to the FWS and the National Marine Fisheries
Selected FY2025 Administration Budget Proposals
Service, subject to specified terms and conditions, for the
The FY2025 Administration request includes several
costs of carrying out responsibilities related to the
budget proposals, some of which are discussed herein. One
Endangered Species Act (16 U.S.C. §§1531 et seq.). This
proposal seeks a statutory change to increase the percentage
proposal, if enacted, would allow a similar transfer for
of funds available (from not more than 4% to not more than
FY2025.
7%) for the administration of the North American Wetlands
Conservation Act (NAWCA; 16 U.S.C. §§4401 et seq.).
Caitlin Keating-Bitonti, Analyst in Natural Resources
According to FWS, the proposed percentage increase would
Policy
foster oversight of NAWCA grants. NAWCA authorizes
grants to public-private partnerships in the United States,
IF12638
Canada, and Mexico to carry out wetland conservation

https://crsreports.congress.gov

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: FY2025 Appropriations

Disclaimer
This document was prepared by the Congressional Research Service (CRS). CRS serves as nonpartisan shared staff to
congressional committees and Members of Congress. It operates solely at the behest of and under the direction of Congress.
Information in a CRS Report should not be relied upon for purposes other than public understanding of information that has
been provided by CRS to Members of Congress in connection with CRS’s institutional role. CRS Reports, as a work of the
United States Government, are not subject to copyright protection in the United States. Any CRS Report may be
reproduced and distributed in its entirety without permission from CRS. However, as a CRS Report may include
copyrighted images or material from a third party, you may need to obtain the permission of the copyright holder if you
wish to copy or otherwise use copyrighted material.

https://crsreports.congress.gov | IF12638 · VERSION 1 · NEW