Wildlife Corridors Conservation Act of 2016

Wildlife Corridors Conservation Act of 2016

This bill establishes a National Wildlife Corridors System for:

• conserving and restoring habitats that support native fish, wildlife, and plant species that have experienced or may experience habitat loss, degradation, fragmentation, or obstructions of connectivity;
• providing long-term habitat connectivity for the native species for migration, dispersal, adaptation to environmental change, and genetic exchange; and
• facilitating coordinated landscape- and seascape-scale connectivity planning and management across departmental jurisdictions.

The Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, the Interior, and Transportation must: (1) each create a process for designating lands and waters under their respective administration and control as national wildlife corridors; and (2) manage corridors in a manner that contributes to the long-term connectivity, persistence, resilience, and adaptability of native species.

The bill establishes safety and mitigation requirements for corridors that intersect, adjoin, or cross local, state, or federal roads or highways.

The departments may acquire land to establish and enhance corridors and the land may be purchased with amounts from the Land and Water Conservation Fund or the Wildlife Corridors Stewardship and Protection Fund.

The U.S. Geological Survey must establish and make available to the public a comprehensive National Native Species Habitats and Corridors Geographic Information System Database.

The bill establishes a Wildlife Corridors Stewardship and Protection Fund, which may be used by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation for enhancing the management and the protection of corridors and other lands and waters identified as important to further the purposes of the corridor.

Written by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. All summary versions on Congress.gov