Public Law 118–138: To authorize the Secretary of the Interior, through the Coastal Program of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, to work with willing partners and provide support to efforts to assess, protect, restore, and enhance important coastal landscapes that provide fish and wildlife habitat on which certain Federal trust species depend, and for other purposes.

Coastal Habitat Conservation Act of 2023

The term “” means a biological community of organisms interacting with each other and their habitats in a coastal landscape.

The term “” means the process of evaluating the physical, chemical, and biological function of a coastal site to determine the value of the site to fish and wildlife.

The term “” means the manipulation of the physical, chemical, or biological characteristics of a coastal ecosystem to increase or decrease specific biological functions that make the ecosystem valuable to fish and wildlife.

The term “” means the process of developing a comprehensive plan that—

The term “” means the manipulation of the physical, chemical, or biological characteristics of a coastal ecosystem with the goal of returning, to the maximum extent practicable, the full natural biological functions to lost or degraded native habitat.

The term “” means a portion of a coastal ecosystem within or adjacent to a coastal State that contains various habitat types, including—

The term “” means—

The term “” means migratory birds, threatened species or endangered species listed under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), interjurisdictional fish, and marine mammals for which the Secretary has management authority.

The term “” means Federal funding provided to Federal, State, local, or Tribal governments, nongovernmental institutions, nonprofit organizations, and private individuals and entities through a grant or cooperative agreement.

The term “” means the Secretary of the Interior.

The term “” means the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.

The term “” means a collaboration, facilitation, or consulting action 138 STAT. 1653 relating to a coastal habitat planning, coastal habitat assessment, coastal habitat protection, coastal habitat restoration, or coastal habitat enhancement project or initiative in which the Service contributes scientific knowledge, skills, and expertise to the project or initiative.

identify the leading threats to priority coastal landscapes and conservation actions to address those threats in partnership with Federal, State, local, and Tribal governments, nongovernmental institutions, nonprofit organizations, and private individuals and entities;

provide technical assistance and financial assistance through partnerships with Federal, State, local, and Tribal governments, nongovernmental institutions, nonprofit organizations, and private individuals and entities to conduct voluntary coastal habitat planning, coastal habitat assessment, coastal habitat protection, coastal habitat restoration, and coastal habitat enhancement projects on public land or private land;

ensure the health and resilience of coastal ecosystems through adaptive management procedures based on the best available science;

build the capacity of Federal, State, local, and Tribal governments, nongovernmental institutions, nonprofit organizations, and private individuals and entities to carry out environmental conservation and stewardship measures;

assist in the development and implementation of monitoring protocols to ensure the success of coastal ecosystem restoration and coastal ecosystem enhancement measures; and

collaborate and share information with partners and the public relating to best management practices for the conservation, restoration, and enhancement of coastal ecosystems.

Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Secretary, acting through the Director of the Service, shall submit to the Committees on Appropriations and Natural Resources of the House of Representatives and the Committees on Appropriations and Environment and Public Works of the Senate, and make available to the public on the website of the Service, a report on the Coastal Program carried out under this Act.

Each report submitted under subsection (a) shall assess on regional and nationwide bases—

Each report submitted under subsection (a) shall include—