America’s Conservation Enhancement Reauthorization Act of 2024

The Senate version would have increased North American Wetlands Conservation Act authorization from $60 million to $65 million for fiscal years 2026 through 2030. The Enrolled Bill removes this increase and simply extends the existing authorization date to 2030.

Chesapeake Bay Program funding for fiscal years 2026 through 2030 was reduced from $100 million per year (Senate version) to $92 million per year in the Enrolled Bill, a decrease of $8 million annually.

The Senate version included specific funding amounts in the fish habitat section: $10 million for fiscal years 2026-2030 for partnership operations, $400,000 to the Bureau of Land Management, and a new $1 million authorization for the National Fish Habitat Assessment. All of these were removed in the Enrolled Bill, which only extends existing authorization dates to 2030.

A new subsection (f) was added to the fish habitat partnerships section giving Congress exclusive authority to designate or modify a Partnership. A Board recommendation is deemed approved if Congress does not pass a joint resolution of disapproval within 90 days of committee receipt.

The Chronic Wasting Disease Task Force provisions were restructured: the requirement that Task Force efforts be contingent on completion of a study was removed, and the report deadline was changed from 180 days after study completion to 90 days after enactment of this Act.

The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation funding agreement provision was changed from requiring a minimum period of 5 years (not less than 5 and not more than 10) to simply capping the maximum at 10 years, removing the 5-year floor.