H.R. 1897

ESA Amendments Act of 2025

Sponsor: Bruce Westerman

26 cosponsors
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Official summary

Written by the Congressional Research Service.

ESA Amendments Act of 2025

This bill reauthorizes through FY2031 the Endangered Species Act and generally narrows protections provided under the act.

The bill directs the Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service to submit a National Listing Work Plan that establishes a five-year schedule and plan for addressing listing of endangered or threatened species and designation of critical habitats for such species. Under the plan, the bill gives the Services flexibility on the timing of acting on listing petitions and eliminates the requirement for the Services to act within 12 months on listing petitions.

The bill limits what land may be designated as critical habitat for an endangered or threatened species. 

It also limits protections provided to threatened species and allows a state to regulate the recovery of such species if the Services determine the state's proposed recovery strategy would conserve the species.

The bill provides statutory authority for Conservation Benefit Agreements, which allow private landowners to voluntarily enter agreements to reduce threats to candidate species in exchange for being allowed to continue their operations if the species is later listed. 

The bill also modifies the permitting process for certain other voluntary conservation agreements, including by exempting incidental take permits (e.g., permits to harm or kill a species) from environmental review requirements.

The bill also makes a variety of other changes to the act, including limiting consultation requirements, judicial review, and awards for attorneys’ fees in certain cases. 

Text of the bill

Expand all
Sec. 3. Authorization of appropriations Changed · Mar 24

Where this section came from

  1. Mar 6, 2025 · Introduced in House Referred to House Committee on Natural Resources, Mar 6
  2. Mar 24, 2026 · Reported in House Marked up by House Committee on Natural Resources, Dec 17 Reported by House Committee on Natural Resources, Mar 24 Committee members' individual votes aren't in our records.
What changed in the text

… 5 unchanged passages …

(ii) by inserting , and $ 302 287 , 025 978 ,000 for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2031 after fiscal year 1992;

… 2 unchanged passages …

(ii) by inserting , and $ 116 105 , 630 400 ,000 for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2031 after fiscal years 1991 and 1992; and

… 8 unchanged passages …

What is a markup?

A markup is a committee meeting where members go through a bill and vote on changes before sending it to the full chamber.

(a) In general. Section 15 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1542) is amended—

(1) in subsection (a)—

(A) by striking subsection (b), (c), and (d) and inserting subsections (b) and (c);

(B) in paragraph (1)—

(i) by striking and after fiscal year 1991,; and

(ii) by inserting , and $287,978,000 for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2031 after fiscal year 1992;

(C) in paragraph (2)—

(i) by striking and after fiscal years 1989 and 1990,; and

(ii) by inserting , and $105,400,000 for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2031 after fiscal years 1991 and 1992; and

(D) in paragraph (3)—

(i) by striking and after fiscal years 1989 and 1990,; and

(ii) by inserting and $2,600,000 for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2031 after fiscal years 1991 and 1992,;

(2) in subsection (b), by inserting and $600,000 for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2031 after 1992; and

(3) in subsection (c)—

(A) by striking and after fiscal years 1988, 1989, and 1990,; and

(B) by inserting and $9,900,000 for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2031, after fiscal years 1991 and 1992,.

(b) Technical amendment. Section 15(b) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1542(b)) is amended by striking sections 7 (e), (g), and (h) and inserting subsections (e), (g), and (h) of section 7.

I Optimizing conservation through resource prioritization

II Incentivizing wildlife conservation on private lands

III Providing for greater incentives to recover listed species

IV Creating greater transparency and accountability in recovering listed species

V Streamlining permitting process

VI Eliminating barriers to conservation

VII Restoring congressional intent