National Wildlife Refuge System Invasive Species Strike Team Act of 2025

What this does

This bill directs the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, to run a National Wildlife Refuge System Invasive Species Strike Team Program to find and respond to invasive species threats on or near refuge lands and waters. The Secretary must set up at least one strike team in each Fish and Wildlife Service region, trained to detect and respond quickly to invasive species, and must partner with other governments, nonprofits, and private landowners, and use existing invasive species databases and reporting systems. Any identification or response work on land or water next to a refuge, rather than inside it, may happen only if the owner of that land asks for it. The Secretary may also provide financial or technical assistance, contracts, or grants to outside groups working on invasive species near refuges, and may send a strike team to help at their request. The bill requires public reports to Congress on the program's work two and five years after enactment, and authorizes $10,000,000 a year for the program from 2027 through 2033. The House passed it on September 14, 2026, 371 to 33.