Transparency in Federal Land Acquisitions Act
Summary
What This Bill Does
This bill adds notice-and-comment process to Fish and Wildlife Service land protection plans. For covered plans, FWS must publish the proposed land protection plan in the Federal Register at least 60 days before finalizing it and give interested persons an opportunity to submit written data, views, or arguments. The process does not apply to small proposed National Wildlife Refuge System expansions if the expansion is less than the greater of 50 acres or 15 percent of the unit's total acreage.
Who Benefits and How
Adjacent landowners, county officials, state wildlife agencies, conservation organizations, hunters, recreation users, agricultural landowners, and local communities benefit from earlier visibility and a formal comment window before larger refuge-expansion land protection plans are finalized.
Who Bears the Burden and How
The Fish and Wildlife Service must add Federal Register publication and comment processing to covered land protection plans. Refuge acquisition proponents may face delay or public scrutiny for larger expansions, while very small expansions remain exempt from the new process.
Key Provisions
- Requires FWS to publish proposed land protection plans in the Federal Register at least 60 days before finalization.
- Requires FWS to give interested persons a written comment opportunity on covered draft land protection plans.
- Exempts National Wildlife Refuge System expansions smaller than the greater of 50 acres or 15 percent of the unit's acreage.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Requires the Fish and Wildlife Service to publish proposed land protection plans for larger National Wildlife Refuge System acquisitions in the Federal Register and take written public comments at least 60 days before finalization.
Key Policy Areas
Public Lands, Environment, Government Oversight
Primary Purpose
Requires the Fish and Wildlife Service to publish proposed land protection plans for larger National Wildlife Refuge System acquisitions in the Federal Register and take written public comments at least 60 days before finalization.
Policy Domains
Substantive provisions
Identified Gains
- Adjacent landowners
- County officials
- State wildlife agencies
- Conservation organizations
- Hunters
- Recreation users
Identified Costs
- Fish and Wildlife Service
- Refuge acquisition proponents
- Federal Register staff
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
In CommitteeReferred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.
Introduced in House
Mr. Arrington (for himself and Mr. Ezell) introduced the following …
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Adjacent landowners, Fish and Wildlife Service
Positive-direction: Adjacent landowners
Negative-direction: Fish and Wildlife Service
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "Director"
- → Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology