BISMARCK – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Subcommittee on Fisheries, Water, and Wildlife, issued the following statement on President Donald J. Trump signing the bipartisan America’s Conservation Enhancement (ACE) Act into law today: 

“As Teddy Roosevelt would note, our nation succeeds if we treat our natural resources as assets we must give to the next generation in better shape than how we found them. President Trump is carrying on that conservationist spirit, signing another piece of bipartisan legislation which will help preserve our wildlife, combat invasive species, and protect our livestock.”

The ACE Act - backed by a broad group of stakeholders - helps conserve wildlife and wildlife habitat and addresses the threats of emerging wildlife diseases, protects livestock from predators, and combats invasive species. Specifically, it will: 

  • Establish a Theodore Roosevelt Genius Prize for technological innovation to reduce –human-predator conflict using non-lethal means;
  • Authorize funds to combat the threat of invasive species;
  • Establish a program to provide grants to states and Indian tribes to compensate livestock producers for losses due to predation by federally protected species such as wolves or grizzly bears;
  • Authorize the director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to issue depredation permits to livestock producers to allow for the taking of black vultures or common ravens under specified circumstances during calving or lambing season; 
  • Reauthorize the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Act until 2025;
  • Commission a study by the National Academy of Sciences regarding the pathways and mechanisms of the transmission of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in the United States;
  • Establish a CWD task force to develop an interstate action plan for state and federal cooperation relating to the disease; and
  • Encourage partnerships among public agencies and other interested parties for promoting fish conservation.

Senator Cramer cosponsored this bipartisan legislation - which falls under his EPW subcommittee’s jurisdiction - with Senators Ben Cardin (D-MD), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), and Jim Inhofe (R-OK). It was introduced by EPW’s Chairman and Ranking Member, Senator John Barrasso (R-WY) and Tom Carper (D-DE). The bill was approved unanimously by EPW last December and passed through the Senate without objection in September.