The America’s Conservation Enhancement (ACE) Act has been signed into law. The Act passed the Senate unanimously in the form of a substitute amendment that was negotiated with the House of Representatives on September 16th, 2020 and was signed by President Trump on October 30th, 2020. The act will reauthorize the North American Wetlands Conservation Act until 2025; 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; 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; 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; 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; and encourage partnerships among public agencies and other interested parties for promoting fish conservation.
