House Votes to Write Wildlife Refuge Invasive-Species Teams Into Law

The House of Representatives on Sept. 14, 2026, passed the National Wildlife Refuge System Invasive Species Strike Team Act of 2025 (H.R. 4219) by a vote of 371 to 33, with 28 members not voting.

The bill would direct the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, to establish the National Wildlife Refuge System Invasive Species Strike Team Program — putting into law an existing effort to combat non-native plants and animals that harm wildlife refuges. The Fish and Wildlife Service uses Invasive Species Strike Teams, whose flexible and mobile design enables rapid response to newly identified invasive species, emphasizing early detection and rapid response as a cost-effective approach to preventing invasive species from becoming established.

Under the measure, the Service would codify the existing program, establish at least one strike team in each of its regions, collaborate with non-federal partners, and develop a consistent set of taxonomy standards. The bill also authorizes the Service to provide technical assistance and enter into cooperative agreements to address invasive species on lands adjacent to the refuge system. As amended, it authorizes $10 million annually through Fiscal Year 2033, consistent with enacted fiscal year 2026 funding levels.

The bill's sponsor, Rep. Ed Case of Hawaii, made the case for the program in an April hearing, telling the subcommittee that the legislation codifies an already proven on-the-ground model that delivers targeted, cost-effective responses to emerging threats, with 21 teams strategically positioned across the country. He said that in Hawaii, a strike team responded to invasive plants that colonized native koa and ʻōhiʻa forest after a 2015 wildfire, and that at Kīlauea Point National Wildlife Refuge, teams helped implement the largest predator-proof fence in the United States, followed by the removal of invasive predators such as feral pigs and cats.

The legislation was taken up under a motion to suspend the rules and pass — a procedure that requires a two-thirds majority. The measure cleared that threshold and now heads toward the Senate.