This bill directs the Secretary of Commerce, working with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, to create a new federal grant program supporting the rescue, rehabilitation, and release of stranded sea turtles across U.S. coastal regions. Eligible grant recipients include nonprofit organizations in the Sea Turtle Stranding and Salvage Network, Indian Tribes, universities, and other qualified public or private groups with experience in turtle rescue or related research. The legislation also amends the Marine Mammal Protection Act to formally establish sea turtle rescue and response as an eligible category under existing federal grant authority and creates a new Sea Turtle Rescue, Rehabilitation, and Rapid Response Fund to provide emergency assistance funding. Funding authorized includes $5 million annually for fiscal years 2024 through 2029 for the main grant program, plus an additional $5 million annually for fiscal years 2025 through 2030 and $500,000 annually for the emergency response fund during that same period. The bill primarily benefits wildlife rehabilitation organizations, coastal communities, and threatened or endangered sea turtle populations by improving coordinated response efforts and expanding scientific data collection on causes of turtle strandings and mortality.
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