1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Armed Forces Endangered Species Exemption Act . 2. Exclusion of military institutions as critical habitat Section 4(a)(3)(B) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 ( 16 U.S.C. 1533(a)(3)(B) ) is amended to read as follows: (i) The Secretary shall not designate as critical habitat— (I) any military installation or a State-owned National Guard installation, or any portion thereof, as such terms are defined in section 100 of the Sikes Act ( 16 U.S.C. 670 ); or (II) any other lands, waters, or geographical area not described in clause (i) that is otherwise designated for use by the Secretary of Defense including by any contractor of the Department of Defense, if the Secretary of Defense determines in writing and submitted to the Secretary of the Interior that such area is necessary for military training, weapons testing, or any other reason determined appropriate by such Secretary of Defense. (ii) The Secretary of Defense shall not be required to consult with the Secretary of the Interior, under section 7(a)(2) of this Act with respect to agency action, regardless of whether the area described in clause (i) is subject to an integrated natural resources management plan prepared under section 101 of the Sikes Act ( 16 U.S.C. 670a ). . 3. Additional exclusions and exemptions from the Endangered Species Act for defense-related operations Section 10 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 ( 16 U.S.C. 1539 ) is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection: (h) Exclusion for national defense-Related operations (1) Exclusions The prohibitions under section 9 shall not apply with respect to— (A) the taking of any endangered species or threatened species, or the importation or exportation of any such species taken as prohibited by such section, by military personnel engaged in a national defense-related operation