Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
Creates the Pacific Northwest Migratory Bird Conservation pilot program to provide competitive grants and technical assistance for habitat restoration projects benefiting shorebirds, waterfowl, and wetlands-dependent birds in the Oregon‑Washington coastal zone and Columbia River Basin.
Grants are available to a broad set of eligible entities, require a non‑Federal share (typically at least 25 percent) secured two years before application, limit certain uses (no regular O&M, caps on ecosystem‑service studies and voluntary easements), and may not fund statutory mitigation obligations.
Authorizes $10 million annually for fiscal years 2026–2030, requires annual reports to Congress, and caps administrative costs at 3 percent.
Small, voluntary conservation pilot with modest cost and explicit safeguards improves prospects, but enactment depends on appropriations and competing spending priorities.
Relative to its intended legislative type, this bill creates a narrowly scoped, time-limited Federal grant program to support wetland habitat restoration in defined Pacific Northwest geographies. It sets clear purposes, funding authorization, basic eligibility and use-of-funds rules, and reporting requirements while delegating customary implementation details to the administering agency.
Supporters emphasize habitat benefits and Tribal/nonprofit partnerships
Supporters emphasize habitat benefits and Tribal/nonprofit partnerships
Generally supportive.
Sees the bill as a targeted, conservation‑focused, voluntary funding program that protects migratory bird habitat and supports Tribal, nonprofit, and private land partnerships.
May view funding as useful but modest relative to need.
Cautiously favorable.
Views the bill as a modest, well‑defined pilot with oversight, matching requirements, and limits on federal cost.
Wants clear metrics and accountability to ensure cost‑effective results.
Skeptical.
Acknowledges voluntary framing and property‑rights language, but sees new federal grant spending and program criteria as potential federal overreach and regulatory burden on landowners.
Reached or meaningfully advanced
Reached or meaningfully advanced
Still ahead
Still ahead
Still ahead
Small, voluntary conservation pilot with modest cost and explicit safeguards improves prospects, but enactment depends on appropriations and competing spending priorities.
The bill has not accumulated any surfaced votes yet.
Supporters emphasize habitat benefits and Tribal/nonprofit partnerships
Small, voluntary conservation pilot with modest cost and explicit safeguards improves prospects, but enactment depends on appropriations an…
Relative to its intended legislative type, this bill creates a narrowly scoped, time-limited Federal grant program to support wetland habitat restoration in defined Pacific Northwest geographies. It sets clear purposes,…
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