Sponsors (3)
Reauthorizes and expands the Cooperative Watershed Management Program, adds tribal inclusion and disaster‑need eligibility, raises/extends grant caps, and authorizes $40M/year for FY2027–2031.
The bill increases and stabilizes federal funding and allowable uses to help watershed groups—especially tribes and disaster-affected areas—deliver shovel-ready projects and local jobs, at the cost of higher federal spending and added administrative complexity with potential trade-offs in how limited assistance is prioritized.
Watershed groups, local governments, and nonprofits get more predictable multi-year grant funding (initial $50,000/year for ≥3 years, with performance-based continuation up to $150,000/year), enabling better multi-year planning and larger projects.
Authorizes $40 million per year (FY2027–2031), providing sustained federal funding to support more watershed projects nationwide and create local jobs.
Groups can use grant funds for grant writing, project management, feasibility, design, and preliminary environmental review, helping them develop shovel-ready projects and leverage additional funding.
Increased grant funding and new continuation authorities raise federal spending, which could increase budget pressures or crowd out other programs, affecting taxpayers and federal priorities.
Prioritizing disaster-affected watersheds could disadvantage watersheds with chronic but less acute needs, delaying assistance for some communities and projects.
Adding tribal/ancestral-land criteria and other eligibility changes may complicate eligibility determinations and increase administrative complexity for the Department of the Interior and applicants.
Based on analysis of 4 sections of legislative text.
Official title: Reauthorize the Cooperative Watershed Management Program, and for other purposes.
Introduced March 10, 2026 by Steve Daines · Last progress March 10, 2026
Reauthorizes and expands the Cooperative Watershed Management Program to broaden who can join watershed groups, add eligibility for groups harmed by drought, wildfire, or other disasters, and update grant terms and allowable uses. The bill creates a new tribal definition cross-referencing federal Indian law, explicitly recognizes tribes that have ancestral lands within watersheds, raises first‑phase grant caps and duration options, permits additional uses like grant writing and preliminary engineering, requires continuous enrollment with multiple application windows, and authorizes $40 million per year for FY2027–2031 to carry out the program. The changes aim to increase access to planning and project funding for communities and multi‑interest watershed groups—especially those facing acute natural‑resource stresses—and to give the Secretary flexibility to extend and scale successful early grants.