Sponsors (2)
The bill expands and stabilizes federal support for watershed planning—broadening eligibility (including tribes and disaster-impacted communities), providing predictable multi-year grants, and funding technical assistance—while risking a shift of funds toward planning/administration, concentrating resources among fewer recipients, adding administrative workload, and costing taxpayers about $40M per year.
Local, rural, and tribal communities receive predictable, multi-year federal funding (guaranteed $50,000/year for at least 3 years, with up to two additional years at up to $150,000/year) supported by a $40M annual appropriation for FY2027–FY2031, increasing resources available for watershed planning and development nationwide.
Communities facing drought, wildfire, and other disasters gain a clear eligibility pathway to receive watershed planning and recovery funds, improving resilience and recovery options for disaster-affected areas.
Indian tribes with ancestral lands are explicitly eligible and given a statutory definition, increasing tribes' access to federal watershed grants and project support.
Expanding allowable uses to include grant writing and project management risks shifting federal dollars toward planning/administration and away from on-the-ground conservation or restoration activities.
Larger continuation grants (up to $150,000/year) could concentrate funding on fewer recipients, potentially reducing the number of communities that receive initial support.
The program increases federal spending by $40 million per year for FY2027–FY2031, imposing a cost on taxpayers that could crowd out other priorities or add to deficit pressures.
Based on analysis of 4 sections of legislative text.
Introduced March 10, 2026 by Steve Daines · Last progress March 10, 2026
Revises and reauthorizes the Cooperative Watershed Management Program to broaden who can apply, increase and extend grant awards, allow more uses of funds (like grant writing and project design), require continuous enrollment with multiple application windows, and authorize $40 million per year for fiscal years 2027–2031. It adds an explicit definition and eligibility pathway for Indian tribes and creates disaster-related eligibility for communities hit by drought, wildfire, or other natural disasters. The bill raises first-phase grant levels to $50,000 per year for at least three years with the option to continue for up to two additional years at up to $150,000 per year based on performance, clarifies allowable technical assistance activities, and expands program eligibility and application timing to speed and strengthen watershed projects and planning.