Sponsors (5)
The bill provides targeted, predictable federal funding and grants to help landowners and conservation partners restore waterfowl habitat, but it reallocates Interior resources and may be too limited or unevenly accessible to meet large-scale or small-holder needs.
Nonprofits, state governments, and tribal communities will receive predictable federal program funding ($3.5M/year per program through 2030) to support habitat restoration projects and partner capacity.
Rural landowners, farmers, homeowners, and conservation groups in the prairie pothole region and California can get grants/incentives to install and maintain nest structures, brood ponds, and nesting cover, improving duck nesting success and local waterfowl breeding habitat.
Partner organizations and implementing groups (including nonprofits and state partners) gain more reliable capacity-building support to carry out restoration and maintenance activities tied to the funded programs.
Taxpayers and other Interior priorities will be affected because the bill draws funding from Department of the Interior operations, reducing amounts available for other DOI programs unless offsets are provided.
Rural communities and conservation groups may find the authorized amount ($3.5M per program per year) too limited to scale habitat restoration across extensive prairie pothole and California breeding areas, limiting overall environmental impact.
Individual small landowners and small nonprofits may be disadvantaged because competition for grants can favor larger organizations, making it harder for smaller actors to secure funding without additional technical assistance.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Creates two competitive DOI grant programs to install nest structures in the prairie pothole region and to develop breeding habitat in California, funded $3.5M/year each for FY2026–2030.
Official title: To establish grant programs to sustain populations of species of migratory waterfowl through the deployment of tools and practices that complement habitat conservation, and for other purposes.
Introduced July 22, 2025 by Michelle Fischbach · Last progress July 22, 2025
Creates two competitive Interior Department grant programs to improve bird breeding and nesting habitat: one to place and maintain cylindrical nest structures (“hen houses”) in the prairie pothole region, and one to develop breeding habitat in California (nesting cover, brood ponds, incentives for willing landowners). Each program must be set up within 180 days of enactment and is authorized $3.5 million per year for fiscal years 2026–2030, funded from the Departmental Operations account of the Department of the Interior.