Sponsors (2)
The bill federalizes responsibility and funding for a defined fish bypass—protecting local irrigators and advancing pallid sturgeon recovery—at the cost of new ongoing federal expenditures and reduced local control, flexibility, and some avenues for private accountability.
Taxpayers and local irrigation districts: The federal government will assume funding and operational responsibility for the Lower Yellowstone Fish Bypass Channel, shielding local irrigation districts and water users from O&M and repair costs.
Pallid sturgeon, native fish, and downstream ecosystems: The Act establishes a defined 2.1-mile engineered bypass and directs federal agencies to lead recovery with dedicated funding, improving migration habitat and conservation prospects.
Local irrigation districts, federal agencies, and stakeholders: The bill clarifies legal ownership, agency roles (Secretary/Commissioner), and venue/protections, reducing administrative uncertainty and litigation risk for operators.
Taxpayers and the federal budget: The Act creates a new ongoing federal expense (explicit $1,000,000/year plus unspecified long-term O&M and adaptive-management costs), increasing federal spending and fiscal exposure.
Local and state partners, and nearby communities: The bill limits local control and flexibility by prohibiting transfers of operations to non‑Federal entities and precluding local cost‑sharing, reducing local influence over management decisions.
Local stakeholders and conservation outcomes: By exempting local entities from ESA obligations and centralizing responsibility, the measure may reduce local accountability and cooperative engagement, potentially slowing on-the-ground habitat improvements.
Based on analysis of 9 sections of legislative text.
Makes the federal government permanently responsible for owning, operating, funding, and maintaining the Lower Yellowstone Fish Bypass Channel and authorizes $1M/year beginning FY2026 for its O&M and adaptive management.
Official title: Reaffirm that the Bureau of Reclamation retains exclusive ownership, operational control, and financial responsibility for the Lower Yellowstone Fish Bypass Channel, ensuring long-term conservation of the endangered pallid sturgeon and other native aquatic species in the Yellowstone River while protecting the Lower Yellowstone Irrigation Project and District from undue financial and operational burdens, and for other purposes.
Introduced December 9, 2025 by Steve Daines · Last progress December 9, 2025
Requires the Department of the Interior (through the Bureau of Reclamation) to retain permanent ownership, operational authority, and full financial responsibility for the Lower Yellowstone Fish Bypass Channel and forbids shifting any operations, maintenance, repair, or Endangered Species Act obligations for that Channel to the Lower Yellowstone Irrigation District, the Lower Yellowstone Irrigation Project, or any other non‑Federal entity. It authorizes $1,000,000 per fiscal year beginning 2026 to support continuous operation, engineering work, repairs, and adaptive management of the Channel, requires biennial reports to relevant Congressional committees, preserves existing water rights and irrigation project purposes, and creates a federal-court remedy in Montana for the District or other stakeholders if the federal government attempts to transfer those responsibilities.