Headwaters Protection Act of 2025
Latest action · Sep 3, 2025 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedSep 3, 2025
- Passed SenateNot reached
- Passed HouseNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Headwaters Protection Act of 2025
This bill reauthorizes through FY2034 and expands the Water Source Protection Program (WSPP) under which the Forest Service carries out watershed protection and restoration projects on federal land. It also requires the Forest Service's Watershed Condition Framework for National Forest System land to ensure certain activities and authorizations do not result in long-term degradation of the health of a watershed.
The bill authorizes the WSPP to support projects on state, local, or private land that is adjacent to projects on National Forest System land, so long as (1) the adjacent land is within the same watershed as the project on federal land, and (2) the owner of the adjacent land supports the project.
Further, the bill expands the types of end water users that may participate in the program to include (1) an acequia association (an organization that manages traditional irrigation systems found in the Southwest); (2) a public entity that manages water infrastructure, such as stormwater or wastewater resources; (3) certain land grant entities in New Mexico called land-grant mercedes; and (4) a local, regional, or other private entity that has water delivery authority.
The bill requires projects under the program to (1) protect and restore watershed health, water supply and quality, a municipal or agricultural water supply system, and water-related infrastructure; (2) protect and restore forest health from insect infestation and disease or wildfire; or (3) advance any combination of those purposes.
Additionally, the bill reduces the cost share for nonfederal WSPP participants.
Cosponsors 4
Members who signed on, in the order they did. All signed on Sep 3, 2025.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-NM | Ben Ray Luján | Original | Sep 3, 2025 |
| R-ID | James E. Risch | Original | Sep 3, 2025 |
| D-CO | John W. Hickenlooper | Original | Sep 3, 2025 |
| R-ID | Mike Crapo | Original | Sep 3, 2025 |
Actions 2
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Sep 3, 2025Introduced in Senate
- Sep 3, 2025Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
Related bills 1
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| HR 605 | Headwaters Protection Act of 2025 | Identical bill | Feb 28, 2025 |
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources.
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Sep 3, 2025Introduced in Senate
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov.
