GROUSE Act of 2026

James C. Justice

Republican · WV · Senator

Source: Congress.gov · FEC

No cosponsors on record. Bills can pass without cosponsors — this often means the sponsor introduced the bill alone, either because it's a messaging bill, a chairman's mark, or simply early in the legislative cycle.

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.

2026-05-14

Source: Congress.gov

The bill would create a new program to help restore and improve habitats for upland bird and wildlife species on private and public lands. Farmers, ranchers, and landowners could receive support and funding to manage their property in ways that benefit these species while potentially maintaining their agricultural or other uses. The program would be administered under existing farm conservation rules, affecting how some land is managed across the country.

AI-assisted summary generated from the official bill metadata (title, subjects, actions) sourced from Congress.gov. Cached and reviewed. Always verify against the official text linked below.

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] [S. 4548 Introduced in Senate (IS)] <DOC> 119th CONGRESS 2d Session S. 4548 To amend the Food Security Act of 1985 to establish a program to promote upland species habitat restoration, and for other purposes. _______________________________________________________________________ IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES May 14, 2026 Mr. Justice introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry _______________________________________________________________________ A BILL To amend the Food Security Act of 1985 to establish a program to promote upland species habitat restoration, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ``Growing and Restoring Operational Upland Species Ecosystems Act of 2026'' or the ``GROUSE Act of 2026''. SEC. 2. UPLAND SPECIES HABITAT RESTORATION PROGRAM. Chapter 5 of subtitle D of title XII of the Food Security Act of 1985 is amended by inserting after section 1240M (16 U.S.C. 3839bb) the following: ``SEC. 1240N. UPLAND SPECIES HABITAT RESTORATION PROGRAM. ``(a) In General.--The Secretary shall establish a program to provide payments to landowners that enter into contracts with the Secretary under this section for restoration of eligible forest land. ``(b) Eligible Forest Land.-- ``(1) In general.--Forest land for which a landowner is eligible to receive a payment under this section is an area of not less than 10 acres of nonindustrial private forest land that-- ``(A) was commercially logged within the previous 180-day period; ``(B) is currently being commercially logged, but has not been cut and cleared into open land for the purpose of development; ``(C) is currently being commercially logged and will be cut and cleared for the purpose of forest management; or ``(D) was affected by a major natural disaster, as determined by the Secretary, such as a tornado, hurricane, wildfire, or insect infestation. ``(2) Limitation.--Of the eligible forest land described in paragraph (1) owned by a landowner, the landowner shall not receive payments under this section for more than the lesser of-- ``(A) 5 percent; and ``(B) 250 acres. ``(c) Payments.-- ``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall provide payments to a landowner that enters into a contract with the Secretary under this section for 75 percent of the costs of habitat restoration activities incurred by the landowner in establishing native vegetation beneficial to upland wildlife, including planting native, soft-mast tree and shrub species and other native vegetation commonly found in early successional habitats, on eligible forest land, including costs of-- ``(A) labor; ``(B) planting; ``(C) fertilizer; ``(D) seedlings; and ``(E) other materials and practices, as determined by the Secretary. ``(2) Determination of amounts.--The Secretary shall establish the amounts of eligible costs under paragraph (1). ``(d) Contracts.-- ``(1) Applications.--To be eligible to enter into a contract under this section, a landowner shall submit to the Secretary an application at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may require. ``(2) Term.--A contract under this section shall have a term that does not exceed 5 years. ``(3) Habitat plan.--A contract under this section shall include a habitat plan developed by the applicable landowner, in consultation with private, nongovernmental, State, or Federal wildlife biologists or foresters. ``(e) Technical Assistance.--The Secretary may provide to a landowner that enters into a contract under this section (including through a third-party provider pursuant to section 1242) technical assistance in the planting of trees and shrubs in accordance with the contract.''. <all>

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