Habitat Enhancement Now Act
Summary
What This Bill Does
The Habitat Enhancement Now Act directs the Secretary of the Interior to establish two competitive grant programs within 180 days of enactment. The first program awards grants to eligible entities to strategically place, build, and maintain hen houses in the prairie pothole region to improve nesting success rates for migratory waterfowl. The second awards grants to eligible entities to develop breeding habitat for migratory waterfowl in California, including establishing nesting cover, creating brood ponds, and providing incentives to willing landowners.
Eligible entities include state, local, and Tribal governments, nonprofit organizations, and individuals. The bill defines hen houses, prairie potholes, and the prairie pothole region. It makes $3.5 million per fiscal year from fiscal years 2026 through 2030 available for the hen house grant program and another $3.5 million per fiscal year for the California breeding habitat program.
Who Benefits and How
State wildlife agencies, Tribal natural resource agencies, nonprofit waterfowl conservation organizations, and private landowners benefit from new grant opportunities to install hen houses, create brood ponds, establish nesting cover, and manage breeding habitat. Hunters, bird conservation groups, and communities connected to wetlands and waterfowl recreation may benefit if the projects improve nesting success for mallards, gadwalls, and other breeding ducks.
Who Bears the Burden and How
Interior Department grant staff must create and administer two competitive programs, review applications, award funds, and track spending from fiscal years 2026 through 2030. Eligible entities seeking grants must prepare applications and maintain funded projects. The Department of the Interior's Office of the Secretary Departmental Operations account bears the funding allocation for both programs.
Key Provisions
- Establishes a competitive Interior grant program for placing, building, and maintaining hen houses in the prairie pothole region.
- Establishes a competitive Interior grant program for California migratory waterfowl breeding habitat, including nesting cover, brood ponds, and willing-landowner incentives.
- Provides eligibility for state, local, and Tribal governments, nonprofit organizations, and individuals.
- Requires applicants to submit information in the form and timing set by the Secretary of the Interior.
- Directs $3.5 million per year for fiscal years 2026 through 2030 to the hen house program.
- Directs $3.5 million per year for fiscal years 2026 through 2030 to the California breeding habitat program.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Creates two Interior Department competitive grant programs to improve migratory waterfowl breeding success by funding hen houses in the prairie pothole region and California breeding habitat activities, with $3.5 million per program annually from fiscal years 2026 through 2030.
Key Policy Areas
Wildlife Conservation, Waterfowl Habitat, Federal Grants, Agriculture
Primary Purpose
Creates two Interior Department competitive grant programs to improve migratory waterfowl breeding success by funding hen houses in the prairie pothole region and California breeding habitat activities, with $3.5 million per program annually from fiscal years 2026 through 2030.
Policy Domains
Section 2 hen house and California breeding habitat grant programs
Identified Gains
- State wildlife agencies
- Tribal natural resource agencies
- Nonprofit waterfowl conservation organizations
- California habitat landowners
Identified Costs
- Interior waterfowl grant administrators
- Grant applicants preparing habitat proposals
- Interior Departmental Operations account
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
In CommitteeMrs. Fischbach (for herself, Mr. LaMalfa, and Mr. Thompson of …
Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.
Introduced in House
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Interior Departmental Operations account, Interior waterfowl grant administrators, Tribal natural resource agencies
Positive-direction: Tribal natural resource agencies
Negative-direction: Interior Departmental Operations account, Interior waterfowl grant administrators
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "landowner"
- → Willing California landowner
- "secretary"
- → Secretary of the Interior
- "eligible_entity"
- → State, local, or Tribal government, nonprofit organization, or individual
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
A state, local, or Tribal government, nonprofit organization, or individual eligible to apply for the waterfowl grant programs.
A cylindrical nest structure installed on a post in a prairie pothole.
The primary nesting grounds of the majority of North American ducks.
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology