GROUSE Act of 2026
Grants for Restoring Wildlife Habitat on Private Forest Land
The GROUSE Act of 2026 is currently in the early stages of the legislative process. It was recently introduced in the Senate and sent to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry for review. No further actions are scheduled at this time.
Legislative Progress
This bill is in the early stages and has been sent to a committee where most bills never move forward. While it helps landowners, it requires new federal spending which often slows things down.
Key Points
- This bill creates a new program to help private landowners fix up their woods for wildlife. The government would pay for 75 percent of the costs to plant native trees and shrubs that provide food and cover for animals like grouse and other forest species.
- To qualify, a person must own at least 10 acres of forest that was recently logged or damaged by a natural disaster like a wildfire or tornado. The program is specifically for land that is being kept as a forest rather than being cleared for new buildings or development.
- Landowners can get help with the costs of labor, seeds, fertilizer, and seedlings. There is a limit on how much land can be covered, which is either 5 percent of the owner's total forest land or 250 acres, whichever is smaller.
- People who join the program would sign a contract for up to five years. They would also work with wildlife experts or foresters to create a specific plan to make sure the new plants actually help the local animals thrive.
Impact Analysis
Govbase has not yet run an impact analysis on this legislation.
Milestones
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
Sent to a congressional committee for expert review. The committee decides whether this bill moves forward.
Introduced in Senate
The bill was officially filed and given a number. It now enters the legislative queue.
Votes
No votes have been recorded for this legislation yet.
News
No related news coverage found for this legislation yet.
Source Information
Document Type
Congressional Bill
Official Title
GROUSE Act of 2026
Data Sources
Sponsor
Analysis generated by AI. Always verify with official sources.