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H.R. 605 119th Congress House

Headwaters Protection Act of 2025

Official title: To amend the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 to reauthorize and improve the Water Source Protection Program, and for other purposes.

Introduced: January 22, 2025 Introduced by: Jim Costa Democratic · California See on congress.gov
Public Lands and Natural Resources Emergency planning and evacuationFiresForests, forestry, treesLand use and conservation
More subjectsShow fewer subjects
Public-private cooperationWater qualityWater use and supplyWatershedsWildlife conservation and habitat protection
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 Everywhere this bill has been 3 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
Feb 28, 2025
Referred to the Subcommittee on Conservation, Research, and Biotechnology.
Jan 22, 2025
Referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committee on Natural Resources, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Jan 22, 2025
Introduced in House
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What's happening now February 28, 2025

Referred to the Subcommittee on Conservation, Research, and Biotechnology.

 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Headwaters Protection Act of 2025

This bill reauthorizes through FY2033 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.

 Related & companion bills 1
  • S 2701 Identical bill Headwaters Protection Act of 2025
 Bill text 1 version

Source documents hosted by congress.gov.

 Committees of jurisdiction 3
 Lobbying activity 17

Registered lobbyists who named this bill in their disclosure filings. Source: federal Lobbying Disclosure Act filings.

Bodies those filers lobbied

A filing lists the bills it worked on and the parts of government it contacted in separate sections, so these are the bodies those filers named anywhere in the filing, not a per-bill breakdown.

See all 17 filings →
 Cosponsors 9
All 9 Democratic 7 Republican 2
D
Matsui, Doris O.
California · Aug 1, 2025
 D
Neguse, Joe
Colorado · Jun 3, 2025
 R
Fitzpatrick, Brian K.
Pennsylvania · Mar 11, 2025
 D
Harder, Josh
California · Mar 11, 2025
 D
Schrier, Kim
Washington · Feb 7, 2025
 D
Perez, Marie Gluesenkamp
Washington · Jan 22, 2025
 D
Pettersen, Brittany
Colorado · Jan 22, 2025
 D
Stansbury, Melanie A.
New Mexico · Jan 22, 2025
 R
Valadao, David G.
California · Jan 22, 2025
Cite this page click to expand
APA
U.S. Congress. (2026). H.R. 605: Headwaters Protection Act of 2025. 119th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/119-HR-605/
MLA
"H.R. 605: Headwaters Protection Act of 2025." 119th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/119-HR-605/.
Bluebook (legal)
H.R. 605, 119th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/119-HR-605/.
Markdown link
[H.R. 605: Headwaters Protection Act of 2025](https://openamerica.io/bill/119-HR-605/)
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