{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.crapo.senate.gov/media/newsreleases/crapo-risch-bennet-hickenlooper-lujan-introduce-bipartisan-bill-to-invest-in-americas-forests-and-watersheds", "Crapo, Risch, Bennet, Hickenlooper, Luj\u00e1n Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Invest in America\u2019s Forests and Watersheds", "2025-09-04", "2025", "2025-09", "Republican", "Senate", "ID", "Mike Crapo", "C000880", "www.crapo.senate.gov", "crapo", "https://www.crapo.senate.gov/media/newsreleases", "scraper", "Washington, D.C.--U.S. Senators Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Michael Bennet (D-Colorado), John Hickenlooper (D-Colorado) and Ben Ray Luj\u00e1n (D-New Mexico) introduced the Headwaters Protection Act to invest in America\u2019s forests and watersheds by expanding two key U.S. Forest Service (USFS) programs. The two programs together prevent water pollution at the source, improve the health of our watersheds and ensure investments benefit downstream communities.\n\n\u201cNatural resources and the environment are best protected through collaborative efforts at the local level,\u201d said Crapo. \u201cWe must support watershed restoration projects that encourage collaboration in small, rural and disadvantaged communities and Tribes without exerting federal control over private lands.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhen managed properly, National Forests can provide the foundation for healthy watersheds, providing clean drinking water and irrigation,\u201d said Risch. \u201cThe Headwaters Protection Act will allow community, industry, and federal partners to improve and protect critical forest water sources for decades to come.\u201d\n\n\u201cIn the West, the survival of our economy and our way of life depends on the stewardship of our forests and watersheds,\u201d said Bennet. \u201cWe need to pass this legislation to protect critical water resources for downstream communities and make our forests more resilient to wildfire, drought, and a changing climate.\u201d\n\n\u201cColorado\u2019s forests and grasslands are key to healthy watersheds, with benefits that flow far downstream,\u201d said Hickenlooper. \u201cOur bill equips farmers, cities, and the Forest Service to help reduce water pollution at the source and deliver cleaner water for our communities.\u201d\n\n\u201cWater is essential to the health and safety of our communities. Protecting and improving our watersheds is critical to ensuring reliable access to clean drinking water and making our forests more resilient against wildfires,\u201d said Luj\u00e1n. \u201cThe Headwaters Protection Act will strengthen these efforts by investing in watershed management and pollution prevention. Importantly for New Mexico, it also expands the Water Source Protection Program to include acequias and land-grant mercedes as eligible water users, recognizing their vital role in our state\u2019s water systems.\u201d\n\nTo ensure clean drinking water for communities, the USFS has two key authorities to manage our forests for watershed health: the Water Source Protection Program (WSPP) and the Watershed Condition Framework (WCF). The WSPP invests in projects that prevent water pollution at the source by encouraging farmers and ranchers, water utilities, Tribes, local governments and the USFS to work in partnership to restore forest health and impaired watersheds. The WCF establishes a consistent process at the USFS to evaluate the health of watersheds and ensure investments benefit downstream communities.\n\nThe Headwaters Protection Act would improve the WSPP by increasing and expanding access to funding and directing the program to prioritize local, collaborative partnerships to protect forests and watersheds. It would also create dedicated funding for WCF and makes a technical change to the program to ensure management activities in our National Forests do not lead to the long-term degradation of our watersheds.\n\nSpecifically, the Headwaters Protection Act would:\n\nReauthorize the WSPP and increase the authorization of appropriations for the program;\n\nBroaden the range of water users who can participate in and benefit from the WSPP;\n\nReduce financial barriers for water users to participate in the WSPP;\n\nPrioritize WSPP projects that benefit drinking water quality and improve resilience to wildfire and climate change;\n\nMake a technical change to the WCF to ensure healthy watersheds do not become degraded; and\n\nAuthorize new appropriations for the WCF.\n\nThe text of the bill is available HERE. A summary of the bill is available HERE.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T19:10:29Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.crapo.senate.gov/media/newsreleases/crapo-risch-bennet-hickenlooper-lujan-introduce-bipartisan-bill-to-invest-in-americas-forests-and-watersheds"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.959198921918869, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}