Environment & Energy Congressional Round-Up | March 9 - March 13, 2026

The House Committee on Natural Resources advanced the Save Our Sequoias Act (H.R.2709) with unanimous consent. Reps. Vince Fong (R-Calif.) and Scott Peters (D-Calif.) reintroduced the bill to bolster the tree species’s resilience to worsening wildfires in California. Specifically, the bill would create a Sequoia wildfire risk assessment and a reforestation strategy, open new revenue streams for Sequoia conservation, and establish a coalition of federal, state, tribal, and local forest managers, among other measures. Sens. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) and John Curtis (R-Utah) are expected to introduce a companion bill in the Senate. 

The House Committee on Natural Resources also advanced the Chiricahua National Park Act (H.R.6380), led by Rep. Juan Ciscomani (R-Ariz.). The bipartisan bill would redesignate Arizona’s Chiricahua National Monument as a national park, which would enhance conservation measures for the area. Sens. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz) and Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) lead the Senate version of the bill (S.3715).

Sens. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) and Reps. Terri Sewell (D-Ala.) and Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) reintroduced the Rural Decentralized Water Systems Reauthorization Act (S.4096/H.R.7921). The bill would expand and strengthen the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Decentralized Water Systems Program, which helps low- and middle-income households install or upgrade wellwater and wastewater systems. Learn about other federal resources for rural water systems here.

Sens. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.) reintroduced the Habitat Connectivity on Working Lands Act (S.4091) to help wildlife migrate through agricultural and grazing lands. Specifically, the bill would leverage the Farm Bill's conservation programs to support farmers in increasing habitat connectivity on their lands. Reps. Gabe Vasquez (D-N.M.), Ryan Zinke (R-Mont.), and Teresa Leger-Fernandez (D-N.M.) lead the House version of the bill (H.R.2235).

To catch up on all of the recent environmental and energy legislation in Congress, read the pdf here.