Bennet, Curtis Reintroduce Bipartisan Legislation to Strengthen Emergency Watershed Recovery

Mar 25, 2025|Press Releases
Washington, D.C.— U.S. Senators Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) and John Curtis (R-Utah) reintroduced the Watershed Protection and Forestry Recovery Act and the Making Access to Cleanup Happen (MATCH) Act. These bipartisan bills will improve and expedite emergency watershed recovery efforts by removing bureaucratic barriers that delay disaster response and empowering local partners to initiate forest and watershed recovery measures.
“Colorado and the West face increasingly severe natural disasters, including some of the most catastrophic wildfires on record in just the past few years,”said Bennet.“These common-sense bills will cut red tape and help ensure our communities, local water managers, and the U.S. Forest Service have everything they need to meet these challenges head-on and recover when disaster strikes.”
“As Utahns know, the impacts of a wildfire do not end when the fire is put out. Without swift action to rehabilitate and restore the land, it is left vulnerable to further damage,”said Curtis.“Right now, unnecessary bureaucratic red tape and other barriers are holding back cleanup activities and watershed protection efforts. Our bills empower local communities to protect our natural resources and streamline certain rehabilitation activities in the aftermath of a disaster—while saving local funds and taxpayer dollars.”
The Watershed Protection and Forestry Recovery Actwill create a new Emergency Forest Watershed Program at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) dedicated to watershed recovery on U.S. Forest Service (USFS) lands. This new program will target funding to restore natural resources on National Forest System land and protect life, private property, and water resources downstream of federal forests.
Recent wildfire recovery efforts across the West have demonstrated that existing programs do not cover watersheds located downstream of Federal lands. The existing Natural Resources Conservation Service’s Emergency Watershed Program is designed to help non-federal lands recover, and the USFS Burned Area Emergency Response Program focuses on the protection of Federal assets. However, drinking water supplies for communities downstream of National Forests are left at risk after a natural disaster. The Watershed Protection and Forest Recovery Act is designed to fill this gap.
Specifically, the bill will:
The MATCH Actremoves a common bureaucratic obstacle that delays local disaster response, empowering states, tribes, and local governments to initiate emergency watershed protection measures immediately after an event.
Specifically, the bill would:
“Senator Bennet’s bill shows visionary leadership in addressing urgent and continuing watershed restoration needs on National Forest after events like the 2020 East Troublesome Fire,”said Brad Wind, General Manager, Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District.“The ongoing damage to watersheds and the threat to drinking water for millions highlight the critical nature of this initiative. Bennet’s continued dedication to fire recovery is commendable, and this new authority is vital for future wildfire recovery, stressing collaborative efforts across governments and partners to protect our communities and resources.”
“Quick access to emergency funds to protect the Glenwood Springs watershed following the Grizzly Creek Fire was vital to our community’s ability to continue providing clean, safe and reliable water to our residents,”said Ingrid Wussow, Mayor, City of Glenwood Springs.“Water is connected, and emergency incidents rarely conform to jurisdictional boundaries. These funds will cover gaps in Colorado’s emergency recovery capabilities and prepare our communities for greater resiliency following natural disasters.”
As a member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, Bennet has consistently supported forest and watershed health and helped Colorado communities recover from wildfires. In February 2025, Bennetreintroducedthe Protect the West Act to invest $60 billion in forest management and protection across the West. Bennet previouslyintroducedthe Watershed Protection and Forest Recovery Act in February 2024. In 2023, Bennetintroducedlegislation to expand support for two USFS programs to prevent water pollution at the source, improve the health of Colorado’s watersheds, and ensure investments benefit downstream communities. As the Chair of the Subcommittee on Conservation, Climate, Forestry, and Natural Resources, Bennet secured $5.5 billion in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and $5 billion in the Inflation Reduction Act for our forests andwelcomedmillions of dollars of forestry funding to Colorado.
The text of the MATCH Act is availableHERE. The text of the Watershed Protection and Forestry Recovery Act is availableHERE.
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