GROUSE Act of 2026

This Act may be cited as the Growing and Restoring Operational Upland Species Ecosystems Act of 2026 or the GROUSE Act of 2026.
Chapter 5 of subtitle D of title XII of the Food Security Act of 1985 is amended by inserting after section 1240M (16 U.S.C. 3839bb) the following:
The Secretary shall establish a program to provide payments to landowners that enter into contracts with the Secretary under this section for restoration of eligible forest land.
Forest land for which a landowner is eligible to receive a payment under this section is an area of not less than 10 acres of nonindustrial private forest land that—
was commercially logged within the previous 180-day period;
is currently being commercially logged, but has not been cut and cleared into open land for the purpose of development;
is currently being commercially logged and will be cut and cleared for the purpose of forest management; or
was affected by a major natural disaster, as determined by the Secretary, such as a tornado, hurricane, wildfire, or insect infestation.
Of the eligible forest land described in paragraph (1) owned by a landowner, the landowner shall not receive payments under this section for more than the lesser of—
5 percent; and
250 acres.
The Secretary shall provide payments to a landowner that enters into a contract with the Secretary under this section for 75 percent of the costs of habitat restoration activities incurred by the landowner in establishing native vegetation beneficial to upland wildlife, including planting native, soft-mast tree and shrub species and other native vegetation commonly found in early successional habitats, on eligible forest land, including costs of—
labor;
planting;
fertilizer;
seedlings; and
other materials and practices, as determined by the Secretary.
The Secretary shall establish the amounts of eligible costs under paragraph (1).
To be eligible to enter into a contract under this section, a landowner shall submit to the Secretary an application at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may require.
A contract under this section shall have a term that does not exceed 5 years.
A contract under this section shall include a habitat plan developed by the applicable landowner, in consultation with private, nongovernmental, State, or Federal wildlife biologists or foresters.
The Secretary may provide to a landowner that enters into a contract under this section (including through a third-party provider pursuant to section 1242) technical assistance in the planting of trees and shrubs in accordance with the contract.