# 119-hr-6568: Lower Yellowstone River Native Fish Conservation Act

119-hr-6568, Lower Yellowstone River Native Fish Conservation Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Downing, Troy [R-MT-2] (R-MT); status in_committee (as of 2026-04-21).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-6568
- As of: 2026-04-21
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-6568
- Congress: 119
- Title: Lower Yellowstone River Native Fish Conservation Act
- Status: in_committee
- Introduced: 2025-12-10
- Sponsor: Rep. Downing, Troy [R-MT-2] (R-MT)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Policy area: Water Resources Development
- Touches household money: no
- Last recorded action: 2026-04-21

## Summary

**Federal ownership and financial responsibility for the Lower Yellowstone Fish Bypass Channel** is reaffirmed. The bill makes the Secretary of the Interior and the Bureau of Reclamation solely responsible for operating, maintaining, and funding the 2.1-mile channel to support pallid sturgeon recovery while preventing cost or operational burdens on the Lower Yellowstone Irrigation Project and District. - Lower Yellowstone Irrigation District and Project: They are protected from ownership, operation, and cost obligations for the channel and are not required to perform or fund Endangered Species Act recovery actions tied to the channel. - Federal agencies and the Secretary: The Secretary must retain exclusive control and pay for all operation, maintenance, repairs, upgrades, and adaptive management, with appropriations of $1.0 million for fiscal year 2026 and each subsequent year. - Conservation partners and oversight: The channel remains federal mitigation for pallid sturgeon under the Endangered Species Act, requires coordination with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and state wildlife agencies, and triggers biennial reporting to relevant congressional committees on status, repairs, and costs. *Adds a dedicated federal spending requirement of $1.0 million per year for the channel’s operation and maintenance.*

## Provisions PRIA read

- Annual federal funding for channel: benefit, low. If enacted, the Interior Secretary would get $1,000,000 for fiscal year 2026 and each fiscal year after. The money would pay to operate and manage the 2.1-mile Lower Yellowstone Fish Bypass Channel. Funds would be used for engineering evaluations, repairs, upgrades, and adaptive management for pall…
- Federal control and local cost protections: benefit, low. If enacted, the bill would make the Secretary of the Interior the permanent owner and operator of the Lower Yellowstone Fish Bypass Channel. The federal government would be solely responsible for operating, maintaining, repairing, and adaptively managing the Channel and paying related costs. The bi…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-6644: 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act
- 119-hr-137: TCJA Permanency Act
- 119-hr-2570: Maximum Pressure Act
- 119-hr-8324: Great American Healthcare Plan
- 119-hr-6955: Main Street Capital Access Act
- 119-hr-1229: United States-Israel Defense Partnership Act of 2025

## Sources
- [119-hr-6568 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/6568)

## Related
- [119-hr-6644: 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-6644)
- [119-hr-137: TCJA Permanency Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-137)
- [119-hr-2570: Maximum Pressure Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-2570)
- [119-hr-8324: Great American Healthcare Plan](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-8324)
- [119-hr-6955: Main Street Capital Access Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-6955)
- [119-hr-1229: United States-Israel Defense Partnership Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1229)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-6568 (as of 2026-04-21).