YourVoice.Now Summary
EnvironmentYour MoneyA West Texas wildlife refuge would stay its current size — a 2023 plan could have added up to 700,000 acres.
Environment
The Fish and Wildlife Service wrote a 2023 plan to protect up to 700,000 more acres of habitat around the Muleshoe refuge. The refuge covers about 6,440 acres today, and this bill would keep it there.
Your Money
Under the plan, the government could buy land only from owners who wanted to sell. Owners could also be paid to leave land as it is while still owning it, and those offers would end.
More about this bill
Most people would see no change in daily life. A wildlife refuge in West Texas would stay about the size it is today, near 6,440 acres. A 2023 federal plan would have let it grow much larger over time. That plan aimed to protect up to 700,000 acres of habitat. The Interior Department could not carry it out. The plan bought land only from owners who chose to sell. Some owners could instead be paid to leave land undeveloped and still keep it. Those offers would end for landowners near the Texas–New Mexico line. The Fish and Wildlife Service already dropped the plan in July 2025. The bill would put that choice into law.
Congressional Summary
No Federal Expansion Designation in West Texas Act or the No FED in West Texas ActThis bill prohibits the Department of the Interior from finalizing, implementing, administering, or enforcing its 2023 final land protection plan and environmental assessment for the Muleshoe National Wildlife Refuge in Texas. The plan allows Interior to expand the refuge and purchase lands or acquire conservation easements on up to 700,000 acres of land in the Southern High Plains region along the Texas-New Mexico border.
Legislative Subjects
Details
- Congress
- 119th
- Chamber
- House
- Status
- summarized
- Action
- Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 374.
- Action Date
- 2026-01-08
- Date Added
- 2026-04-15
- Source
- Congress.gov →
Like reading a bill in plain English?
We're building an app that does this for every bill in Congress and lets you tell your reps how you want them to vote. We're a small team getting ready to launch, and we're trying to show investors that real people want this. Be one of them. Help us get it built. Leave your email and we'll tell you the moment the app is ready.