Federal government lets private lake managers kill cormorants under new rules.
S. 5514 — Responsible Cormorant Management and Control Act of 2026 · Filed by Ted Cruz (R-TX) · 1 cosponsor · Introduced Sep 24, 2026 · Referred to committee
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What it does
The bill tells the Interior Secretary to write rules for killing double-crested cormorants. These are fish-eating birds. The rules set limits on how many birds can be killed and who can kill them. States, tribes, and licensed private lake managers can kill the birds. The rules must be based on science.
Who it affects
Private lake and pond managers can kill cormorants. States and tribes help manage the birds. Fisheries benefit from fewer cormorants eating fish.
One thing to notice
Private lake managers can kill migratory birds with state permission only. The rules expire in 8 years unless Congress votes to keep them.
From the analysis of the bill text, linked under Primary records below.
Where it stands
1 cosponsor: 1 Republicans.
- Sep 24, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in Senate”
- Sep 24, 2026 — Referred to Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works · Congress.gov: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Words to know
- double-crested cormorants — Fish-eating water birds that can harm fisheries and water quality.
- migratory birds — Birds that travel between regions with the seasons.
- licensed private lake managers — Companies or people approved by states to manage private lakes and ponds.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (6,738 characters) on Oct 3, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
As of — page rendered 2026-10-20.
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