S. 1255 — Cormorant Relief Act of 2025

This section directs the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, to reissue not later than one year after enactment the depredation order for double-crested cormorants at aquaculture facilities (50 CFR 21.47, as in effect on January 1, 2016). (As background, depredation orders authorize the take of specified migratory birds without an individual permit to protect aquaculture production from predation.) The reissued order is identical to the original except that it (1) applies to California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin in addition to the original states; and (2) applies to lake managers and pond managers (i.e., persons licensed by a state regulatory agency to manage private lakes or ponds) in addition to the original entities.