The bill amends RCW 84.34.210 and RCW 84.34.220 and adds a new section to chapter 84.34 RCW to expand who may participate in the conservation futures program. It explicitly adds "federally recognized Indian tribe" to the list of authorized participants and allows those entities (including counties, cities, towns, metropolitan park districts, metropolitan municipal corporations, specified nonprofit historic preservation and nature conservancy corporations or associations) to acquire by purchase, gift, grant, bequest, devise, lease, or otherwise (but not by eminent domain) fee simple or lesser interests, development rights, easements, covenants, mineral rights, or other contractual rights to protect, preserve, maintain, improve, restore, limit future use of, or otherwise conserve designated open space, farm and agricultural land, and timberland. The amendments also permit acquisition of property to be conveyed or leased back to the original owner or another person under covenants or contractual arrangements that limit future use, and allow acquisition in perpetuity of rights to future development of lands taxed at current use assessment, identifying such developmental rights as "conservation futures" for purposes of chapter 243, Laws of 1971 ex. sess. The bill adds a provision that nothing in chapter 84.34 may be interpreted or applied to decrease, diminish, or impair the treaty rights of federally recognized Indian tribes, and it specifies that RCW 82.32.805 and 82.32.808 do not apply to this act. Legally, this is a modification of existing law plus the addition of a new statutory section: it expands authorized participants and acquisition powers under the conservation futures program, clarifies the types of property interests that may be obtained (including mineral and perpetual development rights), and adds a treaty-rights safeguard. The bill was read for the first time on 02/03/26 (Substitute Senate Bill 6097, 69th Legislature, 2026 Regular Session). No effective date, the prior text of the amended sections, or definitions for the referenced land categories were included in the provided facts, so a full comparison with existing law cannot be made here.

If enacted, federally recognized Indian tribes would gain the explicit ability to participate in local conservation futures programs and to hold or acquire land interests (including mineral rights), development rights in perpetuity, easements, covenants, and other contractual limits on future land use. That means tribes could more often become owners or partners in conservation deals, buy or accept conservation easements, and acquire property to lease or convey back under use-limiting agreements; private landowners could sell development rights or enter perpetual covenants to tribes or other program participants, creating long-term limits on how their land can be used. The groups most affected are federally recognized tribes (who get new options to acquire and hold conservation interests) and local governments and nonprofit conservation or historic preservation organizations (which may transact more frequently with tribes and hold or enforce more long-term restrictions). Property owners may see more opportunities — or pressure — to convert development potential into conserved status, and entities that hold covenants will take on ongoing enforcement responsibilities and risks. Important implementation details are missing here, including an effective date, how this changes prior law in practice, and what impact exclusion of RCW 82.32.805 and 82.32.808 has, so the full operational and funding implications are uncertain.