I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3324

To provide compensation to livestock operators who voluntarily relinquish 

a grazing permit or lease on Federal lands, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 16, 2003

Mr. SHAYS (for himself, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California, 

Mr. HINCHEY, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. HOLT, Mr. MARKEY, and Mr. 

MCDERMOTT) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Resources, and in addition to the Committees on Agriculture and Armed Services, for a period to be subsequently determined 

by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall 

within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL

To provide compensation to livestock operators who voluntarily relinquish a grazing permit or lease on Federal 

lands, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Voluntary Grazing 

5 Permit Buyout Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 
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1 (1) Commercial livestock grazing on Federal 

2 lands is increasingly difficult for grazing permittees 

3 and lessees due to growing conflicts with other legiti4 mate multiple uses of those lands, such as environ5 mental protection and burgeoning recreational use, 

6 and with congressionally mandated goals of wildlife 

7 and habitat protection and improved water quality 

8 and quantity. 

9 (2) The recreational use of Federal lands often 

10 leads to conflicts with commercial livestock grazing 

11 on the same lands, because some recreationists dam12 age property related to the grazing operations or 

13 disturb livestock, rendering many grazing operations 

14 on Federal lands uneconomical. 

15 (3) A combination of sustained drought, foreign 

16 competition, changing domestic markets, industry 

17 restructuring, and individual ranch situations has 

18 resulted in grazing permits and leases becoming 

19 stranded investments for many permittees and les20 sees. 

21 (4) Many permittees and lessees would like to 

22 retire, but do not have family members willing or 

23 able to take over ranch operations. 

24 (5) Attempts to resolve grazing conflicts with 

25 other multiple uses often require extensive range de-
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1 velopments and monitoring that greatly increases 

2 costs to both permittees and lessees and taxpayers, 

3 far out of proportion to the benefit received. 

4 (6) Certain grazing allotments on Federal lands 

5 have, or are likely to become, unsuitable for livestock 

6 production as a result of the combined effect of the 

7 aforementioned factors. 

8 (7) The cost of the Federal grazing program 

9 greatly exceeds revenues to the Federal treasury 

10 from grazing receipts. 

11 (8) Many Federal grazing permittees and les12 sees have indicated their desire to end their livestock 

13 grazing on Federal lands in exchange for a one-time 

14 payment to reasonably compensate them for the ef15 fort and investment that they have made in a graz16 ing allotment. 

17 (9) Compensating permittees and lessees who 

18 relinquish their grazing permit or lease and end live19 stock grazing on Federal lands would help recapi20 talize an ailing sector of rural America, by providing 

21 economic options to permittees and lessees that do 

22 not presently exist and allowing them to restructure 

23 their ranch operations, start new businesses, retire 

24 with security, or provide a family legacy. 
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1 (10) Reasonable compensation for the relin2 quishment of a grazing permit or lease will help al3 leviate the need for permittees and lessees to sell or 

4 subdivide their private lands. 

5 (11) A voluntary buyout program for grazing 

6 permits and leases will help resolve growing conflicts 

7 between livestock grazing and other multiple uses, 

8 and would be ecologically imperative, economically 

9 rational, fiscally prudent, and socially just. 

10 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

11 In this Act: 

12 (1) The term ‘‘animal unit month’’ means the 

13 amount of forage needed to sustain one animal unit 

14 for one month, as determined by the Secretary 

15 issuing the grazing permit or lease. 

16 (2) The terms ‘‘grazing permit or lease’’ and 

17 ‘‘grazing permit and lease’’ mean any document au18 thorizing the use of Federal lands for the purpose of 

19 grazing domestic livestock. 

20 (3) The term ‘‘grazing allotment’’ means the 

21 designated portion of Federal land upon which do22 mestic livestock are permitted to graze by a grazing 

23 permit or lease. 
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1 (4) The terms ‘‘permittee or lessee’’ and ‘‘per2 mittee and lessee’’ mean a livestock operator who 

3 holds a valid term grazing permit or lease. 

4 (5) The term ‘‘range developments’’ means 

5 structures, fences and other permanent fixtures 

6 placed on Federal lands for the furtherance of the 

7 purpose of grazing domestic livestock. The term does 

8 not include rolling stock, livestock and diversions of 

9 water from Federal lands onto non-Federal lands. 

10 (6) The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary 

11 of Agriculture, the Secretary of the Interior, the 

12 Secretary of Energy, or the Secretary of Defense, as 

13 appropriate to the administration of the grazing per14 mit or lease at issue. 

15 SEC. 4. VOLUNTARY GRAZING PERMIT BUYOUT PROGRAM. 

16 (a) WAIVER OF EXISTING GRAZING PERMIT OR

17 LEASE.—A permittee or lessee may waive to the Sec18 retary, at any time, a valid existing grazing permit or lease 

19 authorizing livestock grazing on Federal lands. 

20 (b) CANCELLATION OF WAIVED GRAZING PERMIT OR

21 LEASE.—The Secretary shall cancel grazing permits and 

22 leases waived under this section and permanently retire 

23 the associated allotments from domestic livestock grazing 

24 use notwithstanding any other provision of law. 
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1 (c) WAIVER PRIORITY.—If funds available to carry 

2 out this Act are insufficient to meet all of the offers for 

3 the waiver of grazing permits and leases, the Secretary 

4 shall give priority to the waiver of grazing permits and 

5 leases that authorize grazing on the following Federal 

6 lands: 

7 (1) National Wilderness Preservation System 

8 unit. 

9 (2) National Wild and Scenic River System 

10 unit. 

11 (3) National Park System unit. 

12 (4) National Wildlife Refuge System unit. 

13 (5) An allotment that includes a trail within the 

14 National Trails System. 

15 (6) National Landscape Conservation System 

16 unit. 

17 (7) Designated critical habitat for species listed 

18 under the Endangered Species Act of 1973. 

19 (8) Designated wilderness study area. 

20 (9) Roadless and undeveloped areas identified 

21 in Forest Service, Roadless Area Conservation EIS, 

22 vol. 2 (Nov. 2000). 

23 (10) Designated Bureau of Land Management 

24 Area of Critical Environmental Concern. 

25 (11) Designated Research Natural Area. 
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1 (12) An allotment that includes a ‘‘water qual2 ity limited’’ stream listed under section 303(d) of 

3 the Federal Water Pollution Control Act. 

4 (13) Stream segments identified as a ‘‘study 

5 river’’ under section 5(a) of the Wild and Scenic 

6 Rivers Act. 

7 (14) Stream segments identified by the Sec8 retary under section 5(d)(1) of the Wild and Scenic 

9 Rivers Act. 

10 (15) An allotment featuring other scientific, ec11 ological, scenic, watershed or recreation values. 

12 (d) RELATION TO EMINENT DOMAIN.—Nothing in 

13 this Act shall be interpreted to authorize the use of emi14 nent domain for the purpose of acquiring a Federal graz15 ing permit or lease. 

16 SEC. 5. COMPENSATION FOR WAIVED GRAZING PERMIT OR 

17 LEASE. 

18 (a) COMPENSATION REQUIRED; AMOUNT.—A per19 mittee or lessee who waives a grazing permit or lease to 

20 the Secretary under section 4(a) shall be compensated at 

21 $175 per animal unit month, based on the average grazing 

22 use over the preceding 10 years the allotment was grazed, 

23 as stipulated by the grazing permit or lease and paid for 

24 by the permittee or lessee or the predecessors of the per25 mittee or lessee. Years of grazing nonuse are excluded 
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1 from this average. In the case that a permittee or lessee 

2 is in arrears of Federal grazing fees, the amount of fees 

3 in arrears shall be deducted from the amount of com4 pensation otherwise due the permittee or lessee under this 

5 section. 

6 (b) EFFECTS OF ISSUANCE OF CERTAIN PERMITS OR

7 LEASES.—A permittee or lessee who seeks to waive a graz8 ing permit or lease under section 4 for a grazing allotment 

9 that was vacant or vacated as of the date of the enactment 

10 of this Act shall only be eligible for compensation under 

11 this section based on the average grazing use over the last 

12 ten years, including any years of grazing nonuse. 

13 (c) DONATION OF EXISTING PERMIT OR LEASE.—

14 A permittee or lessee may at any time waive their claim 

15 to compensation under this section and donate to the Sec16 retary a valid existing grazing permit or lease authorizing 

17 livestock grazing on Federal lands. The Secretary shall 

18 cancel donated grazing permits or leases and permanently 

19 retire the associated allotments from domestic livestock 

20 grazing use, notwithstanding any other provision of law. 

21 (d) RELATION TO OTHER AUTHORITY.—Nothing in 

22 this Act shall be construed to affect the Secretary’s au23 thority to otherwise modify or terminate grazing permits 

24 or leases without compensation. Compensation disbursed 
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1 pursuant to this section shall not create a property right 

2 in grazing permittees or lessees. 

3 SEC. 6. EFFECT OF WAIVER OR DONATION OF GRAZING 

4 PERMIT OR LEASE. 

5 (a) EFFECT ON RANGE DEVELOPMENTS.—A per6 mittee or lessee who waives a grazing permit or lease to 

7 the Secretary under section 4 and receives compensation 

8 under section 5, or donates a grazing permit or lease 

9 under section 6, shall be deemed to have waived any claim 

10 to all range developments on the subject grazing allot11 ments, notwithstanding any other provision of law. 

12 (b) SECURING RETIRED ALLOTMENTS AGAINST UN13 AUTHORIZED USE.—The Secretary shall ensure that allot14 ments retired from grazing under this Act are rendered 

15 reasonably secure from trespass grazing by livestock. 

16 (c) RELATION TO OTHER VALID EXISTING

17 RIGHTS.—Nothing in this Act affects the allocation, own18 ership, interest or control, in existence on the date of en19 actment of this Act, of any water, water right, or any 

20 other valid existing right held by the United States, Indian 

21 tribe, State, or private individual, partnership or corpora22 tion. 
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1 SEC. 7. RETIREMENT OF GRAZING ALLOTMENTS FOR 

2 WHICH NO VALID GRAZING PERMIT OR 

3 LEASE EXISTS. 

4 The Secretary shall not issue grazing permits or 

5 leases for grazing allotments for which no valid permit or 

6 lease exists as of the date of the enactment of this Act, 

7 and shall permanently retire the allotments from domestic 

8 livestock grazing use notwithstanding any other provision 

9 of law. 

10 SEC. 8. EFFECT OF NONUSE OR REDUCED USE. 

11 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a per12 mittee or lessee may opt not to graze a grazing allotment 

13 or to graze the grazing allotment at less than the min14 imum permitted level and still retain the grazing permit 

15 or lease for the remainder of its term. Such nonuse shall 

16 be considered to be in compliance with the terms of the 

17 grazing permit or lease when it becomes due for renewal. 

18 SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATION. 

19 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secre20 taries $100,000,000, to remain available until expended, 

21 to provide compensation to permittees and lessees under 

22 section 5. None of the funds appropriated pursuant to this 

23 section shall be used by any Federal agency for adminis24 trative costs related to the purposes of this Act.

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