Union Calendar No. 346

104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 1459

[Report No. 104–674, Part I]

AN ACT

grazing on Federal land, and for other purposes.

To provide for uniform management of livestock

JULY 12, 1996

Committee on Agriculture discharged; committed to the

Union and ordered to be printedCommittee of the Whole House on the State of the
IB

Union Calendar No. 346

104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 1459

[Report No. 104–674, Part I]

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MARCH 26, 1996

Referred to the Committee on Resources, and in addition to the Committee

on Agriculture, 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

JULY 12, 1996

Reported from the Committee on Resources with an amendment

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic]

JULY 12, 1996

Referral to the Committee on Agriculture extended for a period ending not

later than July 12, 1996

JULY 12, 1996

Committee on Agriculture discharged; committed to the Committee of the

Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed

[For text of Senate passed bill, see copy of bill as referred in the House of Representatives

on March 26, 1996]

AN ACT

To provide for uniform management of livestock grazing

on Federal land, 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,
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Public Rangelands Man3 agement Act of 1996’’.

4 SEC. 2. EFFECTIVE DATE.

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—This Act and the amendments and

6 repeals made by this Act shall become effective on the date

7 of enactment.

8 (b) APPLICABLE REGULATIONS.—

9 (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), graz10 ing of domestic livestock on lands administered by the

11 Chief of the Forest Service and the Director of the Bu12 reau of Land Management, as defined in section

13 104(11) of this Act, shall be administered in accord14 ance with the applicable regulations in effect for each

15 agency as of February 1, 1995, until such time as the

16 Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the In17 terior promulgate new regulations in accordance with

18 this Act.

19 (2) Resource Advisory Councils established by

20 the Secretary of the Interior after August 21, 1995,

21 may continue to operate in accordance with their

22 charters for a period not to extend beyond February

23 28, 1997, and shall be subject to the provisions of this

24 Act.

25 (c) NEW REGULATIONS.—With respect to title I of this

26 Act—
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1 (1) the Secretary of Agriculture and the Sec2 retary of the Interior shall provide, to the maximum

3 extent practicable, for consistent and coordinated ad4 ministration of livestock grazing and management of

5 rangelands administered by the Chief of the Forest

6 Service and the Director of the Bureau of Land Man7 agement, as defined in section 104(11) of this Act,

8 consistent with the laws governing the public lands

9 and the National Forest System; and

10 (2) the Secretary of Agriculture and the Sec11 retary of the Interior shall, to the maximum extent

12 practicable, coordinate the promulgation of new regu13 lations and shall publish such regulations simulta14 neously.

15 TITLE I—MANAGEMENT OF

16 GRAZING ON FEDERAL LAND

17 Subtitle A—General Provisions

18 SEC. 101. FINDINGS.

19 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that—

20 (1) multiple use, as set forth in current law, has

21 been and continues to be a guiding principle in the

22 management of public lands and national forests;

23 (2) through the cooperative and concerted efforts

24 of the Federal rangeland livestock industry, Federal

25 and State land management agencies, and the general
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1 public, the Federal rangelands are in the best condi2 tion they have been in during this century, and their

3 condition continues to improve;

4 (3) as a further consequence of those efforts, pop5 ulations of wildlife are increasing and stabilizing

6 across vast areas of the West;

7 (4) grazing preferences must continue to be ade8 quately safeguarded in order to promote the economic

9 stability of the western livestock industry;

10 (5) it is in the public interest to charge a fee for

11 livestock grazing permits and leases on Federal land

12 that is based on a formula that—

13 (A) reflects a fair return to the Federal Gov14 ernment and the true costs to the permittee or

15 lessee; and

16 (B) promotes continuing cooperative stew17 ardship efforts;

18 (6) opportunities exist for improving efficiency

19 in the administration of the range programs on Fed20 eral land by—

21 (A) reducing planning and analysis costs

22 and their associated paperwork, procedural, and

23 clerical burdens; and

24 (B) refocusing efforts to the direct manage25 ment of the resources themselves;
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1 (7) in order to provide meaningful review and

2 oversight of the management of the public rangelands

3 and the grazing allotment on those rangelands, refine4 ment of the reporting of costs of various components

5 of the land management program is needed;

6 (8) greater local input into the management of

7 the public rangelands is in the best interests of the

8 United States;

9 (9) the western livestock industry that relies on

10 Federal land plays an important role in preserving

11 the social, economic, and cultural base of rural com12 munities in the Western States and further plays an

13 integral role in the economies of the 16 contiguous

14 Western States with Federal rangelands;

15 (10) maintaining the economic viability of the

16 western livestock industry is in the best interest of the

17 United States in order to maintain open space and

18 fish and wildlife habitat;

19 (11) since the enactment of the Federal Land

20 Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701

21 et seq.) and the amendment of section 6 of the Forest

22 and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of

23 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1604) by the National Forest Man24 agement Act of 1976 (16 U.S.C. 472a et seq.), the Sec25 retary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture
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1 have been charged with coordinating land use inven2 tory, planning and management programs on Bureau

3 of Land Management and National Forest System

4 lands with each other, other Federal departments and

5 agencies, Indian tribes, and State and local govern6 ments within which the lands are located, but to date

7 such coordination has not existed to the extent al8 lowed by law; and

9 (12) it shall not be the policy of the United

10 States to increase or reduce total livestock numbers on

11 Federal land except as is necessary to provide for

12 proper management of resources, based on local condi13 tions, and as provided by existing law related to the

14 management of Federal land and this title.

15 (b) REPEAL OF EARLIER FINDINGS.—Section 2(a) of

16 the Public Rangelands Improvement Act of 1978 (43 U.S.C.

17 1901(a)) is amended—

18 (1) by striking paragraphs (1), (2), (3), and (4);

19 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (5) and (6) as

20 paragraphs (1) and (2), respectively;

21 (3) in paragraph (1) (as so redesignated), by

22 adding ‘‘and’’ at the end; and

23 (4) in paragraph (2) (as so redesignated)—

24 (A) by striking ‘‘harrassment’’ and insert25 ing ‘‘harassment’’; and
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1 (B) by striking the semicolon at the end and

2 inserting a period.

3 SEC. 102. APPLICATION OF ACT.

4 (a) This Act applies to—

5 (1) the management of grazing on Federal land

6 by the Secretary of the Interior under—

7 (A) the Act of June 28, 1934 (commonly

8 known as the ‘‘Taylor Grazing Act’’) (48 Stat.

9 1269, chapter 865; 43 U.S.C. 315 et seq.);

10 (B) the Act of August 28, 1937 (commonly

11 known as the ‘‘Oregon and California Railroad

12 and Coos Bay Wagon Road Grant Lands Act of

13 1937’’) (50 Stat. 874, chapter 876; 43 U.S.C.

14 1181a et seq.);

15 (C) the Federal Land Policy and Manage16 ment Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.); and

17 (D) the Public Rangelands Improvement

18 Act of 1978 (43 U.S.C. 1901 et seq.);

19 (2) the management of grazing on Federal land

20 by the Secretary of Agriculture under—

21 (A) the 12th undesignated paragraph under

22 the heading ‘‘SURVEYING THE PUBLIC

23 LANDS.’’ under the heading ‘‘UNDER THE

24 DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR.’’ in the

25 first section of the Act of June 4, 1897 (com-
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1 monly known as the ‘‘Organic Administration

2 Act of 1897’’) (30 Stat. 11, 35, chapter 2; 16

3 U.S.C. 551);

4 (B) the Act of April 24, 1950 (commonly

5 known as the ‘‘Granger-Thye Act of 1950’’) (64

6 Stat. 85, 88, chapter 97; 16 U.S.C. 580g, 580h,

7 580l);

8 (C) the Multiple-Use Sustained Yield Act of

9 1960 (16 U.S.C. 528 et seq.);

10 (D) the Forest and Rangeland Renewable

11 Resources Planning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1600

12 et seq.);

13 (E) the National Forest Management Act of

14 1976 (16 U.S.C. 472a et seq.);

15 (F) the Federal Land Policy and Manage16 ment Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.); and

17 (G) the Public Rangelands Improvement

18 Act of 1978 (43 U.S.C. 1901 et seq.); and

19 (3) management of grazing by the Secretary on

20 behalf of the head of another department or agency

21 under a memorandum of understanding.

22 (b) Nothing in this title shall affect grazing in any

23 unit of the National Park System, National Wildlife Refuge

24 System or on any lands that are not Federal lands as de25 fined in this title.
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1 (c) Nothing in this title shall limit or preclude the use

2 of and access to Federal land for hunting, fishing, rec3 reational, watershed management or other appropriate

4 multiple use activities in accordance with applicable Fed5 eral and State laws and the principles of multiple use.

6 (d) Nothing in this title shall affect valid existing

7 rights. Section 1323(a) and 1323(b) of Public Law 96–487

8 shall continue to apply to nonfederally owned lands.

9 SEC. 103. OBJECTIVE.

10 The objective of this title is to—

11 (1) promote healthy, sustained rangeland;

12 (2) provide direction for the administration of

13 livestock grazing on Federal land;

14 (3) enhance productivity of Federal land by con15 servation of forage resources, reduction of soil erosion,

16 and proper management of other resources such as

17 control of noxious species invasion;

18 (4) provide stability to the livestock industry

19 that utilizes the public rangeland;

20 (5) emphasize scientific monitoring of trends and

21 condition to support sound rangeland management;

22 (6) maintain and improve the condition of ri23 parian areas which are critical to wildlife habitat

24 and water quality; and
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1 (7) maintain and improve the condition of Fed2 eral land for multiple-use purposes, including but not

3 limited to wildlife and habitat, consistent with land

4 use plans and other objectives of this section.

5 SEC. 104. DEFINITIONS.

6 In this title:

7 (1) ACTIVE USE.—The term ‘‘active use’’ means

8 the amount of authorized livestock grazing use made

9 at any time.

10 (2) ACTUAL USE.—The term ‘‘actual use’’ means

11 the number and kinds or classes of livestock, and the

12 length of time that livestock graze on, an allotment.

13 (3) AFFECTED INTEREST.—The term ‘‘affected

14 interest’’ means an individual or organization that

15 has expressed in writing to the Secretary concern for

16 the management of a specific allotment, for the pur17 pose of receiving notice of and the opportunity for

18 comment and informal consultation on proposed deci19 sions of the Secretary affecting the allotment.

20 (4) ALLOTMENT.—The term ‘‘allotment’’ means

21 an area of designated Federal land that includes

22 management for grazing of livestock.

23 (5) ALLOTMENT MANAGEMENT PLAN.—The term

24 ‘‘allotment management plan’’ has the same meaning
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1 as defined in section 103(k) of Public Law 94–579

2 (43 U.S.C. 1702(k)).

3 (6) AUTHORIZED OFFICER.—The term ‘‘author4 ized officer’’ means a person authorized by the Sec5 retary to administer this title, the Acts cited in sec6 tion 102, and regulations issued under this title and

7 those Acts.

8 (7) BASE PROPERTY.—The term ‘‘base property’’

9 means—

10 (A) private land that has the capability of

11 producing crops or forage that can be used to

12 support authorized livestock for a specified pe13 riod of the year; or

14 (B) water that is suitable for consumption

15 by livestock and is available to and accessible by

16 authorized livestock when the land is used for

17 livestock grazing.

18 (8) CANCEL; CANCELLATION.—The terms ‘‘can19 cel’’ and ‘‘cancellation’’ refer to a permanent termi20 nation, in whole or in part, of—

21 (A) a grazing permit or lease and grazing

22 preference; or

23 (B) other grazing authorization.

24 (9) CONSULTATION, COOPERATION, AND COORDI25 NATION.—The term ‘‘consultation, cooperation, and
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1 coordination’’ means, for the purposes of this title and

2 section 402(d) of the Federal Land Policy and Man3 agement Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1752(d)), engagement

4 in good faith efforts to reach consensus.

5 (10) COORDINATED RESOURCE MANAGEMENT.—

6 The term ‘‘coordinated resource management’’—

7 (A) means the planning and implementa8 tion of management activities in a specified geo9 graphic area that require the coordination and

10 cooperation of the Bureau of Land Management

11 or the Forest Service with affected State agen12 cies, private land owners, and Federal land

13 users; and

14 (B) may include, but is not limited to prac15 tices that provide for conservation, resource pro16 tection, resource enhancement or integrated man17 agement of multiple-use resources.

18 (11) FEDERAL LAND.—The term ‘‘Federal

19 land’’—

20 (A) means land outside the State of Alaska

21 that is owned by the United States and adminis22 tered by—

23 (i) the Secretary of the Interior, acting

24 through the Director of the Bureau of Land

25 Management; or
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1 (ii) the Secretary of Agriculture, acting

2 through the Chief of the Forest Service in

3 the 16 contiguous Western States; but

4 (B) does not include—

5 (i) land held in trust for the benefit of

6 Indians; or

7 (ii) the National Grasslands as defined

8 in section 203.

9 (12) GRAZING PERMIT OR LEASE.—The term

10 ‘‘grazing permit or lease’’ means a document author11 izing use of the Federal land—

12 (A) within a grazing district under section

13 3 of the Act of June 28, 1934 (commonly known

14 as the ‘‘Taylor Grazing Act’’) (48 Stat. 1270,

15 chapter 865; 43 U.S.C. 315b), for the purpose of

16 grazing livestock;

17 (B) outside grazing districts under section

18 15 of the Act of June 28, 1934 (commonly known

19 as the ‘‘Taylor Grazing Act’’) (48 Stat. 1275,

20 chapter 865; 43 U.S.C. 315m), for the purpose of

21 grazing livestock; or

22 (C) in a national forest under section 19 of

23 the Act of April 24, 1950 (commonly known as

24 the ‘‘Granger-Thye Act of 1950’’) (64 Stat. 88,
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1 chapter 97; 16 U.S.C. 5801), for the purposes of

2 grazing livestock.

3 (13) GRAZING PREFERENCE.—The term ‘‘grazing

4 preference’’ means the number of animal unit months

5 of livestock grazing on Federal land as adjudicated or

6 apportioned and attached to base property owned or

7 controlled by a permittee or lessee.

8 (14) LAND BASE PROPERTY.—The term ‘‘land

9 base property’’ means base property described in

10 paragraph (7)(A).

11 (15) LAND USE PLAN.—The term ‘‘land use

12 plan’’ means—

13 (A) with respect to Federal land adminis14 tered by the Bureau of Land Management, one

15 of the following developed in accordance with the

16 Federal Land Policy and Management Act of

17 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.)—

18 (i) a resource management plan; or

19 (ii) a management framework plan

20 that is in effect pending completion of a re21 source management plan; and

22 (B) with respect to Federal land adminis23 tered by the Forest Service, a land and resource

24 management plan developed in accordance with
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1 section 6 of the Forest and Rangeland Resources

2 Planning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1604).

3 (16) LIVESTOCK CARRYING CAPACITY.—The term

4 ‘‘livestock carrying capacity’’ means the maximum

5 seasonal stocking rate that is possible without induc6 ing long-term damage to vegetation or related re7 sources.

8 (17) MONITORING.—The term ‘‘monitoring’’

9 means the orderly collection of data using scientif10 ically-based techniques to determine trend and condi11 tion of rangeland resources. Data may include histor12 ical information, but must be sufficiently reliable to

13 evaluate—

14 (A) effects of ecological changes and man15 agement actions; and

16 (B) effectiveness of actions in meeting man17 agement objectives.

18 (18) RANGE IMPROVEMENT.—The term ‘‘range

19 improvement’’—

20 (A) means an authorized activity or pro21 gram on or relating to rangeland that is de22 signed to—

23 (i) improve production of forage;

24 (ii) change vegetative composition;

25 (iii) control patterns of use;
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1 (iv) provide water;

2 (v) stabilize soil and water conditions;

3 or

4 (vi) provide habitat for livestock, wild5 life, and wild horses and burros consistent

6 with existing law; and

7 (B) includes structures, treatment projects,

8 and use of mechanical means to accomplish the

9 goals described in subparagraph (A).

10 (19) RANGELAND STUDY.—The term ‘‘rangeland

11 study’’ means a documented study or analysis of data

12 obtained on actual use, utilization, climatic condi13 tions, other special events, production trend, and re14 source condition and trend to determine whether

15 management objectives are being met, that—

16 (A) relies on the examination of physical

17 measurements of range attributes and not on

18 cursory visual scanning of land, unless the con19 dition to be assessed is patently obvious and re20 quires no physical measurements;

21 (B) utilizes a scientifically based and verifi22 able methodology; and

23 (C) is accepted by an authorized officer.

24 (20) SECRETARY; SECRETARIES.—The terms

25 ‘‘Secretary’’ or ‘‘Secretaries’’ mean—
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1 (A) the Secretary of the Interior, in ref2 erence to livestock grazing on Federal land ad3 ministered by the Director of the Bureau of

4 Land Management; and

5 (B) the Secretary of Agriculture, in ref6 erence to livestock grazing on Federal land ad7 ministered by the Chief of the Forest Service or

8 the National Grasslands referred to in title II.

9 (21) SUBLEASE.—The term ‘‘sublease’’ means an

10 agreement by a permittee or lessee that—

11 (A) allows a person other than the permittee

12 or lessee to graze livestock on Federal land with13 out controlling the base property supporting the

14 grazing permit or lease; or

15 (B) allows grazing on Federal land by live16 stock not owned or controlled by the permittee or

17 lessee.

18 (22) SUSPEND; SUSPENSION.—The terms ‘‘sus19 pend’’ and ‘‘suspension’’ refer to a temporary with20 holding, in whole or in part, of a grazing preference

21 from active use, ordered by the Secretary or done vol22 untarily by a permittee or lessee.

23 (23) WATER BASE PROPERTY.—The term ‘‘water

24 base property’’ means base property described in

25 paragraph (7)(B).
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1 SEC. 105. FUNDAMENTALS OF RANGELAND HEALTH.

2 (a) STANDARDS AND GUIDELINES.—The Secretary

3 shall establish standards and guidelines for addressing re4 source condition and trend on a State or regional level in

5 consultation with the Resource Advisory Councils estab6 lished in section 161, State departments of agriculture and

7 other appropriate State agencies, and academic institutions

8 in each interested State. Standards and guidelines devel9 oped pursuant to this subsection shall be consistent with

10 the objectives provided in section 103 and incorporated, by

11 operation of law, into the applicable land use plan to pro12 vide guidance and direction for Federal land managers in

13 the performance of their assigned duties.

14 (b) COORDINATED RESOURCE MANAGEMENT.—The

15 Secretary shall, where appropriate, authorize and encour16 age the use of voluntary coordinated resource management

17 practices. Coordinated resource management practices shall

18 be—

19 (1) scientifically based;

20 (2) consistent with goals and management objec21 tives of the applicable land use plan;

22 (3) for the purposes of promoting good steward23 ship and conservation of multiple-use rangeland re24 sources; and

25 (4) authorized under a cooperative agreement

26 with a permittee or lessee, or an organized group of
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1 permittees or lessees in a specified geographic area.

2 Notwithstanding the mandatory qualifications re3 quired to obtain a grazing permit or lease by this or

4 any other Act, such agreement may include other in5 dividuals, organizations, or Federal land users.

6 (c) COORDINATION OF FEDERAL AGENCIES.—Where

7 coordinated resource management involves private land,

8 State land, and Federal land managed by the Bureau of

9 Land Management or the Forest Service, the Secretaries are

10 hereby authorized and directed to enter into cooperative

11 agreements to coordinate the associated activities of—

12 (1) the Bureau of Land Management;

13 (2) the Forest Service; and

14 (3) the Natural Resources Conservation Service.

15 (d) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this title or

16 any other law implies that a minimum national standard

17 or guideline is necessary.

18 SEC. 106. LAND USE PLANS.

19 (a) PRINCIPLE OF MULTIPLE USE AND SUSTAINED

20 YIELD.—An authorized officer shall manage livestock graz21 ing on Federal land under the principles of multiple use

22 and sustained yield and in accordance with applicable land

23 use plans.

24 (b) CONTENTS OF LAND USE PLAN.—With respect to

25 grazing administration, a land use plan shall—
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1 (1) consider the impacts of all multiple uses, in2 cluding livestock and wildlife grazing, on the environ3 ment and condition of public rangelands, and the

4 contributions of these uses to the management, main5 tenance and improvement of such rangelands;

6 (2) establish available animal unit months for

7 grazing use, related levels of allowable grazing use, re8 source condition authorize grazing use, establish re9 source condition goals, and management objectives for

10 the Federal land covered by the plan; and

11 (3) set forth programs and general management

12 practices needed to achieve the purposes of this title.

13 (c) APPLICATION OF NEPA.—Land use plans and

14 amendments thereto shall be developed in conformance with

15 the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act

16 of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.).

17 (d) CONFORMANCE WITH LAND USE PLAN.—Livestock

18 grazing activities, management actions and decisions ap19 proved by the authorized officer, including the issuance, re20 newal, or transfer of grazing permits or leases, shall not

21 constitute major Federal actions requiring consideration

22 under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42

23 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) in addition to that which is necessary

24 to support the land use plan, and amendments thereto.
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1 (e) Nothing in this section is intended to override the

2 planning and public involvement processes of any other

3 Federal law pertaining to Federal lands.

4 SEC. 107. REVIEW OF RESOURCE CONDITION.

5 (a) Upon the issuance, renewal, or transfer of a graz6 ing permit or lease, and at least once every 6 years, the

7 Secretary shall review all available monitoring data for al8 lotments. If the Secretary’s review indicates that the re9 source condition is not meeting management objectives, then

10 the Secretary shall prepare a brief summary report which—

11 (1) evaluates the monitoring data;

12 (2) identifies the unsatisfactory resource condi13 tions and the use or management activities contribut14 ing to such conditions; and

15 (3) makes recommendations for any modifica16 tions to management activities, or permit or lease

17 terms and conditions necessary to meet management

18 objectives.

19 (b) The Secretary shall make copies of the summary

20 report available to the permittee or lessee, and affected in21 terests, and shall allow for a 30-day comment period to co22 incide with the 30-day time period provided in section 155.

23 At the end of such comment period, the Secretary shall re24 view all comments, and as the Secretary deems necessary,
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1 modify management activities, and pursuant to section

2 134, the permit or lease terms and conditions.

3 (c) If the Secretary determines that available monitor4 ing data, or budget or personnel resources are insufficient

5 to make recommendations pursuant to subsection (a)(3), the

6 Secretary shall establish a reasonable schedule to gather suf7 ficient data pursuant to section 123. Insufficient monitor8 ing data shall not be grounds for the Secretary to refuse

9 to issue, renew or transfer a grazing permit or lease, or

10 to terminate or modify the terms and conditions of an exist11 ing grazing permit or lease.

12 Subtitle B—Qualifications and

13 Grazing Preferences

14 SEC. 111. SPECIFYING GRAZING PREFERENCE.

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—A grazing permit or lease shall

16 specify—

17 (1) a historical grazing preference;

18 (2) active use, based on the amount of forage

19 available for livestock grazing established in the land

20 use plan;

21 (3) suspended use; and

22 (4) voluntary and temporary nonuse.

23 (b) ATTACHMENT OF GRAZING PREFERENCE.—A graz24 ing preference identified in a grazing permit or lease shall
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1 attach to the base property supporting the grazing permit

2 or lease.

3 (c) ATTACHMENT OF ANIMAL UNIT MONTHS.—The

4 animal unit months of a grazing preference shall attach

5 to—

6 (1) the acreage of land base property on a pro

7 rata basis; or

8 (2) water base property on the basis of livestock

9 forage production within the service area of the water.

10 Subtitle C—Grazing Management

11 SEC. 121. ALLOTMENT MANAGEMENT PLANS.

12 If the Secretary elects to develop or revise an allotment

13 management plan for a given area, he shall do so in careful

14 and considered consultation, cooperation, and coordination

15 with the lessees, permittees, and landowners involved, the

16 grazing advisory councils established pursuant to section

17 162, and any State or States having lands within the area

18 to be covered by such allotment management plan. The Sec19 retary shall provide for public participation in the develop20 ment or revision of an allotment management plan as pro21 vided in section 155.

22 SEC. 122. RANGE IMPROVEMENTS.

23 (a) RANGE IMPROVEMENT COOPERATIVE AGREE24 MENTS.—
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may enter into

2 a cooperative agreement with a permittee or lessee for

3 the construction, installation, modification, removal,

4 or use of a permanent range improvement or develop5 ment of a rangeland to achieve a management or re6 source condition objective.

7 (2) COST-SHARING.—A range improvement coop8 erative agreement shall specify how the costs or labor,

9 or both, shall be shared between the United States and

10 the other parties to the agreement.

11 (3) TITLE.—

12 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to valid existing

13 rights, title to an authorized structural range

14 improvement under a range improvement coop15 erative agreement shall be shared by the

16 cooperator(s) and the United States in propor17 tion to the value of the contributions (funding,

18 material, and labor) toward the initial cost of

19 construction.

20 (B) VALUE OF FEDERAL LAND.—For the

21 purpose of subparagraph (A), only a contribu22 tion to the construction, installation, or modi23 fication of a permanent rangeland improvement

24 itself, and not the value of Federal land on which
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1 the improvement is placed, shall be taken into

2 account.

3 (4) NONSTRUCTURAL RANGE IMPROVEMENTS.—A

4 range improvement cooperative agreement shall en5 sure that the respective parties enjoy the benefits of

6 any nonstructural range improvement, such as seed7 ing, spraying, and chaining, in proportion to each

8 party’s contribution to the improvement.

9 (5) INCENTIVES.—A range improvement coopera10 tive agreement shall contain terms and conditions

11 that are designed to provide a permittee or lessee an

12 incentive for investing in range improvements.

13 (b) RANGE IMPROVEMENT PERMITS.—

14 (1) APPLICATION.—A permittee or lessee may

15 apply for a range improvement permit to construct,

16 install, modify, maintain, or use a range improve17 ment that is needed to achieve management objectives

18 within the permittee’s or lessee’s allotment.

19 (2) FUNDING.—A permittee or lessee shall agree

20 to provide full funding for construction, installation,

21 modification, or maintenance of a range improvement

22 covered by a range improvement permit.

23 (3) AUTHORIZED OFFICER TO ISSUE.—A range

24 improvement permit shall be issued at the discretion

25 of the authorized officer.
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1 (4) TITLE.—Title to an authorized permanent

2 range improvement under a range improvement per3 mit shall be in the name of the permittee or lessee.

4 (5) CONTROL.—The use by livestock of stock

5 ponds or wells authorized by a range improvement

6 permit shall be controlled by the permittee or lessee

7 holding a range improvement permit.

8 (c) ASSIGNMENT OF RANGE IMPROVEMENTS.—An au9 thorized officer shall not approve the transfer of a grazing

10 preference, or approve use by the transferee of existing range

11 improvements unless the transferee has agreed to com12 pensate the transferor for the transferor’s interest in the au13 thorized permanent improvements within the allotment as

14 of the date of the transfer.

15 SEC. 123. MONITORING AND INSPECTION.

16 (a) MONITORING.—Monitoring of resource condition

17 and trend of Federal land on an allotment shall be per18 formed by qualified persons approved by the Secretary, in19 cluding but not limited to Federal, State, or local govern20 ment personnel, consultants, and grazing permittees or les21 sees.

22 (b) INSPECTION.—Inspection of a grazing allotment

23 shall be performed by qualified Federal, State or local agen24 cy personnel, or qualified consultants retained by the Unit25 ed States.
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1 (c) MONITORING CRITERIA AND PROTOCOLS.—Range2 land monitoring shall be conducted according to regional

3 or State criteria and protocols that are scientifically based.

4 Criteria and protocols shall be developed by the Secretary

5 in consultation with the Resource Advisory Councils estab6 lished in section 161, State departments of agriculture and

7 other appropriate State agencies, and academic institutions

8 in each interested State.

9 (d) OVERSIGHT.—The authorized officer shall provide

10 sufficient oversight to ensure that all monitoring is con11 ducted in accordance with criteria and protocols established

12 pursuant to subsection (c).

13 (e) NOTICE.—In conducting monitoring activities, the

14 Secretary shall provide reasonable notice of such activities

15 to permittees or lessees, including prior notice to the extent

16 practicable of not less than 48 hours. Permittees and lessees

17 shall be invited to participate in all inspections.

18 SEC. 124. WATER RIGHTS.

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—No water rights on Federal land

20 shall be acquired, perfected, owned, controlled, maintained,

21 administered, or transferred in connection with livestock

22 grazing management other than in accordance with State

23 law concerning the use and appropriation of water within

24 the State.
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1 (b) STATE LAW.—In managing livestock grazing on

2 Federal land, the Secretary shall follow State law with re3 gard to water right ownership and appropriation.

4 (c) AUTHORIZED USE OR TRANSPORT.—The Secretary

5 cannot require permittees or lessees to transfer or relinquish

6 all or a portion of their water right to another party, in7 cluding but not limited to the United States, as a condition

8 to granting a grazing permit or lease, range improvement

9 cooperative agreement or range improvement permit.

10 (d) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this title

11 shall be construed to create an expressed or implied reserva12 tion of water rights in the United States.

13 (e) VALID EXISTING RIGHTS.—Nothing in this Act

14 shall affect valid existing water rights.

15 Subtitle D—Authorization of

16 Grazing Use

17 SEC. 131. GRAZING PERMITS OR LEASES.

18 (a) TERMS.—A grazing permit or lease shall be issued

19 for a term of 15 years unless—

20 (1) the land is pending disposal;

21 (2) the land will be devoted to a public purpose

22 that precludes grazing prior to the end of 15 years;

23 or

24 (3) the Secretary determines that it would be in

25 the best interest of sound land management to specify
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1 a shorter term, if the decision to specify a shorter

2 term is supported by appropriate and accepted re3 source analysis and evaluation, and a shorter term is

4 determined to be necessary, based upon monitoring

5 information, to achieve resource condition goals and

6 management objectives.

7 (b) RENEWAL.—A permittee or lessee holding a graz8 ing permit or lease shall be given first priority at the end

9 of the term for renewal of the grazing permit or lease if—

10 (1) the land for which the grazing permit or

11 lease is issued remains available for domestic livestock

12 grazing;

13 (2) the permittee or lessee is in compliance with

14 this title and the terms and conditions of the grazing

15 permit or lease; and

16 (3) the permittee or lessee accepts the terms and

17 conditions included by the authorized officer in the

18 new grazing permit or lease.

19 SEC. 132. SUBLEASING.

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall only authorize

21 subleasing of a Federal grazing permit or lease, in whole

22 or in part—

23 (1) if the permittee or lessee is unable to make

24 full grazing use due to ill health or death; or
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1 (2) under a cooperative agreement with a graz2 ing permittee or lessee (or group of grazing permittees

3 or lessees), pursuant to section 105(b).

4 (b) CONSIDERATIONS.—

5 (1) Livestock owned by a spouse, child, or grand6 child of a permittee or lessee shall be considered as

7 owned by the permittee or lessee for the sole purposes

8 of this title.

9 (2) Leasing or subleasing of base property, in

10 whole or in part, shall not be considered as subleasing

11 of a Federal grazing permit or lease: Provided, That

12 the grazing preference associated with such base prop13 erty is transferred to the person controlling the leased

14 or subleased base property.

15 SEC. 133. OWNERSHIP AND IDENTIFICATION OF LIVESTOCK.

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—A permittee or lessee shall own or

17 control and be responsible for the management of the live18 stock that graze the Federal land under a grazing permit

19 or lease.

20 (b) MARKING OR TAGGING.—An authorized officer

21 shall not impose any marking or tagging requirement in

22 addition to the requirement under State law.

23 SEC. 134. TERMS AND CONDITIONS.

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—
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1 (1) The authorized officer shall specify the class

2 and number of livestock, the period(s) of use, the

3 allotment(s) to be used, and the amount of use (stated

4 in animal unit months) in a grazing permit or lease.

5 (2) A grazing permit or lease shall be subject to

6 such other reasonable terms or conditions, as devel7 oped under subsection (b), as may be necessary to

8 achieve the objectives of this title, or as contained in

9 an approved allotment management plan.

10 (3) No term or condition of a grazing permit or

11 lease shall be imposed pertaining to past practice or

12 present willingness of an applicant, permittee or les13 see to relinquish control of public access to Federal

14 land across private land.

15 (4) The authorized officer shall ensure that a

16 grazing permit or lease will be consistent with appro17 priate standards and guidelines developed pursuant

18 to section 105 as are appropriate to the permit or

19 lease.

20 (b) MODIFICATION.—Following careful and considered

21 consultation, cooperation, and coordination with permittees

22 and lessees, an authorized officer shall modify the terms and

23 conditions of a grazing permit or lease if monitoring data

24 show that the grazing use is not meeting the management

25 objectives established in a land use plan or allotment man-
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1 agement plan, and if modification of such terms and condi2 tions is necessary to meet specific management objectives.

3 SEC. 135. FEES AND CHARGES.

4 (a) GRAZING FEES.—The fee for each animal unit

5 month in a grazing fee year for livestock owned or con6 trolled shall be computed by the Secretary, and such fee

7 shall be equal to the three-year average of the total gross

8 value of production for beef cattle for the three years preced9 ing the grazing fee year, multiplied by the 10-year average

10 of the United States Treasury Securities 6-month bill ‘‘new

11 issue’’ rate, and divided by 12. The gross value of produc12 tion for beef cattle shall be determined by the Economic Re13 search Service of the Department of Agriculture in accord14 ance with subsection (e)(1).

15 (b) DEFINITION OF ANIMAL UNIT MONTH.—For the

16 purposes of billing only, the term ‘‘animal unit month’’

17 means one month’s use and occupancy of range by—

18 (1) one cow, bull, steer, heifer, horse, burro, or

19 mule, seven sheep, or seven goats, each of which is six

20 months of age or older on the date on which the ani21 mal begins grazing on Federal land;

22 (2) any such animal regardless of age if the ani23 mal is weaned on the date on which the animal be24 gins grazing on Federal land; and
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1 (3) any such animal that will become 12 months

2 of age during the period of use authorized under a

3 grazing permit or lease.

4 (c) LIVESTOCK NOT COUNTED.—There shall not be

5 counted as an animal unit month the use of Federal land

6 for grazing by an animal that is less than six months of

7 age on the date on which the animal begins grazing on Fed8 eral land and is the natural progeny of an animal on which

9 a grazing fee is paid if the animal is removed from the

10 Federal land before becoming 12 months of age.

11 (d) OTHER FEES AND CHARGES.—

12 (1) CROSSING PERMITS, TRANSFERS, AND BILL13 ING NOTICES.—A service charge shall be assessed for

14 each crossing permit, transfer of grazing preference,

15 and replacement or supplemental billing notice except

16 in a case in which the action is initiated by the au17 thorized officer.

18 (2) AMOUNT OF FLPMA FEES AND CHARGES.—

19 The fees and charges under section 304(a) of the Fed20 eral Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43

21 U.S.C. 1734(a)) shall reflect processing costs and shall

22 be adjusted periodically as costs change.

23 (3) NOTICE OF CHANGE.—Notice of a change in

24 a service charge shall be published in the Federal Reg25 ister.
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1 (e) CRITERIA FOR ERS.—

2 (1) The Economic Research Service of the De3 partment of Agriculture shall continue to compile and

4 report the gross value of production of beef cattle, on

5 a dollars-per-bred-cow basis for the United States, as

6 is currently published by the Service in: ‘‘Economic

7 Indicators of the Farm Sector: Cost of Production—

8 Major Field Crops and Livestock and Dairy’’ (Cow9 calf production cash costs and returns).

10 (2) For the purposes of determining the grazing

11 fee for a given grazing fee year, the gross value of pro12 duction (as described above) for the previous calendar

13 year shall be made available to the Secretary of the

14 Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture, and pub15 lished in the Federal Register, on or before February

16 15 of each year.

17 SEC. 136. USE OF STATE SHARE OF GRAZING FEES.

18 Section 10 of the Act of June 28, 1934 (commonly

19 known as the ‘‘Taylor Grazing Act’’) (43 U.S.C. 315i) is

20 amended—

21 (1) at the end of subsection (a), by striking ‘‘;’’

22 and inserting ‘‘: Provided further, That no such mon23 eys shall be expended for litigation purposes or lobby24 ing the Federal Government;’’; and
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1 (2) at the end of subsection (b), by striking ‘‘.’’

2 and inserting ‘‘: Provided further, That no such mon3 eys shall be expended for litigation purposes or lobby4 ing the Federal Government.’’.

5 Subtitle E—Unauthorized Grazing

6 Use

7 SEC. 141. NONMONETARY SETTLEMENT.

8 An authorized officer may approve a nonmonetary set9 tlement of a case of a violation if the authorized officer de10 termines that each of the following conditions is satisfied:

11 (1) NO FAULT.—Evidence shows that the unau12 thorized use occurred through no fault of the livestock

13 operator.

14 (2) INSIGNIFICANCE.—The forage use is insig15 nificant.

16 (3) NO DAMAGE.—Federal land has not been

17 damaged.

18 (4) BEST INTERESTS.—Nonmonetary settlement

19 is in the best interests of the United States.

20 SEC. 142. IMPOUNDMENT AND SALE.

21 Any impoundment and sale of unauthorized livestock

22 on Federal land shall be conducted in accordance with State

23 law.
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1 Subtitle F—Procedure

2 SEC. 151. PROPOSED DECISIONS.

3 (a) SERVICE ON APPLICANTS, PERMITTEES, LESSEES,

4 AND LIENHOLDERS.—The authorized officer shall serve, by

5 certified mail or personal delivery, a proposed decision on

6 any applicant, permittee, lessee, or lienholder (or agent of

7 record of the applicant, permittee, lessee, or lienholder) that

8 is affected by—

9 (1) a proposed action on an application for a

10 grazing permit or lease, or range improvement per11 mit; or

12 (2) a proposed action relating to a term or con13 dition of a grazing permit or lease, or a range im14 provement permit.

15 (b) NOTIFICATION OF AFFECTED INTERESTS.—The

16 authorized officer shall send copies of a proposed decision

17 to affected interests.

18 (c) CONTENTS.—A proposed decision described in sub19 section (a) shall—

20 (1) state reasons for the action, including ref21 erence to applicable law (including regulations);

22 (2) be based upon, and supported by rangeland

23 studies, where appropriate; and

24 (3) state that any protest to the proposed deci25 sion must be filed not later than 30 days after service.
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1 SEC. 152. PROTESTS.

2 An applicant, permittee, or lessee may protest a pro3 posed decision under section 151 in writing to the author4 ized officer within 30 days after service of the proposed deci5 sion.

6 SEC. 153. FINAL DECISIONS.

7 (a) NO PROTEST.—In the absence of a timely filed pro8 test, a proposed decision described in section 151(a) shall

9 become the final decision of the authorized officer without

10 further notice.

11 (b) RECONSIDERATION.—If a protest is timely filed,

12 the authorized officer shall reconsider the proposed decision

13 in light of the protestant’s statement of reasons for protest

14 and in light of other information pertinent to the case.

15 (c) SERVICE AND NOTIFICATION.—After reviewing the

16 protest, the authorized officer shall serve a final decision

17 on the parties to the proceeding, and notify affected interests

18 of the final decision.

19 SEC. 154. APPEALS.

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Any person whose interest is ad21 versely affected by a final decision of an authorized officer,

22 within the meaning of section 702 of title 5, United States

23 Code, may appeal the decision within 30 days after the re24 ceipt of the decision, or within 60 days after the receipt

25 of a proposed decision if further notice of a final decision

26 is not required under this title, pursuant to applicable laws
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1 and regulations governing the administrative appeals proc2 ess of the agency serving the decision. Being an affected in3 terest as described in section 104(3) shall not in and of itself

4 confer standing to appeal a final decision upon any indi5 vidual or organization.

6 (b) SUSPENSION PENDING APPEAL.—

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—An appeal of a final decision

8 shall suspend the effect of the decision pending final

9 action on the appeal unless the decision is made effec10 tive pending appeal under paragraph (2).

11 (2) EFFECTIVENESS PENDING APPEAL.—The au12 thorized officer may place a final decision in full

13 force and effect in an emergency to stop resource dete14 rioration or economic distress, if the authorized officer

15 has substantial grounds to believe that resource dete16 rioration or economic distress is imminent. Full force

17 and effect decisions shall take effect on the date speci18 fied, regardless of an appeal.

19 (c) In the case of an appeal under this section, the

20 authorized officer shall, within 30 days of receipt, forward

21 the appeal, all documents and information submitted by the

22 applicant, permittee, lessee, or lienholder, and any perti23 nent information that would be useful in the rendering of

24 a decision on such appeal, to the appropriate authority re25 sponsible for issuing the final decision on the appeal.
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1 SEC. 155. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION AND CONSULTATION.

2 (a) GENERAL PUBLIC.—The Secretary shall provide

3 for public participation, including a reasonable oppor4 tunity to comment, on—

5 (1) land use plans and amendments thereto; and

6 (2) development of standards and guidelines to

7 provide guidance and direction for Federal land man8 agers in the performance of their assigned duties.

9 (b) AFFECTED INTERESTS.—At least 30 days prior to

10 the issuance of a final decision, the Secretary shall notify

11 affected interests of such proposed decision, and provide a

12 reasonable opportunity for comment and informal consulta13 tion regarding the proposed decision within such 30-day pe14 riod, for—

15 (1) the designation or modification of allotment

16 boundaries;

17 (2) the development, revision, or termination of

18 allotment management plans;

19 (3) the increase or decrease of permitted use;

20 (4) the issuance, renewal, or transfer of grazing

21 permits or leases;

22 (5) the modification of terms and conditions of

23 permits or leases;

24 (6) reports evaluating monitoring data for a per25 mit or lease; and
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1 (7) the issuance of temporary non-renewable use

2 permits.

3 Subtitle G—Advisory Committees

4 SEC. 161. RESOURCE ADVISORY COUNCILS.

5 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Agriculture

6 and the Secretary of the Interior, in consultation with the

7 Governors of the affected States, shall establish and operate

8 joint Resource Advisory Councils on a State or regional

9 level to provide advice on management issues for all lands

10 administered by the Bureau of Land Management and the

11 Forest Service within such State or regional area, except

12 where the Secretaries determine that there is insufficient in13 terest in participation on a council to ensure that member14 ship can be fairly balanced in terms of the points of view

15 represented and the functions to be performed.

16 (b) DUTIES.—Each Resource Advisory Council shall

17 advise the Secretaries and appropriate State officials on—

18 (1) matters regarding the preparation, amend19 ment, and implementation of land use and activity

20 plans for public lands and resources within its area;

21 and

22 (2) major management decisions while working

23 within the broad management objectives established

24 for the district or national forest.

25 (c) DISREGARD OF ADVICE.—
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1 (1) REQUEST FOR RESPONSE.—If a Resource

2 Advisory Council becomes concerned that its advice is

3 being arbitrarily disregarded, the Resource Advisory

4 Council may, by majority vote of its members, request

5 that the Secretaries respond directly to the Resource

6 Advisory Council’s concerns within 60 days after the

7 Secretaries receive the request.

8 (2) EFFECT OF RESPONSE.—The response of the

9 Secretaries to a request under paragraph (1) shall

10 not—

11 (A) constitute a decision on the merits of

12 any issue that is or might become the subject of

13 an administrative appeal; or

14 (B) be subject to appeal.

15 (d) MEMBERSHIP.—

16 (1) The Secretaries, in consultation with the

17 Governor of the affected State or States, shall appoint

18 the members of each Resource Advisory Council. A

19 council shall consist of not less than nine members

20 and not more than fifteen members.

21 (2) In appointing members to a Resource Advi22 sory Council, the Secretaries shall provide for bal23 anced and broad representation from among various

24 groups, including but not limited to, permittees and

25 lessees, other commercial interests, recreational users,
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1 representatives of recognized local environmental or

2 conservation organizations, educational, professional,

3 or academic interests, representatives of State and

4 local government or governmental agencies, Indian

5 tribes, and other members of the affected public.

6 (3) The Secretaries shall appoint at least one

7 elected official of general purpose government serving

8 the people of the area of each Resource Advisory

9 Council.

10 (4) No person may serve concurrently on more

11 than one Resource Advisory Council.

12 (5) Members of a Resource Advisory Council

13 must reside in one of the States within the geographic

14 jurisdiction of the council.

15 (e) SUBGROUPS.—A Resource Advisory Council may

16 establish such subgroups as the council deems necessary, in17 cluding but not limited to working groups, technical review

18 teams, and rangeland resource groups.

19 (f) TERMS.—Resource Advisory Council members shall

20 be appointed for two-year terms. Members may be ap21 pointed to additional terms at the discretion of the Secretar22 ies.

23 (g) FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT.—Except to

24 the extent that it is inconsistent with this subtitle, the Fed-
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1 eral Advisory Committee Act shall apply to the Resource

2 Advisory Councils established under this section.

3 (h) OTHER FLPMA ADVISORY COUNCILS.—Nothing

4 in this section shall be construed as modifying the authority

5 of the Secretaries to establish other advisory councils under

6 section 309 of the Federal Land Policy and Management

7 Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1739).

8 (i) STATE GRAZING DISTRICTS.—The Secretary shall

9 ensure that Resource Advisory Councils coordinate activi10 ties and cooperate with State Grazing Districts established

11 pursuant to State law.

12 SEC. 162. GRAZING ADVISORY COUNCILS.

13 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary, in consultation

14 with the Governor of the affected State and with affected

15 counties, shall appoint not fewer than five nor more than

16 nine persons to serve on a Grazing Advisory Council for

17 each district and each national forest within the 16 contig18 uous Western States having jurisdiction over more than

19 500,000 acres of public lands subject to commercial livestock

20 grazing. The Secretaries may establish joint Grazing Advi21 sory Councils wherever practicable.

22 (b) DUTIES.—The duties of Grazing Advisory Councils

23 established pursuant to this section shall be to provide ad24 vice to the Secretary concerning management issues directly
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1 related to the grazing of livestock on public lands, includ2 ing—

3 (1) range improvement objectives;

4 (2) the expenditure of range improvement or bet5 terment funds under the Public Rangelands Improve6 ment Act of 1978 (43 U.S.C. 1901 et seq.) or the Tay7 lor Grazing Act (43 U.S.C. 315 et seq.);

8 (3) developing and implementation of grazing

9 management programs; and

10 (4) range management decisions and actions at

11 the allotment level.

12 (c) DISREGARD OF ADVICE.—

13 (1) REQUEST FOR RESPONSE.—If a Grazing Ad14 visory Council becomes concerned that its advice is

15 being arbitrarily disregarded, the Grazing Advisory

16 Council may, by unanimous vote of its members, re17 quest that the Secretary respond directly to the Graz18 ing Advisory Council’s concerns within 60 days after

19 the Secretary receives the request.

20 (2) EFFECT OF RESPONSE.—The response of the

21 Secretary to a request under paragraph (1) shall

22 not—

23 (A) constitute a decision on the merits of

24 any issue that is or might become the subject of

25 an administrative appeal; or
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1 (B) be subject to appeal.

2 (d) MEMBERSHIP.—The members of a Grazing Advi3 sory Council established pursuant to this section shall rep4 resent permittees, lessees, affected landowners, social and

5 economic interests within the district or national forest, and

6 elected State or county officers. All members shall have a

7 demonstrated knowledge of grazing management and range

8 improvement practices appropriate for the region, and shall

9 be residents of a community within or adjacent to the dis10 trict or national forest, or control a permit or lease within

11 the same area. Members shall be appointed by the Secretary

12 for a term of two years, and may be appointed for addi13 tional consecutive terms. The membership of Grazing Advi14 sory Councils shall be equally divided between permittees

15 or lessees, and other interests: Provided, That one elected

16 State or county officer representing the people of an area

17 within the district or national forest shall be appointed to

18 create an odd number of members: Provided further, That

19 permittees or lessees appointed as members of each Grazing

20 Advisory Council shall be recommended to the Secretary by

21 the permittees or lessees of the district or national forest

22 through an election conducted under rules and regulations

23 prescribed by the Secretary.

24 (e) FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT.—Except to

25 the extent that it is inconsistent with this subtitle, the Fed-
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1 eral Advisory Committee Act shall apply to the Grazing Ad2 visory Councils established pursuant to this section.

3 (f) STATE GRAZING DISTRICTS.—The Secretary shall

4 ensure that the Grazing Advisory Councils coordinate ac5 tivities and cooperate with State Grazing Districts estab6 lished pursuant to State law.

7 SEC. 163. GENERAL PROVISIONS.

8 (a) DEFINITION OF DISTRICT.—For the purposes of

9 this subtitle, the term ‘‘district’’ means—

10 (1) a grazing district administered under section

11 3 of the Act of June 28, 1934 (commonly known as

12 the ‘‘Taylor Grazing Act’’) (48 Stat. 1270, chapter

13 865; 43 U.S.C. 315b); or

14 (2) other lands within a State boundary which

15 are eligible for grazing pursuant to section 15 of the

16 Act of June 28, 1934 (commonly known as the ‘‘Tay17 lor Grazing Act’’) (48 Stat. 1270, chapter 865; 43

18 U.S.C. 315m).

19 (b) TERMINATION OF SERVICE.—The Secretary may,

20 after written notice, terminate the service of a member of

21 an advisory committee if—

22 (1) the member—

23 (A) no longer meets the requirements under

24 which appointed;
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1 (B) fails or is unable to participate regu2 larly in committee work; or

3 (C) has violated Federal law (including a

4 regulation); or

5 (2) in the judgment of the Secretary, termination

6 is in the public interest.

7 (c) COMPENSATION AND REIMBURSEMENT OF EX8 PENSES.—A member of an advisory committee established

9 under sections 161 and 162 shall not receive any compensa10 tion in connection with the performance of the member’s

11 duties as a member of the advisory committee, but shall

12 be reimbursed for travel and per diem expenses only while

13 on official business, as authorized by section 5703 of title

14 5, United States Code.

15 SEC. 164. CONFORMING AMENDMENT AND REPEAL.

16 (a) AMENDMENT.—The third sentence of section 402(d)

17 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976

18 (43 U.S.C. 1752(d)) is amended by striking ‘‘district graz19 ing advisory boards established pursuant to section 403 of

20 the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (43 U.S.C.

21 1753)’’ and inserting ‘‘Resource Advisory Councils and

22 Grazing Advisory Councils established under section 161

23 and section 162 of the Public Rangelands Management Act

24 of 1996’’.
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1 (b) REPEAL.—Section 403 of the Federal Land Policy

2 and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1753) is repealed,

3 and the table of contents for such Act is amended by striking

4 the item relating to section 403.

5 Subtitle H—Reports

6 SEC. 171. REPORTS.

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than March 1, 1997, and

8 annually thereafter, the Secretaries shall submit to Congress

9 a report that contains—

10 (1) an itemization of revenues received and costs

11 incurred directly in connection with the management

12 of grazing on Federal land; and

13 (2) recommendations for reducing administrative

14 costs and improving the overall efficiency of Federal

15 rangeland management.

16 (b) ITEMIZATION.—If the itemization of costs under

17 subsection (a)(1) includes any costs incurred in connection

18 with the implementation of any law other than a statute

19 cited in section 102, the Secretaries shall indicate with spec20 ificity the costs associated with implementation of each such

21 statute.
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1 TITLE II—MANAGEMENT OF

2 NATIONAL GRASSLANDS

3 SEC. 201. SHORT TITLE.

4 This title may be cited as the ‘‘National Grasslands

5 Management Act of 1996’’.

6 SEC. 202. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

7 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that—

8 (1) the inclusion of the National Grasslands

9 within the National Forest System has prevented the

10 Secretary of Agriculture from effectively administer11 ing and promoting grassland agriculture on National

12 Grasslands as originally intended under the

13 Bankhead-Jones Farm Tenant Act;

14 (2) the National Grasslands can be more effec15 tively managed by the Secretary of Agriculture if ad16 ministered as a separate entity outside of the Na17 tional Forest System; and

18 (3) a grazing program on National Grasslands

19 can be responsibly carried out while protecting and

20 preserving sporting, recreational, environmental, and

21 other multiple uses of the National Grasslands.

22 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this title is to provide

23 for improved management and more efficient administra24 tion of grazing activities on National Grasslands while pre25 serving and protecting multiple uses of such lands, includ-
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1 ing but not limited to preserving sportmen’s hunting and

2 fishing and other recreational activities, and protecting

3 wildlife habitat in accordance with applicable laws.

4 SEC. 203. DEFINITIONS.

5 As used in this title, the term—

6 (1) ‘‘National Grasslands’’ means those areas

7 managed as National Grasslands by the Secretary of

8 Agriculture under title III of the Bankhead-Jones

9 Farm Tenant Act (7 U.S.C. 1010–1012) on the day

10 before the date of enactment of this title; and

11 (2) ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary of Agri12 culture.

13 SEC. 204. REMOVAL OF NATIONAL GRASSLANDS FROM NA14 TIONAL FOREST SYSTEM.

15 Section 11(a) of the Forest Rangeland Renewable Re16 source Planning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1609(a)) is amend17 ed by striking the phrase ‘‘the national grasslands and land

18 utilization projects administered under title III of the

19 Bankhead-Jones Farm Tenant Act (50 Stat. 525, 7 U.S.C.

20 1010–1012),’’.

21 SEC. 205. MANAGEMENT OF NATIONAL GRASSLANDS.

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting through the

23 Chief of the Forest Service, shall manage the National

24 Grasslands as a separate entity in accordance with this title

25 and the provisions and multiple use purposes of title III
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1 of the Bankhead-Jones Farm Tenant Act (7 U.S.C. 1010–

2 1012).

3 (b) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary shall provide

4 timely opportunities for consultation and cooperation with

5 interested State and local government entities, and other

6 interested individuals and organizations in the development

7 and implementation of land use policies and plans, and

8 land conservation programs for the National Grasslands.

9 (c) GRAZING ACTIVITIES.—In furtherance of the pur10 poses of this title, the Secretary shall administer grazing

11 permits and implement grazing management decisions in

12 consultation, cooperation, and coordination with local graz13 ing associations and other grazing permit holders.

14 (d) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall promulgate

15 regulations to manage and protect the National Grasslands,

16 taking into account the unique characteristics of the Na17 tional Grasslands and grasslands agriculture conducted

18 under the Bankhead-Jones Farm Tenant Act (7 U.S.C.

19 1010). Such regulations shall facilitate the efficient admin20 istration of grazing and provide protection for the environ21 ment, wildlife, wildlife habitat, and Federal lands equiva22 lent to that on the National Grasslands on the day prior

23 to the date of enactment of this Act.
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1 (e) CONFORMING AMENDMENT TO BANKHEAD-JONES

2 ACT.—Section 31 of the Bankhead-Jones Farm Tenant Act

3 (7 U.S.C. 1010) is amended to read as follows:

4 ‘‘PROGRAM

5 ‘‘SEC. 31. To accomplish the purposes of title III of

6 this Act, the Secretary is authorized and directed to develop

7 a separate program of land conservation and utilization for

8 the National Grasslands, to promote grassland agriculture

9 and secure occupancy and economic stability of farms and

10 ranches, controlling soil erosion, reforestation, preserving

11 and protecting natural resources, protecting fish and wild12 life and their habitat, developing and protecting rec13 reational opportunities and facilities, mitigating floods,

14 preventing impairment of dams and reservoirs, developing

15 energy resources, conserving surface and subsurface mois16 ture, protecting the watersheds of navigable streams, and

17 protecting the public lands, health, safety and welfare, but

18 not to build industrial parks or commercial enterprises.’’.

19 (f) HUNTING AND FISHING, AND OTHER REC20 REATIONAL ACTIVITIES.—Nothing in this title shall be con21 strued as limiting or precluding hunting or fishing activi22 ties on National Grasslands in accordance with applicable

23 Federal and State laws, nor shall appropriate recreational

24 activities be limited or precluded.

25 (g) VALID EXISTING RIGHTS.—
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this title shall af2 fect valid existing rights, reservations, agreements, or

3 authorizations. Section 1323(a) of Public Law 96–

4 487 shall continue to apply to non-Federal land and

5 interests therein within the boundaries of the Na6 tional Grasslands.

7 (2) INTERIM USE AND OCCUPANCY.—

8 (A) Until such time as regulations concern9 ing the use and occupancy of the National

10 Grasslands are promulgated pursuant to this

11 title, the Secretary shall regulate the use and oc12 cupancy of such lands in accordance with regu13 lations applicable to such lands on May 25,

14 1995, to the extent practicable and consistent

15 with the provisions of this Act.

16 (B) Any applications for National Grass17 lands use and occupancy authorizations submit18 ted prior to the date of enactment of this Act,

19 shall continue to be processed without interrup20 tion and without reinitiating any processing ac21 tivity already completed or begun prior to such

22 date.

23 SEC. 206. FEES AND CHARGES.

24 Fees and charges for grazing on the National Grass25 lands shall be determined in accordance with section 135,
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1 except that the Secretary may adjust the amount of a graz2 ing fee to compensate for approved conservation practices

3 and administrative expenditures.