Calendar No. 158

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 852

[Report No. 104–123]

A BILL

grazing on Federal land, and for other purposes.

To provide for uniform management of livestock

JULY 28 (legislative day, JULY 10), 1995

Reported with an amendment
II

Calendar No. 158

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 852

[Report No. 104–123]

To provide for uniform management of livestock grazing on Federal land,

and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MAY 25 (legislative day, MAY 15), 1995

Mr. DOMENICI (for himself, Mr. CRAIG, Mr. BROWN, Mr. CAMPBELL, Mr.

HATCH, Mr. BENNETT, Mr. BURNS, Mr. SIMPSON, Mr. THOMAS, Mr.

KYL, Mr. PRESSLER, Mr. KEMPTHORNE, Mr. CONRAD, Mr. DORGAN, Mr.

DOLE, Mr. GRAMM, and Mr. BAUCUS) introduced the following bill; which

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural

Resources

JULY 28 (legislative day, JULY 10), 1995

Reported by Mr. MURKOWSKI, with an amendment

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

A BILL

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; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

2 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the

3 ‘‘Livestock Grazing Act’’.

4 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of

5 this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.

Sec. 2. Effective date.

TITLE I—MANAGEMENT OF GRAZING ON FEDERAL LAND

Subtitle A—General Provisions

Sec. 101. Findings.

Sec. 102. Application of title.

Sec. 103. Objective.

Sec. 104. Definitions.

Sec. 105. Fundamentals of rangeland health.

Sec. 106. Land use plans.

Sec. 107. Rule of construction.

Subtitle B—Qualifications and Grazing Preferences

Sec. 111. Mandatory qualifications.

Sec. 112. Acquired land.

Sec. 113. Grazing preferences.

Sec. 114. Changes in grazing preference status.

Sec. 115. Changes in Federal land acreage.

Subtitle C—Grazing Management

Sec. 121. Allotment management plans.

Sec. 122. Range improvements.

Sec. 123. Water rights.

Sec. 124. Management of grazing on land under the jurisdiction of other departments and agencies.

Subtitle D—Authorization of Grazing Use

Sec. 131. Applications.

Sec. 132. Grazing permits or grazing leases.

Sec. 133. Free-use grazing permits.

Sec. 134. Other grazing authorizations.

Sec. 135. Ownership and identification of livestock.

Sec. 136. Terms and conditions.

Sec. 137. Fees and charges.

Sec. 138. Pledge of grazing permits or grazing leases as security for loans.

Subtitle E—Civil Violations and Failures of Compliance

Sec. 141. Civil violations and failures of compliance.
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Subtitle F—Unauthorized Grazing Use

Sec. 151. Liability for damages.

Sec. 152. Notice and order to remove.

Sec. 153. Settlement.

Sec. 154. Impoundment and sale.

Subtitle G—Procedure

Sec. 161. Proposed decisions.

Sec. 162. Protests.

Sec. 163. Final decisions.

Sec. 164. Appeals.

Subtitle H—Advisory Committees

Sec. 171. Purpose.

Sec. 172. Objective.

Sec. 173. Relation to other law.

Sec. 174. Policy.

Sec. 175. General provisions.

Sec. 176. Resource advisory councils.

Sec. 177. Grazing advisory councils.

Sec. 178. Meetings.

Sec. 179. Conforming amendment and repeal.

Subtitle I—Reports

Sec. 181. Reports.

TITLE II—GRASSLAND

Sec. 201. Removal of grasslands from National Forest system.

1 SEC. 2. EFFECTIVE DATE.

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

3 and repeals made by this Act shall become effective on

4 March 1, 1996.

5 (b) INTERIM PROVISION.—Until the effective date

6 specified in subsection (a), management of livestock graz7 ing on Federal land shall be conducted in accordance with

8 the law (including regulations) in effect on May 18, 1995.
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1 TITLE I—MANAGEMENT OF GRAZING ON

2 FEDERAL LAND

3 Subtitle A—General Provisions

4 SEC. 101. FINDINGS.

5 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that—

6 (1) through the cooperative and concerted ef7 forts of the Federal rangeland livestock industry,

8 Federal and State land management agencies, and

9 the general public, the Federal rangelands are in the

10 best condition they have been in during this century,

11 and their condition continues to improve;

12 (2) as a further consequence of those efforts,

13 populations of big game and wildlife are increasing

14 and stabilizing across vast areas of the West;

15 (3) further efforts to assist in developing and

16 nurturing that cooperation at all levels of govern17 ment are important, and those efforts will provide

18 long-term benefits to the Nation’s rangelands and

19 their related resources;

20 (4) to promote the economic, cultural, and so21 cial well being of western States, rural communities

22 in the western States, and the western livestock in23 dustry, it is in the public interest to charge a fee for

24 livestock grazing permits and grazing leases on Fed25 eral land that is based on a formula that—
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1 (A) reflects a fair return to the Federal

2 Government and the true costs to the permittee

3 or lessee; and

4 (B) promotes continuing cooperative stew5 ardship efforts;

6 (5) opportunities exist for improving efficiency

7 in the administration of the range programs on Fed8 eral land, and those opportunities should be pursued

9 with goals of—

10 (A) reducing planning and analysis costs

11 and their associated paperwork, procedural, and

12 clerical burdens; and

13 (B) refocusing efforts to the direct man14 agement of the resources themselves;

15 (6) in order to provide meaningful review and

16 oversight of the management of the public range17 lands and the grazing allotment on those rangelands,

18 refinement of the reporting of costs of various com19 ponents of the land management program is needed;

20 (7) incentives for greater local input into the

21 management of the public rangelands as well as in22 centives to encourage private investment in improve23 ment of the public rangelands will assist in those ef24 forts and are in the best interests of the United

25 States;
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1 (8) the western livestock industry that relies on

2 Federal land plays an important and integral role in

3 maintaining and preserving the social, economic, and

4 cultural base of rural communities in the western

5 States and further plays an important and integral

6 role in the economies of the 16 western States in

7 which rangelands managed by the Secretary are sit8 uated;

9 (9) maintaining the economic viability of the

10 western livestock industry is essential to maintaining

11 open space and habitat for big game, wildlife, and

12 fish, but currently there are pressures to sell the

13 base property of the Federal land ranches for sub14 division or other development, which would reduce or

15 remove the available open space and fish and wildlife

16 habitat; and

17 (10) since the enactment of the Federal Land

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

19 1701 et seq.), the Secretary has been charged with

20 developing land use plans that are consistent with

21 land use plans adopted by State, local, and tribal

22 governments, but to date the planning efforts have

23 not produced land use plans for Federal land that

24 is in fact consistent with State, local, or tribal plan25 ning.
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1 (b) REPEAL OF EARLIER FINDINGS.—Section 2(a) of

2 the Public Rangelands Improvement Act of 1978 (43

3 U.S.C. 1901(a)) is amended—

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

5 (4);

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

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

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

9 adding ‘‘and’’ at the end; and

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

11 (A) by striking ‘‘harrassment’’ and insert12 ing ‘‘harassment’’; and

13 (B) by striking the semicolon at the end

14 and inserting a period.

15 SEC. 102. APPLICATION OF ACT.

16 Except as provided in section 137(d), this Act applies

17 to—

18 (1) the management of grazing on Federal land

19 by the Secretary of the Interior under—

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

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

22 1269, chapter 865; 43 U.S.C. 315 et seq.);

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

24 known as the ‘‘Oregon and California Railroad

25 and Coos Bay Wagon Road Grant Lands Act of
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1 1937’’) (50 Stat. 874, chapter 876; 43 U.S.C.

2 1181a et seq.);

3 (C) the Federal Land Policy and Manage4 ment Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.);

5 (D) title III of the Bankhead-Jones Farm

6 Tenant Act (7 U.S.C. 1010 et seq.); and

7 (E) any other law; and

8 (2) the Secretary on behalf of the head of an9 other department or agency under a memorandum

10 of understanding under section 124.

11 SEC. 103. OBJECTIVE.

12 The objective of this Act is to achieve—

13 (1) orderly use, improvement, and development

14 of Federal land;

15 (2) enhancement of productivity of Federal land

16 by conservation of forage resources and reduction of

17 soil erosion and by proper management of other re18 sources such as by control of woody species invasion;

19 (3) stabilization of the livestock industry de20 pendent on the public rangeland;

21 (4) performance of an inventory and categoriza22 tion of public rangelands on the basis of range con23 ditions and trends; and

24 (5) consideration of wildlife populations and

25 habitat,
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1 consistent with land-use plans, multiple-use, sustained

2 yield, environmental values, and economic and other objec3 tives stated in the Acts cited in section 102.

4 SEC. 104. DEFINITIONS.

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—In this Act:

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

7 means the amount of authorized livestock grazing

8 use that is being made at any time.

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

10 means the places at which, the number and kinds or

11 classes of, and the length of time that livestock

12 graze on an allotment.

13 (3) ACTUAL USE REPORT.—The term ‘‘actual

14 use report’’ means a report of the actual livestock

15 grazing use submitted by a permittee or lessee.

16 (4) AFFECTED INTEREST.—The term ‘‘affected

17 interest’’ means an individual or organization that—

18 (A) has expressed in writing to an author19 ized officer concern for the management of live20 stock grazing on a specific grazing allotment

21 and has provided substantiated evidence that

22 the management of the public lands will affect

23 the individual or organization; and

24 (B) has been determined by an authorized

25 officer to be an affected interest.
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1 (5) ALLOTMENT.—The term ‘‘allotment’’ means

2 an area of designated Federal land that includes

3 management for grazing of livestock.

4 (6) ALLOTMENT MANAGEMENT PLAN.—The

5 term ‘‘allotment management plan’’—

6 (A) means a documented program that ap7 plies to livestock grazing on an allotment; and

8 (B) includes such a documented plan that

9 is included in an activity plan that governs

10 grazing as well as other activities on Federal

11 land.

12 (7) ANIMAL UNIT MONTH.—

13 (A) STATE DEFINITION.—With respect to

14 grazing on Federal land in a State that charges

15 a fee for grazing on State land based on a for16 mula in which one of the factors is an animal

17 unit month, the term ‘‘animal unit month’’ has

18 the meaning established under State law.

19 (B) NO STATE DEFINITION.—

20 (i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to clause

21 (ii), with respect to grazing on Federal

22 land in a State other than a State de23 scribed in subparagraph (A), the term

24 ‘‘animal unit month’’ means 1 month’s use

25 and occupancy of range by—
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1 (I) 1 cow, bull, steer, heifer,

2 horse, burro, or mule, 7 sheep, or 7

3 goats, each of which is 6 months of

4 age or older on the date on which the

5 animal begins grazing on Federal

6 land;

7 (II) any such animal regardless

8 of age if the animal is weaned on the

9 date on which the animal begins graz10 ing on Federal land; and

11 (III) any such animal that will

12 become 12 months of age during the

13 period of use authorized under a graz14 ing permit or grazing lease.

15 (ii) LIVESTOCK NOT COUNTED.—

16 There shall not be counted as an animal

17 unit month the use of Federal land for

18 grazing by—

19 (I) an animal that is less than 6

20 months of age on the date on which

21 the animal begins grazing on Federal

22 land and is the natural progeny of an

23 animal on which a grazing fee is paid

24 if the animal is removed from the
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1 Federal land before becoming 12

2 months of age; or

3 (II) an animal that is progeny,

4 born during the period of use author5 ized under a grazing permit or graz6 ing lease, of an animal on which a

7 grazing fee is paid.

8 (8) AUTHORIZED OFFICER.—The term ‘‘author9 ized officer’’ means a person authorized by the Sec10 retary to administer this title, the Acts cited in sec11 tion 102, and regulations issued under this title and

12 those Acts.

13 (9) BASE PROPERTY.—The term ‘‘base prop14 erty’’ means—

15 (A) land that has the capability of produc16 ing crops or forage that can be used to support

17 authorized livestock for a specified period of the

18 year; and

19 (B) water that is suitable for consumption

20 by livestock and is available to and accessible by

21 authorized livestock when the land is used for

22 livestock grazing.

23 (10) CANCEL; CANCELLATION.—The terms

24 ‘‘cancel’’ and ‘‘cancellation’’ refer to a permanent

25 termination, in whole or in part, of—
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1 (A) a grazing permit or grazing lease and

2 grazing preference; or

3 (B) a free-use grazing permit or other

4 grazing authorization.

5 (11) CLASS.—The term ‘‘class’’, in reference to

6 livestock, refers to the age and sex of a group of

7 livestock.

8 (12) CONSULTATION, COOPERATION, AND CO9 ORDINATION.—The term ‘‘consultation, cooperation,

10 and coordination’’ has the meaning stated in section

11 402(d) of the Federal Land Policy and Management

12 Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1752(d)), as amended.

13 (13) CONTROL.—The term ‘‘control’’, in ref14 erence to base property or livestock, means respon15 sibility for providing care and management of base

16 property or livestock.

17 (14) FEDERAL LAND.—The term ‘‘Federal

18 land’’—

19 (A) means land or an interest in land out20 side the State of Alaska that is owned by the

21 United States and administered by the Sec22 retary of the Interior, acting through the Direc23 tor of the Bureau of Land Management; but

24 (B) does not include land held for the ben25 efit of Indians.
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1 (15) GRAZING DISTRICT.—The term ‘‘grazing

2 district’’ means the specific area within which Fed3 eral land is administered under section 3 of the Act

4 of June 28, 1934 (commonly known as the ‘‘Taylor

5 Grazing Act’’) (48 Stat. 1270, chapter 865; 43

6 U.S.C. 315b).

7 (16) GRAZING FEE YEAR.—The term ‘‘grazing

8 fee year’’, for billing purposes, means a 12-month

9 period that begins on March 1 of a year and ends

10 on the last day of February of the following year.

11 (17) GRAZING LEASE.—The term ‘‘grazing

12 lease’’ means a document authorizing use of Federal

13 land outside grazing districts under section 15 of the

14 Act of June 28, 1934 (commonly known as the

15 ‘‘Taylor Grazing Act’’) (48 Stat. 1275, chapter 865;

16 43 U.S.C. 315m) for the purpose of grazing live17 stock.

18 (18) GRAZING PERMIT.—The term ‘‘grazing

19 permit’’ means a document authorizing use of the

20 Federal land within a grazing district under section

21 3 of the Act of June 28, 1934 (commonly known as

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

23 865; 43 U.S.C. 315b), for the purpose of grazing

24 livestock.
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1 (19) GRAZING PREFERENCE.—The term ‘‘graz2 ing preference’’ means the number of animal unit

3 months of livestock grazing on Federal land as adju4 dicated or apportioned and attached to base prop5 erty owned or controlled by a permittee or lessee.

6 (20) LAND BASE PROPERTY.—The term ‘‘land

7 base property’’ means base property described in

8 paragraph (9)(A).

9 (21) LAND USE PLAN.—The term ‘‘land use

10 plan’’ means—

11 (A) a resource management plan; or

12 (B) a management framework plan that is

13 in effect pending completion of a resource man14 agement plan,

15 developed in accordance with the Federal Land Pol16 icy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701

17 et seq.).

18 (22) LIVESTOCK.—The term ‘‘livestock’’

19 means—

20 (A) a species of domestic livestock, includ21 ing cattle, sheep, horses, burros, and goats; and

22 (B) a member of such a species.

23 (23) LIVESTOCK CARRYING CAPACITY.—The

24 term ‘‘livestock carrying capacity’’ means the maxi25 mum sustainable stocking rate that is possible with-
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1 out inducing permanent damage to vegetation or re2 lated resources.

3 (24) MONITORING.—The term ‘‘monitoring’’

4 means the periodic observation and orderly collection

5 of data to evaluate—

6 (A) effects of management actions; and

7 (B) effectiveness of actions in meeting

8 management objectives.

9 (25) RANGE IMPROVEMENT.—The term ‘‘range

10 improvement’’—

11 (A) means an authorized activity or pro12 gram on or relating to rangeland that is de13 signed to—

14 (i) improve production of forage;

15 (ii) change vegetative composition;

16 (iii) control patterns of use;

17 (iv) provide water;

18 (v) stabilize soil and water conditions;

19 or

20 (vi) provide habitat for livestock, wild

21 horses and burros, and wildlife; and

22 (B) includes structures, treatment projects,

23 and use of mechanical means to accomplish the

24 goals described in subparagraph (A).
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1 (26) RANGELAND STUDY.—The term ‘‘range2 land study’’ means a method of study for collecting

3 data on actual use, utilization, climatic conditions,

4 other special events, production trend, and range5 land condition and trend to determine whether man6 agement objectives are being met, that—

7 (A) uses physical examination of measure8 ments of range attributes and does not rely on

9 a cursory visual scanning of land unless the

10 condition to be assessed is patently obvious and

11 requires no physical examination; and

12 (B) is accepted by an authorized officer.

13 (27) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’

14 means the Secretary of the Interior.

15 (28) SERVICE AREA.—The term ‘‘service area’’

16 means the area that can be properly grazed by live17 stock watering at a certain water.

18 (29) STOCKING RATE.—The term ‘‘stocking

19 rate’’ means the number of animal unit months au20 thorized under a grazing permit or grazing lease

21 from year to year.

22 (30) SUBLEASE.—The term ‘‘sublease’’ means

23 an agreement by a permittee or lessee that—

24 (A) allows a person other than the permit25 tee or lessee to graze livestock on Federal land
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1 without controlling the base property support2 ing the grazing permit or grazing lease; or

3 (B) allows grazing on Federal land by live4 stock not owned or controlled by the permittee

5 or lessee.

6 (31) SUPPLEMENTAL FEED.—The term ‘‘sup7 plemental feed’’ means a feed that supplements the

8 forage available from Federal land and is provided

9 to improve livestock nutrition or rangeland manage10 ment.

11 (32) SUSPEND; SUSPENSION.—The terms ‘‘sus12 pend’’ and ‘‘suspension’’ refer to a temporary with13 holding, in whole or in part, of a grazing preference

14 from active use, ordered by the Secretary or done

15 voluntarily by a permittee or lessee.

16 (33) TREND.—The term ‘‘trend’’ means the di17 rection of change, over time, toward or away from

18 a desire management objective.

19 (34) UTILIZATION.—The term ‘‘utilization’’

20 means the percentage of a year’s herbage production

21 consumed or destroyed by herbivores.

22 (35) WATER BASE PROPERTY.—The term

23 ‘‘water base property’’ means base property de24 scribed in paragraph (9)(B).
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1 (b) CONSULTATION, COOPERATION, AND COORDINA2 TION.—Section 402(d) of the Federal Land Policy and

3 Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1752(d)) is

4 amended—

5 (1) by inserting a comma after ‘‘cooperation’’

6 each place it appears; and

7 (2) by adding at the end the following: ‘‘As

8 used in this subsection, the term ‘consultation, co9 operation, and coordination’ means engagement in a

10 good faith effort to reach consensus on issues, plans,

11 or management actions from—

12 ‘‘(1) other agencies, permittees, or lessees, and

13 affected interests involved in an activity with respect

14 to which consultation, cooperation, and coordination

15 are required under this title;

16 ‘‘(2) resource advisory councils established

17 under section 177 of the Livestock Grazing Act;

18 ‘‘(3) any State having land within the area to

19 be covered by an allotment management plan; and

20 ‘‘(4) additional affected interests (as defined in

21 section 104(a)(4) of the Livestock Grazing Act).’’.

22 SEC. 105. FUNDAMENTALS OF RANGELAND HEALTH.

23 (a) STANDARDS AND GUIDELINES.—The Secretary

24 shall establish standards and guidelines on a State or re25 gional level in conjunction with the State department of
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1 agriculture or other appropriate agency and the land-grant

2 university or other appropriate institution of higher edu3 cation of each interested State.

4 (b) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this Act

5 or any other law implies that a minimum national stand6 ard or guideline is necessary.

7 SEC. 106. LAND USE PLANS.

8 (a) PRINCIPLE OF MULTIPLE USE AND SUSTAINED

9 YIELD.—An authorized officer shall manage livestock

10 grazing on Federal land under the principle of multiple

11 use and sustained yield and in accordance with applicable

12 land use plans.

13 (b) CONTENTS OF LAND USE PLAN.—A land use

14 plan shall—

15 (1) establish allowable resource uses (singly or

16 in combination), related levels of production or use

17 to be maintained, areas of use, and resource condi18 tion goals and objectives to be obtained; and

19 (2) set forth programs and general manage20 ment practices needed to achieve management objec21 tives.

22 (c) APPLICATION OF NEPA.—A land use plan shall

23 be developed in conformance with the requirements of the

24 National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C.

25 4321 et seq.).
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1 (d) CONFORMANCE WITH LAND USE PLAN.—Live2 stock grazing activities and management actions approved

3 by the authorized officer—

4 (1) may include any such activities as are not

5 clearly prohibited by a land use plan; and

6 (2) shall not require any consideration under

7 the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42

8 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) in addition to the studies sup9 porting the land use plan.

10 SEC. 107. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.

11 Nothing in this title shall be construed to reduce or

12 otherwise limit the levels of livestock grazing that were

13 authorized to be permitted as of August 1, 1993.

14 Subtitle B—Qualifications and Grazing

15 Preferences

16 SEC. 111. MANDATORY QUALIFICATIONS.

17 Except as provided under sections 112, 114, and

18 134(c), to qualify for grazing use on Federal land an ap19 plicant shall—

20 (1) be engaged in the livestock business;

21 (2) own or control base property; and

22 (3) be—

23 (A) a citizen of the United States or a per24 son who has properly filed a valid declaration of
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1 intention to become a citizen or a valid petition

2 for naturalization;

3 (B) a group or association authorized to

4 conduct business in the State in which the graz5 ing use is sought, all members of which are per6 sons described in subparagraph (A); or

7 (C) a corporation authorized to conduct

8 business in the State in which the grazing use

9 is sought.

10 SEC. 112. ACQUIRED LAND.

11 With respect to land acquired by the Secretary

12 through purchase, exchange, Act of Congress, or Execu13 tive order under the terms of which the Secretary is re14 quired to honor an existing grazing permit or grazing

15 lease, the permittee or lessee shall be considered qualified

16 for grazing use on that land.

17 SEC. 113. GRAZING PREFERENCES.

18 (a) BASE PROPERTY.—

19 (1) CRITERIA.—An authorized officer shall find

20 land or water owned or controlled by an applicant

21 for a grazing permit or grazing lease to be base

22 property if the land or water—

23 (A) serves as a base for a livestock oper24 ation that utilizes Federal land within a grazing

25 district; or
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1 (B) is contiguous land, or noncontiguous

2 land if no applicant for the grazing permit or

3 grazing lease owns or controls contiguous land,

4 used in conjunction with a livestock operation

5 that utilizes Federal land outside a grazing dis6 trict.

7 (2) SPECIFICATION OF LENGTH OF TIME.—

8 After appropriate consultation, cooperation, and co9 ordination with the applicant only, an authorized of10 ficer shall specify the length of time for which land

11 base property shall be considered to be capable of

12 supporting authorized livestock during the year, rel13 ative to the multiple use management objective of

14 Federal land.

15 (3) SUBMISSION BY APPLICANT.—An applicant

16 shall—

17 (A) provide a legal description, or plat, of

18 the base property; and

19 (B) certify to the authorized officer that

20 the base property meets the requirements under

21 paragraphs (1) and (2).

22 (4) LOSS OF OWNERSHIP OR CONTROL.—

23 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in

24 subparagraph (B), if a permittee or lessee loses

25 ownership or control of all or part of the base
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1 property, the grazing permit or grazing lease, to

2 the extent it was based on the lost property,

3 shall terminate immediately, without notice

4 from the authorized officer.

5 (B) EXTENSION OF TERMINATION DATE.—

6 If, prior to losing ownership or control of the

7 base property, the permittee or lessee requests

8 in writing that the grazing permit or grazing

9 lease be extended to the end of the grazing sea10 son or grazing year, the authorized officer, after

11 consultation with the new owner or person in

12 control, may grant the request.

13 (C) AVAILABILITY FOR TRANSFER.—When

14 a grazing permit or grazing lease terminates be15 cause of a loss of ownership or control of a base

16 property, the grazing preference shall remain

17 with the base property and be available for

18 transfer under subsection (c) to the new owner

19 or person in control of the base property.

20 (5) ISOLATED OR DISCONNECTED FEDERAL

21 LAND.—An applicant that owns or controls base

22 property contiguous to or cornering on a tract of

23 Federal land outside a grazing district that consists

24 of an isolated or disconnected tract embracing 760

25 acres or less shall, for a period of 90 days after the
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1 tract has been offered for grazing lease, have a pref2 erence right to graze the tract.

3 (b) SPECIFYING GRAZING PREFERENCE.—

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—A grazing permit or grazing

5 lease shall specify a grazing preference that in6 cludes—

7 (A) a historical grazing preference right;

8 (B) active use, based on the amount of for9 age available for livestock grazing established in

10 the land use plan;

11 (C) suspended use; and

12 (D) voluntary and temporary nonuse.

13 (2) ATTACHMENT OF GRAZING PREFERENCE.—

14 A grazing preference identified in a grazing permit

15 or grazing lease shall attach to the base property

16 supporting the grazing permit or grazing lease.

17 (3) ATTACHMENT OF ANIMAL UNIT MONTHS.—

18 The animal unit months of a grazing preference

19 shall attach to—

20 (A) the acreage of land base property on a

21 pro rata basis; or

22 (B) water base property on the basis of

23 livestock forage production within the service

24 area of the water.

25 (c) TRANSFER OF GRAZING PREFERENCE.—
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—A transfer of a grazing pref2 erence, in whole or in part, may be made in accord3 ance with this subsection.

4 (2) QUALIFICATION OF TRANSFEREE.—A trans5 feree shall meet all necessary qualifications for a

6 grazing preference under this title.

7 (3) APPLICATION.—An application to transfer a

8 grazing preference shall evidence assignment of in9 terest and obligation in range improvements author10 ized on Federal land under section 122 and main11 tained in conjunction with the transferred pref12 erence.

13 (4) ACCEPTANCE OR REJECTION OF TERMS AND

14 CONDITIONS.—A transferee of a grazing preference

15 may elect to accept or reject the terms and condi16 tions of the terminating grazing permit or grazing

17 lease and of any related cooperative agreement or

18 range improvement permit or to accept those terms

19 and conditions with such modifications as the trans20 feree may request and the authorized officer approve

21 or with such modifications as the authorized officer

22 may require.

23 (5) APPLICATION FOR GRAZING PERMIT OR

24 GRAZING LEASE.—A proposed transferee shall file

25 an application for a grazing permit or grazing lease
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1 to the extent of the transferred grazing preference

2 simultaneously with the filing of a transfer applica3 tion.

4 (6) TRANSFERS.—

5 (A) TRANSFERS ON SALE OR GRAZING

6 LEASE OF BASE PROPERTY.—If base property is

7 sold or leased, the transferee, not later than 90

8 days after the date of sale or grazing lease,

9 shall file with the authorized officer a properly

10 executed transfer application that—

11 (i) identifies the base property; and

12 (ii) states the amount of grazing pref13 erence being transferred in animal unit

14 months.

15 (B) TRANSFER FROM BASE PROPERTY TO

16 BASE PROPERTY.—

17 (i) IN GENERAL.—If a grazing pref18 erence is being transferred from 1 base

19 property to another base property, the

20 transferor shall own or control the base

21 property from which the grazing preference

22 is being transferred and file with the au23 thorized officer a properly completed trans24 fer application for approval.
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1 (ii) CONSENT OF OWNER OR LEASED

2 BASE PROPERTY.—If the transferor leases

3 the base property, no transfer shall be al4 lowed without the written consent of the

5 owner and of any person or entity holding

6 an encumbrance of the base property from

7 which the transfer is to be made unless the

8 transferor is a lessee without whose live9 stock operations the grazing preference

10 would not have been established.

11 (7) TERMINATION.—On the date of approval of

12 a transfer, the existing grazing permit or grazing

13 lease shall terminate automatically and without no14 tice to the extent of the transfer.

15 (8) ACQUISITION OF BASE PROPERTY BY PER16 SON NOT QUALIFIED.—

17 (A) NO EFFECT FOR 2 YEARS.—For a pe18 riod of 2 years after an unqualified transferee

19 acquires rights in base property through oper20 ation of law or testamentary disposition, the

21 transfer shall not—

22 (i) affect the grazing preference or

23 any outstanding grazing permit or grazing

24 lease; or
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1 (ii) preclude the issuance or renewal

2 of a grazing permit or grazing lease based

3 on the base property.

4 (B) CANCELLATION.—If an unqualified

5 transferee fails to qualify for a transfer under

6 this section within the 2-year period described

7 in subparagraph (A), the grazing preference

8 shall be subject to cancellation, but the author9 ized officer my grant extensions of the 2-year

10 period if there have been delays solely attrib11 utable to probate proceedings.

12 (9) FAILURE TO COMPLY.—Failure of a trans13 feree or transferor to comply with this subsection

14 may result in rejection of the transfer application or

15 cancellation of the grazing preference.

16 (d) ALLOTMENTS.—After consultation, cooperation,

17 and coordination with permittees or lessees, an authorized

18 officer may designate and adjust allotment boundaries.

19 SEC. 114. CHANGES IN GRAZING PREFERENCE STATUS.

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—An authorized officer shall peri21 odically review the stocking rate specified in a grazing per22 mit or grazing lease and may make changes in the status

23 of the stocking rate.

24 (b) SUPPORT.—A change in a stock rate shall be sup25 ported by monitoring, as evidenced by rangeland studies
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1 conducted over time, and as is specified in an applicable

2 land use plan or as is necessary to manage, maintain, or

3 improve rangeland productivity.

4 (c) INCREASE IN ACTIVE USE.—

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Any additional forage that

6 becomes available may be apportioned to a qualified

7 applicant for livestock grazing use, consistent with

8 multiple-use management objectives.

9 (2) TEMPORARY AVAILABILITY.—Any additional

10 forage that becomes temporarily available for live11 stock grazing use (including forage that is tempo12 rarily available within an allotment because of a

13 change in grazing use under section 131(b)) may be

14 apportioned on a nonrenewable basis.

15 (3) AVAILABILITY ON SUSTAINED USE BASIS.—

16 (A) IN GENERAL.—Any additional forage

17 that becomes available on a sustained yield

18 basis for livestock grazing use shall be appor19 tioned in satisfaction of grazing preferences to

20 the permittees and lessees authorized to graze

21 in the allotment in which the forage is available

22 before being apportioned to other persons under

23 subparagraph (B).

24 (B) APPORTIONMENT TO OTHERS.—After

25 consultation, cooperation, and coordination, ad-
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1 ditional forage on a sustained yield basis avail2 able for livestock grazing use exceeding the

3 amount of grazing preferences of the permittees

4 and lessees in an allotment may be apportioned

5 in the following priority to—

6 (i) permittees and lessees in propor7 tion to their contribution or efforts that re8 sulted in increased forage production;

9 (ii) permittees or lessees in proportion

10 to the amount of their grazing preferences;

11 and

12 (iii) other qualified applicants under

13 section 131.

14 (d) DECREASE IN AUTHORIZED GRAZING USE.—

15 (1) TEMPORARY SUSPENSION.—

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Active use may be sus17 pended in whole or in part on a temporary basis

18 to facilitate—

19 (i) recovery from drought, fire, or an20 other natural event; or

21 (ii) installation, maintenance, or modi22 fication of range improvements.

23 (B) IMPLEMENTATION.—If an authorized

24 officer determines that the soil, vegetation, or

25 other resources on Federal land require tem-
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1 porary protection because of conditions such as

2 drought, fire, flood, or insect infestation, after

3 consultation, cooperation, and coordination with

4 affected permittees or lessees and other affected

5 interests, action shall be taken to close allot6 ments or portions of allotments to grazing by

7 any kind of livestock or to modify authorized

8 grazing use.

9 (2) PERMANENT SUSPENSION.—When monitor10 ing shows that active use is causing an unacceptable

11 level or pattern of utilization or exceeds the livestock

12 carrying capacity, as determined through monitor13 ing, an authorized officer, after evaluating and im14 plementing all reasonable and viable management

15 practices or alternatives, shall reduce active use if

16 necessary to maintain or improve rangeland produc17 tivity only if the authorized officer determines that

18 a change in management practices would not achieve

19 the management objectives.

20 (3) PERIOD OF SUSPENSION.—When active use

21 is reduced, the active use shall be held in suspension

22 or in nonuse for conservation and protection pur23 poses until the authorized officer determines that ac24 tive use may resume.
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1 (e) IMPLEMENTATION OF CHANGES IN AVAILABLE

2 FORAGE.—

3 (1) PHASING-IN.—A change in active use in ex4 cess of 10 percent shall be implemented over a 5-

5 year period, unless, after consultation with the af6 fected permittees or lessees and other affected inter7 ests, an agreement is reached to implement the in8 crease or decrease over less than a 5-year period.

9 (2) SUSPENSION OF GRAZING PREFERENCE.—

10 (A) IN GENERAL.—After consultation, co11 operation, and coordination, a suspension of a

12 grazing preference shall be implemented

13 through a documented agreement or by decision

14 of an authorized officer.

15 (B) DATA AVAILABLE.—If acceptable

16 range analysis data are properly gathered, ana17 lyzed, and reviewed by the authorized officer,

18 an initial decrease shall be taken on the effec19 tive date of the agreement or decision and the

20 balance taken in the third and fifth year follow21 ing that effective date, except as provided in

22 paragraph (1).

23 (C) DATA NOT AVAILABLE.—If data ac24 ceptable to the authorized officer to support an

25 initial decrease are not available—
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1 (i) additional data shall be collected

2 through monitoring and in coordination

3 with the land-grant university (or other ap4 propriate institution of higher education)

5 and department of agriculture of the State;

6 and

7 (ii) adjustments based on the addi8 tional data shall be implemented by agree9 ment or decision that will initiate the 5-

10 year implementation period.

11 SEC. 115. CHANGES IN FEDERAL LAND ACREAGE.

12 (a) INCREASES IN LAND ACREAGE.—If land outside

13 a designated allotment becomes available for livestock

14 grazing—

15 (1) the forage available for livestock shall be

16 made available to a qualified applicant at the discre17 tion of the authorized officer; and

18 (2) grazing use shall be apportioned under sec19 tion 131.

20 (b) DECREASE IN LAND ACREAGE.—

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—If there is a decrease in

22 Federal land acreage available for livestock grazing

23 within an allotment—
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1 (A) grazing permits or grazing leases may

2 be canceled, suspended, or modified as appro3 priate to reflect the changed area of use; and

4 (B) grazing preferences may be canceled or

5 suspended in whole or in part.

6 (2) EQUITABLE APPORTIONMENT.—A cancella7 tion or suspension determined by the authorized offi8 cer to be necessary to protect Federal land—

9 (A) shall be apportioned as agreed among

10 the authorized users and the authorized officer;

11 or

12 (B) if no agreement is reached, shall be eq13 uitably apportioned by the authorized officer

14 based on the level of available forage and mag15 nitude of the change in Federal land acreage

16 available.

17 (3) DISPOSITION OR USE FOR PUBLIC PUR18 POSE.—

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—If Federal land is dis20 posed of or devoted to a public purpose so as

21 to preclude livestock grazing, the Secretary

22 shall, except in a case of emergency such as

23 need to satisfy a national defense requirement

24 in time of war or a natural disaster, provide

25 permittees and lessees 2 years’ notice prior to
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1 cancellation of grazing permits, grazing leases,

2 and grazing preferences.

3 (B) WAIVER.—A permittee or lessee may

4 unconditionally waive the 2-year prior notifica5 tion required by subparagraph (A).

6 (C) RIGHT TO COMPENSATION.—A waiver

7 under subparagraph (B) shall not prejudice a

8 permittee’s or lessee’s right to reasonable com9 pensation at (but not in excess of) the fair mar10 ket value of the permittee’s or lessee’s interest

11 in authorized permanent range improvements

12 located on Federal land.

13 Subtitle C—Grazing Management

14 SEC. 121. ALLOTMENT MANAGEMENT PLANS.

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—An allotment management plan

16 shall be prepared in careful and considered consultation,

17 cooperation, and coordination with permittees and lessees,

18 landowners, the grazing advisory council for the grazing

19 district, and any State having land within the area to be

20 covered by the allotment management plan.

21 (b) CONTENTS.—An allotment management plan

22 shall—

23 (1) include the terms and conditions described

24 in section 136;
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1 (2) prescribe the livestock grazing practices

2 necessary to meet specific multiple-use management

3 objectives;

4 (3) specify the limits of flexibility within which

5 the permittee or lessee may adjust operations with6 out prior approval of the authorized officer; and

7 (4) provide for monitoring to evaluate the effec8 tiveness of management actions in achieving the spe9 cific multiple-use management objectives of the plan.

10 (c) PRIVATE AND STATE LAND.—Private and State

11 land shall be included in an allotment management plan

12 with the consent or at the request of the person that owns

13 or controls the land.

14 (d) INCORPORATION IN GRAZING PERMITS AND

15 GRAZING LEASES.—An allotment management plan shall

16 be incorporated into the affected grazing permits and

17 grazing leases.

18 (e) SATISFACTION OF REQUIREMENTS OF OTHER

19 LAWS.—The issuance of a grazing permit or grazing lease

20 that is consistent with a land use plan shall not be consid21 ered to be a Federal action requiring the conduct of any

22 study or assessment under the National Environmental

23 Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) or any other

24 law.
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1 SEC. 122. RANGE IMPROVEMENTS.

2 (a) RANGE IMPROVEMENT COOPERATIVE AGREE3 MENTS.—

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may enter

5 into a cooperative agreement with a permittee or les6 see for the construction, installation, modification,

7 maintenance, or use of a permanent range improve8 ment or development of a rangeland to achieve a

9 management or resource condition objective.

10 (2) COST-SHARING.—A range improvement co11 operative agreement shall specify how the costs or

12 labor, or both, shall be shared between the United

13 States and the other parties to the agreement.

14 (3) TITLE.—

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to valid exist16 ing rights, title to an authorized permanent

17 range improvement under a range improvement

18 cooperative agreement shall be in the name of

19 the permittee or lessee and of the United

20 States, respectively, in proportion to the value

21 of the contributions (funding, material, and

22 labor) toward the initial cost of construction by

23 the United States and the permittee or lessee,

24 respectively.

25 (B) VALUE OF FEDERAL LAND.—For the

26 purpose of subparagraph (A), only a contribu-
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1 tion to the construction, installation, modifica2 tion, or maintenance of a permanent rangeland

3 improvement itself, and not the value of Fed4 eral land on which the improvement is placed,

5 shall be taken into account.

6 (C) MAINTENANCE.—Maintenance of

7 range improvements in the form of time as

8 labor or monetary expenditures shall be applied

9 to the value and percentage of ownership pro10 portionate to the value of the contribution by a

11 party to the cooperative agreement.

12 (4) NONSTRUCTURAL RANGE IMPROVE13 MENTS.—A range improvement cooperative agree14 ment shall ensure that the respective parties enjoy

15 the benefits of any nonstructural range improve16 ment, such as seeding, spraying, and chaining, in

17 proportion to each party’s contribution to the im18 provement.

19 (5) INCENTIVE.—A range improvement cooper20 ative agreement shall contain terms and conditions

21 that are designed to provide a permittee or lessee an

22 incentive for investing in range improvements.

23 (b) RANGE IMPROVEMENT PERMITS.—

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

25 apply for a range improvement permit to construct,
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1 install, modify, maintain, or use a range improve2 ment that is needed to achieve management objec3 tives within the permittee’s or lessee’s allotment.

4 (2) FUNDING.—A permittee or lessee shall

5 agree to provide full funding for construction, instal6 lation, modification, or maintenance of a range im7 provement covered by a range improvement permit.

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

9 improvement permit shall be issued at the discretion

10 of the authorized officer.

11 (4) TITLE.—Title to an authorized permanent

12 range improvement under a range improvement per13 mit shall be in the name of the permittee or lessee.

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

15 ponds or wells authorized by a range improvement

16 permit shall be controlled by the permittee or lessee

17 holding a range improvement permit.

18 (c) STANDARDS, DESIGN, AND STIPULATIONS.—A

19 range improvement cooperative agreement under sub20 section (a) and a range improvement permit under sub21 section (b) shall specify the standards and design, con22 struction, and maintenance criteria for the range improve23 ments.

24 (d) ASSIGNMENT OF RANGE IMPROVEMENTS.—An

25 authorized officer shall not approve the transfer of a graz-
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1 ing preference under section 113(c) or approve use by the

2 transferee of existing range improvements unless the

3 transferee has agreed to compensate the transferor for the

4 transferor’s interest in the authorized improvements with5 in the allotment as of the date of the transfer.

6 (e) REMOVAL AND COMPENSATION FOR LOSS OF

7 RANGE IMPROVEMENTS.—

8 (1) PROHIBITION OF REMOVAL.—A person shall

9 not remove a range improvement from Federal land

10 without authorization by the authorized officer.

11 (2) REQUIREMENT TO REMOVE.—The author12 ized officer may require a permittee or lessee to re13 move a range improvement on Federal land that the

14 permittee or lessee owns if the improvement is no

15 longer helping to achieve land use plan or allotment

16 goals and objectives or if the improvement fails to

17 meet the standards and criteria of subsection (c).

18 (3) CANCELLATION OF GRAZING PERMIT OR

19 GRAZING LEASE.—

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—If a grazing permit or

21 grazing lease is canceled in order to devote Fed22 eral land covered by the grazing permit or graz23 ing lease to another public purpose, including

24 disposal, the permittee or lessee shall be enti25 tled to receive from the United States reason-
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1 able compensation for the value of the permit2 tee’s or lessee’s interest in authorized perma3 nent range improvements purchased by the per4 mittee or lessee or placed or constructed by the

5 permittee or lessee on Federal land covered by

6 the canceled grazing permit or grazing lease.

7 (B) FAIR MARKET VALUE.—The value of a

8 permittee’s or lessee’s interest under subpara9 graph (A) shall be equal to the fair market

10 value of the terminated portion of the permit11 tee’s or lessee’s interest in the permanent range

12 improvements.

13 (C) SALVAGE AND REHABILITATION.—In a

14 case in which a range improvement is author15 ized by a range improvement permit or range

16 improvement cooperative agreement, the per17 mittee or lessee may elect to salvage materials

18 and perform rehabilitation measures rather

19 than accept compensation for the fair market

20 value.

21 (4) CANCELLATION OF RANGE IMPROVEMENT

22 PERMIT OR COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT.—If a range

23 improvement permit or range improvement coopera24 tive agreement is canceled, the permittee or lessee

25 shall be allowed 180 days after the date of cancella-
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1 tion in which to salvage material owned by the lessee

2 or permittee and perform rehabilitation measures

3 necessitated by the salvage.

4 (i) CONTRIBUTIONS.—An authorized officer may ac5 cept contributions of labor, material, equipment, or money

6 for administration, protection, and improvement of Fed7 eral land necessary to achieve the objectives of this title.

8 (j) TRANSFER OF OWNERSHIP OF IMPROVEMENTS.—

9 (1) MEDIATION.—An authorized officer may—

10 (A) mediate a dispute regarding reasonable

11 compensation in connection with a transfer of

12 ownership of a range improvement; and

13 (B) following consultation with the inter14 ested parties, make a determination concerning

15 the fair and reasonable share of operation and

16 maintenance expenses and compensation for use

17 of authorized range improvements.

18 (2) NO AGREEMENT.—If an agreement on the

19 amount of compensation cannot be reached, the au20 thorized officer shall issue a temporary grazing au21 thorization, including appropriate terms and condi22 tions and the requirement to compensate the permit23 tee or lessee for the fair share of operation and

24 maintenance, as determined by the authorized offi25 cer.
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1 SEC. 123. WATER RIGHTS.

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—No water rights shall be acquired,

3 perfected, owned, controlled, maintained, administered, or

4 transferred in connection with livestock grazing manage5 ment unless authorized in accordance with State law con6 cerning the use and appropriation of water within the

7 State.

8 (b) STATE LAW.—In managing livestock grazing on

9 Federal land, the Secretary shall follow State law with re10 gard to water ownership.

11 (c) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this title

12 shall be construed to create an expressed or implied res13 ervation of water rights in the United States.

14 SEC. 124. MANAGEMENT OF GRAZING ON LAND UNDER THE

15 JURISDICTION OF OTHER DEPARTMENTS

16 AND AGENCIES.

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—In the case of land under the ad18 ministrative jurisdiction of the head of another entity in

19 the department or of another department or agency on

20 which grazing is managed by the Secretary on behalf of

21 the head of that entity, department, or agency, the Sec22 retary shall enter into a memorandum of understanding

23 setting out the terms and conditions under which grazing

24 will be managed on that land.

25 (b) APPLICATION OF TITLE.—This title shall apply

26 to management of grazing under subsection (a) except to
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1 the extent that the Secretary, in consultation with the

2 head of the department or agency with jurisdiction over

3 the land, in view of the needs of the other department

4 or agency or the applicability of other law, requires appli5 cation of different rules.

6 Subtitle D—Authorization of Grazing Use

7 SEC. 131. APPLICATIONS.

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—An application for a grazing per9 mit or grazing lease authorizing active use and nonuse,

10 a free-use grazing permit, or other grazing authorization

11 shall be filed with the authorized officer at the local Bu12 reau of Land Management office having jurisdiction over

13 the Federal land that is the subject of the application.

14 (b) CHANGES IN GRAZING USE.—

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—In the case of any grazing

16 fee year, an application for a change in grazing use

17 should be filed with the authorized officer before the

18 billing notice for the affected grazing use has been

19 issued for the grazing fee year.

20 (2) LATE FILING.—An application for a change

21 in grazing use filed after a billing notice for the af22 fected grazing use has been issued that requires the

23 issuance of a replacement or supplemental billing no24 tice shall be subject to a service charge under section

25 137(d).
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1 (3) AUTHORITY TO GRANT.—An authorized of2 ficer may grant an application for a change in graz3 ing use.

4 (c) CONFLICTING APPLICATIONS.—

5 (1) FACTORS TO BE CONSIDERED.—If more

6 than 1 qualified applicant applies for livestock graz7 ing use of the same Federal land or if additional for8 age for livestock or additional acreage becomes avail9 able, an authorized officer may authorize grazing

10 use of the Federal land or use of forage—

11 (A) as provided in section 114(c); or

12 (B) on the basis of any of the following

13 factors:

14 (i) Historical use of Federal land.

15 (ii) Proper range management and

16 use of water for livestock.

17 (iii) General needs of the applicants’

18 livestock operations.

19 (iv) Topography.

20 (v) Other land use requirements

21 unique to the situation.

22 (2) FACTOR NOT TO BE CONSIDERED.—In au23 thorizing grazing use or use of forage under para24 graph (1), an authorized officer shall not take into

25 consideration the past practice or present willingness
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1 of an applicant to allow public access to Federal

2 land over private land.

3 SEC. 132. GRAZING PERMITS OR GRAZING LEASES.

4 (a) SPECIFICATION OF TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—

5 A grazing permit or grazing lease shall specify terms and

6 conditions as required by section 136.

7 (b) TERM.—A grazing permit or grazing lease shall

8 be issued for a term of 15 years unless—

9 (1) the land is pending disposal;

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

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

12 or

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

14 the best interest of sound land management to speci15 fy a shorter term, if the decision to specify a shorter

16 term is supported by appropriate and accepted re17 source analysis and evaluation.

18 (c) RENEWAL.—A permittee or lessee holding a graz19 ing permit or grazing lease shall be given first priority

20 at the end of the term for renewal of the grazing permit

21 or grazing lease if—

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

23 grazing lease is issued remains available for domes24 tic livestock grazing;
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1 (2) the permittee or lessee is in compliance with

2 this title and the terms and conditions of the grazing

3 permit or grazing lease; and

4 (3) the permittee or lessee accepts the terms

5 and conditions included by the authorized officer in

6 the new grazing permit or grazing lease.

7 SEC. 133. FREE-USE GRAZING PERMITS.

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—A free-use grazing permit may be

9 issued, consistent with the Act, cited in section 102, to

10 an applicant—

11 (1) whose residence is adjacent to Federal land

12 within a grazing district;

13 (2) who needs Federal land to support domestic

14 livestock owned by the applicant; and

15 (3) whose products or work related to livestock

16 grazing are used directly and exclusively by the ap17 plicant and the applicant’s family.

18 (b) CONFLICTING APPLICATIONS.—The issuance of a

19 free-use grazing permit is subject to section 131(c).

20 (c) TERM.—A free-use grazing permit shall be issued

21 for a term of 1 year.

22 (d) NO TRANSFER OR ASSIGNMENT.—A free-use

23 grazing permit may not be transferred or assigned.

24 SEC. 134. OTHER GRAZING AUTHORIZATIONS.

25 (a) EXCHANGE-OF-USE GRAZING AGREEMENTS.—
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—An exchange-of-use grazing

2 agreement may be issued to any applicant that owns

3 or controls land that is unfenced and intermingled

4 with Federal land when use under such an agree5 ment would be in harmony with the management ob6 jectives for the allotment.

7 (2) EXTENT OF USE.—An exchange-of-use

8 grazing agreement may authorize use of Federal

9 land to the extent of the livestock carrying capacity

10 of the land offered in exchange-of-use.

11 (3) NO FEE.—No fee shall be charged for graz12 ing use under an exchange-of-use agreement.

13 (b) NONRENEWABLE GRAZING PERMITS AND GRAZ14 ING LEASES.—A nonrenewable grazing permit or grazing

15 lease may be issued on an annual basis to a qualified ap16 plicant when forage is temporarily available if grazing use

17 under the grazing permit or grazing lease—

18 (1) is consistent with multiple-use objectives;

19 and

20 (2) does not interfere with other livestock oper21 ations on the Federal land concerned.

22 (c) CROSSING PERMITS.—An applicant showing the

23 necessity for crossing Federal land or other land under

24 control of the Secretary with livestock for proper and law25 ful purposes may be issued a crossing permit on such
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1 terms and conditions as the authorized officer considers

2 necessary to achieve the objectives of this title.

3 (d) SPECIAL GRAZING PERMITS OR GRAZING

4 LEASES.—

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—A special grazing permit or

6 grazing lease authorizing grazing use by privately

7 owned or controlled indigenous animals may be is8 sued at the discretion of the authorized officer, con9 sistent with multiple-use objectives.

10 (2) TERM.—A special grazing permit or grazing

11 lease shall be issued for such a term as the author12 ized officer considers to be appropriate, not to ex13 ceed 10 years.

14 (e) NO PRIORITY; NO TRANSFER OR ASSIGNMENT.—

15 An exchange-of-use grazing agreement, nonrenewable

16 grazing permit or grazing lease, crossing permit, or special

17 grazing permit or grazing lease shall have no priority for

18 renewal and may not be transferred or assigned.

19 SEC. 135. OWNERSHIP AND IDENTIFICATION OF LIVE20 STOCK.

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

22 or control and be responsible for the management of the

23 livestock that graze the Federal land under a grazing per24 mit or grazing lease.
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1 (b) COMPLIANCE WITH STATE REQUIREMENTS.—An

2 authorized user shall comply with the requirements of the

3 State in which Federal land is located relating to brand4 ing, marking, or tagging of livestock, breed, grade, and

5 number of bulls, health, and sanitation.

6 (c) MARKING OR TAGGING.—An authorized officer

7 shall not impose any marking or tagging requirement in

8 addition to the requirement under State law.

9 (d) FILING OF CONTROL AGREEMENT AND

10 BRAND.—A permittee or lessee that controls but does not

11 own the livestock that graze Federal land shall file with

12 the authorized officer—

13 (1) the agreement that gives the permittee or

14 lessee control of the livestock; and

15 (2) the brand and other identifying marks on

16 the livestock.

17 SEC. 136. TERMS AND CONDITIONS.

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—

19 (1) SPECIFICATIONS.—An authorized officer

20 shall specify in a grazing permit or grazing lease the

21 kind and number of livestock, the periods of use, the

22 allotments to be used, and the amount of use (stated

23 in animal unit months) for each grazing permit or

24 grazing lease.
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1 (2) AMOUNT OF USE.—The amount of livestock

2 grazing use that is authorized in a grazing permit

3 or grazing lease shall not exceed the livestock carry4 ing capacity of the Federal land concerned, as deter5 mined through monitoring and adjusted as necessary

6 under section 114.

7 (3) CANCELLATION, SUSPENSION, OR MODI8 FICATION.—A grazing permit or grazing lease shall

9 be subject to cancellation, suspension, or modifica10 tion for any violation of this title or of any term or

11 condition of the grazing permit or grazing lease.

12 (b) NO SPECIAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—An au13 thorized officer shall not impose any term or condition in

14 a grazing permit or grazing lease other than a term or

15 condition described in subsection (a).

16 (c) MODIFICATION.—Following careful and consid17 ered consultation, cooperation, and coordination with per18 mittees, lessees, and other affected interests, an author19 ized officer may modify the terms and conditions of a

20 grazing permit or grazing lease if monitoring data show

21 that the grazing use is not meeting the land use plan or

22 management objectives.

23 SEC. 137. FEES AND CHARGES.

24 (a) GRAZING FEES.—
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1 (1) BASIC FEE.—The basic fee for each animal

2 unit month in a grazing fee year shall be equal to

3 the 3-year average of the total gross value of pro4 duction for livestock, as determined by the National

5 Agricultural Statistics Service of the Department of

6 Agriculture in accordance with paragraph (2) on the

7 basis of economic data published by the Service in

8 the June Agricultural Survey for the 3 years preced9 ing the grazing fee year, multiplied by .06 and di10 vided by 12.

11 (2) CRITERIA.—

12 (A) IN GENERAL.—The National Agricul13 tural Statistics Service of the Department of

14 Agriculture shall make a determination under

15 paragraph (1) based on the following informa16 tion gathered from livestock grazing operators,

17 with respect to the largest single grazing lease

18 of each operator (in terms of dollars):

19 (i) Whether the operator charged—

20 (I) per acre;

21 (II) per head per month;

22 (III) per pound of gain;

23 (IV) per hundredweight of gain;

24 or
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1 (V) by another measure, and the

2 rate charged.

3 (ii)(I) The estimated average pounds

4 gained per season for the grazing lease.

5 (II) The total dollar amount estimated

6 to be realized from the grazing lease.

7 (III) Grazing lease acreage.

8 (IV) The State and county where the

9 grazing lease is located.

10 (iii) The classes of livestock grazed.

11 (iv) The term of the grazing lease.

12 (v)(I) Whether grazing lease payments

13 are paid if no grazing occurred.

14 (II) Whether the grazing lease con15 tains a take or pay provision.

16 (vi) Whether responsibility for the

17 grazing lease is ensured by daily livestock

18 care, water supply, or other factors.

19 (B) PRIVATE NATIVE RANGELAND.—For

20 the purpose of determining rates for grazing

21 leases of private native rangeland, rates for irri22 gated pasture, crop aftermath, and dryland win23 ter wheat shall be excluded.
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1 (3) SURCHARGE.—

2 (A) IN GENERAL.—A surcharge shall be

3 added to the grazing fee billings for authorized

4 grazing of livestock owned by a person other

5 than a permittee or lessee unless—

6 (i) the grazing use is made by live7 stock owned by a spouse, son, daughter,

8 grandson, or granddaughter of the permit9 tee and lessee; or

10 (ii) the operator is unable to make full

11 grazing use, as authorized by a grazing

12 permit or grazing lease, due to the age or

13 death of the primary operator.

14 (B) PAYMENT IN ADVANCE.—A surcharge

15 shall be paid prior to grazing use.

16 (C) LIVESTOCK OWNED BY OTHERS.—A

17 surcharge for authorized pasturing of livestock

18 owned by a person other than a permittee or

19 lessee shall be equal to 25 percent of the dif20 ference between the current year’s Federal

21 grazing fee and the prior year’s private grazing

22 land lease rate per year for the appropriate

23 State, as determined by the National Agricul24 tural Statistics Service in accordance with para25 graph (2).
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1 (4) PAYMENT.—

2 (A) DUE DATE.—A grazing fee shall be

3 due on the due date specified in the billing no4 tice.

5 (B) PAYMENT PRIOR TO USE.—A grazing

6 fee shall be paid prior to grazing use.

7 (C) BILLING AFTER GRAZING SEASON.—If

8 an allotment management plan provides for bill9 ing after the grazing season, a grazing fee shall

10 be based on actual grazing use and shall be due

11 upon issuance.

12 (5) REFUNDS.—

13 (A) IN GENERAL.—A grazing fee may be

14 refunded if an application for change in grazing

15 use and related refund is filed prior to the pe16 riod of use for which the refund is requested.

17 (B) FAILURE TO MAKE GRAZING USE.—

18 (i) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided

19 in subparagraph (B), no refund shall be

20 made for failure to make grazing use.

21 (ii) RANGE DEPLETION OR DIS22 EASE.—During a period of range depletion

23 due to drought, fire, or other natural

24 cause, or in case of a general spread of dis25 ease among the livestock that occurs dur-
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1 ing the term of a grazing permit or graz2 ing lease, an authorized officer may credit

3 or refund a grazing fee in whole or in part

4 or postpone fee payment for as long as the

5 emergency exists.

6 (b) OTHER FEES AND CHARGES.—

7 (1) CROSSING PERMITS, TRANSFERS, AND BILL8 ING NOTICES.—A service charge shall be assessed

9 for each crossing permit, transfer of grazing pref10 erence, and replacement or supplemental billing no11 tice except in a case in which the action is initiated

12 by the authorized officer.

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

14 The fees and charges under section 304(a) of the

15 Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976

16 (43 U.S.C. 1734(a)) shall reflect processing costs

17 and shall be adjusted periodically as costs change.

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

19 in a service charge shall be published in the Federal

20 Register.

21 (c) REPEAL AND SUPERSEDURE.—

22 (1) REPEAL.—Section 6(a) of the Public

23 Rangelands Improvement Act of 1978 (43 U.S.C.

24 1905) is repealed.
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1 (2) SUPERSEDURE.—This section supersedes

2 Executive Order 12548 (43 U.S.C. 1905 note) effec3 tive March 1, 1996.

4 (d) APPLICATION OF SECTION.—This section applies

5 to the management of livestock grazing on Federal land

6 by the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Chief

7 of the Forest Service, as well as to the Secretary.

8 SEC. 138. PLEDGE OF GRAZING PERMITS OR GRAZING

9 LEASES AS SECURITY FOR LOANS.

10 (a) RENEWAL.—A grazing permit or grazing lease

11 that has been pledged as security for a loan from a lending

12 agency shall be renewed by the authorized officer for a

13 period of not to exceed 15 years if—

14 (1) the loan is for the purpose of furthering the

15 permittee’s or lessee’s livestock operation;

16 (2) the permittee or lessee has complied with

17 this title; and

18 (3) renewal would be in accordance with other

19 applicable laws.

20 (b) EFFECT OF PLEDGE.—The pledging of a grazing

21 permit or grazing lease as security for a loan from a lend22 ing agency shall not exempt the grazing permit or grazing

23 lease from this title.
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1 Subtitle E—Civil Violations and Failures of

2 Compliance

3 SEC. 141. CIVIL VIOLATIONS AND FAILURES OF COMPLI4 ANCE.

5 (a) SCOPE OF SECTION.—

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—This section states all of the

7 violations and failures of compliance that pertain

8 specifically to livestock grazing on Federal land that

9 may result in imposition of a sanction described in

10 subsection (c) against a person in the person’s ca11 pacity as a permittee, lessee, or applicant for a graz12 ing permit or grazing lease.

13 (2) OTHER VIOLATIONS.—A permittee, lessee,

14 or applicant for a grazing permit or grazing lease

15 that commits a violation relating to Federal land

16 under a law that applies to all persons generally

17 shall be subject to penalty under that law.

18 (b) IN GENERAL.—A person that does 1 of the fol19 lowing shall be subject to a civil sanction under subsection

20 (c):

21 (1) Fails to make substantial grazing use as au22 thorized by a grazing permit or grazing lease for 2

23 consecutive fee years.
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1 (2) Places supplemental feed on land covered by

2 a grazing permit or grazing lease without authoriza3 tion.

4 (3) Fails to comply with a term, condition, or

5 stipulation of a range improvement cooperative

6 agreement or range improvement permit.

7 (4) Enters into an unauthorized sublease.

8 (5) Allows livestock or another privately owned

9 or controlled animal to graze on or be driven across

10 Federal land—

11 (A) without a grazing permit, grazing

12 lease, or other grazing use authorization;

13 (B) in violation of a term or condition of

14 a grazing permit, grazing lease, or other graz15 ing use authorization, including a provision

16 stating the number of livestock covered by the

17 authorization;

18 (C) in an area or at a time different from

19 that authorized; or

20 (D) if the livestock is not identified in

21 compliance with section 135.

22 (6) Installs, uses, modifies, or removes a range

23 improvement on Federal land without authorization.

24 (7) Damages or removes Federal Government

25 property from Federal land without authorization.
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1 (8) Molests livestock authorized to graze on

2 Federal land.

3 (9) Interferes with a lawful grazing use or law4 ful user.

5 (10) Knowingly or willfully makes a false state6 ment or representation in a base property certifi7 cation, grazing application, range improvement per8 mit application, cooperative agreement, or actual use

9 report, or an amendment thereto.

10 (11) Grazes livestock on Federal land not sub11 stantially in compliance with State livestock require12 ments relating to—

13 (A) branding, marking, or tagging of live14 stock;

15 (B) breed, grade, or number of bulls; or

16 (C) health or sanitation.

17 (c) PENALTIES.—

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—In a case of a violation or

19 failure of compliance described in subsection (b), an

20 authorized officer may—

21 (A) withhold issuance of a grazing permit

22 or grazing lease for a period of time;

23 (B) suspend the grazing use authorized

24 under a grazing permit or grazing lease for a

25 period of time, in whole or in part; or
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1 (C) cancel a grazing permit or grazing

2 lease and grazing preference, or a free-use graz3 ing permit or other grazing authorization, in

4 whole or in part.

5 (2) SECOND OR SUBSEQUENT WILLFUL VIOLA6 TION.—In a case of a second or subsequent willful

7 civil violation described in subsection (a), an author8 ized officer shall—

9 (A) suspend the grazing use authorized

10 under a grazing permit for a period of time, in

11 whole or in part; or

12 (B) cancel a grazing permit or grazing

13 lease and grazing preference, in whole or in

14 part.

15 (3) CONSIDERATION OF SEVERITY.—A deter16 mination of the length of time that a grazing permit

17 or grazing lease will be withheld or suspended or

18 that a grazing permit or grazing lease will be can19 celed shall reflect the severity of the violation or fail20 ure of compliance.

21 (4) REFERRAL FOR ACTION UNDER SUBTITLE

22 F.—If a person other than a permittee or lessee vio23 lates subsection (a)(5), and the person has not made

24 satisfactory settlement under section 153, the au25 thorized officer shall refer the matter to proper au-
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1 thorities for appropriate legal action by the United

2 States against the violator under subtitle F.

3 (5) SUBLEASES.—

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—A person who violates

5 subsection (b)(4) shall be required to pay to the

6 United States the dollar equivalent value, as de7 termined by the authorized officer, of all com8 pensation received for the sublease that is in ex9 cess of the sum of the established grazing fee

10 and the cost incurred by the person for the in11 stallation and maintenance of authorized range

12 improvements.

13 (B) FAILURE TO PAY.—If the dollar equiv14 alent value is not received by the authorized of15 ficer within 30 days of receipt of a final deci16 sion, the grazing permit or grazing lease shall

17 be canceled.

18 (C) ADDITIONAL PENALTY.—Payment

19 under this paragraph shall be in addition to any

20 other penalties the authorized officer may im21 pose under this subsection.

22 (6) FAILURE TO USE.—After consultation, co23 operation, and coordination, the authorized officer

24 may cancel a grazing preference to the extent of fail25 ure to use when a permittee or lessee has failed to
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1 make substantial grazing use as authorized for 2

2 consecutive years.

3 Subtitle F—Unauthorized Grazing Use

4 SEC. 151. LIABILITY FOR DAMAGES.

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—A person who commits a violation

6 described in section 141(a)(5) shall be liable in damages

7 to the United States for—

8 (1) the value of forage consumed by the live9 stock of the person;

10 (2) injury to Federal property caused by unau11 thorized grazing use; and

12 (3) expenses incurred in impoundment and sale

13 of the person’s livestock.

14 (b) NO LIABILITY.—In no circumstances shall a per15 son be liable for damages to the United States for ex16 penses incurred in impoundment or sale of the person’s

17 livestock if the person did not commit a violation of section

18 141(a)(5) or if the impoundment or sale was not con19 ducted in accordance with State law.

20 SEC. 152. NOTICE AND ORDER TO REMOVE.

21 (a) KNOWN OWNER.—

22 (1) SERVICE.—When it appears that a violation

23 described in section 151 has occurred or is occurring

24 and the owner of the unauthorized livestock is

25 known, an authorized officer shall serve written no-
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1 tice of unauthorized use and an order to remove live2 stock by a specified date on the owner (or the own3 er’s agent of record) by certified mail or personal de4 livery.

5 (2) OPPORTUNITY TO RESPOND.—Written no6 tice under paragraph (1) shall allow a specified time

7 from receipt of notice for the livestock owner to—

8 (A) show that there has been no violation;

9 or

10 (B) make settlement under section 153.

11 (b) UNKNOWN OWNER.—When it appears that a vio12 lation described in section 151 has occurred or is occur13 ring and neither the owner or the unauthorized livestock

14 nor an agent of the owner is known, an authorized officer

15 may immediately proceed to impound the livestock under

16 section 154.

17 SEC. 153. SETTLEMENT.

18 (a) DETERMINATION OF WILLFULNESS.—An author19 ized officer shall determine whether a violation described

20 in section 151 is a nonwillful, willful, or second or subse21 quent willful violation.

22 (b) SECOND OR SUBSEQUENT WILLFUL VIOLA23 TIONS.—In the case of a second or subsequent willful vio24 lation, the authorized officer shall—
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1 (1) suspend the grazing use authorized under a

2 grazing permit or grazing lease, in whole or in part;

3 or

4 (2) cancel a grazing permit or grazing lease and

5 grazing preference, or a free-use grazing permit or

6 other grazing authorization, in whole or in part.

7 (c) SETTLEMENT AMOUNT.—Except as provided in

8 subsection (e), the settlement amount in the case of a vio9 lation described in section 151 shall include—

10 (1) the value of forage consumed as determined

11 under subsection (d);

12 (2) the full value for all damage to Federal land

13 and other property of the United States resulting

14 from the violation; and

15 (3) all reasonable expenses incurred by the

16 United States in detecting, investigating, and resolv17 ing the violation, and livestock impoundment costs.

18 (d) VALUE OF FORAGE.—

19 (1) NONWILLFUL VIOLATION.—In the case of a

20 nonwillful violation, the value of forage consumed

21 shall be the product of—

22 (A) average monthly rate per animal unit

23 month for pasturing livestock on privately

24 owned land (excluding irrigated land) for the 16
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1 western States as published annually by the De2 partment of Agriculture; and

3 (B) the period of the violation.

4 (2) WILLFUL VIOLATIONS.—In the case of a

5 willful violation, the value of forage consumed shall

6 be twice the value determined under paragraph (1).

7 (3) SECOND OR SUBSEQUENT WILLFUL VIOLA8 TIONS.—In the case of a second or subsequent will9 ful violation, the value of forage consumed shall be

10 3 times the value determined under paragraph (1).

11 (e) NONMONETARY SETTLEMENT.—An authorized

12 officer may approve a nonmonetary settlement of a case

13 of a violation described in section 151 if the authorized

14 officer determines that each of the following conditions is

15 satisfied:

16 (1) NO FAULT.—Evidence shows that the unau17 thorized use occurred through no fault of the live18 stock operator.

19 (2) INSIGNIFICANCE.—The forage use is insig20 nificant.

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

22 damaged.

23 (4) BEST INTERESTS.—Nonmonetary settle24 ment is in the best interests of the United States.
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1 (f) EFFECT OF SETTLEMENT.—Payment of a settle2 ment amount under this section shall not relieve the viola3 tor of any criminal liability under Federal or State law.

4 (g) NO GRAZING USE.—A person who is found to

5 have committed a violation described in section 151 shall

6 not be authorized to make grazing use until any settle7 ment amount found to be due under this section has been

8 paid.

9 (h) OTHER SANCTIONS.—An authorized officer may

10 cancel or suspend a grazing authorization or deny ap11 proval of an application for grazing use until a settlement

12 amount found to be due under this section has been paid.

13 SEC. 154. IMPOUNDMENT AND SALE.

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to section 152(b), unau15 thorized livestock remaining on Federal land after the date

16 specified in a notice and order under section 152(a) may

17 be impounded and sold by the authorized officer, acting

18 in conjunction with the State Livestock Board.

19 (b) NOTICE OF INTENT TO IMPOUND.—

20 (1) KNOWN OWNER.—

21 (A) SERVICE.—A written notice of intent

22 to impound shall be sent by certified mail or

23 personally delivered to the livestock owner (or

24 the owner’s agent).
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1 (B) CONTENTS.—The written notice shall

2 state that unauthorized livestock on specified

3 Federal land may be impounded any time after

4 10 days following delivery of the notice.

5 (2) UNKNOWN OWNER.—

6 (A) PUBLICATION AND POSTING.—If the

7 livestock owner and owner’s agent are unknown,

8 or if both a known owner and the owner’s agent

9 refuse to accept delivery of notice, a notice of

10 intent to impound shall be published in a local

11 newspaper and posted at the county courthouse

12 and a post office near the Federal land con13 cerned.

14 (B) CONTENTS.—The notice shall state

15 that unauthorized livestock on specified Federal

16 land may be impounded any time after 10 days

17 following publication and posting of the notice.

18 (c) IMPOUNDMENT.—After 10 days following delivery

19 or publication and posting of a notice under subsection

20 (b), the notice shall become effective, and unauthorized

21 livestock may be impounded without further notice any

22 time with the 12-month period following the effective date

23 of the notice.

24 (d) NOTICE OF PUBLIC SALE.—
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Following the impoundment

2 of livestock under this section, the livestock may be

3 sold by the authorized officer or, if a suitable agree4 ment is in effect, turned over to the State for sale,

5 in accordance with subsection (f).

6 (2) NOTIFICATION.—Any known livestock

7 owner (or owner’s agent) shall be notified in writing

8 by certified mail or by personal delivery of the sale

9 and the procedure by which the impounded livestock

10 may be redeemed prior to the sale.

11 (e) REDEMPTION.—An owner (or owner’s agent) or

12 lienholder of record of impounded livestock may redeem

13 the livestock in accordance with State law, prior to the

14 time of sale upon settlement with the United States under

15 section 153 or adequate showing that there has been no

16 violation.

17 (f) SALE.—If livestock are not redeemed on or before

18 the date and time fixed for sale, the livestock shall be of19 fered at public sale to the highest bidder by the authorized

20 officer under State law, or by the State.

21 Subtitle G—Procedure

22 SEC. 161. PROPOSED DECISIONS.

23 (a) PROPOSED DECISIONS ON GRAZING PERMITS OR

24 GRAZING LEASES.—
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1 (1) SERVICE ON APPLICANTS, PERMITTEES,

2 LESSEES, AND LIENHOLDERS.—In the absence of a

3 written agreement between an authorized officer and

4 any applicant, grazing permittee, lessee, or

5 lienholder, the authorized officer shall serve, by cer6 tified mail or personal delivery, a proposed decision

7 on any applicant, permittee, lessee, or lienholder (or

8 agent of record of the applicant, permittee, lessee, or

9 lienholder) that is affected by—

10 (A) a proposed action on an application for

11 a grazing permit, grazing lease, or range im12 provement permit; or

13 (B) a proposed action relating to a term or

14 condition of a grazing permit, grazing lease, or

15 range improvement permit.

16 (2) CONTENTS.—A proposed decision described

17 in paragraph (1) shall—

18 (A) state reasons for the action, including

19 reference to pertinent provision of this title or

20 other applicable law (including regulations); and

21 (B) state that any protest to the proposed

22 decision must be filed not later than 15 days

23 after service.

24 (b) PROPOSED DECISIONS ON ALLEGED VIOLA25 TIONS.—
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1 (1) SERVICE.—If the authorized officer deter2 mines that a permittee or lessee appears to have vio3 lated any provision of this title, the authorized offi4 cer shall serve a proposed decision on the permittee

5 or lessee (or permittee’s or lessee’s agent) by cer6 tified mail or personal delivery.

7 (2) CONTENTS.—A proposed decision shall—

8 (A) state—

9 (i) the alleged violation and refer to

10 the specific provision of this title that is al11 leged to have been violated;

12 (ii) the reasons for the proposed deci13 sion;

14 (iii) the fee due under section 137(a)

15 or settlement amount due under section

16 153; and

17 (iv) any civil penalty to be imposed

18 under section 141; and

19 (B) state that any protest to the proposed

20 decision must be filed not later than 15 days

21 after service.

22 SEC. 172. PROTESTS.

23 An applicant, permittee, lessee, or other affected in24 terest may protest a proposed decision under section 161
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1 in person or in writing to the authorized officer within

2 15 days after service of the proposed decision.

3 SEC. 163. FINAL DECISIONS.

4 (a) NO PROTEST.—In the absence of a timely filed

5 protest, a proposed decision shall become the final decision

6 of the authorized officer without further notice.

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

8 the authorized officer shall reconsider the proposed deci9 sion in light of the protestant’s statement of reasons for

10 protest and in light of other information pertinent to the

11 case.

12 (c) SERVICE.—After reviewing the protest, the au13 thorized officer shall serve a final decision on the parties

14 to the proceeding.

15 SEC. 164. APPEALS.

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a final decision of

17 an authorized officer with respect to which a protest under

18 section 162 was timely filed, a permittee, lessee, or af19 fected interest may appeal the final decision for the pur20 pose of a hearing before an administrative law judge by

21 filing a notice of appeal in the office of the authorized

22 officer within 30 days after the service of the final deci23 sion.

24 (b) SUSPENSION PENDING APPEAL.—
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—An appeal of a final decision

2 shall suspend the effect of the decision pending final

3 action on the appeal unless the decision is made ef4 fective pending appeal under paragraph (2).

5 (2) EFFECTIVENESS PENDING APPEAL.—

6 (A) IN GENERAL.—A District Manager of

7 the Bureau of Land Management may order

8 that a decision on a grazing permit application

9 shall remain in effect during an appeal of the

10 decision if it is determined that imminent and

11 irreversible damage to land resources would be

12 likely to result from delay of effectiveness of the

13 decision.

14 (B) BASIS OF ORDER.—An order under

15 subparagraph (A) shall be made in accordance

16 with—

17 (i) state-of-the-art science;

18 (ii) information and opinions offered

19 by State land grant universities; and

20 (iii) the preponderance of evidence

21 gathered in the proceeding.

22 (c) EXPEDITIOUS DISMISSAL OF NONMERITORIOUS

23 APPEALS.—The District Manager shall—

24 (1) examine each appeal as soon as practicable

25 after it is filed; and
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1 (2) expeditiously dismiss an appeal that does

2 not raise a substantially meritorious issue.

3 (d) AUTHORITY.—A final decision of an appeal shall

4 be issued by a District Manager.

5 Subtitle H—Advisory Committees

6 SEC. 171. PURPOSE.

7 This subtitle contains standards and procedures for

8 the establishment, operation, and termination of advisory

9 committees to advise the Secretary on matters relating to

10 grazing on Federal land and resources under the adminis11 trative jurisdiction of the Bureau of Land Management.

12 SEC. 172. OBJECTIVE.

13 The objective of an advisory committee established

14 under this subtitle is to provide to the Secretary expert

15 recommendations of concerned, knowledgeable citizens

16 and public officials regarding—

17 (1) the formulation of operating guidelines; and

18 (2) the preparation and execution of plans and

19 programs for the use and management of Federal

20 land, the natural and cultural resources on Federal

21 land, and the environment.

22 SEC. 173. RELATION TO OTHER LAW.

23 Except to the extent that the following laws may be

24 inconsistent with this subtitle, the following laws shall
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1 apply to an advisory committee established under this sub2 title:

3 (1) The Federal Advisory Committee Act (5

4 U.S.C. App.).

5 (2) The Federal Land Policy and Management

6 Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.).

7 (3) Section 2 of Reorganization Plan No. 3 of

8 1950 (5 U.S.C. App.).

9 SEC. 174. POLICY.

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—After consultation, cooperation,

11 and coordination with State and local government officials,

12 the Secretary shall establish advisory committees rep13 resentative of major citizens’ interests to advise the Sec14 retary regarding policy formulation, program planning,

15 decisionmaking, attainment of program objectives, and

16 achievement of improved program coordination and econo17 mies in the management of Federal land and resources.

18 (b) OPTIMAL EMPLOYMENT.—The Secretary shall

19 ensure that—

20 (1) advisory committees are optimally utilized;

21 and

22 (2) the number of advisory committees is lim23 ited to the number that is essential to the conduct

24 of the public’s business.
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1 SEC. 175. GENERAL PROVISIONS.

2 (a) CHARTERS.—

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—For each advisory committee

4 established by the Secretary, the Secretary shall—

5 (A) prepare a charter describing the advi6 sory committee’s structure and functions; and

7 (B) file the charter with the Committee on

8 Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate

9 and the Committee on Resources of the House

10 of Representatives.

11 (2) AMENDMENT.—Except for the correction of

12 errors and other minor changes, a charter filed

13 under paragraph (1) shall not be amended without

14 authorization by an Act of Congress.

15 (b) CALLS FOR NOMINATIONS.—Candidates for ap16 pointment to an advisory committee shall be sought

17 through public calls for nominations made through publi18 cation in the Federal Register and through media releases

19 and systematic contacts with State and local government

20 officials and individuals and organizations interested in

21 the use and management of Federal land and resources.

22 (c) COMPOSITION.—

23 (1) STRUCTURE.—An advisory committee shall

24 be structured—

25 (A) to provide fair membership balance

26 (geographic and interest-specific) in terms of
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1 the functions to be performed and points of

2 view to be represented, as prescribed by the ad3 visory committee’s charter; and

4 (B) to provide representative advice about

5 Federal land and resource planning, retention,

6 management, and disposal.

7 (2) NO DISCRIMINATION.—No person shall be

8 denied an opportunity to serve on an advisory com9 mittee because of race, age, sex, religion, or national

10 origin.

11 (3) QUALIFICATIONS.—A person shall be quali12 fied to serve on an advisory committee if—

13 (A) the person’s education, training, or ex14 perience enables the person to give informed

15 and objective advice regarding an industry, dis16 cipline, or interest specified in the committee’s

17 charter;

18 (B) the person has demonstrated experi19 ence or knowledge of the geographical area

20 under the purview of the advisory committee;

21 and

22 (C) the person has demonstrated a com23 mitment to seeking consensus solutions to re24 source management issues.

25 (d) AVOIDANCE OF CONFLICTS OF INTEREST.—
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1 (1) PARTICIPATION IN DELIBERATIONS.—An

2 advisory committee member shall not participate in

3 deliberations or vote on any matter if the decision of

4 the matter would, on its face or as applied, affect

5 only an interest held by that member and not the in6 terests of permittees, lessees, or other affected inter7 ests generally.

8 (2) DISCLOSURE OF INTERESTS.—

9 (A) IN GENERAL.—Each member of an ad10 visory committee shall be required to disclose

11 the member’s direct or indirect interest in graz12 ing leases, licenses, permits, contracts, or

13 claims and related litigation that involve lands

14 or resources administered by the Secretary.

15 (B) DEFINITION.—In this paragraph, the

16 term ‘‘indirect interest’’ includes holdings of a

17 spouse or dependent children of a member.

18 (e) TERMINATION OF SERVICE.—The Secretary may,

19 after written notice, terminate the service of a member

20 of an advisory committee if—

21 (1) the member—

22 (A) no longer meets the requirements

23 under which elected or appointed;

24 (B) fails or is unable to participate regu25 larly in committee work; or
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1 (C) has violated Federal law (including a

2 regulation); or

3 (2) in the judgment of the Secretary, termi4 nation is in the public interest.

5 (f) COMPENSATION AND REIMBURSEMENT OF EX6 PENSES.—A member of an advisory committee shall not

7 receive any compensation or reimbursement of expenses

8 in connection with the performance of the member’s duties

9 as a member of the advisory committee.

10 SEC. 176. RESOURCE ADVISORY COUNCILS.

11 (a) RESOURCE ADVISORY COUNCIL FOR EACH GRAZ12 ING DISTRICT.—The Secretary, after consultation, co13 operation, and coordination with the State and affected

14 counties, shall appoint not fewer than 9 nor more than

15 15 persons to serve on a resource advisory council for each

16 grazing district.

17 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—

18 (1) REPRESENTATION OF INTERESTS.—The

19 members of a resource advisory council shall be se20 lected from among persons that represent historical

21 use, multiple uses, affected landowners, county social

22 and economic interests, elected State and county of23 ficers, and the public at large.
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1 (2) PERMITTEES AND LESSEES.—Permittees

2 and lessees may be appointed to serve on a resource

3 advisory council.

4 (3) RESIDENCY.—Members of a resource advi5 sory council shall be residents of the State in which

6 the grazing district is situated.

7 (4) TERMS.—

8 (A) IN GENERAL.—A member of a re9 source advisory council shall serve a 3-year

10 term, except that as nearly as possible one-third

11 of the initial members shall be appointed for a

12 1-year term and one-third of the initial mem13 bers shall be appointed for a 2-year term.

14 (B) MEMBERS EX OFFICIO.—On the de15 parture from elective office of a member of a

16 resource advisory council who was appointed on

17 the basis of the member’s status as an elected

18 official of general purpose government serving

19 the people of the grazing district for which the

20 resource advisory council is established prior to

21 the end of the member’s term, the newly elected

22 official shall serve the remainder of the mem23 ber’s term.

24 (C) VACANCIES.—A vacancy occurring by

25 reason of removal, resignation, or death of a
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1 member of a resource advisory council shall be

2 filled for the balance of the member’s term

3 using the same method by which the member

4 was appointed.

5 (D) REAPPOINTMENT.—

6 (i) SECOND CONSECUTIVE TERM.—A

7 member of a resource advisory council who

8 has served a 3-year term on a resource ad9 visory council may be reappointed to a sec10 ond consecutive 3-year term.

11 (ii) SUBSEQUENT TERM.—A member

12 of a resource advisory council who has

13 served 2 consecutive 3-year terms may be

14 subsequently reappointed no earlier than 3

15 years after the member’s last date of mem16 bership on that resource advisory council,

17 except that the Secretary may reappoint

18 the member to a 1-year term if the Sec19 retary determines that the member’s con20 tinued or renewed service on the resource

21 advisory council is in the public interest

22 and is critical to the effective functioning

23 of the resource advisory council.

24 (E) DATE OF APPOINTMENT.—For the

25 purpose of eligibility for reappointment under
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1 subparagraph (C) or (D), an appointment shall

2 be considered to be made on January 1 of the

3 first year of the term to which a member is ap4 pointed regardless of the date on which the ap5 pointment is actually made.

6 (c) RESPONSIBILITIES.—

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—A resource advisory council

8 shall have the responsibility of advising the Sec9 retary and appropriate State officials on major man10 agement decisions while working within the broad

11 management goals established for the grazing

12 district.

13 (2) LAND USE PLANS.—A resource advisory

14 council shall advise the Secretary regarding the

15 preparation, amendment, and implementation of

16 land use plans for Federal land and resources within

17 the grazing district.

18 (3) ALLOCATION AND EXPENDITURE OF

19 FUNDS.—Except for the purposes of long-range

20 planning and the establishment of resource manage21 ment priorities, a resource advisory council shall not

22 provide the Secretary advice regarding—

23 (A) the allocation or expenditure of funds;

24 or

25 (B) personnel actions.
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1 (d) DISREGARD OF ADVICE.—

2 (1) REQUEST FOR RESPONSE.—If a resource

3 advisory council becomes concerned that its advice is

4 being arbitrarily disregarded, the resource advisory

5 council may, by unanimous vote of its members, re6 quest that the Secretary respond directly to the re7 source advisory council’s concerns within 60 days

8 after the Secretary receives the request.

9 (2) EFFECT OF RESPONSE.—The response of

10 the Secretary to a request under paragraph (1) shall

11 not—

12 (A) constitute a decision on the merits of

13 any issue that is or might become the subject

14 of an administrative appeal; or

15 (B) be subject to appeal.

16 (e) ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT.—Administrative sup17 port for a resource advisory council shall be provided by

18 the office of the authorized officer.

19 SEC. 177. GRAZING ADVISORY COUNCILS.

20 (a) GRAZING ADVISORY COUNCIL FOR EACH GRAZ21 ING DISTRICT.—The Secretary, in consultation with the

22 State and affected counties, shall appoint not fewer than

23 5 nor more than 9 persons to serve on a grazing advisory

24 council for each grazing district.

25 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—
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1 (1) REPRESENTATION OF INTERESTS.—The

2 members of a grazing advisory council shall be se3 lected from among persons that represent permit4 tees, lessees, affected landowners, county social and

5 economic interests, and elected State and county

6 officers.

7 (2) PERMITTEES AND LESSEES.—Permittees

8 and lessees shall constitute the majority of the mem9 bership of a grazing advisory council.

10 (3) RESIDENCY.—Members of a grazing advi11 sory council shall be residents of a community within

12 or adjacent to the grazing district.

13 (4) TERMS.—An appointment to a grazing ad14 visory council shall be for a 2-year term.

15 (5) REAPPOINTMENT.—A member of a grazing

16 advisory council may be appointed to additional

17 terms.

18 (c) RESPONSIBILITIES.—A grazing advisory council

19 shall set range improvement objectives, advise on the ex20 penditure of range improvement funds under the Public

21 Rangelands Improvement Act of 1978 (43 U.S.C. 1901

22 et seq.), advise on grazing management programs and im23 plementation, and address range management decisions

24 and actions at the allotment management plan level or

25 permit management plan level.
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1 (d) DISREGARD OF ADVICE.—

2 (1) REQUEST FOR RESPONSE.—If a grazing ad3 visory council becomes concerned that its advice is

4 being arbitrarily disregarded, the grazing advisory

5 council may, by unanimous vote of its members, re6 quest that the Secretary respond directly to the

7 grazing advisory council’s concerns within 60 days

8 after the Secretary receives the request.

9 (2) EFFECT OF RESPONSE.—The response of

10 the Secretary to a request under paragraph (1) shall

11 not—

12 (A) constitute a decision on the merits of

13 any issue that is or might become the subject

14 of an administrative appeal; or

15 (B) be subject to appeal.

16 SEC. 178. MEETINGS.

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—All meetings of an advisory com18 mittee and associated field examinations shall be open to

19 the public and news media.

20 (b) NOTICE OF MEETINGS.—

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—A notice of a meeting of an

22 advisory committee shall be published in the Federal

23 Register and distributed to the news media at least

24 30 days in advance of the meeting.
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1 (2) URGENT MATTERS.—If an urgent matter

2 arises, a notice of a meeting of an advisory commit3 tee shall be published in the Federal Register and

4 distributed to the news media at least 15 days in ad5 vance of the meeting.

6 (3) CONTENTS.—A notice of a meeting of an

7 advisory committee shall state the date, time, and

8 place of the meeting and describe the topics or is9 sues to be discussed at the meeting.

10 (c) APPEARANCES.—Any person may appear before

11 or file a statement with an advisory committee regarding

12 matters on the meeting agenda.

13 (d) SCHEDULING.—The scheduling of meetings of an

14 advisory committee and the preparation of agenda shall

15 be done in a manner that encourages and facilitates public

16 attendance and participation.

17 (e) EXTENSION OF TIME.—The amount of time

18 scheduled for a meeting of an advisory committee may be

19 extended if an authorized officer considers it necessary to

20 accommodate all who seek to be heard regarding matters

21 on the agenda.

22 (f) AUTHORITY TO SCHEDULE.—An advisory com23 mittee shall meet only at the call of the Secretary or of

24 an authorized officer.
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1 (g) ATTENDANCE BY AUTHORIZED OFFICER.—No

2 meeting of an advisory committee shall be held in the ab3 sence of an authorized officer or designee of an authorized

4 officer.

5 (h) AGENDA.—A meeting of an advisory committee

6 shall be conducted with close adherence to the agenda ap7 proved in advance by an authorized officer.

8 (i) ADJOURNMENT.—An authorized officer may ad9 journ a meeting of an advisory committee at any time if—

10 (1) continuance would be inconsistent with the

11 purpose for which the meeting was called or with the

12 rules established for the conduct of the advisory

13 committee; or

14 (2) adjournment is determined to be in the pub15 lic interest.

16 (j) RECORDS.—

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Detailed records shall be

18 kept of each meeting of an advisory committee.

19 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—The records of a meeting

20 of an advisory committee shall include, at a mini21 mum—

22 (A) the time and place of the meeting;

23 (B) copies of the Federal Register and

24 other public notices announcing the meeting;
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1 (C) a list of members of the advisory com2 mittee and of Federal employees (in the capac3 ity of Federal employee) present;

4 (D) a list of members of the public

5 present, and a description of the interest rep6 resented by each member;

7 (E) the meeting agenda;

8 (F) a complete summary description of

9 matters discussed and conclusions reached;

10 (G) a list of recommendations made by the

11 advisory committee;

12 (H) copies of all reports received, issued,

13 or approved by the advisory committee; and

14 (I) a description of the nature of public

15 participation.

16 (3) CERTIFICATION BY CHAIRPERSON.—The

17 Chairperson of an advisory committee shall certify

18 the accuracy of the records of the advisory commit19 tee.

20 (4) AVAILABILITY FOR INSPECTION AND COPY21 ING.—All records, reports, transcripts, minutes, rec22 ommendations, studies, working papers, and other

23 documents prepared by or submitted to an advisory

24 committee shall be available for public inspection
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1 and copying in the Federal office responsible for

2 support of the advisory committee.

3 (k) SUBCOMMITTEES.—Each of the requirements of

4 this section that applies to an advisory committee applies

5 to any subcommittee of an advisory committee.

6 SEC. 179. CONFORMING AMENDMENT AND REPEAL.

7 (a) AMENDMENT.—The third sentence of section

8 402(d) of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act

9 of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1752(d)) is amended by striking ‘‘dis10 trict grazing advisory boards established pursuant to sec11 tion 403 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act

12 (43 U.S.C. 1753)’’ and inserting ‘‘grazing advisory coun13 cils established under section 177 of the Livestock Grazing

14 Act’’.

15 (b) REPEAL.—Section 403 of the Federal Land Pol16 icy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1753) is re17 pealed.

18 Subtitle I—Reports

19 SEC. 181. REPORTS.

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

21 and annually thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to

22 Congress a report that contains—

23 (1) an itemization of revenues received and

24 costs incurred directly in connection with the man25 agement of grazing on Federal land; and
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1 (2) recommendations for reducing administra2 tive costs and improving the overall efficiency of

3 Federal rangeland management.

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

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

6 with the implementation of any law other than a statute

7 cited in section 102, the Secretary shall indicate with spec8 ificity the costs associated with implementation of each

9 such statute.

10 (c) SUSPENSION OF IMPLEMENTATION OF OTHER

11 LAW IN ABSENCE OF REPORT.—During any period in

12 which a report due to be submitted under subsection (a)

13 has not been submitted in accordance with the require14 ments of this section, the Secretary shall conduct livestock

15 grazing management on Federal land without regard to

16 any law other than a statute cited in section 102.

17 TITLE II—GRASSLAND

18 SEC. 201. REMOVAL OF GRASSLANDS FROM NATIONAL FOR19 EST SYSTEM.

20 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that the inclusion of

21 the National Grasslands (and land utilization projects ad22 ministered under title III of the Bankhead-Jones Farm

23 Tenant Act) within the National Forest System constrains

24 the Secretary of Agriculture in managing the National
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1 Grasslands as intended under title III of the Bankhead2 Jones Farm Tenant Act (7 U.S.C. 1010 et seq.).

3 (b) AMENDMENT OF THE FOREST AND RANGELAND

4 RENEWABLE RESOURCES PLANNING ACT OF 1974.—Sec5 tion 11(a) of the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Re6 sources Planning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1609(a)) is

7 amended in the second sentence by striking ‘‘the national

8 grasslands and land utilization projects administered

9 under title III of the Bankhead-Jones Farm Tenant Act

10 (50 Stat. 525, 7 U.S.C. 1010–1012),’’.

11 (c) AMENDMENT OF THE BANKHEAD-JONES FARM

12 TENANT ACT.—Section 31 of the Bankhead-Jones Farm

13 Tenant Act (7 U.S.C. 1010) is amended by adding the

14 following:

15 ‘‘SEC. 31. LAND CONSERVATION AND LAND UTILIZATION.

16 ‘‘(a) PROGRAM.

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To accomplish the purposes

18 of the Livestock Grazing Act, the Secretary shall de19 velop a program of land conservation and utilization

20 as a basis for grassland agriculture, to promote se21 cure occupancy and economic stability of farms, and

22 thus assist in controlling soil erosion, preserving nat23 ural resources, protecting fish and wildlife, develop24 ing and protecting recreational facilities, mitigating

25 flood damage, preventing impairment of dams and
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1 reservoirs, developing energy resources, protecting

2 the watersheds of navigable streams, conserving sur3 face and subsurface moisture, and protecting public

4 land, health, safety and welfare.

5 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—In carrying out paragraph

6 (1), the Secretary shall not build an industrial park

7 or establish a private industrial or commercial enter8 prise.

9 ‘‘(b) LIVESTOCK GRAZING LEASES.—The Secretary,

10 in cooperation and coordination with grazing associations,

11 shall issue renewable livestock grazing leases to achieve

12 the land conservation and utilization goals of this sec13 tion.’’.

14 (d) CONSERVATION PROGRAMS.—In managing live15 stock grazing on National Grasslands under title I, the

16 Secretary of the Interior may continue to establish and

17 implement conservation programs authorized by title III

18 of the Bankhead-Jones Farm Tenant Act (7 U.S.C. 1010

19 et seq.)

20 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

21 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This title may be cited as the

22 ‘‘Public Rangelands Management Act of 1995’’.

23 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of this

24 Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.

Sec. 2. Effective date.
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TITLE I—MANAGEMENT OF GRAZING ON FEDERAL LAND

SUBTITLE A—GENERAL PROVISIONS

Sec. 101. Findings.

Sec. 102. Application of title.

Sec. 103. Objective.

Sec. 104. Definitions.

Sec. 105. Fundamentals of rangeland health.

Sec. 106. Land use plans.

Sec. 107. Rule of construction.

SUBTITLE B—QUALIFICATIONS AND GRAZING PREFERENCES

Sec. 111 Mandatory qualifications.

Sec. 112. Acquired land.

Sec. 113. Grazing preferences.

Sec. 114. Changes in grazing preference status.

Sec. 115. Changes in Federal land acreage.

SUBTITLE C—GRAZING MANAGEMENT

Sec. 121. Allotment management plans.

Sec. 122. Range improvements.

Sec. 123. Water rights.

Sec. 124. Management of grazing on land under the jurisdiction of other departments and agencies.

SUBTITLE D—AUTHORIZATION OF GRAZING USE

Sec. 131. Applications.

Sec. 132. Grazing permits or grazing leases.

Sec. 133. Free-use grazing permits.

Sec. 134. Other grazing authorizations.

Sec. 135. Ownership and identification of livestock.

Sec. 136. Terms and conditions.

Sec. 137. Fees and charges.

Sec. 138. Pledge of grazing permits or grazing leases as security for loans.

SUBTITLE E—CIVIL VIOLATIONS AND FAILURES OF COMPLIANCE

Sec. 141. Civil violations and failures of compliance.

SUBTITLE F—UNAUTHORIZED GRAZING USE

Sec. 151. Liability for damages.

Sec. 152. Notice and order to remove.

Sec. 153. Settlement.

Sec. 154. Impoundment and sale.

SUBTITLE G—PROCEDURE

Sec. 161. Proposed decisions.

Sec. 162. Protests.

Sec. 163. Final decisions.

Sec. 164. Appeals.
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SUBTITLE H—ADVISORY COMMITTEES

Sec. 171. Purpose.

Sec. 172. Objective.

Sec. 173. Relation to other law.

Sec. 174. Policy.

Sec. 175. General provisions.

Sec. 176. Resource advisory councils.

Sec. 177. Grazing advisory boards.

Sec. 178. Meetings.

Sec. 179. Conforming amendment and repeal.

SUBTITLE I—REPORTS

Sec. 181. Reports.

TITLE II—GRASSLAND

Sec. 201. Removal of grasslands from National Forest System.

1 SEC. 2. EFFECTIVE DATE.

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—This title and the amendments and

3 repeals made by this Act shall become effective on March

4 1, 1996.

5 (b) INTERIM PROVISION.—Until the effective date spec6 ified in subsection (a), management of livestock grazing on

7 Federal land shall be conducted in accordance with the law

8 (including regulations) in effect on May 18, 1995.

9 TITLE I—MANAGEMENT OF GRAZING ON

10 FEDERAL LAND

11 Subtitle A—General Provisions

12 SEC. 101. FINDINGS.

13 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that—

14 (1) through the cooperative and concerted efforts

15 of the Federal rangeland livestock industry, Federal

16 and State land management agencies, and the general

17 public, the Federal rangelands are in the best condi-
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1 tion they have been in during this century, and their

2 condition continues to improve;

3 (2) as a further consequence of those efforts, pop4 ulations of big game and wildlife are increasing and

5 stabilizing across vast areas of the West;

6 (3) further efforts to assist in developing and

7 nurturing that cooperation at all levels of government

8 are important, and those efforts will provide long9 term benefits to the Nation’s rangeland and their re10 lated resources;

11 (4) grazing preferences must continue to be ade12 quately safeguarded in order to promote the economic

13 stability of the western livestock industry;

14 (5) to promote the economic, cultural, and social

15 well being of western States, rural communities in the

16 western States, and the western livestock industry, it

17 is in the public interest to charge a fee for livestock

18 grazing permits and grazing leases on Federal land

19 that is based on a formula that—

20 (A) reflects a fair return to the Federal Gov21 ernment and the true costs to the permittee or

22 lessee; and

23 (B) promotes continuing cooperative stew24 ardship efforts;
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1 (6) opportunities exist for improving efficiency

2 in the administration of the range programs on Fed3 eral land, and those opportunities should be pursued

4 with goals of—

5 (A) reducing planning and analysis costs

6 and their associated paperwork, procedural, and

7 clerical burdens; and

8 (B) refocusing efforts to the direct manage9 ment of the resources themselves;

10 (7) in order to provide meaningful review and

11 oversight of the management of the public rangelands

12 and the grazing allotment on those rangelands, refine13 ment of the reporting of costs of various components

14 of the land management program is needed;

15 (8) incentives for greater local input into the

16 management of the public rangelands as well as in17 centives to encourage private investment in improve18 ment of the public rangelands will assist in those ef19 forts and are in the best interests of the United States;

20 (9) the western livestock industry that relies on

21 Federal land plays an important and integral role in

22 maintaining and preserving the social, economic, and

23 cultural base of rural communities in the western

24 States and further plays an important and integral

25 role in the economies of the 16 western States in
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1 which rangelands managed by the Secretary of the In2 terior and the Secretary of Agriculture are situated;

3 (10) maintaining the economic viability of the

4 western livestock industry is essential to maintaining

5 open space and habitat for big game, wildlife, and

6 fish, but currently there are pressures to sell the base

7 property of the Federal land ranches for subdivision

8 or other development, which would reduce or remove

9 the available open space and fish and wildlife habitat;

10 (11) since the enactment of the Federal Land

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

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

13 and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of

14 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1604) by the National Forest Man15 agement Act of 1976 (16 U.S.C. 472a et seq.), the Sec16 retary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture

17 have been charged with developing land use plans

18 that are consistent with land use plans adopted by

19 State, local, and tribal governments, but to date the

20 planning efforts have not produced land use plans for

21 Federal land that are in fact consistent with State,

22 local, or tribal planning;

23 (12) the levels of livestock grazing that were au24 thorized to be permitted as of August 1, 1993 are con-
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1 sistent with this title and may be increased or de2 creased, as appropriate, consistent with this title;

3 (13) it is a goal of this title to maintain and im4 prove the condition of riparian areas which are criti5 cal to wildlife habitat and water quality; and

6 (14) multiple use, as set forth in current law,

7 has been and continues to be a guiding principle in

8 the management of public lands and national forests.

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

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

11 1901(a)) is amended—

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

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

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

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

16 adding ‘‘and’’ at the end; and

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

18 (A) by striking ‘‘harrassment’’ and insert19 ing ‘‘harassment’’; and

20 (B) by striking the semicolon at the end and

21 inserting a period.

22 SEC. 102. APPLICATION OF ACT.

23 This title applies to—

24 (1) the management of grazing on Federal land

25 by the Secretary of the Interior under—
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1 (A) the Act of June 28, 1934 (commonly

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

3 1269, chapter 865; 43 U.S.C. 315 et seq.);

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

5 known as the ‘‘Oregon and California Railroad

6 and Coos Bay Wagon Road Grant Lands Act of

7 1937’’) (50 Stat. 874, chapter 876; 43 U.S.C.

8 1181 et seq.);

9 (C) the Federal Land Policy and Manage10 ment Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.);

11 (2) the management of grazing on Federal land

12 by the Secretary of Agriculture under—

13 (A) the 12th undesignated paragraph under

14 the heading ‘‘SURVEYING THE PUBLIC LANDS.’’

15 under the heading ‘‘UNDER THE DEPARTMENT OF

16 THE INTERIOR.’’ in the first section of the Act of

17 June 4, 1897 (commonly known as the ‘‘Organic

18 Administration Act of 1897’’) (30 Stat. 11, 35,

19 chapter 2; 16 U.S.C. 551);

20 (B) the Multiple-Use Sustained Yield Act of

21 1960 (16 U.S.C. 528 et seq.);

22 (C) the Forest and Rangeland Renewable

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

24 et seq.);
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1 (D) the National Forest Management Act of

2 1976 (16 U.S.C. 472a et seq.);

3 (E) the Federal Land Policy and Manage4 ment Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.); and

5 (F) the Public Rangelands Improvement

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

7 (3) management of grazing by the Secretary on

8 behalf of the head of another department or agency

9 under a memorandum of understanding under section

10 125.

11 Nothing in this title authorizes grazing in any unit of the

12 National Park System, National Wildlife Refuge System,

13 or on any other Federal lands where such use is prohibited

14 by statute, nor supersedes or amends any limitation on the

15 levels of use for grazing that may be specified in other Fed16 eral law, nor expands or enlarges any such prohibition or

17 limitation.

18 SEC. 103. OBJECTIVE.

19 The objective of this title is to achieve—

20 (1) orderly use, improvement, and development

21 of Federal land;

22 (2) enhancement of productivity of Federal land

23 by conservation of forage resources and reduction of

24 soil erosion and by proper management of other re25 sources such as by control of woody species invasion;
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1 (3) stabilization of livestock industry dependent

2 on the public rangeland;

3 (4) performance of an inventory and categoriza4 tion of public rangelands on the basis of proven sci5 entific monitoring of range conditions and trends;

6 (5) consideration of wildlife populations and

7 habitat, consistent with land-use plans, multiple-use,

8 sustained yield, environmental values, and economic

9 and other objectives stated in the Acts cited in section

10 102; and

11 (6) promotion of healthy, sustained rangeland.

12 SEC. 104. DEFINITIONS.

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—In this title:

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

15 the amount of authorized livestock grazing use made

16 at any time.

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

18 the number of kinds of classes of, and the length of

19 time that livestock graze on, an allotment.

20 (3) ACTUAL USE REPORT.—The term ‘‘actual use

21 report’’ means a report of the actual use submitted by

22 a permittee or lessee.

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

24 an area of designated Federal land that includes

25 management for grazing of livestock.
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1 (5) ALLOTMENT MANAGEMENT PLAN.—The term

2 ‘‘allotment management plan’’—

3 (A) means a documented program that ap4 plies to livestock grazing on an allotment; and

5 (B) includes such a documented plan that is

6 included in an activity plan that governs graz7 ing as well as other activities on Federal land.

8 (6) AUTHORIZED OFFICER.—The term ‘‘author9 ized officer’’ means a person authorized by the Sec10 retary to administer this title, the Acts cited in sec11 tion 102, and regulations issued under this title and

12 those Acts.

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

14 means—

15 (A) private land that has the capability of

16 producing crops or forage that can be used to

17 support authorized livestock for a specified pe18 riod of the year; or

19 (B) water that is suitable for consumption

20 by livestock and is available to and accessible by

21 authorized livestock when the land is used for

22 livestock grazing.

23 (8) CANCEL; CANCELLATION.—The term ‘‘cancel’’

24 and ‘‘cancellation’’ refer to a permanent termination,

25 in whole or in part, of—
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1 (A) a grazing permit or grazing lease and

2 grazing preference; or

3 (B) a free-use grazing permit or other graz4 ing authorization.

5 (9) CLASS..—The term ‘‘class’’, in reference to

6 livestock, refers to the age and sex of a group of live7 stock.

8 (10) CONSULTATION, COOPERATION, AND CO9 ORDINATION..—The term ‘‘Consultation, cooperation,

10 and coordination’’ means, for the purposes of this title

11 and section 402(d) of the Federal Land Policy and

12 Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1752(d)), engage13 ment in good faith efforts to reach consensus.

14 (11) CONTROL.—The term ‘‘control’’, in reference

15 to base property or livestock, means responsibility for

16 providing care and management of base property or

17 livestock.

18 (12) 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; but

3 (B) does not include land held in trust for

4 the benefit of Indians.

5 (13) GRAZING DISTRICT.—The term ‘‘grazing

6 district’’—

7 (A) with respect to land administered by

8 the Secretary of the Interior, means the specific

9 area within which Federal land is administered

10 under section 3 of the Act of June 28, 1934

11 (commonly known as the ‘‘Taylor Grazing Act’’)

12 (48 Stat. 1270, chapter 865; 43 U.S.C. 315b), in13 cluding lands outside grazing districts but eligi14 ble for grazing pursuant to section 15 of such

15 Act; and

16 (B) with respect to grazing on Federal land

17 administered by the Secretary of Agriculture,

18 means a national forest.

19 (14) GRAZING FEE YEAR.—The term ‘‘grazing fee

20 year’’, for billing purposes, means a 12-month period

21 that begins on March 1 of a year and ends on the last

22 day of February of the following year.

23 (15) GRAZING LEASE.—The term ‘‘grazing lease’’

24 means a document authorizing use of Federal land

25 outside grazing districts under section 15 of the Act
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1 of June 28, 1934 (commonly known as the ‘‘Taylor

2 Grazing Act’’) (48 Stat. 1275, chapter 865; 43 U.S.C.

3 315m), for the purpose of grazing livestock.

4 (16) GRAZING PERMIT.—The term ‘‘grazing per5 mit’’ means a document authorizing use of the Fed6 eral land within a grazing district under section 3 of

7 the Act of June 28, 1934 (commonly known as the

8 ‘‘Taylor Grazing Act’’) (48 Stat. 1270, chapter 865;

9 43 U.S.C. 315b), for the purpose of grazing livestock.

10 (17) GRAZING PREFERENCE.—The term ‘‘grazing

11 preference’’ means the number of animal unit months

12 of livestock grazing on Federal land as adjudicated or

13 apportioned and attached to base property owned or

14 controlled by a permittee or lessee.

15 (18) LAND BASE PROPERTY.—The term ‘‘land

16 base property’’ means base property described in

17 paragraph (7)(A).

18 (19) LAND USE PLAN.—The term ‘‘land use

19 plan’’ means—

20 (A) with respect to Federal land adminis21 tered by the Bureau of Land Management—

22 (i) a resource management plan; or

23 (ii) a management framework plan

24 that is in effect pending completion of a re25 source management plan, developed in ac-
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1 cordance with the Federal Land Policy and

2 Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et

3 seq.); and

4 (B) with respect to Federal Land adminis5 tered by the Forest Service, a land and resource

6 management plan developed in accordance with

7 section 6 of the Forest and Rangeland Resources

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

9 (20) LIVESTOCK.—The term ‘‘livestock’’ means—

10 (A) a species of domestic livestock, including

11 cattle, sheep, horses, burros, and goats; and

12 (B) a member of such a species.

13 (21) LIVESTOCK CARRYING CAPACITY.—The term

14 ‘‘livestock carrying capacity’’ means the maximum

15 sustainable stocking rate that is possible without in16 ducing permanent damage to vegetation or related re17 sources as determined by monitoring.

18 (22) MONITORING.—The term ‘‘monitoring’’

19 means the periodic observation and orderly collection

20 of data to evaluate—

21 (A) effects of ecological changes and man22 agement actions; and

23 (B) effectiveness of actions in meeting man24 agement objectives.
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1 (23) RANGE IMPROVEMENT.—The term ‘‘range

2 improvement’’ means—

3 (A) an authorized activity or program on

4 or relating to rangeland that is designed to—

5 (i) improve production of forage;

6 (ii) change vegetative composition;

7 (iii) control patterns of use;

8 (iv) provide water;

9 (v) stabilize soil and water conditions;

10 or

11 (vi) provide habitat for livestock, wild

12 horses and burros, and wildlife; and

13 (B) includes structures, treatment projects,

14 and use of mechanical means to accomplish the

15 goals described in subparagraph (A).

16 (24) RANGELAND STUDY.—The term ‘‘rangeland

17 study’’ means a method of study for collecting data on

18 actual use, utilization, climatic conditions, other spe19 cial events, production trend, and rangeland condi20 tion and trend to determine whether management ob21 jectives are being met, that—

22 (A) uses physical examination of measure23 ments of range attributes and does not rely on

24 a cursory visual scanning of land unless the con-
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1 dition to be assessed is patently obvious and re2 quires no physical examination; and

3 (B) is accepted by an authorized officer.

4 (25) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’

5 means—

6 (A) the Secretary of the Interior, in ref7 erence to livestock grazing on Federal land ad8 ministered by the Director of the Bureau of

9 Land Management; and

10 (B) the Secretary of Agriculture, in ref11 erence to livestock grazing on Federal land ad12 ministered by the Chief of the Forest Service.

13 (26) SERVICE AREA.—The term ‘‘service area’’

14 means the area that can be properly grazed by live15 stock watering at a certain water.

16 (27) STOCKING RATE.—The term ‘‘stocking rate’’

17 means the number of animal unit months authorized

18 under a grazing permit or grazing lease from year to

19 year.

20 (28) SUBLEASE.—The term ‘‘sublease’’ means an

21 agreement by a permittee or lessee that—

22 (A) allows a person other than the permittee

23 or lessee to graze livestock on Federal land with24 out controlling the base property supporting the

25 grazing permit or grazing lease; or
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1 (B) allows grazing on Federal land by live2 stock not owned or controlled by the permittee or

3 lessee.

4 (29) SUPPLEMENTAL FEED.—The term ‘‘supple5 mental feed’’ means a feed that supplements the forage

6 available from Federal land and is provided to im7 prove livestock nutrition or rangeland management.

8 (30) SUSPEND; SUSPENSION.—The terms ‘‘sus9 pend’’ and ‘‘suspension’’ refer to a temporary with10 holding, in whole or in part, of a grazing preference

11 from active use, ordered by the Secretary or done vol12 untarily by a permitee or lessee.

13 (31) UTILIZATION.—The term ‘‘utilization’’

14 means the percentage of a year’s herbage production

15 consumed or destroyed by herbivores.

16 (32) WATER BASE PROPERTY.—The term ‘‘water

17 base property’’ means base property described in

18 paragraph (7)(B).

19 (b) CONSULTATION, COOPERATION, AND COORDINA20 TION.—Section 402(d) of the Federal Land Policy and

21 Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1752(d)) is amended—

22 (1) by inserting comma after ‘‘cooperation’’ each

23 place it appears; and

24 (2) by adding at the end the following: ‘‘As used

25 in this subsection, the term ‘consultation, cooperation,
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1 and coordination’ means engagement in a good faith

2 effort to reach consensus on issues, plans, or manage3 ment actions from—

4 ‘‘(1)(A) other agencies, permittees, or lessees, and

5 affected interests involved in an activity respect to

6 which consultation, cooperation, and coordination are

7 required under this title;

8 ‘‘(2)(B) resource advisory councils established

9 under section 177 of the Livestock Grazing Act;

10 ‘‘(3)(C) any State having land within the area

11 to be covered by an allotment management plan; and

12 ‘‘(4) additional affected interests (as defined in

13 section 104(a)(4) of the Livestock Grazing Act).’’.

14 SEC. 105. FUNDAMENTALS OF RANGELAND HEALTH.

15 (a) STANDARDS AND GUIDELINES.—The Secretary

16 shall establish standards and guidelines on a State or re17 gional level in cooperation with the State department of ag18 riculture or other appropriate State agency and the land19 grant university or other appropriate institution of higher

20 education of each interested State.

21 (b) NONTRADITIONAL MANAGEMENT.—The Secretary

22 shall, where appropriate, authorize and encourage the use

23 of non-traditional grazing management practices that are

24 scientifically based on research conducted by land-grant

25 universities.
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1 (c) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this title or

2 any other law implies that a minimum national standard

3 or guideline is necessary.

4 SEC. 106. LAND USE PLANS.

5 (a) PRINCIPAL OF MULTIPLE USE AND SUSTAINED

6 YIELD.—An authorized officer shall manage livestock graz7 ing on Federal land under the principle of multiple use and

8 sustained yield and in accordance with applicable land use

9 plans.

10 (b) CONTENTS OF LAND USE PLAN.—A land use plan

11 shall—

12 (1) establish allowable resource uses (single or in

13 combination), related levels of production or use to be

14 maintained, areas of use, and resource condition goals

15 and objectives to be obtained; and

16 (2) set forth programs and general management

17 practices needed to achieve management objectives.

18 (c) APPLICATION OF NEPA.—A land use plan shall

19 be developed in conformance with the requirements of the

20 National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C.

21 4321 et seq.).

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

23 grazing activities and management actions approved by the

24 authorized officer—
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1 (1) may include any such activities as are not

2 clearly prohibited by a land use plan;

3 (2) shall not require any consideration under the

4 National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42

5 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) in addition to the studies sup6 porting the land use plan.

7 (e) SATISFACTION OF REQUIREMENTS OF OTHER

8 LAWS.—The issuance of a grazing permit or grazing lease

9 that is consistent with a land use plan shall not be consid10 ered to be a Federal action requiring the conduct of any

11 study or assessment under the National Environmental Pol12 icy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.).

13 (f) Nothing in this section is intended to override the

14 planning and public involvement processes of other Federal

15 law pertaining to Federal lands.

16 Subtitle B—Qualifications and Grazing

17 Preferences

18 SEC. 111. MANDATORY QUALIFICATIONS.

19 Except as provided under sections 112, 114, and

20 134(d), to qualify for grazing use on Federal land an appli21 cant shall—

22 (1) be engaged in the livestock business;

23 (2) own or control base property; and

24 (3) be—
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1 (A) a citizen of the United States or a per2 son who has properly filed a valid declaration of

3 intention to become a citizen or a valid petition

4 for naturalization;

5 (B) a group or association authorized to

6 conduct business in the State in which the graz7 ing use is sought, all members of which are per8 sons described in subparagraph (A); or

9 (C) a corporation authorized to conduct

10 business in the State in which the grazing use is

11 sought.

12 SEC. 112. ACQUIRED LAND.

13 With respect to land acquired by the Secretary through

14 purchase, exchange, Act of Congress, or Executive order

15 under the terms of which the Secretary is required to honor

16 an existing grazing permit or grazing lease, the permittee

17 or lessee shall be considered qualified for grazing use on that

18 land.

19 SEC. 113. GRAZING PREFERENCES.

20 (a) BASE PROPERTY.—

21 (1) CRITERIA.—An authorized officer shall find

22 land or water owned or controlled by an applicant for

23 a grazing permit or grazing lease to be base property

24 if the land or water—
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1 (A) serves as a base for a livestock operation

2 that utilizes Federal land within a grazing dis3 trict; or

4 (B) is contiguous land, or noncontiguous

5 land if no applicant for the grazing permit or

6 grazing lease owns or controls contiguous land,

7 used in conjunction with a livestock operation

8 that utilizes Federal land outside a grazing dis9 trict.

10 (2) SPECIFICATION OF LENGTH OF TIME.—After

11 appropriate consultation, cooperation, and coordina12 tion with the applicant only, an authorized officer

13 shall specify the length of time for which land base

14 property shall be considered to be capable of support15 ing authorized livestock during the year, relative to

16 the multiple use management objective of Federal

17 land.

18 (3) SUBMISSION BY APPLICANT.—An applicant

19 shall—

20 (A) provide a legal description, or plat, of

21 the base property; and

22 (B) certify to the authorized officer that the

23 base property meets the requirements under

24 paragraphs (1) and (2).

25 (4) LOSS OF OWNERSHIP OR CONTROL.—
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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in

2 subparagraph (B), if a permittee or lessee loses

3 ownership or control of all or part of the base

4 property, the grazing permit or grazing lease, to

5 the extent it was based on the lost property, shall

6 terminate immediately, without notice from the

7 authorized officer.

8 (B) EXTENSION OF TERMINATION DATE.—

9 If, prior to losing ownership or control of the

10 base property, the permittee or lessee requests in

11 writing that the grazing permit or grazing lease

12 be extended to the end of the grazing season or

13 grazing year, the authorized officer, after con14 sultation with the new owner or person in con15 trol, may grant the request.

16 (C) AVAILABILITY FOR TRANSFER.—When a

17 grazing permit or grazing lease terminates be18 cause of a loss of ownership or control of a base

19 property, the grazing preference shall remain

20 with the base property and be available for

21 transfer under subsection (c) to the new owner or

22 person in control of the base property.

23 (5) ISOLATED OR DISCONNECTED FEDERAL

24 LAND.—An applicant that owns or controls base

25 property contiguous to or cornering on a tract of Fed-
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1 eral land outside a grazing district that consists of an

2 isolated or disconnected tract embracing 760 acres or

3 less shall, for a period of 90 days after the tract has

4 been offered for grazing lease, have a preference right

5 to graze the tract.

6 (b) SPECIFYING GRAZING PREFERENCE.—

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—A grazing permit or grazing

8 lease shall specify a grazing preference that in9 cludes—

10 (A) a historical grazing preference;

11 (B) active use, based on the amount of for12 age available for livestock grazing established in

13 the land use plan;

14 (C) suspended use; and

15 (D) voluntary and temporary nonuse.

16 (2) ATTACHMENT OF GRAZING PREFERENCE.—A

17 grazing preference identified in a grazing permit or

18 grazing lease shall attach to the base property sup19 porting the grazing permit or grazing lease.

20 (3) ATTACHMENT OF ANIMAL UNIT MONTHS.—

21 The animal unit months of a grazing preference shall

22 attach to—

23 (A) the acreage of land base property on a

24 pro rata basis; or
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1 (B) water base property on the basis of live2 stock forage production within the service area of

3 the water.

4 (c) TRANSFER OF GRAZING PREFERENCE.—

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—A transfer of a grazing pref6 erence, in whole or in part, may be made in accord7 ance with this subsection.

8 (2) QUALIFICATION OF TRANSFEREE.—A trans9 feree shall meet all necessary qualifications for a graz10 ing preference under this title.

11 (3) APPLICATION.—An application to transfer a

12 grazing preference shall evidence assignment of inter13 est and obligation in range improvements authorized

14 on Federal land under section 122 and maintained in

15 conjunction with the transferred preference.

16 (4) ACCEPTANCE OR REJECTION OF TERMS AND

17 CONDITIONS.—A transferee of a grazing preference

18 may elect to accept or reject the terms and conditions

19 of the terminating grazing permit or grazing lease

20 and of any related cooperative agreement or range

21 improvement permit or to accept those terms and con22 ditions with such modifications as the transferee may

23 request and the authorized officer approve or with

24 such modifications as the authorized officer may re25 quire.
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1 (5) APPLICATION FOR GRAZING PERMIT OR

2 GRAZING LEASE.—A proposed transferee shall file an

3 application for a grazing permit or grazing lease to

4 the extent of the transferred grazing preference simul5 taneously with the filing of a transfer application.

6 (6) TRANSFERS.—

7 (A) TRANSFERS ON SALES OR GRAZING

8 LEASE OF BASE PROPERTY.—If base property is

9 sold or leased, the transferee, not later than 90

10 days after the date of sale or grazing lease, shall

11 file with the authorized officer a properly exe12 cuted transfer application that—

13 (i) identifies the base property; and

14 (ii) states the amount of grazing pref15 erence being transferred in animal unit

16 months.

17 (B) TRANSFER FROM BASE PROPERTY TO

18 BASE PROPERTY.—

19 (i) IN GENERAL.—If a grazing pref20 erence is being transferred from one base

21 property to another base property, the

22 transferor shall own or control the base

23 property from which the grazing preference

24 is being transferred and file with the au-
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1 thorized officer a properly completed trans2 fer application for approval.

3 (ii) CONSENT OF OWNER OF LEASED

4 BASE PROPERTY.—If the transferor leases

5 the base property, no transfer shall be al6 lowed without the written consent of the

7 owner and of any person or entity holding

8 an encumbrance of the base property from

9 which the transfer is to be made unless the

10 transferor is a lessee without whose livestock

11 operations the grazing preference would not

12 have been established.

13 (7) TERMINATION.—On the date of approval of a

14 transfer, the existing grazing permit or grazing lease

15 shall terminate automatically and without notice to

16 the extent of the transfer.

17 (8) ACQUISITION OF BASE PROPERTY BY PERSON

18 NOT QUALIFIED.—

19 (A) NO EFFECT FOR TWO YEARS.—For a

20 period of two years after an unqualified trans21 feree acquires rights in base property through op22 eration of law or testamentary disposition, the

23 transfer shall not—
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1 (i) affect the grazing preference or any

2 outstanding grazing permit or grazing

3 lease; or

4 (ii) preclude the issuance or renewal of

5 a grazing permit or grazing lease based on

6 the base property.

7 (B) CANCELLATION.—If an unqualified

8 transferee fails to qualify for a transfer under

9 this section within the two-year period described

10 in subparagraph (A), the grazing preference shall

11 be subject to cancellation, but the authorized offi12 cer may grant extensions of the two-year period

13 if there have been delays solely attributable to

14 probate proceedings.

15 (9) FAILURE TO COMPLY.—Failure of a trans16 feree or transferor to comply with this subsection may

17 result in rejection of the transfer application or can18 cellation of the grazing preference.

19 (d) ALLOTMENTS.—After consultation, cooperation,

20 and coordination with permittees or lessees, an authorized

21 officer may designate and adjust allotment boundaries.

22 SEC. 114. CHANGES IN GRAZING PREFERENCE STATUS.

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—An authorized officer shall periodi24 cally review the stocking rate specified in a grazing permit
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1 or grazing lease and may make changes in the status of

2 the stocking rate.

3 (b) SUPPORT.—A change in a stocking rate shall be

4 supported by monitoring, as evidenced by rangeland studies

5 conducted over time, and as is specified in an applicable

6 land use plan or as is necessary to manage, maintain, or

7 improve rangeland productivity.

8 (c) INCREASE IN ACTIVE USE.—

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Any additional forage that

10 becomes available may be apportioned to a qualified

11 applicant for livestock grazing use, consistent with

12 multiple-use management objectives.

13 (2) TEMPORARY AVAILABILITY.—Any additional

14 forage that becomes temporarily available for livestock

15 grazing use (including forage that is temporarily

16 available within an allotment because of a change in

17 grazing use under section 131(b)) may be apportioned

18 on a nonrenewable basis.

19 (3) AVAILABILITY ON SUSTAINED USE BASIS.—

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—Any additional forage

21 that becomes available on a sustained yield basis

22 for livestock grazing use shall be apportioned in

23 satisfaction of grazing preferences to the permit24 tees and lessees authorized to graze in the allot25 ment in which the forage is available before
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1 being apportioned to other persons under sub2 paragraph (B).

3 (B) APPORTIONMENT TO OTHERS.—After

4 consultation, cooperation, and coordination with

5 the permittees, lessees, and other qualified appli6 cants, additional forage on a sustained yield

7 basis available for livestock grazing use exceeding

8 the amount of grazing preferences of the permit9 tees and lessees in an allotment may be appor10 tioned in the following priority to—

11 (i) permittees and lessees in proportion

12 to their contribution or efforts that resulted

13 in increased forage production;

14 (ii) permittees or lessees in proportion

15 to the amount of their grazing preferences;

16 and

17 (iii) other qualified applicants under

18 section 131.

19 (d) DECREASE IN AUTHORIZED GRAZING USE.—

20 (1) TEMPORARY SUSPENSION.—

21 (A) IN GENERAL.—Active use may be sus22 pended in whole or in part on a temporary basis

23 to facilitate—

24 (i) recovery from drought, fire, or an25 other natural event; or
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1 (ii) installation, maintenance, or

2 modification of range improvements.

3 (B) IMPLEMENTATION.—If an authorized of4 ficer determines that the soil, vegetation, or other

5 resources on Federal land require temporary pro6 tection because of conditions such as drought,

7 fire, flood, or insect infestation, after consulta8 tion, cooperation, and coordination with affected

9 permittees or lessees, action shall be taken to

10 close allotments or portions of allotments to graz11 ing by any kind of livestock or to modify author12 ized grazing use.

13 (2) PERMANENT SUSPENSION.—When monitor14 ing shows that active use is causing an unacceptable

15 level or pattern of utilization or exceeds the livestock

16 carrying capacity, as determined through monitoring,

17 an authorized officer, after evaluating all uses and

18 implementing all reasonable and viable management

19 practices or alternatives, shall reduce active use if

20 necessary to maintain or improve rangeland produc21 tivity only if the authorized officer determines that a

22 change in other uses or a change in grazing manage23 ment practices would not achieve the management ob24 jectives.
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1 (3) PERIOD OF SUSPENSION.—When active use is

2 reduced, the active use shall be held in suspension or

3 in nonuse for conservation and protection purposes

4 until the authorized officer determines that active use

5 may resume.

6 (e) IMPLEMENTATION OF CHANGES IN AVAILABLE

7 FORAGE.—

8 (1) PHASING-IN.—A change in active use in ex9 cess of ten percent shall be implemented over a five10 year period, unless, after consultation, cooperation,

11 and coordination with the affected permittees or les12 sees, an agreement is reached to implement the in13 crease or decrease over less than a five-year period.

14 (2) SUSPENSION OF GRAZING PREFERENCE.—

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—After consultation, co16 operation, and coordination with the permittee

17 or lessee, a suspension of a grazing preference

18 shall be implemented through a documented

19 agreement or by decision of an authorized officer.

20 (B) DATA AVAILABLE.—If acceptable range

21 analysis data are poorly gathered, analyzed, and

22 reviewed by the authorized officer, an initial de23 crease shall be taken on the effective date of the

24 agreement or decision and the balance taken in
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1 the third and fifth years following that effective

2 date, except as provided in paragraph (1).

3 (C) DATA NOT AVAILABLE.—If data accept4 able to the authorized officer to support an ini5 tial decrease are not available—

6 (i) additional data shall be collected

7 through monitoring and in coordination

8 with the land-grant university (or other ap9 propriate institution of higher education)

10 and department of agriculture of the State;

11 and

12 (ii) adjustments based on the addi13 tional data shall be implemented by agree14 ment or decision that will initiate the five15 year implementation period.

16 SEC. 115. CHANGES IN FEDERAL LAND ACREAGE.

17 (a) INCREASES IN LAND ACREAGE.—If land outside

18 a designated allotment becomes available for livestock graz19 ing—

20 (1) the forage available for livestock shall be

21 made available to a qualified applicant at the discre22 tion of the authorized officer; and

23 (2) grazing use shall be apportioned under sec24 tion 131.

25 (b) DECREASE IN LAND ACREAGE.—
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—If there is a decrease in Fed2 eral land acreage available for livestock grazing with3 in an allotment—

4 (A) grazing permits or grazing leases may

5 be canceled, suspended, or modified as appro6 priate to reflect the changed area of use; and

7 (B) grazing preferences may be canceled or

8 suspended in whole or in part.

9 (2) EQUITABLE APPORTIONMENT.—A cancella10 tion or suspension determined by the authorized offi11 cer to be necessary to protect Federal land—

12 (A) shall be apportioned as agreed among

13 the authorized users and the authorized officer;

14 or

15 (B) if no agreement is reached, shall be eq16 uitably apportioned by the authorized officer

17 based on the level of available forage and mag18 nitude of the change in Federal land acreage

19 available.

20 (3) DISPOSITION OR USE FOR PUBLIC PUR21 POSE.—

22 (A) IN GENERAL.—If Federal land is dis23 posed of or devoted to a public purpose so as to

24 preclude livestock grazing, the Secretary shall,

25 except in a case of emergency such as need to
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1 satisfy a national defense requirement in time of

2 war or a natural disaster, provide permittees

3 and lessees two years’ notice prior to cancellation

4 of grazing permits, grazing leases, and grazing

5 preferences.

6 (B) WAIVER.—A permittee or lessee may

7 unconditionally waive the two-year prior notifi8 cation required by subparagraph (A).

9 (C) RIGHT TO COMPENSATION.—A waiver

10 under subparagraph (B) shall not prejudice a

11 permittee’s or lessee’s right to reasonable com12 pensation at (but not in excess of) the fair mar13 ket value of the permittee’s or lessee’s interest in

14 authorized permanent range improvements lo15 cated on Federal land.

16 Subtitle C—Grazing Management

17 SEC. 121. ALLOTMENT MANAGEMENT PLANS.

18 (a) If the Secretary concerned elects to develop an al19 lotment management plan for a given area, he shall do so

20 in careful and considered consultation, cooperation, and co21 ordination with the lessees, permittees, and landowners in22 volved, the Resource Advisory Councils and the Grazing Ad23 visory Boards established pursuant to section 176 and sec24 tion 177, and any State or States having lands within the

25 area to be covered by such allotment management plan.
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1 (b) CONTENTS.—An allotment management plan

2 shall—

3 (1) include the terms and conditions described in

4 section 136;

5 (2) prescribe the livestock grazing practices nec6 essary to meet specific multiple-use management ob7 jectives;

8 (3) specify the limits of flexibility within which

9 the permittee or lessee may adjust operations without

10 prior approval of the authorized officer; and

11 (4) provide for monitoring to evaluate the effec12 tiveness of management actions in achieving the spe13 cific multiple-use management objectives of the plan.

14 (c) PRIVATE AND STATE LAND.—Private and State

15 land shall be included in an allotment management plan

16 with the consent or at the request of the person that owns

17 or controls the land.

18 (d) INCORPORATION IN GRAZING PERMITS AND GRAZ19 ING LEASES.—An allotment management plan shall be in20 corporated into the affected grazing permits and grazing

21 leases.

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, mainte4 nance, or use of a permanent range improvement or

5 development of a rangeland to achieve a management

6 or resource 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 permanent range

14 improvement under a range improvement coop15 erative agreement shall be in the name of the

16 permittee or lessee and of the United States, re17 spectively, in proportion to the value of the con18 tributions (funding, material, and labor) toward

19 the initial cost of construction by the United

20 States and the permittee or lessee, respectively.

21 (B) VALUE OF FEDERAL LAND.—For the

22 purpose of subparagraph (A), only a contribu23 tion to the construction, installation, modifica24 tion, or maintenance of a permanent rangeland

25 improvement itself, and not the value of Federal
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1 land on which the improvement is placed, shall

2 be taken into account.

3 (C) MAINTENANCE.—Maintenance of range

4 improvements in the form of time as labor or

5 monetary expenditures shall be applied to the

6 value and percentage of ownership proportionate

7 to the value of the contribution by a party to the

8 cooperative agreement.

9 (4) NONSTRUCTURAL RANGE IMPROVEMENTS.—A

10 range improvement cooperative agreement shall en11 sure that the respective parties enjoy the benefits of

12 any nonstructural range improvement, such as seed13 ing, spraying, and chaining, in proportion to each

14 party’s contribution to the improvement.

15 (5) INCENTIVE.—A range improvement coopera16 tive agreement shall contain terms and conditions

17 that are designed to provide a permittee or lessee an

18 incentive for investing in range improvements.

19 (b) RANGE IMPROVEMENTS PERMITS.—

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

21 apply for a range improvement permit to construct,

22 install, modify, maintain, or use a range improve23 ment that is needed to achieve management objectives

24 within the permittee’s or lessee’s allotment.
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1 (2) FUNDING.—A permittee or lessee shall agree

2 to provide full funding for construction, installation,

3 modification, or maintenance of a range improvement

4 covered by a range improvement permit.

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

6 improvement permit shall be issued at the discretion

7 of the authorized officer.

8 (4) TITLE.—Title to an authorized permanent

9 range improvement under a range improvement per10 mit shall be in the name of the permittee or lessee.

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

12 ponds or wells authorized by a range improvement

13 permit shall be controlled by the permittee or lessee

14 holding a range improvement permit.

15 (c) STANDARDS, DESIGN, AND STIPULATIONS.—A

16 range improvement cooperative agreement under subsection

17 (a) and a range improvement permit under subsection (b)

18 shall specify the standards and design, construction, and

19 maintenance criteria for the range improvements.

20 (d) ASSIGNMENT OF RANGE IMPROVEMENTS.—An au21 thorized officer shall not approve the transfer of a grazing

22 preference under section 113(c) or approve use by the trans23 feree of existing range improvements unless the transferee

24 has agreed to compensate the transferor for the transferor’s
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1 interest in the authorized improvements within the allot2 ment as of the date of the transfer.

3 (e) REMOVAL AND COMPENSATION FOR LOSS OF

4 RANGE IMPROVEMENTS.—

5 (1) PROHIBITION OF REMOVAL.—A person shall

6 not remove a range improvement from Federal land

7 without authorization by the authorized officer.

8 (2) REQUIREMENT TO REMOVE.—The authorized

9 officer may require a permittee or lessee to remove a

10 range improvement on Federal land that the permit11 tee or lessee owns if the improvement is no longer

12 helping to achieve land use plan or allotment goals

13 and objectives or if the improvement fails to meet the

14 standards and criteria of subsection (c).

15 (3) CANCELLATION OF GRAZING PERMIT OR

16 GRAZING LEASE.—

17 (A) IN GENERAL.—If a grazing permit or

18 grazing lease is canceled in order to devote Fed19 eral land covered by the grazing permit or graz20 ing lease to another public purpose, including

21 disposal, the permittee or lessee shall be entitled

22 to receive from the United States reasonable com23 pensation for the value of the permittee’s or les24 see’s interest in authorized permanent range im25 provements purchased by the permittee or lessee
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1 or placed or constructed by the permittee or les2 see on Federal land covered by the canceled graz3 ing permit or grazing lease.

4 (B) FAIR MARKET VALUE.—The value of a

5 permittee’s or lessee’s interest under subpara6 graph (A) shall be equal to the fair market value

7 of the terminated portion of the permittee’s or

8 lessee’s interest in the permanent range improve9 ments.

10 (C) SALVAGE AND REHABILITATION.—In a

11 case in which a range improvement is authorized

12 by a range improvement permit or range im13 provement cooperative agreement, the permittee

14 or lessee may elect to salvage materials and per15 form rehabilitation measures rather than accept

16 compensation for the fair market value.

17 (4) CANCELLATION OF RANGE IMPROVEMENT

18 PERMIT OR COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT.—If a range

19 improvement permit or range improvement coopera20 tive agreement is canceled, the permittee or lessee

21 shall be allowed 180 days after the date of cancella22 tion in which to salvage material owned by the lessee

23 or permittee and perform rehabilitation measures ne24 cessitated by the salvage.
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1 (A) CONTRIBUTIONS.—An authorized officer

2 may accept contributions of labor, material,

3 equipment, or money for administration, protec4 tion, and improvement of Federal land necessary

5 to achieve the objectives of this title.

6 (B) TRANSFER OF OWNERSHIP OF IMPROVE7 MENTS.—

8 (i) MEDIATION.—An authorized officer

9 may—

10 (I) mediate a dispute regarding

11 reasonable compensation in connection

12 with a transfer of ownership of a range

13 improvement; and

14 (II) following consultation with

15 the interested parties, make a deter16 mination concerning the fair and rea17 sonable share of operation and mainte18 nance expenses and compensation for

19 use of authorized range improvements.

20 (ii) NO AGREEMENT.—If an agreement

21 on the amount of compensation cannot be

22 reached, the authorized officer shall issue a

23 temporary grazing authorization, including

24 appropriate terms and conditions and the

25 requirement to compensate the permittee or
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1 lessee for the fair share of operation and

2 maintenance, as determined by the author3 ized officer.

4 SEC. 123. MONITORING.

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Any monitoring or inspection of al6 lotment territory for condition or compliance with grazing

7 rules and regulations and the terms and conditions of graz8 ing permits and allotment management plans shall be per9 formed only by the permittee, qualified personnel, qualified

10 consultants retained by the United States, or qualified con11 sultants retained by the grazing permittee or lessee. An in12 dividual is qualified within the meaning of this section if

13 he or she possesses the training, educational credentials or

14 experience necessary to properly perform such monitoring

15 or inspection.

16 (b) REQUIREMENT OF REQUESTING PERMITTEE OR

17 LESSEE PARTICIPATION IN ALLOTMENT MONITORING.—No

18 inspection or monitoring documentation, data, informa19 tion, or reports shall be relied on, or included in the permit20 tee’s or lessee’s allotment file in any form unless the permit21 tee or lessee has been invited and allowed to be present at

22 and to participate in the inspection or other activity in

23 which the information or data was gathered or which re24 sulted in the report. No invitation to the permittee’s or les25 see’s presence shall be valid for the purposes of this section
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1 unless the qualified personnel carrying out the inspection

2 or monitoring activity made reasonable accommodations to

3 the permittee’s or lessee’s schedule and circumstances allow

4 the permittee or lessee to be present.

5 SEC. 124. WATER RIGHTS.

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

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

8 administered, or transferred in connection with livestock

9 grazing management other than in accordance with State

10 law concerning the use and appropriation of water within

11 the State.

12 (b) STATE LAW.—In managing livestock grazing on

13 Federal land, the Secretary shall follow State law with re14 gard to water ownership.

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

16 shall be construed to create an expressed or implied reserva17 tion of water rights in the United States.

18 SEC. 125. MANAGEMENT OF GRAZING ON LAND UNDER THE

19 JURISDICTION OF OTHER DEPARTMENTS

20 AND AGENCIES.

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—In the case of land under the ad22 ministrative jurisdiction of the head of another entity in

23 the department or of another department or agency on

24 which grazing is managed by the Secretary on behalf of the

25 head of that entity, department, or agency, the Secretary
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1 shall enter into a memorandum of understanding setting

2 out the terms and conditions under which grazing will be

3 managed on that land.

4 (b) APPLICATION OF TITLE.—This title shall apply to

5 management of grazing under subsection (a) except to the

6 extent that the Secretary, in consultation with the head of

7 the department or agency with jurisdiction over the land,

8 in view of the needs of the other department or agency or

9 the applicability of other law, requires application of dif10 ferent rules; Provided, That title II shall govern the man11 agement of grazing on national grasslands.

12 Subtitle D—Authorization of Grazing Use

13 SEC. 131. APPLICATIONS.

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—An application for a grazing per15 mit or grazing lease authorizing active use and nonuse, a

16 free-use grazing permit, or other grazing authorization shall

17 be filed with the authorized officer at the local Bureau of

18 Land Management or Forest Service office having jurisdic19 tion over the Federal land that is the subject of the applica20 tion.

21 (b) CHANGES IN GRAZING USE.—

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—In the case of any grazing fee

23 year, an application for a change in grazing use

24 should be filed with the authorized officer before the
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1 billing notice for the affected grazing use has been is2 sued for the grazing fee year.

3 (2) LATE FILING.—An application for a change

4 in grazing use filed after a billing notice for the af5 fected grazing use has been issued that requires the is6 suance of a replacement or supplemental billing no7 tice shall be subject to a service charge under section

8 137(d).

9 (3) AUTHORITY TO GRANT.—An authorized offi10 cer may grant an application for a change in grazing

11 use.

12 (c) CONFLICTING APPLICATIONS.—

13 (1) FACTORS TO BE CONSIDERED.—If more than

14 one qualified applicant applies for livestock grazing

15 use of the same Federal land or if additional forage

16 for livestock or additional acreage becomes available,

17 an authorized officer may authorize grazing use of the

18 Federal land or use of forage—

19 (A) as provided in section 114(c); or

20 (B) on the basis of any of the following fac21 tors:

22 (i) Historical use of Federal land.

23 (ii) Proper range management and use

24 of water for livestock.
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1 (iii) General needs of the applicants’

2 livestock operations.

3 (iv) Topography.

4 (v) Other land use requirements unique

5 to the situation.

6 (2) FACTOR NOT TO BE CONSIDERED.—In au7 thorizing grazing use or use of forage under para8 graph (1), an authorized officer shall not take into

9 consideration the past practice or present willingness

10 of an applicant to allow public access to Federal land

11 over private land.

12 SEC. 132. GRAZING PERMITS OR GRAZING LEASES.

13 (a) SPECIFICATION OF TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—A

14 grazing permit or grazing lease shall specify terms and con15 ditions as required by section 136.

16 (b) TERM.—A grazing permit or grazing lease shall

17 be issued for a term of 15 years unless—

18 (1) the land is pending disposal;

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

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

21 or

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

23 the best interest of sound land management to specify

24 a shorter term, if the decision to specify a shorter
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1 term is supported by appropriate and accepted re2 source analysis and evaluation.

3 (c) RENEWAL.—A permittee or lessee holding a grazing

4 permit or grazing lease shall be given first priority at the

5 end of the term for renewal of the grazing permit or grazing

6 lease if—

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

8 grazing lease is issued remains available for domestic

9 livestock grazing;

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

11 this title and the terms and conditions of the grazing

12 permit or grazing lease; and

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

14 conditions included by the authorized officer in the

15 new grazing permit or grazing lease.

16 SEC. 133. FREE-USE GRAZING PERMITS.

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—A free-use grazing permit may be

18 issued, consistent with the title, to an applicant—

19 (1) whose residence is adjacent to Federal land

20 within a grazing district;

21 (2) who needs Federal land to support domestic

22 livestock owned by the applicant; and

23 (3) whose products or work related to livestock

24 grazing are used directly and exclusively by the ap25 plicant and the applicant’s family.
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1 (b) CONFLICTING APPLICATIONS.—The issuance of a

2 free-use grazing permit is subject to section 131(c).

3 (c) TERM.—A free-use grazing permit shall be issued

4 for a term of one year.

5 (d) NO TRANSFER OR ASSIGNMENT.—A free-use graz6 ing permit may not be transferred or assigned.

7 SEC. 134. OTHER GRAZING AUTHORIZATIONS.

8 (a) EXCHANGE-OF-USE GRAZING AGREEMENTS.—

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—An exchange-of-use grazing

10 agreement may be issued to any applicant that owns

11 or controls land that is unfenced and intermingled

12 with Federal land when use under such an agreement

13 would be in harmony with the management objectives

14 for the allotment.

15 (2) EXTENT OF USE.—An exchange-of-use graz16 ing agreement may authorize use of Federal land to

17 the extent of the livestock carrying capacity of the

18 land offered in exchange-of-use.

19 (3) NO FEE.—No fee shall be charged for grazing

20 use under an exchange-of-use agreement.

21 (b) NONRENEWABLE GRAZING PERMITS AND GRAZING

22 LEASES.—A nonrenewable grazing permit or grazing lease

23 maybe issued on an annual basis to a qualified applicant

24 when forage is temporarily available if grazing use under

25 the grazing permit or grazing lease—
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1 (1) is consistent with multiple-use objectives; and

2 (2) does not interfere with other livestock oper3 ations on the Federal land concerned.

4 (c) CROSSING PERMITS.—An applicant showing the

5 necessity for crossing Federal land or other land under con6 trol of the Secretary with livestock for proper and lawful

7 purposes may be issued a crossing permit on such terms

8 and conditions as the authorized officer considers necessary

9 to achieve the objectives of this title.

10 (d) SPECIAL GRAZING PERMITS OR GRAZING

11 LEASES.—

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—A special grazing permit or

13 grazing lease authorizing grazing use by privately

14 owned or controlled indigenous animals may be is15 sued at the discretion of the authorized officer, con16 sistent with multiple-use objectives.

17 (2) TERM.—A special grazing permit or grazing

18 lease shall be issued for such a term as the authorized

19 officer considers to be appropriate, not to exceed 10

20 years.

21 (e) NO PRIORITY; NO TRANSFER OR ASSIGNMENT.—

22 An exchange-of-use grazing agreement, nonrenewable graz23 ing permit or grazing lease, crossing permit, or special

24 grazing permit or grazing lease shall have no priority for

25 renewal and may not be transferred or assigned.
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1 SEC. 135. OWNERSHIP AND IDENTIFICATION OF LIVESTOCK.

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

3 control and be responsible for the management of the live4 stock that graze the Federal land under a grazing permit

5 or grazing lease.

6 (b) COMPLIANCE WITH STATE REQUIREMENTS.—An

7 authorized user shall comply with the requirements of the

8 State in which Federal land is located relating to branding,

9 marking, or tagging of livestock, breed, grade, and number

10 of bulls, health, and sanitation.

11 (c) MARKING OR TAGGING.—An authorized officer

12 shall not impose any marking or tagging requirement in

13 addition to the requirement under State law.

14 (d) FILING OF CONTROL AGREEMENT AND BRAND.—

15 A permittee or lessee that controls but does not own the live16 stock that graze Federal land shall file with the authorized

17 officer—

18 (1) the agreement that gives the permittee or les19 see control of the livestock; and

20 (2) the brand and other identifying marks on the

21 livestock.

22 SEC. 136. TERMS AND CONDITIONS.

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—

24 (1) SPECIFICATIONS.—An authorized officer

25 shall specify in a grazing permit or grazing lease the

26 kind and number of livestock, the periods of use, the
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1 allotments to be used, and the amount of use (stated

2 in animal unit months) for each grazing permit or

3 grazing lease.

4 (2) AMOUNT OF USE.—The amount of livestock

5 grazing use that is authorized in a grazing permit or

6 grazing lease shall not exceed the livestock carrying

7 capacity of the Federal land concerned, as determined

8 through monitoring and adjusted as necessary under

9 section 114.

10 (3) GENERAL.—A grazing lease or permit shall

11 be subject to such other reasonable terms or conditions

12 as may be required by this Act.

13 (b) NO SPECIAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—An au14 thorized officer shall not impose any term or condition in

15 a grazing permit or grazing lease other than a term or con16 dition described in subsection (a) or as contained in an al17 lotment management plan as described in section 121.

18 (c) MODIFICATION.—Following careful and considered

19 consultation, cooperation, and coordination with permittees

20 and lessees, an authorized officer may modify the terms and

21 conditions of a grazing permit or grazing lease if monitor22 ing data show that the grazing use is not meeting the land

23 use plan or management objectives.

24 (d) SUBLEASING.—The Secretary shall not permit—
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1 (1) the lease or sublease of a Federal grazing per2 mit or lease, associated with the lease or sublease of

3 base property, to another party without a required

4 transfer approved by the Secretary;

5 (2) the lease or sublease of a Federal grazing per6 mit or lease to another party without the assignment

7 of the associated base property;

8 (3) allowing another party, other than a spouse,

9 child, or grandchild of the permittee or lessee to graze

10 livestock that are not owned or controlled by the per11 mittee or lessee on public lands, unless such grazing

12 use is due to the lessee or permittee being unable to

13 make full grazing use due to the ill health or death

14 of the permittee or lessee; or

15 (4) allowing another party, other than a spouse,

16 child, or grandchild of the permittee or lessee to graze

17 livestock on public lands under a pasturing agreement

18 without the approval of the Secretary.

19 SEC. 137. FEES AND CHARGES.

20 (a) DEFINITION.—Animal unit month. The term ‘‘ani21 mal unit month’’ means one month’s use and occupancy

22 of range by—

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

24 mule, seven sheep, or seven goats, each of which is six
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1 months of age or older on the date on which the ani2 mal begins grazing on Federal land;

3 (2) any such animal regardless of age if the ani4 mal is weaned on the date on which the animal be5 gins grazing on Federal land; and

6 (3) any such animal that will become 12 months

7 of age during the period of use authorized under a

8 grazing permit or grazing lease.

9 (b) LIVESTOCK NOT COUNTED.—There shall not be

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

11 for grazing by—

12 (1) an animal that is less than six months of age

13 on the date on which the animal begins grazing on

14 Federal land and is the natural progeny of an animal

15 on which a grazing fee is paid if the animal is re16 moved from the Federal land before becoming 12

17 months of age; or

18 (2) an animal that is progeny, born during the

19 period of use authorized under a grazing permit or

20 grazing lease, of an animal on which a grazing fee is

21 paid.

22 (c) GRAZING FEES.—

23 (1) BASIC FEE.—The basic fee for each animal

24 unit month in a grazing fee year to be determined by

25 the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest
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1 Service shall be equal to the three-year average of the

2 total gross value of production for beef cattle, as com3 piled by the Economic Research Service of the De4 partment of Agriculture in accordance with para5 graph (2) on the basis of economic data published by

6 the Service in the Economic Indicators of the Farm

7 Sector: Cost of Production—Major Field Crops &

8 Livestock and Dairy for the three years preceding the

9 grazing fee year, multiplied by .06 and divided by 12.

10 (2) CRITERIA.—

11 IN GENERAL.—The Economic Research

12 Service of the Department of Agriculture shall:

13 continue to compile the gross production value of

14 production of beef cattle as reported in a dollar

15 per bred cow basis in the ‘‘U.S. Cow-Calf Pro16 duction Cash Costs and Returns.’’.

17 (3) SURCHARGE.—

18 (A) A surcharge shall be added to the graz19 ing fee billings for authorized grazing of livestock

20 owned by persons other than the permittee or les21 see except where—

22 (1) such use is made by livestock

23 owned by a spouse, child, or grandchild of

24 the permittee and lessee; or
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1 (2) the permittee or lessee is unable to

2 make full grazing use, as authorized by a

3 grazing permit or lease, due to the informed

4 condition or death of the permittee or lessee.

5 (B) The surcharge shall be over and above

6 any other fees that may be charged for public

7 land forage.

8 (C) Surcharges shall be paid prior to graz9 ing use.

10 (D) The surcharge for authorized pasturing

11 of livestock owned by persons other than the per12 mittee or lessee will be equal to 25 percentum of

13 the difference between the current year’s Federal

14 grazing fee and the prior year’s private grazing

15 land lease rate per AUM for the appropriate

16 State as compiled by the national Agricultural

17 Statistics Service.

18 (E) IN GENERAL.—The Bureau of Land

19 Management and the Forest Service shall make

20 a determination under paragraph (1) based on

21 the following information gathered by the Na22 tional Agriculture Statistics Service of the De23 partment of the Agriculture with respect to the

24 largest single grazing lease of each grazing oper25 ator (in terms of dollars):
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1 (i) Whether the operator charged—

2 (I) per acre;

3 (II) per head per month;

4 (III) per pound of gain;

5 (IV) per hundredweight of gain;

6 or

7 (V) by another measure, and the

8 rate charged.

9 (ii)(I) The estimated average pounds

10 gained per season for the grazing lease.

11 (II) The total dollar amount estimated

12 to be realized from the grazing lease.

13 (III) Grazing lease acreage.

14 (IV) The State and county where the

15 grazing lease is located.

16 (iii) The classes of livestock grazed.

17 (iv) The term of the grazing lease.

18 (v)(I) Whether grazing lease payments

19 are paid if no grazing occurred.

20 (II) Whether the grazing lease contains

21 a take or pay provision.

22 (vi) Additional information on whether

23 the following are provided by the lessor on

24 a five-year basis:

25 (I) Fencing maintenance;
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1 (II) Animal management and

2 oversight;

3 (III) Water maintenance;

4 (IV) Salt and minerals;

5 (V) Other service (specified);

6 (VI) No services;

7 (VII) Hunting;

8 (VIII) Fishing;

9 (IX) Other (specified); and

10 (X) None.

11 (F) PRIVATE NATIVE RANGELAND.—For the

12 purpose of determining rates for grazing leases of

13 private native rangeland, rates for irrigated pas14 ture, crop aftermath, and dryland winter wheat

15 shall be excluded.

16 (4) PAYMENT.—

17 (A) DUE DATE.—A grazing fee shall be due

18 on the due date specified in the billing notice.

19 (B) PAYMENT PRIOR TO USE.—A grazing

20 fee shall be paid prior to grazing use.

21 (C) BILLING AFTER GRAZING SEASON.—If

22 an allotment management plan provides for bill23 ing after the grazing season, a grazing fee shall

24 be based on actual grazing use and shall be due

25 upon issuance.
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1 (5) REFUNDS.—

2 (A) IN GENERAL.—A grazing fee may be re3 funded if an application for change in grazing

4 use and related refund is filed prior to the period

5 of use for which the refund is requested.

6 (B) FAILURE TO MAKE GRAZING USE.—

7 (i) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided

8 in subparagraph (B), no refund shall be

9 made for failure to make grazing use.

10 (ii) RANGE DEPLETION OR DISEASE.—

11 During a period of range depletion due to

12 drought, fire, or other natural cause, or in

13 case of a general spread of disease among

14 the livestock that occurs during the term of

15 a grazing permit or grazing lease, an au16 thorized officer may credit or refund a graz17 ing fee in whole or in part or postpone fee

18 payment for as long as the emergency exists.

19 (d) OTHER FEES AND CHARGES.—

20 (1) CROSSING PERMITS, TRANSFERS, AND BILL21 ING NOTICES.—A service charge shall be assessed for

22 each crossing permit, transfer of grazing preference,

23 and replacement or supplemental billing notice except

24 in a case in which the action is initiated by the au25 thorized officer.
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1 (2) AMOUNT OF FLPMA FEES AND CHARGES.—

2 The fees and charges under section 304(a) of the Fed3 eral Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43

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

5 be adjusted periodically as costs change.

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

7 a service shall be published in the Federal Register.

8 (e) REPEAL.—Section 6(a) of the Public Rangelands

9 Improvement Act of 1978 (43 U.S.C. 1905) is repealed.

10 (f) APPLICATION OF SECTION.—This section applies to

11 the management of livestock grazing on Western Federal

12 land by the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the

13 Chief of the Forest Service, as well as to the Secretary.

14 SEC. 138. PLEDGE OF GRAZING PERMITS OR GRAZING

15 LEASES AS SECURITY FOR LOANS.

16 (a) RENEWAL.—A grazing permit or grazing lease that

17 has been pledged as security for a loan from a lending agen18 cy shall be renewed by the authorized officer for a period

19 of not to exceed 15 years if—

20 (1) the loan is for the purpose of furthering the

21 permittee’s or lessee’s livestock operation;

22 (2) the permittee or lessee has complied with this

23 title; and

24 (3) renewal would be in accordance with other

25 applicable laws.
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1 (b) EFFECT OF PLEDGE.—The pledging of a grazing

2 permit or grazing lease as security for a loan from a lend3 ing agency shall not exempt the grazing permit or grazing

4 lease from this title.

5 Subtitle E—Civil Violations and Failures of

6 Compliance

7 SEC. 141. CIVIL VIOLATIONS AND FAILURES OF COMPLI8 ANCE.

9 (a) SCOPE OF SECTION.—

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—This section states all of the

11 violations and failures of compliance that pertain

12 specifically to livestock grazing on Federal land that

13 may result in imposition of a sanction described in

14 subsection (c) against a person in the person’s capac15 ity as a permittee, lessee, or applicant for a grazing

16 permit or grazing lease.

17 (2) OTHER VIOLATIONS.—A permittee, lessee, or

18 applicant for a grazing permit or grazing lease that

19 commits a violation relating to Federal land under a

20 law that applies to all persons generally shall be sub21 ject to penalty under that law.

22 (b) IN GENERAL.—A person that knowingly and will23 fully does one of the following shall be subject to a civil

24 sanction under subsection (c):
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1 (1) Fails to make substantial grazing use as au2 thorized by a grazing permit or grazing lease for two

3 consecutive fee years.

4 (2) Places supplemental feed on land covered by

5 a grazing permit or grazing lease without authoriza6 tion.

7 (3) Fails to comply with a term, condition, or

8 stipulation of a range improvement cooperative agree9 ment or range improvement permit.

10 (4) Enters into an unauthorized sublease.

11 (5) Allows livestock or another privately owned

12 or controlled animal to graze on or be driven across

13 Federal land—

14 (A) without a grazing permit, grazing lease,

15 or other grazing use authorization;

16 (B) in violation of a term or condition of

17 a grazing permit, grazing lease, or other grazing

18 use authorization, including a provision stating

19 the number of livestock covered by the authoriza20 tion;

21 (C) in an area or at a time different from

22 that authorized; or

23 (D) if the livestock is not identified in com24 pliance with section 135.
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1 (6) Installs, uses, modifies, or removes a range

2 improvement on Federal land without authorization.

3 (7) Damages or removes Federal Government

4 property from Federal land without authorization.

5 (8) Molests livestock authorized to graze on Fed6 eral land.

7 (9) Interferes with a lawful grazing use or lawful

8 user.

9 (10) Makes a false statement or representation in

10 a base property certification, grazing application,

11 range improvement permit application, cooperative

12 agreement, or actual use report, or an amendment

13 thereto.

14 (11) Grazes livestock on Federal land not sub15 stantially in compliance with State livestock require16 ments relating to—

17 (A) branding, marking, or tagging of live18 stock;

19 (B) breed, grade, or number of bulls; or

20 (C) health or sanitation.

21 (c) PENALTIES.—

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—In a case of a violation or

23 failure of compliance described in subsection (b), an

24 authorized officer may—
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1 (A) withhold issuance of a grazing permit

2 or grazing lease for a period of time;

3 (B) suspend the grazing use authorized

4 under a grazing permit or grazing lease for a pe5 riod of time, in whole or in part; or

6 (C) cancel a grazing permit or grazing lease

7 and grazing preference, or a free-use grazing per8 mit or other grazing authorization, in whole or

9 in part.

10 (2) A grazing lease or permit may be cancelled,

11 suspended, or modified for—

12 (A) any violation of this title, or for

13 (B) any violation of a term or condition of

14 the permit or lease, or for

15 (C) conviction for failure to comply with

16 Federal laws or regulations relating to protection

17 of air, water, soil and vegetation, fish and wild18 life, and other environmental values when exer19 cising the grazing use authorized by the permit

20 or lease.

21 (3) SECOND OR SUBSEQUENT WILLFUL VIOLA22 TION.—In a case of a second or subsequent willful

23 civil violation described in subsection (a), an author24 ized officer shall—
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1 (A) suspend the grazing use authorized

2 under a grazing permit for a period of time, in

3 whole or in part; or

4 (B) cancel a grazing permit or grazing lease

5 and grazing preference, in whole or in part.

6 (4) CONSIDERATION OF SEVERITY.—A deter7 mination of the length of time that a grazing permit

8 or grazing lease will be withheld or suspended or that

9 a grazing permit or grazing lease will be canceled

10 shall reflect the severity of the violation or failure of

11 compliance.

12 (5) REFERRAL FOR ACTION UNDER SUBTITLE

13 F.—If a person other than a permittee or lessee vio14 lates subsection (a)(5), and the person has not made

15 satisfactory settlement under section 153, the author16 ized officer shall refer the matter to proper authorities

17 for appropriate legal action by the United States

18 against the violator under subtitle F.

19 (6) SUBLEASES.—

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—A person who violates

21 subsection (b)(4) shall be required to pay to the

22 United States the dollar equivalent value, as de23 termined by the authorized officer, of all com24 pensation received for the sublease that is in ex25 cess of the sum of the established grazing fee and
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1 the cost incurred by the person for the installa2 tion and maintenance of authorized range im3 provements.

4 (B) FAILURE TO PAY.—If the dollar equiva5 lent value is not received by the authorized offi6 cer within 30 days of receipt of a final decision,

7 the grazing permit or grazing lease shall be can8 celed.

9 (C) ADDITIONAL PENALTY.—Payment under

10 this paragraph shall be in addition to any other

11 penalties the authorized officer may impose

12 under this subsection.

13 (7) FAILURE TO USE.—After consultation, co14 operation, and coordination, the authorized officer

15 may cancel a grazing preference to the extent of fail16 ure to use when a permittee or lessee has failed to

17 make substantial grazing use as authorized for two

18 consecutive years.

19 Subtitle F—Unauthorized Grazing Use

20 SEC. 151. LIABILITY FOR DAMAGES.

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—A person who commits a violation

22 described in section 141(b)(5) shall be liable in damages to

23 the United States for—

24 (1) the value of forage consumed by the livestock

25 of the person;
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1 (2) injury to Federal property caused by unau2 thorized grazing use; and

3 (3) expenses incurred in impoundment and sale

4 of the person’s livestock.

5 (b) NO LIABILITY.—In no circumstances shall a person

6 be liable in damages to the United States for expenses in7 curred in impoundment or sale of the person’s livestock if

8 the person did not commit a violation of section 141(b)(5)

9 or if the impoundment or sale was not conducted in accord10 ance with State law.

11 SEC. 152. NOTICE AND ORDER TO REMOVE.

12 (a) KNOWN OWNER.—

13 (1) SERVICE.—When it appears that a violation

14 described in section 151 has occurred or is occurring

15 and the owner of the unauthorized livestock is known,

16 an authorized officer shall serve written notice of un17 authorized use and an order to remove livestock by a

18 specified date on the owner (or the owner’s agent of

19 record) by certified mail or personal delivery.

20 (2) OPPORTUNITY TO RESPOND.—Written notice

21 under paragraph (1) shall allow a specified time from

22 receipt of notice for the livestock owner to—

23 (A) show that there has been no violation;

24 or

25 (B) make settlement under section 153.
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1 (b) UNKNOWN OWNER.—When it appears that a viola2 tion described in section 151 has occurred or is occurring

3 and neither the owner of the unauthorized livestock nor an

4 agent of the owner is known, an authorized officer may im5 mediately proceed to impound the livestock under section

6 154.

7 SEC. 153. SETTLEMENT.

8 (a) DETERMINATION OF WILLFULNESS.—An author9 ized officer shall determine whether a violation described

10 in section 151 is a nonwillful, willful, or second or subse11 quent willful violation.

12 (b) SECOND OR SUBSEQUENT WILLFUL VIOLATIONS.—

13 In the case of a second or subsequent willful violation, the

14 authorized officer shall—

15 (1) suspend the grazing use authorized under a

16 grazing permit or grazing lease, in whole or in part;

17 or

18 (2) cancel a grazing permit or grazing lease and

19 grazing preference, or a free-use grazing permit or

20 other grazing authorization, in whole or in part.

21 (c) SETTLEMENT AMOUNT.—Except as provided in

22 subsection (e), the settlement amount in the case of a viola23 tion described in section 151 shall include—

24 (1) the value of forage consumed as determined

25 under subsection (d);
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1 (2) the full value for all damage to Federal land

2 and other property of the United States resulting

3 from the violation; and

4 (3) all reasonable expenses incurred by the

5 United States in detecting, investigating, and resolv6 ing the violation, and livestock impoundment costs.

7 (d) VALUE OF FORAGE.—

8 (1) NONWILLFUL VIOLATION.—In the case of a

9 nonwillful violation, the value of forage consumed

10 shall be the product of—

11 (A) average monthly rate per animal unit

12 month for pasturing livestock on privately owned

13 land (excluding irrigated land) for the 16 West14 ern States as published annually by the Depart15 ment of Agriculture; and

16 (B) the period of the violation.

17 (2) WILLFUL VIOLATIONS.—In the case of a will18 ful violation, the value of forage consumed shall be

19 twice the value determined under paragraph (1).

20 (3) SECOND OR SUBSEQUENT WILLFUL VIOLA21 TIONS.—In the case of a second or subsequent willful

22 violation, the value of forage consumed shall be three

23 times the value determined under paragraph (1).

24 (e) NONMONETARY SETTLEMENT.—An authorized offi25 cer may approve a nonmonetary settlement of a case of a
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1 violation described in section 151 if the authorized officer

2 determines that each of the following conditions is satisfied:

3 (1) NO FAULT.—Evidence shows that the unau4 thorized use occurred through no fault of the livestock

5 operator.

6 (2) INSIGNIFICANCE.—The forage use is insig7 nificant.

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

9 damaged.

10 (4) BEST INTERESTS.—Nonmonetary settlement

11 is in the best interests of the United States.

12 (f) EFFECT OF SETTLEMENT.—Payment of a settle13 ment amount under this section shall not relieve the violator

14 of any criminal liability under Federal or State law.

15 (g) NO GRAZING USE.—A person who is found to have

16 committed a violation described in section 151 shall not be

17 authorized to make grazing use until any settlement

18 amount found to be due under this section has been paid.

19 (h) OTHER SANCTIONS.—An authorized officer may

20 cancel or suspend a grazing authorization or deny approval

21 of an application for grazing use until a settlement amount

22 found to be due under this section has been paid.

23 SEC. 154. IMPOUNDMENT AND SALE.

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to section 152(b), unau25 thorized livestock remaining on Federal land after the date
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1 specified in a notice and order under section 152(a) may

2 be impounded and sold by the authorized officer, acting in

3 conjunction with the State Livestock Board.

4 (b) NOTICE OF INTENT TO IMPOUND.—

5 (1) KNOWN OWNER.—

6 (A) SERVICE.—A written notice of intent to

7 impound shall be sent by certified mail or per8 sonally delivered to the livestock owner (or the

9 owner’s agent).

10 (B) CONTENTS.—The written notice shall

11 state that unauthorized livestock on specified

12 Federal land may be impounded any time after

13 10 days following delivery of the notice.

14 (2) UNKNOWN OWNER.—

15 (A) PUBLICATION AND POSTING.—If the

16 livestock owner and owner’s agent are unknown,

17 or if both a known owner and the owner’s agent

18 refuse to accept delivery of notice, a notice of in19 tent to impound shall be published in a local

20 newspaper and posted at the county courthouse

21 and a post office near the Federal land con22 cerned.

23 (B) CONTENTS.—The notice shall state that

24 unauthorized livestock on specified Federal land
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1 may be impounded any time after 10 days fol2 lowing publication and posting of the notice.

3 (c) IMPOUNDMENT.—After 10 days following delivery

4 or publication and posting of a notice under subsection (b),

5 the notice shall become effective, and unauthorized livestock

6 may be impounded without further notice any time within

7 the 12-month period following the effective date of the no8 tice.

9 (d) NOTICE OF PUBLIC SALE.—

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Following the impoundment

11 of livestock under this section, the livestock may be

12 sold by the authorized officer or, if a suitable agree13 ment is in effect, turned over to the State for sale, in

14 accordance with subsection (f).

15 (2) NOTIFICATION.—Any known livestock owner

16 (or owner’s agent) shall be notified in writing by cer17 tified mail or by personal delivery of the sale and the

18 procedure by which the impounded livestock may be

19 redeemed prior to the sale.

20 (e) REDEMPTION.—An owner (or owner’s agent) or

21 lienholder of record of impounded livestock may redeem the

22 livestock in accordance with State law, prior to the time

23 of sale upon settlement with the United States under section

24 153 or adequate showing that there has been no violation.
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1 (f) SALE.—If livestock are not redeemed on or before

2 the date and time fixed for sale, the livestock shall be offered

3 at public sale to the highest bidder by the authorized officer

4 under State law, or by the State.

5 Subtitle G—Procedure

6 SEC. 161. PROPOSED DECISIONS.

7 (a) PROPOSED DECISIONS ON GRAZING PERMITS OR

8 GRAZING LEASES.—

9 (1) SERVICE ON APPLICANTS, PERMITTEES, LES10 SEES, AND LIENHOLDERS.—In the absence of a writ11 ten agreement between an authorized officer and any

12 applicant, grazing permittee, lessee, or lienholder, the

13 authorized officer shall serve, by certified mail or per14 sonal delivery, a proposed decision on any applicant,

15 permittee, lessee, or lienholder (or agent of record of

16 the applicant, permittee, lessee, or lienholder) that is

17 affected by—

18 (A) a proposed action on an application for

19 a grazing permit, grazing lease, or range im20 provement permit; or

21 (B) a proposed action relating to a term or

22 condition of a grazing permit, grazing lease, or

23 range improvement permit.

24 (2) CONTENTS.—A proposed decision described

25 in paragraph (1) shall
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1 (A) state reasons for the action, including

2 reference to pertinent provision of this title or

3 other applicable law (including regulations); and

4 (B) state that any protest to the proposed

5 decision must be filed not later than 15 days

6 after service.

7 (b) PROPOSED DECISIONS ON ALLEGED VIOLA8 TIONS.—

9 (1) SERVICE.—If the authorized officer deter10 mines that a permittee or lessee appears to have vio11 lated any provision of this title, the authorized officer

12 shall serve a proposed decision on the permittee or les13 see (or permittee’s or lessee’s agent) by certified mail

14 or personal delivery.

15 (2) CONTENTS.—A proposed decision shall—

16 (A) state

17 (i) the alleged violation and refer to

18 the specific provision of this title that is al19 leged to have been violated;

20 (ii) the reasons for the proposed deci21 sion;

22 (iii) the fee due under section 137(a)

23 or settlement amount due under section 153;

24 and
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1 (iv) any civil penalty to be imposed

2 under section 141; and

3 (B) state that any protest to the proposed

4 decision must be filed not later than 15 days

5 after service.

6 SEC. 162. PROTESTS.

7 An applicant, permittee, or lessee may protest a pro8 posed decision under section 161 in person or in writing

9 to the authorized officer within 15 days after service of the

10 proposed decision.

11 SEC. 163. FINAL DECISIONS.

12 (a) NO PROTEST.—In the absence of a timely filed pro13 test, a proposed decision shall become the final decision of

14 the authorized officer without further notice.

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

16 the authorized officer shall reconsider the proposed decision

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

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

19 (c) SERVICE.—After reviewing the protest, the author20 ized officer shall serve a final decision on the parties to the

21 proceeding.

22 SEC. 164. APPEALS.

23 (a)(1) IN GENERAL.—After a decision by an author24 ized officer has become final, a permittee or lessee may ap25 peal the final decision for the purpose of a hearing before
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1 an administrative law judge by filing a notice of appeal

2 in the office of the authorized officer within 30 days after

3 the service of the final decision. A hearing shall be con4 ducted pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 554–559. Any person desiring

5 to appear as amicus curiae in any hearing shall make time6 ly request stating the grounds for such request. Permission

7 to appear, if granted, will be for such purposes as estab8 lished by the Director of the Department of the Interior’s

9 Office of Hearings and appeals or the appropriate officer

10 at the Department of Agriculture.

11 (2) When a grazing decision is appealed to an admin12 istrative law judge, the burden of proof shall be on the pro13 ponent of the rule or order. The standard of proof shall be

14 by a preponderance of the evidence in the record as a whole.

15 (b) SUSPENSION PENDING APPEAL.—

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

17 shall suspend the effect of the decision pending final

18 action on the appeal unless the decision is made effec19 tive pending appeal under paragraph (2).

20 (2) EFFECTIVENESS PENDING APPEAL.—

21 (A) IN GENERAL.—A District Manager of

22 the Bureau of Land Management may order that

23 a decision on a grazing permit application shall

24 remain in effect during an appeal of the decision

25 if it is determined that imminent and irrevers-
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1 ible damage to land resources would be likely to

2 result from delay of effectiveness of the decision.

3 (B) BASIS OF ORDER.—An order under sub4 paragraph (A) shall be made in accordance with

5 (i) state-of-the-art science;

6 (ii) information and opinions offered

7 by State land grant universities; and

8 (iii) the preponderance of evidence

9 gathered in the proceeding.

10 (3) DISTRICT MANAGER’S DUTIES CONCERNING

11 APPEALS.—In the case of an appeal concerning graz12 ing on lands administered by the Department of the

13 Interior, the District Manager shall, within 30 days,

14 forward the appeal, and any pertinent information

15 that would be useful in the rendering of a decision on

16 such appeal, to the Office of Hearings and Appeals.

17 The Office of Hearings and Appeals shall make an ex18 pedited determination whether the determination of

19 the District Manager pursuant to subsection (b) of

20 this section to have a decision on a grazing permit

21 application take immediate effect is warranted.

22 (d) FOREST SERVICE APPEALS.—Appeals regarding

23 grazing leases or permits on lands administered by the

24 Chief of the Forest Service shall be handled accordingly to
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1 the regulations codified in 36 CFR 215, 217, or 251, which2 ever is applicable.

3 Subtitle H—Advisory Committees

4 SEC. 171. PURPOSE.

5 This subtitle contains standards and procedures for the

6 establishment, operation, and termination of advisory com7 mittees to advise the Secretary of the Interior and the Sec8 retary of Agriculture on matters relating to grazing on Fed9 eral land and resources under the administrative jurisdic10 tion of the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest

11 Service.

12 SEC. 172. OBJECTIVE.

13 The objective of an advisory committee established

14 under this subtitle is to provide to the Secretary expert rec15 ommendations of concerned, knowledgeable citizens and

16 public officials regarding—

17 (1) the formulation of operating guidelines; and

18 (2) the preparation and execution of plans and

19 programs for the use and management of Federal

20 land, the natural and cultural resources on Federal

21 land, and the environment.

22 SEC. 173. RELATION TO OTHER LAW.

23 Except to the extent that the following laws may be

24 inconsistent with this subtitle, the following laws shall
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1 apply to an advisory committee established under this sub2 title:

3 (1) The Federal Advisory Committee Act (5

4 U.S.C. App.).

5 (2) The Federal Land Policy and Management

6 Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.).

7 (3) Section 2 of Reorganization Plan No. 3 of

8 1950 (5 U.S.C. App.).

9 SEC. 174. POLICY.

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—After consultation, cooperation,

11 and coordination with State and local government officials,

12 the Secretary shall establish advisory committees represent13 ative of major citizens’ interests to advise the Secretary re14 garding the policies and programs set forth in this Act.

15 (b) OPTIMAL EMPLOYMENT.—The Secretary shall en16 sure that—

17 (1) advisory committees are optimally utilized;

18 and

19 (2) the number of advisory committees is limited

20 to the number that is essential to the conduct of the

21 public’s business.

22 SEC. 175. GENERAL PROVISIONS.

23 (a) CHARTERS.—
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—For each advisory committee

2 established by the Secretary pursuant to this Act, the

3 Secretary shall—

4 (A) prepare a charter describing the advi5 sory committee’s structure and functions; and

6 (B) file the charter with the Committee on

7 Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate and

8 the Committee on Resources of the House of Rep9 resentatives.

10 (2) AMENDMENT.—Except for the correction of

11 errors and other minor changes, a charter filed under

12 paragraph (1) shall not be amended without author13 ization by an Act of Congress.

14 (b) CALLS FOR NOMINATIONS.—Candidates for ap15 pointment to an advisory committee shall be sought through

16 public calls for nominations made through publication in

17 the Federal Register and through media releases and sys18 tematic contacts with State and local government officials

19 and individuals and organizations interested in the use and

20 management of Federal land and resources.

21 (c) COMPOSITION.—

22 (1) STRUCTURE.—An advisory committee shall

23 be structured—

24 (A) to provide fair membership balance (ge25 ographic and interest-specific) in terms of the
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1 functions to be performed and points of view to

2 be represented, as prescribed by the advisory

3 committee’s charter; and

4 (B) to provide representative advice about

5 Federal land and resource planning, retention,

6 management, and disposal.

7 (2) NO DISCRIMINATION.—No person shall be de8 nied an opportunity to serve on an advisory commit9 tee because of race, age, sex, religion, or national

10 origin.

11 (3) QUALIFICATIONS.—A person shall be quali12 fied to serve on an advisory committee if—

13 (A) the person’s education, training, or ex14 perience enables the person to give informed and

15 objective advice regarding an industry, dis16 cipline, or interest specified in the committee’s

17 charter;

18 (B) the person has demonstrated experience

19 or knowledge of the geographical area under the

20 purview of the advisory committee; and

21 (C) the person has demonstrated a commit22 ment to seeking consensus solutions to resource

23 management issues.

24 (d) AVOIDANCE OF CONFLICTS OF INTEREST.—
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1 (1) PARTICIPATION IN DELIBERATIONS.—An ad2 visory committee member shall not participate in de3 liberations or vote on any matter if the decision of the

4 matter would, on its face or as applied, affect only an

5 interest held by that member and not the interests of

6 permittees or lessees generally.

7 (2) DISCLOSURE OF INTERESTS.—IN GEN8 ERAL.—Each member of an advisory committee shall

9 be required to disclose the member’s direct or indirect

10 interest, including holdings of a spouse or dependent

11 children of a member, in grazing leases, licenses, per12 mits, contracts, or claims and related litigation that

13 involve lands or resources administered by the Sec14 retary.

15 (e) TERMINATION OF SERVICE.—The Secretary may,

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

17 an advisory committee if—

18 (1) the member—

19 (A) no longer meets the requirements under

20 which appointed;

21 (B) fails or is unable to participate regu22 larly in committee work; or

23 (C) has violated Federal law (including a

24 regulation); or
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1 (2) in the judgment of the Secretary, termination

2 is in the public interest.

3 (f) COMPENSATION AND REIMBURSEMENT OF EX4 PENSES.—A member of an advisory committee shall not re5 ceive any compensation or reimbursement of expenses in

6 connection with the performance of the member’s duties as

7 a member of the advisory committee.

8 SEC. 176. RESOURCE ADVISORY COUNCILS.

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

10 with the Governors of the affected States, shall establish and

11 operate Resource Advisory Councils on a regional, State,

12 or planning area level to provide advice on management

13 issues for all lands administered by the Bureau of Land

14 Management within such State or regional area, except

15 where the Secretary determines that there is insufficient in16 terest in participation on a council to ensure that member17 ship can be fairly balanced in terms of the points of view

18 represented and the functions to be performed.

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

20 advise the Secretary and appropriate State officials on—

21 (1) matters regarding the preparation, amend22 ment, and implementation of land use and activity

23 plans for public lands and resources within its area;
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1 (2) major management decisions while working

2 within the broad management goals established for the

3 grazing district; and on

4 (3) matters relating to the development of and

5 range management decisions and actions taken re6 garding allotment management plans prepared pur7 suant to section 121.

8 (c) DISREGARD OF ADVICE.—

9 (1) REQUEST FOR RESPONSE.—If a resource ad10 visory council becomes concerned that its advice is

11 being arbitrarily disregarded, the resource advisory

12 council may, by majority vote of its members, request

13 that the Secretary respond directly to the resource ad14 visory council’s concerns within 60 days after the

15 Secretary receives the request.

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

17 Secretary to a request under paragraph (1) shall

18 not—

19 (A) constitute a decision on the merits of

20 any issue that is or might become the subject of

21 an administrative appeal; or

22 (B) be subject to appeal.

23 (d) MEMBERSHIP.—

24 (1) The Secretary, in consultation with the Gov25 ernor of the affected State or States, shall appoint the
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1 members of each Resource Advisory Council. A coun2 cil shall consist of not less than nine members and

3 not more than fifteen members.

4 (2) In appointing members to a Resource Advi5 sory Council, the Secretary shall provide for balanced

6 and broad representation from among various groups,

7 including but not limited to, permittees and lessees,

8 other commercial interests, recreational users, rep9 resentatives of recognized local environmental or con10 servation organizations, educational, professional, or

11 academic interests, representatives of State and local

12 government or governmental agencies, Indian tribes,

13 and other members of the affected public.

14 (3) The Secretary shall appoint at least one

15 elected official of general purpose government serving

16 the people of the area of each Resource Advisory

17 Council.

18 (4) No person may serve concurrently on more

19 than one Resource Advisory Council.

20 (5) Members of a Resource Advisory Council

21 must reside in one of the States within the geographic

22 jurisdiction of the council.

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

24 establish such subgroups as the council deems necessary, in-
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1 cluding but not limited to working groups, technical review

2 teams, and rangeland resource groups.

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

4 be appointed for two-year terms. Members may be ap5 pointed to additional terms at the discretion of the Sec6 retary.

7 (g) PER DIEM EXPENSES.—Resource Advisory Coun8 cil members shall serve without compensation as such, but

9 shall be reimbursed for travel and per diem expenses while

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

11 5, United States Code.

12 (h) FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT.—Except to

13 the extent that it is inconsistent with this section, the Fed14 eral Advisory Committee Act shall apply to the Resource

15 Advisory Councils established under this section.

16 (i) OTHER FLPMA ADVISORY COUNCILS.—Nothing in

17 this section shall be construed as modifying the authority

18 of the Secretary to establish other advisory councils under

19 section 309 of the Federal Land Policy and Management

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

21 SEC. 177. GRAZING ADVISORY BOARDS.

22 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—For each district office of the

23 Bureau of Land Management in the sixteen contiguous

24 Western States having jurisdiction over more than 500,000

25 acres of public lands subject to commercial livestock graz-
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1 ing, the Secretary, upon the petition of a simple majority

2 of livestock lessees and permittees under the jurisdiction of

3 such office, shall establish and maintain at least one Graz4 ing Advisory Board of not more than fifteen members.

5 (b) FUNCTION.—The function of the Grazing Advisory

6 Boards established pursuant to this section shall be to pro7 vide advice to the Secretary concerning management issues

8 directly related to the grazing of livestock on public lands,

9 including—

10 (1) range improvement objectives;

11 (2) the expenditure of range improvement funds

12 under the Public Rangelands Improvement Act of

13 1978 (43 U.S.C. 1901 et seq.);

14 (3) grazing management programs and imple15 mentation; and

16 (4) range management decisions and actions at

17 the allotment management plan level or permit man18 agement plan level.

19 (c) DISREGARD OF ADVICE.—

20 (1) REQUEST FOR RESPONSE.—If a grazing ad21 visory board becomes concerned that its advice is

22 being arbitrarily disregarded, the grazing advisory

23 board may, by unanimous vote of its members, re24 quest that the Secretary respond directly to the graz-
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1 ing advisory board’s concerns within 60 days after

2 the Secretary receives the request.

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

4 Secretary to a request under paragraph (1) shall

5 not—

6 (A) constitute a decision on the merits of

7 any issue that is or might become the subject of

8 an administrative appeal; or

9 (B) be subject to appeal.

10 (d) MEMBERS.—The number of members on each

11 Grazing Advisory Board shall be determined by the Sec12 retary. Members shall serve for a term of two years. Each

13 board shall consist of livestock representatives who shall be

14 lessees or permittees in the area administered by the district

15 office and shall be chosen by the lessees and permittees in

16 the area through an election prescribed by the Secretary.

17 (e) PER DIEM EXPENSES.—Grazing Advisory Board

18 members shall serve without compensation as such, but shall

19 be reimbursed for travel and per diem expenses while on

20 official business, as authorized by section 5703 of title 5,

21 United States Code.

22 (f) FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT.—Except to

23 the extent that it is inconsistent with this section, the Fed24 eral Advisory Committee Act shall apply to the Resource

25 Advisory Councils established under this section.
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1 SEC. 178. MEETINGS.

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—All meetings of an advisory com3 mittee and associated field examinations shall be open to

4 the public and news media.

5 (b) NOTICE OF MEETINGS.—

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—A notice of a meeting of an

7 advisory committee shall be published in the Federal

8 Register and distributed to the news media at least 30

9 days in advance of the meeting.

10 (2) URGENT MATTERS.—If an urgent matter

11 arises, a notice of a meeting of an advisory committee

12 shall be published in the Federal Register or distrib13 uted to the news media at least 15 days in advance

14 of the meeting.

15 (3) CONTENTS.—A notice of a meeting of an ad16 visory committee shall state the date, time, and place

17 of the meeting and describe the topics or issues to be

18 discussed at the meeting.

19 (c) APPEARANCES.—Any person may appear before or

20 file a statement with an advisory committee regarding mat21 ters on the meeting agenda.

22 (d) SCHEDULING.—The scheduling of meetings of an

23 advisory committee and the preparation of agenda shall be

24 done in a manner that encourages and facilitates public

25 attendance and participation.
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1 (e) EXTENSION OF TIME.—The amount of time sched2 uled for a meeting of an advisory committee may be ex3 tended if an authorized officer considers it necessary to ac4 commodate all who seek to be heard regarding matters on

5 the agenda.

6 (f) AUTHORITY TO SCHEDULE.—An advisory commit7 tee shall meet only at the call of the Secretary or of an

8 authorized officer.

9 (g) ATTENDANCE BY AUTHORIZED OFFICER.—No

10 meeting of an advisory committee shall be held in the ab11 sence of an authorized officer or designee of an authorized

12 officer.

13 (h) AGENDA.—A meeting of an advisory committee

14 shall be conducted with close adherence to the agenda ap15 proved in advance by an authorized officer.

16 (i) ADJOURNMENT.—An authorized officer may ad17 journ a meeting of an advisory committee at any time if—

18 (1) continuance would be inconsistent with the

19 purpose for which the meeting was called or with the

20 rules established for the conduct of the advisory com21 mittee; or

22 (2) adjournment is determined to be in the pub23 lic interest.

24 (j) RECORDS.—
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Detailed records shall be kept

2 of each meeting of an advisory committee.

3 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—The records of a meeting

4 of an advisory committee shall include, at a mini5 mum—

6 (A) the time and place of the meeting;

7 (B) copies of the Federal Register and other

8 public notices announcing the meeting;

9 (C) a list of members of the advisory com10 mittee and of Federal employees (in the capacity

11 of Federal employee) present;

12 (D) a list of members of the public present,

13 and a description of the interest represented by

14 each member;

15 (E) the meeting agenda;

16 (F) a complete summary description of

17 matters discussed and conclusions reached;

18 (G) a list of recommendations made by the

19 advisory committee;

20 (H) copies of all reports received, issued, or

21 approved by the advisory committee; and

22 (I) a description of the nature of public

23 participation.
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1 (3) CERTIFICATION BY CHAIRPERSON.—The

2 Chairperson of an advisory committee shall certify

3 the accuracy of the records of the advisory committee.

4 (4) AVAILABILITY FOR INSPECTION AND COPY5 ING.—All records, reports, transcripts, minutes, rec6 ommendations, studies, working papers, and other

7 documents prepared by or submitted to an advisory

8 committee shall be available for public inspection and

9 copying in the Federal office responsible for support

10 of the advisory committee.

11 (k) SUBCOMMITTEES.—Each of the requirements of

12 this section that applies to an advisory committee applies

13 to any subcommittee of an advisory committee.

14 SEC. 179. CONFORMING AMENDMENT AND REPEAL.

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

16 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976

17 (43 U.S.C. 1752(d)) is amended by striking ‘‘district graz18 ing advisory boards established pursuant to section 403 of

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

20 1753)’’ and inserting ‘‘resource advisory councils and graz21 ing advisory boards established under section 176 and sec22 tion 177 of the Livestock Grazing Act’’.’’

23 (b) REPEAL.—Section 403 of the Federal Land Policy

24 and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1753) is repealed.
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1 Subtitle I—Reports

2 SEC. 181. REPORTS.

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

4 annually thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to Congress

5 a report that contains—

6 (1) an itemization of revenues received and costs

7 incurred directly in connection with the management

8 of grazing on Federal land; and

9 (2) recommendations for reducing administrative

10 costs and improving the overall efficiency of Federal

11 rangeland management.

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

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

14 with the implementation of any law other than a statute

15 cited in section 102, the Secretary shall include with speci16 ficity the costs associated with implementation of each such

17 statute.

18 TITLE II—MANAGEMENT OF NATIONAL

19 GRASSLANDS

20 SEC. 201. SHORT TITLE.

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

22 Management Act of 1995’’.

23 SEC. 202. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

24 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that—
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1 (1) the inclusion of the National Grasslands

2 within the National Forest System has prevented the

3 Secretary of Agriculture from effectively administer4 ing and promoting grassland agriculture on National

5 Grasslands as originally intended under the

6 Bankhead-Jones Farm Tenant Act;

7 (2) the National Grasslands can be more effec8 tively managed by the Secretary of Agriculture if ad9 ministered as a separate entity outside of the Na10 tional Forest System; and

11 (3) a grazing program on National Grasslands

12 can be responsibly carried out while protecting and

13 preserving recreational, environmental, and other

14 multiple uses of the National Grasslands.

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

16 for improved management and more efficient administra17 tion of grazing activities on National Grasslands while pre18 serving and protecting multiple uses of such lands, includ19 ing but not limited to preserving hunting, fishing, and rec20 reational activities, and protecting wildlife habitat in ac21 cordance with applicable laws.

22 SEC. 203. DEFINITIONS.

23 As used in this title, the term—

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

25 managed as National Grasslands by the Secretary of
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1 Agriculture under title III of the Bankhead-Jones

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

3 before the date of enactment of this title; and

4 (2) ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary of Agri5 culture.

6 SEC. 204. REMOVAL OF NATIONAL GRASSLANDS FROM NA7 TIONAL FOREST SYSTEM.

8 Section 11(a) of the Forest Rangeland Renewable Re9 source Planning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1609(a)) is amend10 ed by striking the phrase ‘‘the national grasslands and land

11 utilization projects administered under title III of the

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

13 1010–1012),’’.

14 SEC. 205. MANAGEMENT OF NATIONAL GRASSLANDS.

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

16 Chief of the Forest Service, shall manage the National

17 Grasslands as a separate entity in accordance with this title

18 and the provisions and multiple use purposes of title III

19 of the Bankhead-Jones Farm Tenant Act (7 U.S.C. 1010–

20 1012).

21 (b) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary shall provide

22 timely opportunities for consultation and cooperation with

23 interested State and local governmental entities and others

24 in the development of land use policies and plans, and land

25 conservation programs for the National Grasslands.
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1 (c) GRAZING ACTIVITIES.—In furtherance of the pur2 poses of this title, the Secretary shall administer grazing

3 permits and implement grazing management decisions in

4 consultation, cooperation, and coordination with local graz5 ing associations and other grazing permit holders.

6 (d) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall promulgate

7 regulations to manage and protect the National Grasslands,

8 taking into account the unique characteristics of the Na9 tional Grasslands and grasslands agriculture conducted

10 under the Bankhead-Jones Farm Tenant Act. Such regula11 tions shall facilitate the efficient administration of grazing

12 and provide protection for the environment, wildlife, wild13 life habitat, and Federal lands equivalent to that on units

14 of the National Forest System.

15 (e) CONFORMING AMENDMENT TO BANKHEAD-JONES

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

17 (7 U.S.C. 1010) is amended to read as follows:

18 ‘‘To accomplish the purposes of title III of this Act,

19 the Secretary is authorized and directed to develop a sepa20 rate program of land conservation and utilization for the

21 National Grasslands, in order thereby to correct maladjust22 ments in land use, and thus assist in promoting grassland

23 agriculture and secure occupancy and economic stability of

24 farms and ranches, controlling soil erosion, reforestation,

25 preserving and protecting natural resources, protecting fish
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1 and wildlife and their habitat, developing and protecting

2 recreational opportunities and facilities, mitigating floods,

3 preventing impairment of dams and reservoirs, developing

4 energy resources, conserving surface and subsurface mois5 ture, protecting the watersheds of navigable streams, and

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

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

8 (f) HUNTING, FISHING, AND RECREATIONAL ACTIVI9 TIES.—Nothing in this title shall be construed as limiting

10 or precluding hunting or fishing activities on National

11 Grasslands in accordance with applicable Federal and

12 State laws, nor shall appropriate recreational activities be

13 limited or precluded.

14 (g) VALID EXISTING RIGHTS.—Nothing in this title

15 shall affect valid existing rights, reservations, agreements,

16 or authorizations. Section 1323(a) of Public Law 96–487

17 shall continue to apply to non-Federal and interests therein

18 within the boundaries of the National Grasslands.

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