II 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 258 

To amend the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 to improve 

the management of grazing leases and permits, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 7, 2013 

Mr. BARRASSO (for himself, Mr. ENZI, Mr. CRAPO, Mr. HATCH, Mr. HELLER, 

Mr. LEE, and Mr. RISCH) introduced the following bill; which was read 

twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To amend the Federal Land Policy and Management Act 

of 1976 to improve the management of grazing leases 

and permits, and for other purposes. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

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

5 Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. TERMS OF GRAZING PERMITS AND LEASES. 

7 Section 402 of the Federal Land Policy and Manage8 ment Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1752) is amended— 


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1 (1) by striking ‘‘ten years’’ each place it ap2 pears and inserting ‘‘20 years’’; and 

3 (2) in subsection (b)— 

4 (A) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of each of 

5 paragraphs (1) and (2); 

6 (B) in paragraph (3), by striking the pe7 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

8 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(4) the initial environmental analysis under 

10 National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 

11 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) regarding a grazing allotment, 

12 permit, or lease has not been completed.’’. 

13 SEC. 3. RENEWAL, TRANSFER, AND REISSUANCE OF GRAZ14 ING PERMITS AND LEASES. 

15 Title IV of the Federal Land Policy and Management 

16 Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.) is amended by add17 ing at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘SEC. 405. RENEWAL, TRANSFER, AND REISSUANCE OF 

19 GRAZING PERMITS AND LEASES. 

20 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

21 ‘‘(1) CURRENT GRAZING MANAGEMENT.—The 

22 term ‘current grazing management’ means grazing 

23 in accordance with the terms and conditions of an 

24 existing permit or lease and includes any modifica25 tions that are consistent with an applicable DepartVerDate Mar 15 2010 22:30 Feb 19, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S258.IS S258

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1 ment of the Interior resource management plan or 

2 Department of Agriculture land use plan. 

3 ‘‘(2) SECRETARY CONCERNED.—The term ‘Sec4 retary concerned’ means— 

5 ‘‘(A) the Secretary of Agriculture, with re6 spect to National Forest System land; and 

7 ‘‘(B) the Secretary of the Interior, with re8 spect to land under the jurisdiction of the De9 partment of the Interior. 

10 ‘‘(b) RENEWAL, TRANSFER, REISSUANCE, AND

11 PENDING PROCESSING.—A grazing permit or lease issued 

12 by the Secretary of the Interior, or a grazing permit issued 

13 by the Secretary of Agriculture regarding National Forest 

14 System land, that expires, is transferred, or is waived shall 

15 be renewed or reissued under, as appropriate— 

16 ‘‘(1) section 402; 

17 ‘‘(2) section 19 of the Act of April 24, 1950 

18 (commonly known as the ‘Granger-Thye Act’; 16 

19 U.S.C. 580l); 

20 ‘‘(3) title III of the Bankhead-Jones Farm Ten21 ant Act (7 U.S.C. 1010 et seq.); or 

22 ‘‘(4) section 510 the California Desert Protec23 tion Act of 1994 (16 U.S.C. 410aaa–50). 

24 ‘‘(c) TERMS; CONDITIONS.—The terms and condi25 tions (except the termination date) contained in an exVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:32 Feb 19, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S258.IS S258

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1 pired, transferred, or waived permit or lease described in 

2 subsection (b) shall continue in effect under a renewed or 

3 reissued permit or lease until the date on which the Sec4 retary concerned completes the processing of the renewed 

5 or reissued permit or lease that is the subject of the ex6 pired, transferred, or waived permit or lease, in compli7 ance with each applicable law. 

8 ‘‘(d) CANCELLATION; SUSPENSION; MODIFICA9 TION.—Notwithstanding subsection (c), a permit or lease 

10 described in subsection (b) may be cancelled, suspended, 

11 or modified in accordance with applicable law. 

12 ‘‘(e) RENEWAL TRANSFER REISSUANCE AFTER

13 PROCESSING.—When the Secretary concerned has com14 pleted the processing of the renewed or reissued permit 

15 or lease that is the subject of the expired, transferred, or 

16 waived permit or lease, the Secretary concerned shall 

17 renew or reissue the permit or lease for a term of 20 years 

18 after completion of processing. 

19 ‘‘(f) COMPLIANCE WITH NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL

20 POLICY ACT OF 1969.—The renewal, reissuance, or trans21 fer of a grazing permit or lease by the Secretary concerned 

22 shall be categorically excluded from the requirement to 

23 prepare an environmental assessment or an environmental 

24 impact statement if— 


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1 ‘‘(1) the decision to renew, reissue, or transfer 

2 continues the current grazing management of the al3 lotment; 

4 ‘‘(2) monitoring of the allotment has indicated 

5 that the current grazing management has met, or 

6 has satisfactorily progressed towards meeting, objec7 tives contained in the land use and resource manage8 ment plan of the allotment, as determined by the 

9 Secretary concerned; or 

10 ‘‘(3) the decision is consistent with the policy of 

11 the Department of the Interior or the Department 

12 of Agriculture, as appropriate, regarding extraor13 dinary circumstances. 

14 ‘‘(g) PRIORITY AND TIMING FOR COMPLETING ENVI15 RONMENTAL ANALYSES.—The Secretary concerned, in the 

16 sole discretion of the Secretary concerned, shall determine 

17 the priority and timing for completing each required envi18 ronmental analysis regarding any grazing allotment, per19 mit, or lease based on the environmental significance of 

20 the allotment, permit, or lease and available funding for 

21 that purpose. 

22 ‘‘(h) NEPA EXEMPTIONS.—The National Environ23 mental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) shall 

24 not apply to the following: 


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1 ‘‘(1) Crossing and trailing authorizations of do2 mestic livestock. 

3 ‘‘(2) Transfer of grazing preference.’’. 

Æ 


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