H. R. 708

One Hundred Fifth Congress

of the

United States of America

AT THE FIRST SESSION

Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday,

the seventh day of January, one thousand nine hundred and ninety-seven

An Act

To require the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study concerning grazing

use and open space within and adjacent to Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming,

and to extend temporarily certain grazing privileges.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of

the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

Congress finds that—

(1) open space near Grand Teton National Park continues

to decline;

(2) as the population continues to grow in Teton County,

Wyoming, undeveloped land near the Park becomes more

scarce;

(3) the loss of open space around Teton Park has negative

impacts on wildlife migration routes in the area and on visitors

to the Park, and its repercussions can be felt throughout the

entire region;

(4) a few ranches make up Teton Valley’s remaining open

space, and the ranches depend on grazing in Grand Teton

National Park for summer range to maintain operations;

(5) the Act that created Grand Teton National Park allowed

several permittees to continue livestock grazing in the Park

for the life of a designated heir in the family;

(6) some of the last remaining heirs have died, and as

a result the open space around the Park will most likely be

subdivided and developed;

(7) in order to develop the best solution to protect open

space immediately adjacent to Grand Teton National Park,

the Park Service should conduct a study of open space in

the region; and

(8) the study should develop workable solutions that are

fiscally responsible and acceptable to the National Park Service,

the public, local government, and landowners in the area.

SEC. 2. STUDY OF GRAZING USE AND OPEN SPACE.

(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Interior shall conduct

a study concerning grazing use and open space in Grand Teton

National Park, Wyoming, and associated use of certain agricultural

and ranch lands within and adjacent to the Park, including—
H. R. 708—2

(1) base land having appurtenant grazing privileges within

Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming, remaining after January

1, 1990, under the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to establish a new

Grand Teton National Park in the State of Wyoming, and

for other purposes’’, approved September 14, 1950 (16 U.S.C.

406d–1 et seq.); and

(2) any ranch and agricultural land adjacent to the Park,

the use and disposition of which may affect accomplishment

of the purposes of the Act.

(b) PURPOSE.—The study shall—

(1) assess the significance of the ranching use and pastoral

character of the land (including open vistas, wildlife habitat,

and other public benefits);

(2) assess the significance of that use and character to

the purposes for which the Park was established and identify

any need for preservation of, and practicable means of, preserving the land that is necessary to protect that use and character;

(3) recommend a variety of economically feasible and viable

tools and techniques to retain the pastoral qualities of the

land; and

(4) estimate the costs of implementing any recommendations made for the preservation of the land.

(c) PARTICIPATION.—In conducting the study, the Secretary of

the Interior shall seek participation from the Governor of the State

of Wyoming, the Teton County Commissioners, the Secretary of

Agriculture, affected land owners, and other interested members

of the public.

(d) REPORT.—Not later than 3 years from the date funding

is available for the purposes of this Act, the Secretary of the

Interior shall submit a report to Congress that contains the findings

of the study under subsection (a) and makes recommendations

to Congress regarding action that may be taken with respect to

the land described in subsection (a).

SEC. 3. EXTENSION OF GRAZING PRIVILEGES.

(a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (b), the Secretary of

the Interior shall reinstate and extend for the duration of the

study described in section 2(a) and until such time as the recommendations of the study are implemented, the grazing privileges

described in section 2(a)(1), under the same terms and conditions

as were in effect prior to the expiration of the privileges.
H. R. 708—3

(b) EFFECT OF CHANGE IN LAND USE.—If, during the period

of the study or until such time as the recommendations of the

study are implemented, any portion of the land described in section

2(a)(1) is disposed of in a manner that would result in the land

no longer being used for ranching or other agricultural purposes,

the Secretary of the Interior shall cancel the extension described

in subsection (a).

Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Vice President of the United States and

President of the Senate.