On August 11, 2006, revised grazing regulations of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) took effect (43 C.F.R. Part 4100). Some of the regulations have been enjoined. The agency also considered related policy changes, but it appears that policy changes are no longer being considered. The previous revision of grazing regulations culminated in comprehensive changes effective August 21, 1995. The 1995 changes were the result of a several-year process of evaluating ideas and shaping alternatives, and occurred in the midst of a decades-long dispute over the ownership, management, and use of federal rangelands. The 1995 changes were highly controversial, with criticism from many ranching interests that those new rules weakened grazing privileges and would reduce livestock grazing on federal lands, and from environmental organizations that the changes did not go far enough in protecting public lands. Supporters saw the changes as improving resource and range management and broadening participation in public land decisionmaking. Congress considered many of the 1995 changes as part of legislative proposals or committee oversight. Congress also has examined the development of the 2006 regulatory changes and related policy options through committee oversight. Among the changes made in 1995, many of which were reexamined by BLM during the development of the 2006 regulatory changes, are those that: separated grazing preference from permitted use , so that a permittee's preference for receiving a grazing permit was not tied to a specific amount of grazing based on historic levels (described as Animal Unit Months , or AUMs ) ; allowed permittees up to three years of nonuse of their permits; authorized suspending or canceling a permit if a permittee is convicted of violating certain state or federal environmental laws; eliminated the express requirement that a permittee be engaged in the livestock business; replaced the term affected interest with interested public ; allowed conservation use for the term of a grazing permit, thereby excluding livestock grazing from all or a portion of an allotment; required title of permanent structural improvements to be held in the name of the United States; required that water rights for livestock grazing be held in the name of the United States, to the extent allowed by state law; imposed a surcharge on a permittee who allows livestock not owned by the permittee or the permittee's children to graze on public land; eliminated Grazing Advisory Boards and replaced them with the broader interest Resource Advisory Councils; and adopted rangeland management standards called Fundamentals of Rangeland Health . In issuing these changes, the Secretary of the Interior dropped the most contentious proposal—to increase the grazing fee—due to the rancor this issue generated. However, dissatisfaction with the 1995 changes among ranching interests led to a lawsuit ultimately decided by the U.S. Supreme Court. The regulations, challenged on their face, were upheld by the courts as not exceeding the authority of the Secretary, with one exception. The court struck down the rule pertaining to conservation use for the term of a permit on the grounds that a grazing permit was for grazing and the Secretary could more appropriately accomplish conservation use through the land use planning process. BLM took a two-pronged approach to the 2003-2006 iteration of grazing reform on public lands, by issuing changes to grazing regulations and considering changes to grazing policies. Under this Sustaining Working Landscapes initiative, first announced in March 2003, BLM sought to create working landscapes that are both economically productive and environmentally healthy. Changes to grazing regulations and/or policies could affect more than 18,000 grazing permits on 162 million acres of BLM land. The specific regulatory changes that were adopted and the policy alternatives that were considered are discussed under separate headings below. Conflict over livestock grazing on public lands has become common. Critics of the latest reform effort asserted that the 1995 regulations were not in effect long enough to assess their effectiveness and that the policy issues were too vague to assess their potential effects. They also contended that BLM had not justified a need for regulatory and policy changes and that the changes adopted remove important environmental protections and opportunities for public comment. One concern voiced by environmentalists was that the changes would require more monitoring than would be feasible, thus possibly preventing changes in grazing practices. Another was that BLM and the Forest Service did not develop joint rules, advocated because many BLM and Forest Service lands are similar and adjoining and permittees often have permits for livestock grazing on both agencies' lands. There was also some disappointment among environmentalists that the reform effort did not encompass certain important issues such as altering grazing fees, controlling noxious weeds, retiring grazing permits, and establishing processes for identifying lands suitable for grazing. Regulatory changes have been supported by some livestock organizations and range professionals as helping both ranchers and the range. BLM asserted that regulatory changes were needed to increase flexibility for grazing managers and permittees, to improve BLM's relationship with ranchers, to improve rangeland management and permit administration, to promote conservation, and to comply with court decisions. According to the agency, the changes are based on lessons learned in implementing the 1995 regulations and thus improve upon those earlier regulations. Further, the final rule recognizes the benefits of grazing, including the economic and social benefits to rural communities and the preservation of open space, according to BLM. BLM proposed changes to its grazing regulations on December 8, 2003 (68 Fed. Reg. 68451), and on January 2, 2004, issued a draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) analyzing the potential impact of the proposed changes. The DEIS also assessed the impacts of a slightly different alternative and of keeping the existing grazing rules. Prior to proposing the changes, BLM reviewed more than 8,000 public comments on regulatory issues that were submitted in response to a March 3, 2003 advanced notice of proposed rulemaking. In late January and early February of 2004, BLM held public meetings in the West and in Washington, DC, to gather public comments on the regulatory proposal and DEIS. The proposal and DEIS were open for public comment through March 2, 2004, during which time the agency received more than 18,000 comments. The BLM considered these comments, and on June 17, 2005, issued a final environmental impact statement (FEIS) on proposed changes and alternatives. The proposed revisions in the FEIS met with mixed reaction, like those in the earlier DEIS. A number of the key proposals, which were adopted, are discussed under " Changes to Grazing Regulations " below. With regard to the environmental effects of the preferred alternative, the FEIS stated (p. ES-5) that "most of the proposed regulatory changes have little or no adverse effects on the human environment. Some short-term adverse effects may not be avoided because of increases in timeframes associated with several components of this proposed rulemaking." This statement fueled concerns among environmentalists that the proposed changes could eliminate public land protections and lead to unsustainable grazing practices. The FEIS stated that to minimize the potential for adverse affects in the short-term, the BLM could "curtail grazing if resources on the public lands require immediate protection or if continued grazing use poses an imminent likelihood of significant resource damage." Further, the BLM asserted that the long-term outcome of the proposed changes would be better and more sustainable grazing decisions, and that the changes "would be beneficial to rangeland health." A particular controversy surfaced over assertions by two members of the draft EIS team, a BLM hydrologist and a BLM biologist (both now retired), that their scientific conclusions were reversed by BLM because they did not support the new rules. Those conclusions apparently had asserted that the proposed new rules could harm water quality and wildlife, including endangered species. A BLM official is reported to have called the changes to the views of the two scientists a part of the standard editing and review process. Further, a statement by the BLM contended that the EIS team found their work to be "seriously lacking in the quality expected from each contributor to the environmental impact analysis." The statement alleged that the conclusions of the two team members were "based on personal opinion and unsubstantiated assertions rather than sound environmental analysis. As a result, the work submitted by the two former BLM employees was rewritten." BLM initially intended to publish a final grazing rule in the Federal Register in July 2005, with an effective date in August 2005. However, on August 9, 2005, BLM announced its intent to prepare a supplement to the FEIS. The delay was intended to allow the agency to address public comment received after the comment period ended on March 2, 2004, primarily the views of the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS). On March 31, 2006, BLM issued an addendum to the FEIS that addressed the FWS and other public comment and made relatively minor changes to its proposed rules. In its comment to the BLM, the FWS asserted that the proposed changes would "fundamentally change the way BLM lands are managed temporally, spatially, and philosophically. These changes could have profound impacts on wildlife resources." The FWS expressed overall concern that the proposed revisions would make grazing a priority over other land uses, which could be detrimental to fish and wildlife habitats and populations, for instance, management of sage-grouse habitat. The agency further contended that the proposed changes could "constrain biologists and range conservationists from recommending and implementing management changes based on their best professional judgment in response to conditions that may compromise the long-term health and sustainability of rangeland resources." In its addendum, BLM disagreed with the FWS assertion that the proposed rule would fundamentally change BLM management of rangelands and that there could be profound impacts on wildlife. BLM contended that the changes are primarily administrative and do not secure the dominance of grazing over other land uses. BLM also rejected the assertion that its proposals would constrain specialists from recommending changes, noting that changes can be made through varied means, including modification of the terms and conditions of grazing permits.