To expand the authorization of voluntary Federal grazing permit retirement, provide increased flexibility for Federal grazing permittees, promote the equitable resolution or avoidance of conflicts on Federal lands managed by the Department of Agriculture or the Department of the Interior, and for other purposes.
About This Bill
Committee
Latest Action · November 8, 2023
Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.
The Voluntary Grazing Permit Retirement Act expands a land management program that allows livestock operators to voluntarily give up their federal grazing permits to permanently end cattle and sheep grazing on public lands. The bill applies to all federal lands managed by the Department of Agriculture and Department of the Interior across 16 western states, building on the success of similar programs already in place at national parks and monuments. When a rancher voluntarily surrenders a permit, the federal government must immediately terminate it and prohibit any future grazing on that land, though the program caps acceptances at 100 permits nationally and 25 per state each fiscal year. The legislation also clarifies that when ranchers voluntarily retire their permits, they relinquish claims to any permanent structures they built on the land, and it requires the government to prevent unauthorized grazing on retired allotments. The bill aims to help resolve conflicts between grazing and other land uses while giving ranchers a flexible option for exiting the livestock business on public lands.
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