Call Your Congressman—House Bill Proposes Permanent Retirement of Federal Grazing Allotments

It’s time to call your Congressman—House Bill H.R. 5737, introduced on January 30, 2020 proposes the implementation of procedures to permanently retire federal grazing allotments.

H.R. 5737 or the “Voluntary Grazing Permit Retirement Act” (the Act) proposes the ability of grazing permittees to sell or “waive” their right to graze under their Bureau of Land Management (BLM) or Forest Service grazing permit. The permittees would be compensated for the waiver, however, the BLM or Forest Service would then be barred from permitting any further grazing on the allotment under the permit. For allotments that are covered by multiple permits, the managing agency would be forced to permanently reduce the grazing level by the amount in the waived permit. The BLM and Forest Service would have no say in the retirement of the allotment, nor receive any compensation for its retirement.

The Act as proposed will present a conflict with the Taylor Grazing Act (TGA) and the Federal Land Policy Management Act (FLPMA) by claiming cattle grazing should be “simply removed” in favor of the multiple uses of federal land, such as recreation and wildlife. Both the TGA and FLPMA recognized and protect grazing on federal land as an intended multiple use, and the Act fails to make this recognition. 

The Act also appears to misunderstand the nature of cattle grazing permits, which are generally have 10 year terms. Yet, it will allow the termed permittee to waive any future grazing on the allotment through waiver of their current grazing rights. The Act allows for the retirement of 100 grazing permits per year, with up to 25 in any one state. 

The implementation of this Act as proposed, will likely result in the devastation of public lands grazing and the cattle industry in Western States. The Act proposes no administrative review nor even notice for the waiver of a grazing permit, resulting in permanent retirement of a grazing allotment. Rather it places the management and control of federal land grazing in the hands of the permittee and third parties, mainly environmental groups seeking permanent retirement of grazing areas. 

The Act is supported by numerous environmental groups including the Sierra Club, Natural Resource Defense Council, Defenders of Wildlife, Center for Biological Diversity, Wilderness Watch, the Lands Council, and Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance. It also currently has 10 Democratic cosponsors. 

The Act is currently opposed by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and Public Lands Council.

Call your Congressman today to provide your opinion on this Act.

The full text of the Act can be found at:  https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/5737/text

For a more in-depth review, please review the Voluntary Grazing Permit Retirement Act article.

Photo Credit: https://www.agweb.com/article/key-things-to-know-about-federal-land-grazing-in-the-west-NAA-associated-press