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Home » Issues » Polling (AGRICULTURE -- RANCHING -- FEDERAL LANDS GRAZING )

Federal lands grazing

The Forrest Service and the Bureau of Land Management administer our public lands grazing program. This program allows 3% of our nation's cattle, horses, goats and sheep to graze on public lands including our national parks. This arrangement mostly benefits large commercial ranching operations, or about 2% of all our ranchers. Fees collected from these ranchers do not cover the cost of administering the grazing program. Not counting the damage done to ecosystems, the annual cost to taxpayers of this program is estimated to be about $100 million. Expired grazing permits are usually renewed automatically without financial or environmental review. Grazing opponents cite substantial environmental damage caused by grazing, saying low fees encourage misuse.

Pending Legislation: H.R.6314 - Voluntary Grazing Permit Retirement Act
Sponsor: Rep. Adan Smith (WA)
Status: House Committee on Natural Resources
Chair: Rep. Bruce Westerman (AR)

I oppose reforming current federal lands grazing policy and wish to donate resources to the campaign committee of Speaker Mike Johnson (LA).
I support authorizing the voluntary waiver of permits or leases for grazing on federal lands. If a permit or lease is waived by a permittee or lessee with the intention of permanently ending livestock grazing, the Department of Agriculture or the Department of the Interior must:

1.) Accept and terminate, on a first-come, first-served basis, the permit or lease.

2.) Refrain from issuing any new grazing permit or lease within the grazing allotment covered by the permit or lease.

3.) Ensure a permanent end to livestock grazing on the allotment covered by the permit or lease.
If an allotment covered by a waiver is also covered by another permit or lease that is not waived, the department must reduce the level of commercial livestock grazing on the allotment to reflect the waiver.

4.) Prohibiting these departments from accepting more than 100 grazing permits per year, in the aggregate for all of the 16 western states; and 25 grazing permits for land located in whole or in part in any individual state.

And wish to donate resources to the campaign committee of Rep. Bruce Westerman (AR) and/or to an advocate group currently working with this issue.

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Poll Opening Date

December 30, 2024

Poll Closing Date

January 5, 2025

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