House Committee Passes Grazing Act

The House of Representatives Committee on Natural Resources this week advanced the Grazing Improvement Act on a bipartisan vote of 27-15. The legislation, which seeks to improve the livestock grazing permitting processes on lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service, will now go to the full House for consideration. Rep. Raúl Labrador, R-Idaho, introduced the bill in February as companion legislation to S. 258 in the Senate, also introduced in February by Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo. The legislation proposes to increase the term of grazing permits from 10 to 20 years. The bill also proposes to codify longstanding appropriations language that would allow grazing to continue under existing terms and conditions while a paperwork backlog is being addressed...more