USDA is continuing its efforts to expand grazing access for American ranchers.
On Nov. 10, USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum announced a USDA proposed rule to update grazing permit issuance, eligibility and qualifications, along with revising grazing fee provisions.
The proposal aligns with USDA’s recent actions to expand grazing on federal lands, including its October 2025 Plan to Fortify the American Beef Industry, a memorandum with the Interior on advancing grazing on U.S. Forest Service (USFS) and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) lands, and a letter encouraging ranchers to take advantage of a June Grazing Directive.
“I am proud to work with the Department of the Interior as we support hard working ranchers, the backbone of this country’s history and a vital engine that drives economic vitality in rural communities, while putting healthy protein on American tables,” Rollins said. “America’s ranchers are tough professionals who care for the land and are proud of their tradition of stewardship that strengthens the fabric of this nation.”
Burgum said that aligning the departments’ grazing rules gives ranchers more certainty and helps lower costs for families.
USFS allows livestock grazing on nearly 40% of its 193 million agency-managed acres, USDA said. Grazing on USFS lands contributes about 14,200 jobs and $645 million to the nation’s gross domestic product annually.
USDA proposal
Many of the proposed rule’s revisions are editorial, procedural or intended to clarify existing requirements, USDA said. Other changes align with BLM regulations to support permittees who use lands managed by both agencies.
The rule was published in the Federal Register on Nov. 12, opening a 30-day comment period.
The rule proposes modernizing grazing administration, improving clarity, codifying existing policy and expanding stewardship and access opportunities. Amendments include the following:
• Updating permit issuance, eligibility and qualification provisions.
• Establishing a framework for adaptive response to drought, wildfire and other events.
• Expanding authorities for stewardship-oriented livestock use, such as outcome-based grazing or targeted grazing, under a temporary grazing permit.
• Revising grazing fee provisions to ensure consistent fee-setting across national forests and grasslands.
• Establishing a surcharge for authorized leasing of livestock.
A broader objective of the proposed rule is to create greater consistency between USFS and BLM grazing regulations. The proposal incorporates several provisions to align the agencies.
The proposal could make it easier for beginning ranchers, successors or other applicants to qualify for USFS grazing permits. This includes allowing applicants to own or lease their base property and livestock; expanding base property to include cropland and stock water rights; recognizing livestock purchases, extended purchase agreements, family succession arrangements and mentor/mentee relationships; providing discretionary priority to qualified beginning ranchers and permittee mentees when new permits are offered through a prospectus; and giving beginning ranchers, mentees and small-business ranchers priority in certain circumstances when additional grazing becomes available.
The formal framework for responding to conditions that affect forage and water availability, such as drought and wildlife, would allow the USFS to make temporary adjustments to grazing management. The rule would also allow grazing to begin up to 21 days before the permit’s start day or extend 21 days beyond its end date when needed to address environmental conditions.
The rule would expand the types of activities authorized under temporary grazing permits and livestock use permits, such as outcome-based grazing and targeted grazing. It would extend the maximum term for livestock use permits from one year to up to five years.
The proposal would clarify procedures for permittees who temporarily reduce or suspend grazing. For non-use requested for personal convenience, the maximum period would increase from three to four consecutive years, but four years could not be exceeded within a 10-year rolling period when grazing less than 90% of permitted numbers.
The rule would establish a surcharge when permittees graze livestock owned by someone else on their authorized allotments. The surcharge would equal 35% of the difference between the current federal grazing fee and the previous year’s private grazing land lease rate per animal unit month. The surcharge would not prohibit livestock leasing but is intended to account for additional administrative costs and capture a portion of the greater profit associated with pasturing livestock, USFS said. Exemptions are available.
Existing permit-cap provisions would be replaced with a more flexible framework allowing denial of applications that would result in excessive permit consolidation or inefficiently split permits.
Grazing fee provisions for the National Forest System and national grasslands in the western states would be consolidated into one section. The existing grazing fee formula would remain unchanged, including the 25% annual change limit and $1.35-per-animal-unit-month minimum.
Allotment management plans would be made optional rather than mandatory. Allotment management plans will still need to include grazing practices, resource objectives, operational flexibility and monitoring requirements.
Comments may be submitted by Dec. 14 at regulations.gov by searching for docket ID RIN 0596-AD75. — Anna Miller Fortozo, WLJ managing editor
