HR1110-119

What This Bill Does

This bill, the Grazing for Wildfire Risk Reduction Act, directs the Secretary of Agriculture to create a strategy that expands livestock grazing on federal lands as a tool for preventing wildfires. The idea is that cattle and other livestock can reduce wildfire fuel by eating grasses and vegetation that would otherwise become fire hazards.

Who Benefits and How

Ranchers and livestock permit holders are the primary beneficiaries. The bill would give them more opportunities to graze their animals on federal lands, including:
- Access to currently vacant grazing allotments during droughts or wildfires
- More temporary permits for targeted grazing projects
- New opportunities to graze lands after wildfires as part of recovery efforts

This translates to expanded business opportunities and more grazing access for the cattle ranching industry, particularly those already holding federal grazing permits.

Who Bears the Burden and How

The U.S. Forest Service takes on new administrative responsibilities to develop and implement the grazing strategy, coordinate with permit holders, and manage expedited environmental reviews. This creates additional workload for an agency that already manages extensive public lands.

Environmental review processes may be streamlined or expedited, particularly during emergencies, which could reduce the thoroughness of environmental impact assessments for new grazing activities.

Key Provisions

• Expedited environmental reviews to allow grazing on vacant allotments during droughts, wildfires, or other natural disasters
• Targeted grazing programs to reduce wildfire fuels and control invasive annual grasses
• Increased temporary permits specifically for fuels reduction and invasive species management
• Post-fire grazing authorized as a recovery and restoration strategy on burned lands
• Coordination requirement between the Forest Service and existing grazing permit holders