Public Access and Lands Improvement Act

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mrs. LUMMIS. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I am offering this amendment with Representative Labrador after discussions with our local agriculture producers and the Public Lands Council on some needed adjustments to the underlying bill.

This amendment includes some conforming language to the Senate version of the Grazing Improvement Act that was marked up in the Energy and Natural Resources Committee last November. This includes allowing the Secretary to consolidate environmental reviews of allotments in order to reduce the backlog on permit and lease renewals.

The amendment clarifies the definition of current grazing management to the common sense wording of ``the terms and conditions of an existing permit or lease.'' It also clarifies that only those directly affected by the renewal, transfer, or reissuance of a permit or lease may appeal a final grazing decision.

Lastly, this amendment addresses some concerns with how the Federal land agencies treat temporary crossings and trailing. While the underlying bill exempts all crossing and trailing of domestic livestock from the National Environmental Policy Act, this amendment clarifies that temporary applications and those where an immediate need exists will receive a timely response from the agency. It also states that these authorizations are not subject to protest or appeal, except by affected parties.

Our producers' normal business operations require the ability to cross and trail livestock. It is often necessary to remain in compliance with their grazing permits. Temporary trailing has a de minimis impact on the range, and approval should be an administrative action with a quick turnaround time.

Weather, changes in grazing patterns, and even requests by Federal land agencies can all require trailing unexpectedly. For example, a hailstorm could wipe out a stand of grass in an hour. A devastating grasshopper infestation can change the grazing conditions on the ground. Those kinds of things require quick response to get cattle or sheep to a different pasture to keep that grass stand healthy. We need to provide the flexibility for our Federal land agencies to approve temporary requests.

Mr. Chairman, I urge my colleagues to support the Lummis-Labrador amendment and the underlying bill.

I reserve the balance of my time.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source