The Federal Government spending bill passed by Congress over the weekend had implication for the land. According to Dustin Van Liew, Public Lands Council executive director and National Cattlemen’s Beef Association director of federal lands, the bill included – critical policy provisions related to livestock grazing as well as greenhouse gas reporting requirements. Van Liew says PLC and NCBA encourage President Obama to waste no time in signing the bill into law.

Specifically, Van Liew pointed to a two-year extension of a provision to allow federal lands grazing permit renewals, despite a backlog of National Environmental Policy Act reviews, and a provision to allow grazing permits to be transferred without undergoing a NEPA analysis as long as the permit remains under current terms and conditions. Van Liew says – this commonsense grazing provision will continue to provide livestock producers relief from the uncertainty and instability of the federal lands grazing permit renewal process.

In addition, Van Liew says language exempts the Bureau of Land Management from environmental law, litigation and regulation until the agency is able to complete environmental reviews of livestock trailing and crossing permits, the issuance of which is crucial to many ranchers on federal lands. He said the omnibus will also prohibit the U.S. Forest Service from using funds to reduce domestic sheep grazing due to management for bighorn sheep unless the management is consistent with a state wildlife plan.

Finally, Van Liew hailed Congress for including report language requiring EPA, USFS and BLM to report fees paid by the agencies through the Equal Access to Justice Act.