No official summary available for this bill.
[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1981 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1981
To require the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the
Interior to utilize grazing for wildfire risk reduction, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
June 5, 2025
Ms. Cortez Masto (for herself and Mr. Curtis) introduced the following
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and
Natural Resources
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the
Interior to utilize grazing for wildfire risk reduction, and for other
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Strategic Grazing to Reduce Risk of
Wildfire Act''.
SEC. 2. UTILIZING GRAZING FOR WILDFIRE RISK REDUCTION.
(a) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) National forest system.--The term ``National Forest
System'' has the meaning given the term in section 11(a) of the
Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974
(16 U.S.C. 1609(a)).
(2) Public lands.--The term ``public lands'' has the
meaning given the term in section 103 of the Federal Land
Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1702).
(3) Secretary concerned.--The term ``Secretary concerned''
means--
(A) the Secretary of Agriculture, with respect to
National Forest System land; and
(B) the Secretary of the Interior, with respect to
public lands.
(b) Strategy.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 18 months after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Secretary concerned, in coordination
with holders of permits to graze livestock on Federal land
under the jurisdiction of the Secretary concerned and in
consultation with other relevant stakeholders described in
paragraph (3), shall develop a strategy to utilize livestock
grazing as a wildfire risk reduction tool consistent with the
laws applicable to the Secretary concerned.
(2) Considerations.--The strategy developed under paragraph
(1) shall consider--
(A) the use of grazing on vacant grazing allotments
during instances of drought, wildfire, or other natural
disasters that disrupt grazing on allotments already
permitted;
(B) the use of targeted grazing to reduce hazardous
fuels, including on Federal land within the wildland
urban interface (as defined in section 101 of the
Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C.
6511)), and other critical areas identified by the
Secretaries concerned;
(C) recommending the use of targeted grazing when
providing technical assistance to communities and
Indian Tribes in their efforts to reduce wildfire risk
and implement wildfire management strategies;
(D) the use of temporary permits to promote
targeted fuels reduction and reduction of cheatgrass
and other invasive annual grasses, including any
potential need for the use of grazing outside permitted
animal unit months and season of use, as appropriate
for the explicit purposes of targeted fuels reduction
of cheatgrass and other invasive annual grasses;
(E) the use of targeted grazing to aid in
controlling invasive annual grasses, including
cheatgrass;
(F) the use of targeted grazing in postfire
recovery efforts, as appropriate;
(G) an integrated use of advanced technologies such
as virtual fencing to dynamically adjust livestock
placement;
(H) the use of grazing on Federal land in a manner
that--
(i) avoids conflicts with other uses of
that Federal land; and
(ii) is consistent with any applicable land
management plan;
(I) a workforce development plan to ensure that
Federal workers have the necessary skills to manage
livestock grazing programs and deploy technologies;
(J) the use of cooperative agreements with States,
local governments, Indian Tribes, and local
firefighting agencies to reduce hazardous fuels and
invasive annual grasses, including reimbursements
authorized under other provisions of law, including
under good neighbor agreements under section 8206 of
the Agricultural Act of 2014 (16 U.S.C. 2113a); and
(K) other applicable statutory or regulatory
authorities, as determined by the Secretary concerned.
(3) Consultation.--In developing the strategy under
paragraph (1), the Secretary concerned shall consult with--
(A) applicable States;
(B) applicable units of local government;
(C) applicable Indian Tribes;
(D) applicable utility authorities;
(E) applicable firefighting agencies;
(F) land management organizations;
(G) outdoor recreation, conservation, and sportsmen
organizations; and
(H) other interested members of the applicable
community.
(c) Effect on Existing Grazing Programs.--Nothing in this section
affects any livestock grazing program being carried out as of the date
of enactment of this Act by the Secretary concerned.
<all>
Introduced in Senate
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests, and Mining. Hearings held.
Llama 3.2 · runs locally in your browser
Ask anything about this bill. The AI reads the full text to answer.
Enter to send · Shift+Enter for new line