Deadline nears for comments on proposed BLM grazing rule changes

Public-land ranchers, local governments and others who want a say in proposed changes to federal grazing regulations have until Monday, July 13, to submit comments to the Bureau of Land Management.

The proposal would make wide-ranging changes to the way the BLM administers livestock grazing permits, evaluates land health and handles appeals of grazing decisions. Comments received after July 13 do not have to be considered as the agencies prepare a final rule.

As of this week, about 230 comments had been submitted through the online federal docket, where members of the public can also read comments filed by other individuals and organizations.

Comments may be submitted online at Regulations.gov by searching for docket BLM-2026-0001 and following the submission instructions. Comments may also be mailed or delivered to the Bureau of Land Management in Washington, D.C.

The proposed rule represents the first substantial effort in years to rewrite the federal regulations governing grazing on BLM land. The agency administers nearly 18,000 permits authorizing about 12.3 million animal unit months of grazing each year on approximately 155 million acres of public land. The regulations now in force largely date to 1995 after a later set of revisions adopted in 2006 was blocked by federal courts.

One of the most significant changes would expand BLM land health standards beyond livestock grazing and apply them to other programs and uses administered by the agency.

Under the current system, grazing permittees can bear much of the responsibility when an allotment does not meet rangeland health standards, even when wildfire, invasive species, wildlife populations, recreation, mineral development or other factors may have contributed to the conditions.

The proposal would require the BLM to identify the factors substantially contributing to poor land health and take action on causes within the agency’s control. The BLM says the change is intended to create a broader view of the landscape rather than assuming livestock grazing is responsible for every failure to meet standards.

The rule would also allow more flexibility within grazing permits. With BLM approval, permittees could graze livestock as many as 21 days before or after the dates listed in a permit to respond to weather, forage availability and other changing conditions. It would also revise temporary nonuse rules and allow some permits to include flexible terms that could be used without seeking separate approval for every operational adjustment.

Another major provision would change what happens when a grazing decision is appealed.

Under the proposed rule, filing an appeal would generally suspend the BLM decision while the appeal is considered. The current rules generally allow a decision to take effect unless the permittee separately requests and receives a stay. The BLM could still put a decision into immediate effect when necessary to protect rangeland resources.

Other proposed changes include limiting new grazing permits to production-oriented livestock operations, expanding opportunities for beginning ranchers who are not the children of existing permittees, revising rules for transfers of grazing preference and requiring more formal documentation of unauthorized grazing.

The proposal would also reduce some mandatory consultation requirements involving the broader “interested public” and resource advisory councils during certain allotment and permit decisions. Public participation would continue through environmental reviews, proposed decisions, protests and appeals, but some preliminary consultation would be limited to affected permittees and states.

The BLM is asking for comments on all parts of the rule, including how land health should be measured, how causal factors should be identified, how much flexibility permittees should receive and how appeals should affect grazing decisions.

Comments are most useful when they identify a specific section of the proposed regulations and explain how it would affect an operation, community, resource or public-land user. Commenters may include examples, operational records, monitoring information, economic estimates or recommended changes to the proposed language.

The full proposal, supporting documents and public comments can be found by searching BLM-2026-0001 at Regulations.gov. Comments can be summitted at this site as well: publiclandscouncil.org/get-involved/comment-now.

The comment period closes July 13.