S. 1890 — what changed

Bureau— The term Bureau means the Bureau of Land Management.

Flexible grazing use alternative for a grazing permit or lease— At the request of an authorized grazing permittee or lessee, for purposes of renewing a grazing permit or lease under the program, pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), the Secretary shall develop and analyze at least 1 alternative to provide operational flexibility in livestock grazing use to account for changing conditions.

Consultation— The Secretary shall develop alternatives under paragraph (1) in consultation with—

the applicable grazing permittee or lessee;

affected Federal and State agencies;

the Malheur C.E.O. Group;

other landowners in the affected allotment; and

interested members of the public.

to adjust the season of use, the beginning date of the period of use, the ending date of the period of use, or both the beginning date and ending date, as applicable, under the grazing permit or lease, subject to the requirements that—

unless otherwise specified in the appropriate allotment management plan or any other activity plan that is the functional equivalent to the appropriate allotment management plan under section 4120.2(a)(3) of title 43, Code of Federal Regulations (or a successor regulation), the applicable adjusted date of the season of use occurs—

not earlier than 14 days before the beginning date specified in the applicable permit or lease; and

not later than 14 days after the ending date specified in the applicable permit or lease; and

In general— The Secretary shall adopt cooperative rangeland monitoring plans and rangeland health objectives to apply to actions taken under paragraph (1) and to monitor and evaluate the improvements or degradations to the long-term ecological health of the Federal land under the program, in consultation with grazing permittees or lessees and other individuals and entities described in paragraph (2), using existing or new scientifically supportable data.

Requirements— A monitoring plan adopted under clause (i) shall—

identify situations in which providing operational flexibility in grazing permit or lease uses under the program is appropriate to improve long-term ecological health of the Federal land;

identify ways in which progress under the program would be measured toward long-term ecological health of the Federal land;

include for projects monitored under the program—

a description of the condition standards for which the monitoring is tracking, including baseline conditions and desired outcome conditions;

a description of monitoring methods and protocols;

a schedule for collecting data;

an identification of the responsible party for data collection and storage;

an evaluation schedule;

a description of the anticipated use of the data;

provisions for adjusting any components of the monitoring plan; and

a description of the method to communicate the criteria for adjusting livestock grazing use; and

provide for annual reports on the effects of flexibility in grazing permit or lease uses under the program to allow the Secretary to make management adjustments to account for the information provided in the annual report.

In general— The Secretary shall adopt cooperative rangeland utilization monitoring plans and rangeland health objectives to apply to actions taken under paragraph (3) and to monitor and evaluate the improvements or degradations to the long-term ecological health of the Federal land identified for flexible use under the program.

Requirements— A monitoring plan developed under clause (i) shall—

evaluate the percent utilization of available forage;

identify the appropriate percentage of utilization for the feed type, ecosystem, time of year, and type of animal using the allotment;

include—

a description of the utilization standards for which the monitoring is tracking, including baseline conditions and desired outcome conditions;

a description of utilization evaluation protocol;

an evaluation schedule identifying periods during which utilization data will be collected;

provisions for adjusting any components of the monitoring plan, including acceptance of data from identified third parties; and

a description of the method to communicate the criteria for adjusting livestock grazing use based on the on-the-ground conditions after the period of use; and

provide for annual reports on the effects of flexibility in grazing permit or lease uses under the program to allow the Secretary to make management adjustments to account for the information provided in the annual report.

Preferred alternative— If the Secretary determines that an alternative considered under the program that provides operational flexibility is the preferred alternative, the Secretary shall—

incorporate the alternative, including applicable monitoring plans adopted under paragraph (4), into the terms and conditions of the applicable grazing permit or lease; and

specify how the monitoring information with respect to the preferred alternative should be used to inform management adjustments under the program.

Adjustments— Before implementing any measure for purposes of operational flexibility with respect to a grazing use authorized under the terms and conditions of a permit or lease with respect to which an alternative has been incorporated under subparagraph (A), the grazing permittee or lessee shall notify the Secretary in writing of the proposed adjustment.

Additional requirements— The Secretary may include any other requirements in a permit or lease with respect to which an alternative has been incorporated under subparagraph (A) that the Secretary determines to be necessary.

In general— Subject to subparagraph (B), not earlier than the date that is 8 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall conduct a review of the program to determine whether the objectives of the program are being met.

No effect on program permits and leases— The review of the program under subparagraph (A) shall not affect the existence, renewal, or termination of a grazing permit or lease entered into under the program.

Termination— If, based on the review conducted under paragraph (1), the Secretary determines that the objectives of the program are not being met, the Secretary shall, on the date that is 10 years after the date of enactment of this Act—

modify the program in a manner to ensure that the objectives of the program would be met; or

terminate the program.

Definitions— In this section:

In general— The term Federal agency means an agency or department of the Government of the United States.

Inclusions— The term “Federal agency” includes—

the Bureau of Reclamation;

the Bureau of Indian Affairs;

the Bureau;

the United States Fish and Wildlife Service; and

the Natural Resources Conservation Service.

5 voting members who represent private interests, of whom—

3 members represent livestock grazing interests, of whom—

1 member is in the recreation or tourism industry; and

1 member is from an applicable irrigation district;

2 voting members who represent the environmental community, 1 of whom is based in the County;

1 voting member who represents the hunting or fishing community;

2 voting members who are representatives of Indian Tribes, of whom—

1 member shall be a representative of the Burns Paiute Tribe; and

2 nonvoting members who are representatives of Federal agencies with authority and responsibility in the County and who shall provide technical assistance, 1 of whom shall represent the Bureau;

2 nonvoting members who are representatives of State agencies with authority and responsibility in the County and who shall provide technical assistance, of whom—

1 member shall be from the State Department of Fish and Wildlife; and

1 member shall be from the State Parks Department; and

4 nonvoting members who are representatives of units of local government within the County and who shall provide technical assistance, 1 of whom shall be from the County weeds eradication department.

Governmental agencies— A member of the Malheur C.E.O. Group representing a Federal agency or State or local agency shall be appointed by the head of the applicable agency.

Vacancy— A vacancy on the Malheur C.E.O. Group shall be filled in the manner described in subparagraph (A).

In general— The Malheur C.E.O. Group shall propose eligible projects described in paragraph (2) on Federal land and water and non-Federal land and water in the County to be carried out by the Malheur C.E.O. Group or a third party, using funds provided by the Malheur C.E.O. Group, if a consensus of the Malheur C.E.O. Group approves the proposed eligible project.

In general— In the case of an eligible project proposed under paragraph (1) that is to be carried out on Federal land or requires the use of Federal funds, the project may not be carried out without the approval of the head of the applicable Federal agency.

Failure to approve— If an eligible project described in subparagraph (A) is not approved by the head of the applicable Federal agency, not later than 14 business after the date on which the proposal is submitted to the head of the applicable Federal agency, the head of the Federal agency shall provide to the Malheur C.E.O. Group in writing a description of the reasons for not approving the proposed eligible project.

Failure to approve by consensus— If an eligible project proposed under paragraph (1) is not agreed to by consensus after 3 votes are conducted by the Malheur C.E.O. Group, the proposed eligible project may be agreed to by a quorum of the members of the Malheur C.E.O. Group, subject to the limitations that—

the eligible project may not be carried out on Federal land; and

no Federal funds may be used for an eligible project that is agreed to in accordance with this paragraph.

Acceptance of donations— The Malheur C.E.O. Group may—

accept and place into a trust fund any donations, grants, or other funds received by the Malheur C.E.O. Group; and

use amounts placed into a trust fund under paragraph (1) to carry out eligible projects approved in accordance with this section, including eligible projects carried out on Federal land or water or using Federal funds, if the project is approved by the head of the applicable Federal agency.

In general— The Federal share of the total cost of an eligible project carried out using amounts made available under subsection (i) shall be not more than 75 percent.

Form of non-Federal contribution— The non-Federal contribution required under subparagraph (A) may be provided in the form of in-kind contributions.

Funding recommendations— All funding recommendations developed by the Malheur C.E.O. Group shall be based on a consensus of the Malheur C.E.O. Group members.

Public notice and participation— The Malheur C.E.O. Group shall conduct all meetings subject to applicable open meeting and public participation laws.

In general— There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry out this section $1,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2024 through 2034.

Maintenance and distribution— Amounts made available under paragraph (1) shall be maintained and distributed by the Secretary.

Administrative expenses— Not more than more than 5 percent of amounts made available under paragraph (1) for a fiscal year may be used for the administration of this Act.

Grants— Of the amounts made available under paragraph (1), not more than 10 percent may be made available for a fiscal year to provide grants to the Malheur C.E.O. Group.

Legal rights, duties, or authorities— Nothing in this section affects any legal right, duty, or authority of any person or Federal agency, including any member of the Malheur C.E.O. Group.

Effect— Each map and legal description prepared under subparagraph (A) shall have the same force and effect as if included in this Act, except that the Secretary may correct clerical and typographical errors in the map or legal description.

Public availability— The maps and legal descriptions prepared under subparagraph (A) shall be on file and available for public inspection in the appropriate offices of the Bureau.

In general— Subject to valid existing rights, the wilderness areas shall be administered by the Secretary in accordance with the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.), except that—

any reference in that Act to the effective date of that Act shall be considered to be a reference to the date of enactment of this Act; and

any reference in that Act to the Secretary of Agriculture shall be considered to be a reference to the Secretary.

section 4(d)(4) of the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1133(d)(4)); and

the guidelines set forth in Appendix A of the report of the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs of the House of Representatives accompanying H.R. 2570 of the 101st Congress (H. Rept. 101–405).

Roads adjacent to wilderness areas— Nothing in this Act requires the closure of any adjacent road outside the boundary of a wilderness area.

In general— In furtherance of the purposes and principles of the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.), the Secretary may conduct any management activities that are necessary to maintain or restore fish and wildlife populations and habitats in the wilderness areas, if the management activities are—

consistent with applicable wilderness management plans; and

conducted in accordance with appropriate policies, such as the policies established in Appendix B of the report of the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs of the House of Representatives accompanying H.R. 2570 of the 101st Congress (House Report 101–405).

Inclusions— Management activities under clause (i) may include the occasional and temporary use of motorized vehicles, if the use, as determined by the Secretary, would promote healthy, viable, and more naturally distributed wildlife populations that would enhance wilderness values while causing the minimum impact necessary to accomplish those tasks.

Existing activities— Consistent with section 4(d)(1) of the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1133(d)(1)) and in accordance with appropriate policies, such as the policies established in Appendix B of the report of the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs of the House of Representatives accompanying H.R. 2570 of the 101st Congress (House Report 101–405), the State may use aircraft (including helicopters) in the wilderness areas to survey capture, transplant, monitor, and provide water for wildlife populations, including bighorn sheep and feral stock, feral horses, and feral burros.

Release— Except as provided in paragraph (2), the land described in subparagraph (A)—

is no longer subject to section 603(c) of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1782(c)); and

shall be managed in accordance with the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.), including any applicable land use plan adopted under section 202 of that Act (43 U.S.C. 1712).

Management of certain land with wilderness characteristics— Any portion of the Federal land that was previously determined by the Secretary to be land with wilderness characteristics that is not designated as wilderness by subsection (b)(1) and is not designated on the Map as “land with wilderness characteristics” shall be managed by the Secretary in accordance with the applicable land use plans adopted under section 202 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1712).