GRAZING FACILITIES ON PUBLIC LANDS MONDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 1926 UNITED STATES SENATE, COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC LANDS AND SURVEYS, Washington, D. C. The committee met, pursuant to call of the chairman, at 10 o'clock a. m., in the committee room, Capitol, Senator Robert N. Stanfield presiding. Present: Senators Stanfield (chairman), Norbeck, Cameron, Oddie, Dale, Pittman, and Kendrick. Also present: Hon. Hubert Work, Secretary of the Interior; Edward C. Finney, First Assistant Secretary of the Interior; Hon. William Spry, Commissioner of the General Land Office; Hon. William B. Greeley, Chief, Forest Service, Department of Agricul ture. (Stanfield grazing bill, S. 2584, p. 1; report of the Secretary of the Interior on S. 2584, p. 15; report of the Secretary of Agriculture on S. 2584, p. 19; Phipps public domain grazing bill, S. 752, p. 13; joint letter of the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture submitting substitute grazing bills, p. 25; Department of Agriculture national forest grazing bill, p. 26; Department of the Interior public domain grazing bill, p. 27.) The CHAIRMAN. The committee will come to order. The purpose of this meeting is for the consideration of S. 2584, the grazing bill, which will be made a part of the record, as follows: [S. 2584, Sixty-ninth Congress, first session] A BILL To promote the development, protection, and utilization of grazing facilities on public lands, to stabilize the range stock-raising industry, and for other purposes Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, TITLE I.-GENERAL PROVISIONS DECLARATION OF POLICY SECTION 1. It is hereby declared to be the policy of Congress to promote a more complete development, protection, and utilization of the grazing facilities of the unreserved and unappropriated public lands and the national forests, and to stabilize the range stock-raising industry, by making provision for definite and stabilized grants of grazing privileges and a coordinated and localized administration of grazing thereon. DEFINITIONS SEC. 2. (a) When used in this act (1) The term "person" means individual, partnership, corporation, or association. (2) The term "area-basis contract" means a contract which includes as basic provisions the following: (A) A grant to a grantee of the exclusive 1 right to graze, within a specified area and for a definite period, such number and kinds of livestock in such manner and during such grazing season as he may determine; (B) provision for the inspection of such area by a grazing officer: and (C) provision for termination of the contract. (3) The term "per-capita-basis contract" means a contract which includes, as its basic provision a grant to a grantee, for a definite period, of either an exclusive right, or one in common with other grantees, to graze a specified number and kind of livestock within the district or a specified portion thereof, under the supervision of a grazing officer. (4) The term "contract means either an area-basis or per-capita-basis contract granted under authority of this act. (5) The term “grantee" means the holder of any contract. (6) The term "livestock raiser" means any person who owns or possesses more than ten head of domestic livestock. (7) The term "Board" means a State Grazing Board provided for in Title IV. 66 (b) When used in Title II the term Secretary means Secretary of the Interior and in Title III means Secretary of Agriculture. TITLE II-GRAZING ON PUBLIC DOMAIN LANDS INCLUDED SEC. 201. The provisions of this title shall apply to unappropriated, unreserved public lands of the United States, and to such other lands as may be included within the provisions of section 204, in the States of Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, and Utah. GRAZING DISTRICTS SEC. 202. (a) The Secretary may establish grazing districts upon any lands, included within the provisions of section 201, which, in his opinion, are chiefly valuable for the grazing of livestock, but only after a petition is filed as provided in section 203. (b) The Secretary may include in such district, such areas of surveyed and unsurveyed lands within the boundaries of any one land district as he determines may be conveniently administered as a unit, even if such areas are neither contiguous nor adjacent. PETITION FOR ESTABLISHMENT OF GRAZING DISTRICT ⚫ SEC. 203. (a) Petition for the establishment of any such grazing district shall be filed with the register of the land district in which the lands in the proposed district are situated. Any livestock raiser who has, in the year next prior, or in at least two of the three years next prior to the calendar year in which petition is signed, used public lands within the proposed grazing district for grazing purposes, shall be qualified to sign such petition. Such petition shall be signed by a majority of the livestock raisers so qualified and shall contain (1) A general description of the lands to be embraced within the proposed grazing district; (2) A statement by each petitioner that he is duly qualified to sign such petition; (3) A statement of the approximate number of livestock raisers who are qualified to sign such petition; (4) The post-office address of each petitioner; and (5) A certificate under the seal of an officer duly qualified to make such certificate that such petition was duly subscribed and sworn to by each petitioner. (b) Such petition shall be accepted by the Secretary as prima facie evidence of the facts stated therein. If the Secretary finds that such petition has been signed by a majority of the total number of livestock raisers qualified to sign such petition, he may establish such grazing district as petitioned for, or substantially as petitioned for, after such alteration by way of including or excluding lands as he may deem advisable. ALTERATION OF GRAZING DISTRICTS SEC. 204. After any such grazing district is established the area embraced therein may be altered in any of the following ways: (1) The Secretary may add thereto any unappropriated, unreserved, public lands, within the land district within which such grazing district is established, which in his opinion should be made a part of the grazing district. (2) The Secretary, subject to existing contract rights of any grantee, may exclude from such grazing district any lands which he determines are no longer valuable for grazing purposes or have become more valuable for other purposes. (3) The Secretary may exchange on behalf of the United States any unappropriated, unreserved, public lands (whether surveyed or unsurxeyed) chiefly valuable for grazing purposes, for any lands in private or State ownership within the same land district and near any grazing district, and may add the lands so received to such grazing district. Any lands so received shall be of approximately equal area with and of not less value than the lands exchanged by the Secretary therefor. (4) The Secretary may, with the consent of the Secretary of Agriculture, add lands within a land district and now within the limits of any national forest to any grazing district within such land district, where grazing on such lands may be administered more economically or efficiently by reason of such action. Such lands must be more valuable for grazing than for the timber thereon, and such addition to the grazing district shall not operato to divest the Secretary of Agriculture of any jurisdiction over such lands except in respect of grazing thereon. (5) The Secretary may enter into cooperative agreements with any State or political subdivision thereof, or any person, in respect of the administration as a part of a grazing district, lands owned by such State, subdivision, or person which are contiguous or adjacent to, and within the same land district as, any grazing district. POWERS AND DUTIES OF REGISTER SEC. 205. (a) Under the direction of the Secretary the register of the land office in any land district in which a grazing district shall be established shall have charge of the administration of such grazing district, subject to the conditions and limitations provided in this title. (b) He shall, from the date of the establishment of such grazing district, received a salary of $ per annum in addition to the compensation provided by law for such register, irrespective of whether the total of such salary and compensation exceeds the maximum compensation otherwise allowed him by law. (c) The register is authorized, under the direction of the Secretary- (1) To determine the grazing capacity of any area in a grazing district for the purpose of fixing, on a per capita or area basis, the grazing fees for the grazing privileges therein. (2) To make such inspections of the range within a grazing district and of the use of such range as are necessary in the protection of the range and the enforcement of contracts. (3) To make such rules and regulations, exercise such powers, and perform such duties, in respect of the grazing district as he deems necessary to effectuate the purposes of this title. NOTICE OF ESTABLISHMENT OF GRAZING DISTRICT SEC. 206. Immediately after the establishment of any grazing district, and before granting any contracts for grazing privileges, the register shall publish once a week for a period of ten consecutive weeks, in a newspaper of general circulation in each county in which the grazing district or any part thereof is situated, a notice announcing the establishment of such district, describing the boundaries thereof in general terms, and requesting each person who desires to procure grazing privileges therein to file application with such register on or before the date specified in the notice, which shall be at least ninety days after the date of the first publication of the notice. |