YourVoice.Now Summary
Your MoneyWorkers & JobsCivil LibertiesCriminal Justice & Due ProcessCorporate BenefitsHigh-Earner BenefitsEnvironmentTransparency & AccountabilityTargeted & Unrelated ProvisionsGun LawsWestern ranchers could give up federal grazing permits for good — grazing on that land would end forever
Your Money
A rancher who gives up a permit also gives up any claim to fences, buildings, and other things built on that land. This holds even if another law says otherwise.
Environment
The government would have to accept permits ranchers give up in 16 Western states, first come, first served. Each year it could take up to 100 in all, with no more than 25 in one state.
Once a permit is given up, the government must cancel it right away. It could never issue a new permit for that land, so grazing there would stop for good.
Sometimes several ranchers hold permits for the same land. If one gives up a permit, the total grazing allowed there would drop to match and could not go back up.
Some land is already closed because a rancher gave up a permit in a deal with an outside group. That land could never get a new permit. These closures do not count toward the yearly limits.
More about this bill
If you graze livestock on federal land in 16 Western states, you could give up your grazing permit for good. The Agriculture or Interior Department would have to accept it, first come, first served. It would then cancel the permit and never issue a new one for that land. Grazing there would end forever. Where other ranchers share the same land, total grazing would be cut to match. Each year, up to 100 permits could be retired across all 16 states. No more than 25 could be in any one state. Some land is already closed because a rancher gave up a permit under a deal with an outside group. That land would also stay closed for good. A rancher who gives up a permit also gives up any claim to fences and other fixtures on that land. The government must make retired land reasonably secure from stray livestock. Water rights and other existing rights would not change.
Congressional Summary
Voluntary Grazing Permit Retirement Act of 2025This bill authorizes the voluntary waiver of permits or leases for grazing on federal lands managed by the Department of Agriculture or the Department of the Interior in the 16 western states (e.g., California, New Mexico, Oklahoma, North Dakota, and Washington). If a permit or lease is waived by a permittee or lessee with the intention of permanently ending livestock grazing on the grazing allotment (or a portion of the allotment), the appropriate department mustaccept and terminate, on a first-come, first-served basis, the permit or lease;refrain from issuing any new grazing permit or lease within the grazing allotment covered by the permit or lease; andensure a permanent end to livestock grazing on the allotment covered by the permit or lease.If an allotment covered by a waiver is also covered by another permit or lease that is not waived, the department must reduce the level of commercial livestock grazing on the allotment to reflect the waiver.The departments must not accept more than (1) 100 grazing permits per year, in the aggregate for all of the 16 western states; and (2) 25 grazing permits for land located in whole or in part in any individual state.
Details
- Congress
- 119th
- Chamber
- House
- Status
- summarized
- Action
- Introduced in House
- Action Date
- 2025-10-17
- Date Added
- 2026-10-21
- Source
- Congress.gov →
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