[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 308 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 308

To require the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study concerning 
grazing use of certain land within and adjacent to Grand Teton National 
  Park, Wyoming, and to extend temporarily certain grazing privileges.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           February 12, 1997

 Mr. Thomas (for himself and Mr. Enzi) 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 the Interior to conduct a study concerning 
grazing use of certain land within and adjacent to Grand Teton National 
  Park, Wyoming, and to extend temporarily certain grazing privileges.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) open space near Grand Teton National Park continues to 
        decline;
            (2) as the population continues to grow in Teton County, 
        Wyoming, undeveloped land near the Park becomes more scarce;
            (3) the loss of open space around Teton Park has negative 
        impacts on wildlife migration routes in the area and on 
        visitors to the Park, and its repercussions can be felt 
        throughout the entire region;
            (4) a few ranches make up Teton Valley's remaining open 
        space, and the ranches depend on grazing in Grand Teton 
        National Park for summer range to maintain operations;
            (5) the Act that created Grand Teton National Park allowed 
        several permittees to continue livestock grazing in the Park 
        for the life of a designated heir in the family;
            (6) the last remaining heirs have died, and as a result the 
        open space around the Park will most likely be subdivided and 
        developed;
            (7) in order to develop the best solution to protect open 
        space immediately adjacent to Grand Teton National Park, the 
        Park Service should conduct a study of grazing in the area and 
        its impact on open space in the region; and
            (8) the study should develop workable solutions that are 
        fiscally responsible and acceptable to the National Park 
        Service, the public, local government, and landowners in the 
        area.

SEC. 2. STUDY OF GRAZING USE.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of the Interior shall conduct a 
study concerning grazing use in Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming, and 
associated use of certain agricultural and ranch lands within and 
adjacent to the park, including--
            (1) base land having appurtenant grazing privileges within 
        Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming, remaining after January 1, 
        1990, under the Act entitled ``An Act to establish a new Grand 
        Teton National Park in the State of Wyoming, and for other 
        purposes'', approved September 14, 1950 (16 U.S.C. 406d-1 et 
        seq.); and
            (2) any ranch and agricultural land adjacent to the park, 
        the use and disposition of which may affect accomplishment of 
        the purposes of the Act.
    (b) Purpose.--The study shall--
            (1) determine the significance of the ranching use and 
        pastoral character (including open vistas, wildlife habitat, 
        and other public benefits) of the land;
            (2) determine the significance of that use and character to 
        the purposes for which Grand Teton National Park was 
        established;
            (3) identify any need for preservation of, and practicable 
        means of preserving, the land that is necessary to protect that 
        use and character; and
            (4) estimate the costs of implementing any recommendations 
        made for the preservation of the land.
    (c) Participation.--In conducting the study, the Secretary of the 
Interior shall seek participation from the Governor of the State of 
Wyoming, the Teton County Commissioners, the Secretary of Agriculture, 
affected landowners, and other interested members of the public.
    (d) Report.--Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment of 
this Act, the Secretary of the Interior shall submit a report to 
Congress that contains the findings of the study under subsection (a) 
and makes recommendations to Congress regarding action that may be 
taken with respect to the land described in subsection (a).

SEC. 3. EXTENSION OF GRAZING PRIVILEGES.

    (a) In General.--Subject to subsection (b), the Secretary of the 
Interior shall reinstate and extend for the duration of the study 
described in section 2(a), the grazing privileges described in section 
2(a)(1), under the same terms and conditions as were in effect prior to 
the expiration of the privileges.
    (b) Effect of Change in Land Use.--If, during the period of the 
study, any portion of the land described in section 2(a)(1) is disposed 
of in a manner that would result in the land's no longer being used for 
ranching or other agricultural purposes, the Secretary of the Interior 
shall cancel the extension described in subsection (a).
                                 <all>