[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 131 (Friday, September 20, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Page S11102]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     BUMPERS AMENDMENT TO H.R. 3662

 Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, I would like to enter some remarks 
for the record regarding the Bumpers grazing fee amendment to H.R. 
3662, the Interior appropriations bill.
  In my view, if Federal policies are enacted that drive the small, 
independent family rancher off the land, there will be many adverse 
consequences for our country. I appreciate Senator Bumper's 
responsiveness to my concerns about small, family ranches that led to a 
5,000 AUM cap instead of the original cap of 2,000 AUM.
  This change, a 150-percent increase in AUM's over his initial 
proposed cap, resulted in an exemption from the fee increase for 
approximately 300 Oregon ranchers. Further, the amendment would not 
impact most of the 2,100 permittees in Oregon.
  There are, however, some small family ranchers who I remain concerned 
about. A significant number of Oregon ranchers are small and 
independent but they operate through one permittee, an incorporated 
family ranch. They are the folks I am concerned about. They include 
families with multiple households who live on, work on, and derive 
their livelihood from the ranch. They are working together to provide 
for their families, they provide generations worth of knowledge, and 
they are active in associations and restoration work. It is those 
family ranches who hold permits to graze more than 5,000 AUM that will 
have to pay the increased fee.
  To address this problem, each legitimate, separate household on a 
family ranch should be recognized as an independent permittee or lessee 
for the purposes of determining the grazing fee increase.
  This should be done for a simple, yet very important reason. Multi-
generational ranchers are the backbone of our land stewardship program. 
They provide a unique knowledge of the land, are critical to 
maintaining our national food supply, and are helping to ensure the 
long-term protection of our rangeland resources. We need to assure that 
we consider their needs as we look to the future of grazing on public 
lands.

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