[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 64 (Thursday, May 15, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4596-S4597]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. DORGAN (for himself and Mr. Conrad):
  S. 749. A bill to provide for more effective management of the 
national grasslands, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Energy 
and Natural Resources.


                 THE NATIONAL grasslANDS MANAGEMENT ACT

  Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, today I am introducing the National 
Grasslands Management Act. I introduced this bill in the 104th Congress 
as well. This bill applies primarily to the grasslands in the Dakotas 
and half a dozen other States. I want to explain briefly what the 
objective of this bill is and how it came about. North Dakota has been 
particularly concerned about management reform because it embraces over 
25 percent and 1.2 million acres of all national grasslands. Many North 
Dakota ranching families have earned their livelihood on these lands 
for several generations.
  For several years, however, the ranchers in western North Dakota have 
been asking for a less cumbersome approach to management of the 
grasslands and both chambers of the 1995 legislature passed a 
resolution unanimously asking for management reform on the grasslands 
as well. Here is why.
  The current regulatory regime is cumbersome mainly because the Forest

[[Page S4597]]

Service must manage the grasslands under the same framework as it does 
the rest of the National Forest System. It doesn't handle efficiently 
the day-to-day problems of the ranchers and grazing associations. For 
example, ranchers have had to wait for as long as 2 to 3 years to get 
approval for a stock tank because of the labyrinth of regulations that 
the Forest Service overlays on the management of the grasslands. This 
legislation will change that by removing the national grasslands from 
the National Forest System and creating a new structure of rules 
specifically suited to the ecology of the grasslands.
  However, it is not only the rancher's needs that my bill addresses. 
It will also protect a broad range of uses on the public lands. All 
hunting, fishing, and recreational activities will continue as before 
and environmental protections will continue actually be strengthened. 
Further, it is my intention that the public must be involved in the 
decisionmaking process as these new rules are implemented. Only by 
working together can we solve the problems on the grasslands.
  Let me reassure the conservation community that this bill, which was 
originally incorporated as part of a larger grazing package during the 
104th Congress, will not make grazing the dominant use of the public 
lands at the expense of other uses. This bill includes specific 
provisions to protect hunting and fishing, and preserves the multiple 
uses of the national grasslands, preserves public participation in the 
management of the grasslands and keeps the link between the Grasslands 
and major environmental laws such as the Endangered Species Act, the 
Clean Air Act, and the Clean Water Act.
  I have worked diligently with the ranchers, environmentalists, and 
other recreational users of the grasslands to ensure a balanced 
approach to grasslands management. The result of that work is the 
National Grasslands Management Act that I am introducing today.
  The legislation explicitly states that there will be no diminished 
hunting or fishing opportunities, that all applicable environmental 
laws will apply to those lands, and that the grasslands will be managed 
under a multiple use policy. The bill directs the Secretary to 
promulgate regulations which both promote the efficient administration 
of livestock agriculture and provide environmental protection 
equivalent to that of the National Forest System.
  In short, I believe that the National Grasslands Management Act is a 
solid piece of legislation that will make the administration of the 
grasslands more responsive to the people who live there, without 
diminishing the rights and opportunities of other multiple users of 
this public land. It will help to preserve the historic ranching 
economy and lifestyle of western North Dakota and other areas in the 
West will be protecting the environment. I urge my colleagues to 
support this initiative.
                                 ______