[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 143 (Wednesday, July 27, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-18304]
[[Page Unknown]]
[Federal Register: July 27, 1994]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Office of the Secretary
43 CFR Part 4
Bureau of Land Management
43 CFR Parts 1780 and 4100
[WO-220-4320-02 24 1A]
RIN 1004-AB89
Department Hearings and Appeals Procedures; Cooperative
Relations; Grazing Administration--Exclusive of Alaska
AGENCY: Office of the Secretary and the Bureau of Land Management,
Interior.
ACTION: Proposed rule; extension of comment period and additional
request for comment.
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SUMMARY: The comment period on the Department's proposed rule
pertaining primarily to the administration of livestock grazing on
public lands is extended to provide additional opportunity for public
comment. This document also solicits public comment on whether the
Department of the Interior should consider reducing the fee that would
be charged for grazing sheep on public lands. Comments on this issue
will be considered along with comments on the proposed rule published
in the Federal Register on March 25, 1994, in developing the
Department's final rule.
DATES: Comments on this proposed rule must be submitted in writing by
September 9, 1994. Comments postmarked after this date will not be
considered in the preparation of the final rule.
ADDRESSES: Send comments on this proposed rule to Rangeland Reform '94,
P.O. Box 66300, Washington, D.C. 20035-6300. Com ments delivered to an
address other than above may not be considered in the preparation of
the final rule.
Comments on the proposed rule will be made available for public
inspection during regular business hours (7:45 a.m. to 4:15 p.m.),
Monday through Friday. Viewing of the comments can be arranged by
contacting the Bureau of Land Management at the telephone number
provided below.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mark W. Stiles, Regulations Analyst,
Division of Legislation and Regulatory Management, Bureau of Land
Management, (202) 208-4256.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: A proposed rule that would amend primarily
the regulations that govern how the Secretary of the Interior, through
the Bureau of Land Management, administers livestock grazing was
published in the Federal Register March 25, 1994 (59 FR 14314). That
proposed rule is a part of the Department's Rangeland Reform '94, an
effort to improve the administration of grazing. The original comment
period on the proposed rule was to end on July 28, 1994. The comment
period is being extended until September 9, 1994.
During the development of the proposed rule and since the opening
of the comment period on the Rangeland Reform '94 proposal, the
Governors of several States have organized groups to consider the
Department's proposals. The Governor of Wyoming has established one
such group which is developing comments and alternative actions to be
considered. The Governor of Wyoming has requested an extension of the
comment period to provide the Wyoming working group sufficient time to
complete their model for rangeland reform. In keeping with the
Department's intent to encourage collaborative efforts in the
resolution of difficult public land management issues, the comment
period on the proposed rule is being extended until September 9, 1994.
Elements of Rangeland Reform '94 have been analyzed through a draft
environmental impact statement (EIS), notice of which was published in
the Federal Register on May 13, 1994 (59 FR 25118). The Forest Service
is a cooperating agency in the preparation of the EIS. The comment
period on the draft EIS ends August 11, 1994, but the Department is
considering the need to extend the EIS comment period to coincide with
the closing of the comment period on the related proposed rule. Any
extension of the comment period for the draft EIS will be made through
a separate Federal Register notice.
A key provision of the Department's proposed rule published March
25, 1994, would raise the Federal grazing fee to a level more closely
reflecting market value. Under the proposed rule the grazing fee would
be charged for each animal unit month (AUM) of grazing on Federal
lands. An AUM was defined, for billing purposes, as a month's use and
occupancy of range by one cow, bull, steer, heifer, horse, burro, mule,
five sheep, or five goats, over the age of six months at the time of
entering the public lands or other lands administered by the Bureau of
Land Management (BLM); for all such weaned animals regardless of age;
and for such animals that will become 12 months of age during the
authorized period of use. This document requests comment from the
public regarding whether the definition of an AUM for billing purposes,
as it pertains to sheep, should be six or seven sheep, rather than five
sheep.
The Department solicits comments on this aspect of the proposed
rule in recognition of the decline in the number of sheep operators and
number of sheep AUMs authorized on public lands over the last 20 years.
During the period of 1975 through 1993 the number of sheep operators
using public rangelands administered by the BLM dropped from 2,490 to
1,624. During the same period the number of AUMs authorized for sheep
use dropped from about 1.8 million to about 1.2 million. The decline in
sheep grazing on the public lands may be attributed to a number of
factors, but has resulted in a shift from sheep to cattle in many areas
where grazing by sheep would be environmentally and administratively
preferable. It has come to the attention of the Department that the
long-term trend in the shift from sheep to cattle may be accelerated by
recent changes in market factors such as the phase-out of wool
incentive and unshorn lamb payments.
The public is asked to provide information addressing whether or
how the proposed rule might affect the long-term trend in the shift
from sheep to cattle. In particular, the Department is inviting comment
on the effect of changing the definition of an AUM for billing purposes
in a manner that would reduce the proposed grazing fee that would be
charged for the use of public lands by sheep by 17 percent if the
number of sheep per billing unit would be changed from five to six, or
28 percent if changed from five to seven.
An adjustment in the definition of an AUM for billing purposes
would not affect the manner in which sheep stocking rates are
determined. It would only affect the price paid for the use of public
lands by sheep. Stocking rates are determined by, among other things,
assessing the capacity of the public lands for a given kind of
livestock. The equivalency between cattle and sheep expressed in the
definition of an AUM for billing purposes is not used by the BLM in
determining stocking rates.
The Department intends that any change in the definition of an AUM
for billing purposes would not affect the proposed 30 percent incentive
fee reduction.
Due to the great volume of comments already received and
anticipated on this proposed rule, the Department requests that
reviewers identify the specific section and paragraph label for the
regulatory text on which they are commenting. Specific statements of
what regulatory text the reviewer feels should be modified, and the
reasons for the recommended changes, are encouraged.
This additional request for comment is proposed under the authority
of the Taylor Grazing Act of 1934 (43 U.S.C. 315 et seq.), the Federal
Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.), and
the Public Rangelands Improvement Act of 1978 (43 U.S.C. 1901 et seq.).
This rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12866.
The Department has prepared an initial Small Entity Flexibility
Analysis analyzing the economic impact of the March 25, 1994 rulemaking
(59 FR 14314) on small entities pursuant to the Regulatory Flexibility
Act (5 U.S.C. 605 et seq.). The anticipated effects of this additional
request would be consistent with the analysis prepared for the March
25, 1994, proposed rule. The initial analysis is available at the
address provided above.
This additional request for comment on the proposed rule has been
reviewed under Executive Order 12630, the Attorney General Guidelines,
Department of the Interior Guidelines, and the Attorney General
Supplemental Guidelines to determine the takings implications of the
proposed rule if it were promulgated as currently drafted. The
Department has determined that this additional request for comment does
not present a risk of a taking.
The Department has certified to the Office of Management and Budget
that the proposed rule meets the applicable standards provided in
sections 2(a) and 2(b)(2) of Executive Order 12778.
This additional request for comment does not contain collections of
information which require approval by the Office of Management and
Budget under 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.
Bruce Babbitt,
Secretary of the Interior.
[FR Doc. 94-18304 Filed 7-26-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-84-P