In a significant move to bolster the nation’s livestock industry, Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum today signed a Secretary’s Order to expand grazing opportunities, improve the health of federal rangelands, and provide critical support for America’s ranchers. The order implements President Trump’s Executive Order on “Supporting America’s Ranchers” and takes aggressive steps to increase domestic meat production and lower costs for consumers.
“Under the leadership of President Trump, we are committed to restoring the promise of our working landscapes and supporting the hardworking American families who depend on them,” said Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum. “This order cuts through bureaucratic red tape to deliver certainty and flexibility for our nation’s ranchers. By promoting healthy rangelands and expanding grazing opportunities, we are strengthening our food supply, reinvigorating rural economies, and ensuring the legacy of American ranching continues for generations to come.”
The order directs bureaus within the Department of the Interior to prioritize the needs of the domestic livestock industry at a time when the national cattle herd is at a 75-year low. It formalizes the Rangeland Health Initiative to further identify and open additional lands for grazing, reinstate suspended grazing allotments, and use new technologies like super intelligence to eliminate the backlog of grazing permit renewals.
Key provisions of the order include:
- Expanding Grazing Opportunities: Directing the Bureau of Land Management, Fish and Wildlife Service, and Bureau of Reclamation to identify lands that can be made available for livestock grazing.
- Streamlining Permitting: Requiring the renewal of grazing permits for the full 10-year term to provide ranchers with operational certainty and mandating the use of technology to expedite the approval process.
- Improving Rangeland Health: Using well-managed grazing as a tool to reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfires and control invasive grasses.
- Increasing Transparency: Creating a public, department-wide map of lands available for grazing and streamlining the application process.
- Protecting Livestock: Reviewing and reforming policies that unnecessarily limit the ability of ranchers to protect their livestock from predators.
- Improving Coordination with the United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service: Increasing communication and transparency between agencies to limit differences in management requirements.
The order establishes an agency lead for the initiative, sets forth a series of deadlines for bureaus to report progress and implement these changes swiftly, and expands the initiative to all Interior bureaus with grazing lands. This includes a 30-day deadline to identify new lands for potential grazing and a 60-day deadline for the Bureau of Land Management to present a plan to eliminate its permit renewal backlog.